In many countries, waiters benefit from livable wages so tipping is not customary. In the US, however, most people in the restaurant industry rely on tips.
So, being a lousy tipper is not only rude, but also affects a person’s living.
Redditor newton559 encountered this very issue with their friend. So they turned to the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subReddit for moral judgment.
They asked:
“AITA for not tipping my waitress friend who won $20,000 from lottery?”
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
“My friend works at a restaurant that I visit from time to time. Every time I go eat or go with other friends, she would serve our table.”
“She recently won $20,000 from Powerball.”
“It’s all she could talk about since then and she’s ecstatic about it. She even had her picture taken at the lottery center with the giant check. This was around last week.”
“So today I went to eat at the restaurant with another friend. We both decided that since she won $20k, we wouldn’t tip. And it’s not because ‘oh you have too much money already,’ it’s rather that we are broke college students who literally cannot afford to tip well.”
“And we figured that she would understand given her mega win.”
OP’s friend didn’t really understand.
“When she came to pick up the check we made a lighthearted joke about how she wouldn’t need our tips anyway, and she suddenly got annoyed and said ‘guys what the hell.'”
“She said it’s crappy of us not to tip, and we kept reminding her of her $20k win.”
“We asked her if she had urgent bills to pay or anything and she said no, she’s gonna save it. And she still has a problem with us and called us cheap.”
“Like what is this? Literally 20 thousand dollars and you still want a tip…”
“The rest of us didn’t win this money, only you did. If I won $20k with my current situation as a server I wouldn’t care about tipping for at least the next few months. She just won it last week.”
Redditors gave their opinions on the situation by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Most Redditors agreed OP was the a**hole.
“YTA. If you’re going to order in a restaurant, leave a tip. Otherwise, stay home.” ~ TheBestPeter
“Sounds like OP was just looking for an excuse not to tip honestly. Massive YTA.” ~ knittedjedi
“I love the ‘we’re broke college students.’ Like sweetie ramen is 99 cents a pack. Hit her up.” ~ KittyKat2197
“Then, don’t go out to eat if you can’t afford it. Her win has nothing to do with OP or her job.”
“You don’t get to decide if she needs it or not. That’s not what tipping is about or else everyone would have to give you their financial status before you decide whether or not to tip.”
“Somehow, you think that her windfall is yours to take advantage of and her service isn’t worth your money now. She’s still entitled to tips for being a server, even if she’s just going to put it in the bank and not spend it the way you think she should.”
“I hope you know that $20K isn’t that much money. Nor is she bragging just because the lottery wanted to take a picture of her with the big check.”
“SHE didn’t ‘have her picture taken’ to put you down, as you seem to assume. It’s as if OP wouldn’t be crowing from the rooftops if they won the money.”
“So, because she might use the money for something that isn’t your concern, she no longer should accept her actual pay until she spends it all and is broke? According to OP, she’s not allowed to have savings as a server?”
“She has to be at or near $0 (and prove it to you) before she deserves a tip from ‘a broke college student?’ You seem to think you are special for going to college but servers aren’t (and can’t possibly be students themselves) because they are beneath you?”
“So, basically, you are asking her to pay your tip (15-20% if your bill) because she has more money.”
“You are a selfish, entitled AH and I hope she declines to wait on you anymore. STAY HOME if you can’t pay the bill. YTA” ~ babcock27
“Exactly. So saying, ‘If I won $20k with my current situation as a server I wouldn’t care about tipping for at least the next few months’ is like saying, ‘if I won 20k I would tell my job to stop paying me until the lost wages equaled the amount I won.'” ~ FirstToSayFake
Most agree the tip is just paying people for their job.
“‘Tipping’ in America is also not a tip for service, it is their pay for doing their job.”
“Not tipping is literally saying ‘you deserve no money for working,’ and people get taxed for that money whether you pay it or not.”
“I think ‘tips’ in America should actually be automatic, and then like everywhere else, you add extra for excellent service. A basic tip is just their salary though.” ~ Permit-Extreme-117
“Let me assure you that on average, wait staff ABSOLUTELY do not make more than minimum wage. For most servers, a decent tip is overshadowed by crappy tippers, no tippers, slow hours, having to share with other staff, paying tax on assumed tips, theft of tips from tables.”
“For every server working upmarket making a living wage, there are dozens working at greasy spoons making pennies.” ~ WillowmereCottage
“Right even if you have a good day on the weekend your weekday is shot- you maybe get ‘10 dollars an hour’ that weekend but only ‘5 dollars an hour’ but that evens out your over all ‘dollars per hour’ so you end up with a ‘minimum wage.'”
“Servers make such crappy wages and it’s acceptable cuz they average out at the minimum wage at the end of the week. Which in a lot of places it’s still $7.25.”
“You can’t afford an apartment on that, you can barely afford insurance if you’re young on your own policy.” ~ MyMomIsAPlant
Remember to tip your servers!