When a family of six asked their Texas Roadhouse server how much they should tip, they started a wave of tipping discourse online.
A pair of viral videos from Joshua Mileham and his family (@themilehams) shine a light on a server’s plight when it comes to tipping.
In the first clip, Mileham’s wife shows the family’s Texas Roadhouse tab, which comes out to $80.36. She explains that they ordered five meals total, as she and her husband split a meal. They also only ordered water, other than the kids’ drinks.
“So, what would you guys tip?” she asks viewers. “Our server was awesome. Audrey, you were awesome. What is your rule of thumb? Do you go based on how many people you have? Do you go based on a percentage? Do you do more than that if you have a great server?”
What should these Texas Roadhouse customers tip?
Several commenters suggested the Milehams tip the standard 20%. The UCLA Dashew Center for International Students recommends tipping 15% for satisfactory service, 20% for excellent service, and 10% for poor service.
“20% on the total. This isn’t hard,” one commenter wrote.
“Since when do you ever go by people?” another asked. “The formula is 20%. Therefore $16. Given great service I would round up to $100 total.”
Many viewers argued that the Milehams should tip more than 20% due to the kids at the table.
“$20-30 depending how good service was. kids leave a mess,” one user said.
“$20 I see kids at the table,” another wrote.
But others said the Milehams shouldn’t tip at all. They argued that it should be on the company to pay its servers, not the customers.
“$0.00, waiters and waitresses should be paid a living wage. America do better,” one wrote.
“The tipping culture shouldn’t exist. The price should be the price, no hidden charges,” a further user argued.
Texas Roadhouse server speaks up
In a follow-up video, Joshua asks their Texas Roadhouse server, Audrey, a few questions about tipping.
Audrey explains that Texas Roadhouse pays her $2.13 an hour before tips.
Joshua points out that if Audrey’s added tips do not result in the hourly minimum wage, Texas Roadhouse will make up the difference. The state of Texas, where the Milehams live, follows the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
“That rarely happens, though. So we make minimum wage if we weren’t to make that,” Audrey explains.
However, servers still have to tip out money to their restaurant co-workers—even if they didn’t receive any tips. Joshua asks Audrey to explain tipping out.
She says that servers have to pay 3% of their total sales to bussers and hosts. The 3% comes out of their tips, however. So if a table leaves a $0 tip on a $100 tab, Audrey would still have to pay $3 to the hosts and bussers.
“So if a table stiffs you, doesn’t tip you anything at all, that will come out of our personal money,” Audrey explains. “Does that make sense?”
The server adds that most restaurants follow the tip-out model, though the exact percentages may vary. She then offers a hypothetical situation to Joshua.
“Say y’all’s tab was like $100, and y’all tip me $0. Then $3 of that would come out of my money,” Audrey tells Joshua.
He gives a cheeky response. “So, we shouldn’t tip you anything?” he asks.
Audrey then says she would pay to serve the Milehams. “Y’all were fun, so it would be OK,” she adds.
@themilehams Replying to @elver_galarga_jr Did y’all know these facts about serving??? 😱😱😱 @Texas Roadhouse #tips #tipping #serving #server #serverlife #servertok #tippingout #howtipswork #whyamericatips #doyoutip #texasroadhouse #fyp #factsaboutserving #howmuchdoserversmake #serverjob #restaurant ♬ original sound – themilehams
But did they really tip $0?
Of course not. In a third video, Joshua’s wife reveals how much they really tipped Audrey. She shows that a 20% tip would be $16.07.
“But we’re gonna go custom, because Audrey was awesome,” she says. “We’re gonna do a $50 tip.”
That’s a 62% tip.
Is tipping becoming more common?
Tipping has always been a standard in U.S. restaurants. However, more and more consumers are complaining about tipping culture.
And a 2023 Pew Research study shows it’s becoming more and more common. 72% of Americans reported that tipping is expected at more establishments than it was five years before.
It’s left many shoppers confused about when it’s appropriate to leave a tip. Only 34% of Americans reported feeling confident about when and how much to tip for services. There’s also a severe lack of consensus on whether or not tipping is an obligation or a choice for customers.
And as the Milehams’ video and comments sections show, that confusion isn’t stopping anytime soon.
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