A Chili’s server shared in a viral TikTok she made over $300 dollars in tips in a shift and sparked a debate among viewers.
In the video, TikToker Sarah (@saruh95_) goes through the receipts at the end of her shift and tallies up her total tips (before tip-out) at $302.92.
Captioned “What I make in a shift Chili’s edition,” the 31-second video got over 1.4 million views and 113,100 likes since being posted on Nov. 13.
According to her TikTok profile, Sarah is “Somewhere serving in Texas.” She’s posted several other videos sharing her serving tips since the first “What I make in a shift chili’s edition” video went viral.
Her video sparked a riff in the comments section about the expectation of tipping those in service industry in the U.S. Under federal law and in states like Texas, employers are allowed to pay tipped employees under the minimum hourly wage if they can prove their employees earn enough tips to make up the difference. In Texas, employers must pay tipped employees a minimum of $2.14 an hour.
Many of the 1,294 comments supported her hustle.
“She’s an awesome waitress and it shows in her tips. Get your money,” @iceloverasmr said.
“We always pay 20% in our bill for tip unless something terrible happens. If that happens, usually it’s from the cooks,” @aliciajohnson103 said.
Others complained about tipping.
“And yet they still complain that we need to tip more lol,” @mclovin5594 said.
“I never tip more than $5 no matter my total,” @joemamawhole said.
While servers are usually tipped based on their level of service, many people may not be aware that everybody in the restaurant, from the cooks and the dishwashers to the hostess, also depend on the server’s tips as a percentage is “tipped out” to pay them.
“All these people saying they don’t tip have obviously never worked a service job,” one viewer said.
The creator addressed the split in her own comment: “Half of these comments have passed the vibe check and the other half I’m very concerned about. Because it’s almost like you’re upset that I had a good day??.”
She further clarified that she has another 8-5 shift at Spectrum and that Chili’s is her second job.
“This is not an every day thing,” Sarah said. “I was so blessed to make that I really needed it.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Sarah for comment.
Editor’s note: Due to a technical error, our original message to this TikToker may not have been delivered.
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