“Completely stiffing your server is never justifiable.”
A woman stirred up a debate over tipping after she recounted her experience at a restaurant where she received poor service.
Cloe (@223in2023) shared her story on TikTok, where the post received over 940,000 views. She explains this was the first time she had left no tip when dining out. But she wanted to know what others would have done in her situation.
She says that after running the Mini 10K with a friend in Central Park, she, her friend, and her boyfriend decided to get some breakfast.
They ended up at a local restaurant and got two orders of pancakes and a BLT. But after about 15 minutes of waiting, they noticed that other tables that ordered after them were already getting their food. So they flagged their waiter down and politely asked him to check on the order.
“He instantly looks annoyed. He goes to the kitchen, he comes back, and he goes, ‘It’s a busy Saturday, you’re going to have some patience. It should be out in 10 to 15 minutes,’” the server reportedly told them.
Bad service continues
A little while later, the manager approached the table. At this point, it had been 45 minutes since they had ordered their meal.
“The manager comes over and goes, ‘There was an error in our system and your ticket didn’t make it to the kitchen.’ So what I’m hearing is our waiter never put in our order … She never says sorry. Doesn’t comp anything,” she says.
Cloe says they ended up waiting over 50 minutes for their relatively simple order. So they decided to leave no tip.
“At that point, we were just so irritated because someone was lying to us in this situation. My guess is that the water was originally annoyed that we asked and never actually checked on our order. Just went back, stood there for a bit, and then came back. Because if he had actually checked, he would have realized that it never got sent through,” she explains.
The woman adds that they would have been more understanding had someone simply admitted their mistake and made any small gesture to make up for it. Instead, they were met with an attitude from both the waiter and the manager.
Viewers are divided over tipping etiquette
Cloe ends the video asking viewers how they would have handled the situation. Despite the abysmal service she claims to have received, many were of the opinion that the server still deserved a tip.
“It’s ridiculous to feel so entitled that you believe you should be served and over foot and not pay the server for serving you,” one person said.
“They definitely could have handled the communication aspect better. I may have tipped less than usual, but completely stiffing your server is never justifiable … If you’re starving, there are faster options than a sit-down restaurant,” another suggested.
However, some people offered the other side of the tipping argument.
“People in the comments saying they would have still tipped is the reason why servers put 0% effort into customer service, because they just expect it,” one commenter shot back.
“I would have walked out before getting our food,” a second said.
“You were valid in not tipping. No customer service, no accountability, no sense of urgency, not even an ounce of guilt for something egregious on their end. He didn’t deserve a tip,” said another.
However, some people offered the other side of the tipping argument.
“People in the comments saying they would have still tipped is the reason why servers put 0% effort into customer service, because they just expect it,” one commenter shot back.
“I would have walked out before getting our food,” a second said.
“You were valid in not tipping. No customer service, no accountability, no sense of urgency, not even an ounce of guilt for something egregious on their end. He didn’t deserve a tip,” said another.
Cleo does add, “It was a little crazy to me the number of people that said if you’re not going to tip 20% no matter what, you should not be going out to eat … But people very much have their different beliefs on tipping.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Cleo by email for further updates on her refund.
