Server Shares Story Of a Group Of 60 People Being The Worst Tippers, Sparking Debate on Tipping
Tips are very important for the Serving industry, especially in America. It is primarily on the basis of the tips that servers garner their daily wages. Therefore, it has been socially publicized as a common courtesy that customers should pay at least 10% of the bill as tips to their waiters. But just because it is a commonly known courtesy does not mean that it will be followed by everyone. TikToker Autumn (@irllyanfei) learned it the hard way after getting duped by the polite demeanor of her customers.
The whole ordeal began when Autumn, who works as a server, decided to waive off automatic gratuity while waiting on a large party, believing that they would compensate her properly through tips. The viral video features Autumn with an audio clip of Regina George screaming to acoustic music seemingly seeing off the large party she had waited on after getting tipped $15 on a $350 bill. Through the video, she seemingly wants to reflect that such awkward situations force her to laugh through the pain, as she cannot 'break' the decorum by complaining about the extremely low tip. The video till now has garnered 817.5k views.
The text overlay on the video is “Saying goodbye to a large party that you decided not to autograd because you felt you could ‘trust’ them (the bill was $350 and they tipped $15).” Through the video, Autumn wants to prevent other servers from committing the same mistake as hers. In the case of large parties, many establishments provide the option of adding an automatic gratuity for the waiters, and according to Autumn, it should always be taken by the waiters. The capitalistic system in place is such that the waiters are not promised even the minimum wage, and therefore, they have to depend on these tips. Hence, tips should always be treated with seriousness by both parties and should not be left dependent on the perceived 'kindness' of people.
By giving $15, the party provided Autumn with only 4.3% of the bill as a tip, when norms suggest that it should be somewhere between 15-20%. There have been a lot of conversations regarding this practice, with many questioning why it is in place in America. The reasoning behind this norm is that, according to the regulations in place except for fast food chains, most restaurants are still allowed to pay their serving staff as little as $2.13/hour in some states. This is extremely low when compared to the federally mandated minimum wage, which is $7.25/hour.
In order to solve the issue, popular practices are generally expected to be followed. These practices suggest that no matter what, 10% of the bill should always be paid as a tip, and if the service provided by the server was exceptional, then they must be rewarded with a tip of 20–25% of the bill. Until and unless the system in place changes, it is important that customers pay the waiting staff adequately through tips and not seek to cheat them of their hard-earned money.