A TikToker’s clip went viral after she shared her thoughts about how much customers should be tipping servers, especially when it comes to smaller bill totals.
In the video by user Caleigh Guertin (@barbie.chicago), the TikToker appears to have just finished dining out. She pans her camera to the bill, which amounts to a total of $20.80. The message of her video is conveyed by the text overlay which reads, “Tipping your server 50% onna 20$ bill is the least u can do for wasting there time.”
@barbie.chicago Like they whole check recolves around tips be nice #serverlife #fyp ♬ original sound – EX7STENCE™
In the caption of the clip, which received over 23,000 views as of this writing, Caleigh reemphasizes her point about tipping servers well. She writes, “Like they whole check revolves around tips be nice.”
While tipping servers may seem to be the right thing to do, many users disagreed with Caleigh and let her know in the comments.
Many lamented the general state of tipping culture, with one user pointing out, “Tipping is bs the customer shouldn’t subsidize the employees paycheck, if they can’t afford to pay their workers maybe they shouldn’t have them.”
Others also pushed back against the idea that a lower bill is a waste of a server’s time with one person asking, “How is it ‘wasting their time’ when it’s their literal JOB to serve you?”
A lot of users did agree with Caleigh about tipping but argued that 50% was way too much. “Ok I’m pro 20% tip everything no matter what but 50%… y’all are living in lala land, we’re in a recession no one is gonna do that,” said one comment. However, Caleigh argued that on her $20 total, 50% worked out to just $10. However, another TikToker argued that while they always tip servers 20%, they aren’t about to pay “extra for being alone.”
But despite the disagreement over tipping policies among the customers in Caliegh’s comments, her message resonated with users who work in the service industry who chimed in to let her know that tippers like her are always appreciated.
“You so awesome some people literally tip 0-5% all day,” said one commenter, calling out below-average tippers. “Ur every servers fave,” said a second.
Another pleaded with customers to tip servers better explaining, “I MADE $27 IN A 4 HOUR SHIFT PLEASE TIP.” According to Indeed, serving staff earn an average of $15.95 an hour, which isn’t much considering how hard they work to keep customers happy.
This is far from the first time that the topic of tipping has ignited an argument online. Servers have taken to TikTok in the past to call out patrons for their bad tips and even share pointers on how to get customers to tip better. But it seems that a consensus on proper tipping etiquette won’t be reached today.
The Daily Dot reached out to Caleigh over Instagram direct message but did not receive a response by the time of publication.