To tip or not to tip—that is the question. Like a high stakes game of culinary roulette, the decision to tip lies at the hand of the consumer, and it can be grueling.
Waiters find themselves at the beck-and-call of strangers, hoping to make a few extra bucks per table. Yet, with an increase in contactless payment and those IPads that offer predetermined tip-percentages, tips are in higher demand than ever. And Americans seem to be more comfortable with paying less.
Welcome to the most bizarre phenomenon since fidget spinners, tipping fatigue.
Many patrons report that because they felt so pressured to tip during the early years of the pandemic as more businesses began to ask for tips to stay afloat, they have been less inclined to do so now.
Of course there are many more factors to consider such as inflation and the increase of service charges in place by restaurants when looking at this.
Falling victim to tipping fatigue, one waitress at Ojos Locos Sports Cantina (@ojoslocosportscatina) used the company’s TikTok platform to voice her recent lack of compensation. Posted on Feb. 25, the waiter, Gracie, stood in her Texas location’s kitchen and recorded a 9-second lip-sync which has already received over 988,400 views and 149,600 likes.
As voices from the 2011 animated children’s movie Rio loop, Gracie stands by the kitchen’s prepping table, covering her face, pretending to cry.
“Please It’s not your fault,” the voice-over states.
Then, looking up in realization, Gracie quickly stops her crocodile tears and points toward one of the restaurant cooks.
“You’re right, it’s not my fault,” Gracie shakes her head, “It’s your fault.”
The camera swiftly pans to the caught-off-guard chief, and before he could respond, the video concluded. With, “when I get tipped $0 but the kitchen took 1hr to make 3 tacos,” as the video’s caption, it’s presumed that the kitchen staff was at fault for Gracie’s lack of tip that day.
Now it’s not uncommon for wait staff to grow frustrated with those behind-the-scenes for their mistakes, because at the end of the day, it’s the waiter who takes the hit. Within the service industry, servers make their own type of minimum wage, known as “minimum food wage.” While this wage varies from state to state, Reader’s Digest reports that according to the Fair Labor Standards Act, this minimum wage is expected to be around $2.14 per hour.
@ojoslocossportscantina I forgot to ring it in 🥲 #ojoslocos ♬ original sound – Stitch
The legality of such low wages can be supported by the idea that tips from consumers cover the rest of the missing $10 received in the normal minimum wage average of $12 an hour. And with 29 states offering a minimum food wage of $4 an hour or less, it is understandable that servers, like Gracie, get aggravated.
Tipping is vital to making money for the average waiter. Reported in a previous Daily Dot article on Feb 15, one Waffle House waitress explained how she can make almost $127 a shift on tips when working hard enough. That’s roughly $27 extra an hour.
So, of course commenters were quick to back-up Gracie on the recent viral video. Not only were they sending her words of affirmation and praise, but also sharing like-stories of occurrences they’ve been through themselves.
“Me last night with the bartender, my ticket took 20 minutes to be made,” one commenter says, receiving over 1,435 likes.
“& then u still gotta tip the cook at the end of the shift,” another said, gaining 6,984 likes.
Since 2011, waiters were not required to share their tips with the behind-the-scenes staff, such as dishwashers or cooks. But according to Eater, the Trump administration made change to this law on March 23, 2018.
The administration passed a 2,232-page budget spending bill, within which gave protections for workers within the service industry. While the bill hinders managers or supervisors from retaining any tips, it also allows for tips to be shared amongst all employees in a restaurant or store.
So, while it is unconfirmed whether Gracie has to share her tips with the kitchen staff, it is understood that now the stakes may be even higher for Gracie to want them to get the order out in a timely manner.
And while American consumers may be growing less inclined to tip due to the higher demand, it is still important to show gratitude toward those in the service industry. Especially when a majority of their income may come from it.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Ojos Locos Sports Cantina (@ojoslocosportscatina) via TikTok direct message.