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Waiter Gets Frustrated When Customers Tip Him Only $3.28, Doesn’t Expect This Surprise The Next Day
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First impressions can be very hard to change, but these teenagers did everything they could. Celebrating their homecoming, a group of 13-year-olds went to a restaurant. Due to their young minds, however, they didn’t reward their waiter with an appropriate tip. “Nothing more frustrating than when I get little to nothing for a tip and the customer is smiling and thanking me profusely as they exit,” he said. His attitude towards the guys changed drastically the following day.
“I’ve been serving a long time,” the waiter said. “Nothing like this has ever happened to me, or anyone [I know].” Scroll down to check out what made him to change his mind, restoring his faith in people and parenting!
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Waiter’s job is hard, especially if you’re doing the job well and customers don’t reward you with an appropriate tip
Image credits: Ken Eckert
This happened to one waiter who spent an evening making sure a group of teens was fully satisfied to find they left him just $3.28
Image credits: getupstudio
Next day, however, he received this letter:
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Here’s what he had to say to the teens:
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People also congratulated the teens on quick thinking
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Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.
Read less » Rokas Laurinavičius
Author, Senior Writer
Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.
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What do you think ?
Agata Kucharska 8 years ago
I know that in the US giving a tip is a standard, but I still do not understand why. Waiters are doing their jobs and they are paid for it by the employer. Shouldn't that be enough. In Denmark for example, leaving a tip can be offensive to the waiter and the restaurant owner. As if you were suggesting that they are not paying their employees rightfully for the job that they are doing.
Amina Hays 8 years ago
I've also wondered why tipping is mandatory in the states. Don't they get minimum wage? If not, isn't that illegal? I really have no idea.
Load More Replies...
Dave Roger 8 years ago
Servers don't even get minimum wage in most states. They are generally paid between $2-3 per hour plus tips.
Barbara Watson 8 years ago
minimum wage for servers can be as low as $2.00/hour. Shameful and wrong.
H4unt3dF0r3sts 8 years ago
They don't get paid enough for their hard work. It's such a shame too, because I've met a lot of amazing servers. Some of them have even become my mother's friends!
Olivia Kuczynski 8 years ago
Tipping is not mandatory in the United States; however, it is customary, as servers do not receive minimum wage. Tipping is proper for good food/service. 15-20% of the bill is standard for the most part.
Kiss Army Premium 8 years ago
I don't understand hpw they get away with it but a lot of places in the US are allowed to pay just over $2 an hour to staff that receive tips as part of their "wages". If the tips they make do not add up to minimum wage then the employer is supposed to make up the difference. However, they continually get away with paying substandard wages because tipping is expected to make up for their short paying their staff while they pad their pockets. I agree that it should be illegal and I'm not sure why it isn't.
Josh Weaver 8 years ago
In the US, tips are the majority of the waiters wage. They do not get minimum wage (not even close). Tips are considered an incentive for good service and are not mandatory. The worst service I've ever received was in France but also in other European countries where tipping is not expected. I'm OK with tipping here and so are most waiters. Restaurants that have tried to do away with tipping by paying higher base wages have all returned to the tipping structure because good waiters do not stay long and they can't keep the front of house staffed. The good waiters soon find they can make far more at other restaurants.
Crazy Horse 8 years ago
No, they don't get minimum wage. The tips are a big part of their income. I know this because my brother was a waiter once.
John L 8 years ago
Amina, when I was in graduate school, my late wife was a veteran waitress. And she made very good money, because she was organized and had a great personality. There are tricks to the trade, and the best waiters/waitresses rise to the top and eventually wind up working in the very best restaurants where they do exceptional well.
Susan Surdow 8 years ago
Even minimum wage in the US is too low to afford housing in almost all cities. For example, Minimum wage is now up to $11 hr as of January 1st 2018. However, rent for a studio apartment in the Greater NY area starts at @$800 and goes up from there. Minimum wage is not a livable wage. Servers have it much worse. They make $2-3 per hour and have to share a percent of their tips with bar and kitchen staff.
Pungent Sauce 8 years ago
In my US state the waitstaff wage is $2.33/hr. Tips are “figured in” at $202 for 40hrs making for $7.38/hr, $0.08/hr more than the Federal Minimun Wage. PLEASE tip your waitstaff if you come visit us, they work harder and put up with more BS than you will ever know. Thanks!
Ben Smith 8 years ago
Dave, bro, you're right: we don't agree and that doesn't make you a troll. Your constant screaming and childish name calling makes you a troll. Ok, bro? Now, I won't be looking at this again so if you want to respond, feel free, but I won't see it. Oh and, bro, I forget you exist when I leave this website. Later, bro.
Dave Roger 8 years ago
Alex, Daniel stated he does not tip. His position may be fine, but his actions are abhorrent and only punish the server.
Perry Swift 8 years ago
Waiting staff in the US are paid next-to-nothing and rely on tips. It's not like in parts of Europe, where being a waiter is actually quite a good job.
Sansa Blacktyde 8 years ago
My understanding is that wait staff in the US are not paid a decent wage and it is expected that they make up wages in the form of tips. I believe 20% is the usual for good service.
Jan-Eric Pietralla 8 years ago
20%? WTH? In Europe, that would be showing off and probably be considered arrogant by most waiters...
Kristel 8 years ago
Daniel, I just read this: "I'm a server in Mississippi.... I make $2.13 an hour. By the time taxes come out, I'm LUCKY if i get check for $100 every two weeks.... And that's for 80 hours worth of work.". And you think tipping 20% is insane? Become a waiter for a year and then comment again! Do your research before you comment! I am not even from the US and I found out about this in under a minute!
Aahzmandus Pervect 8 years ago
@Daniel And your going to get the businesses to pay their staff minimum wages or more by not tipping? Get real, man. You're not helping, you're not fighting the good cause, you're simply being an a**hole.
Daniel (ShadowDrakken) 8 years ago
20% is insane, even in the US. They've simply become greedy at this point. Growing up it was 15% for exceptional service, and 10% for good service. Honestly, I've stopped tipping altogether for multiple reasons. 1) Tipping is a horrid habit based in slavery and classism. 2) businesses are required by law to pay wait staff minimum wage IF their tips do not bring them up to minimum wage (if their tips do reach minimum wage though, then the company only has to pay them something like 1/3 of a normal wage) 3) Businesses should be paying their employees correctly to begin with, not making them beg for scraps. Roll the difference in the wages into the costs of running the business and charge for the food accordingly.
SnoopyCereal 8 years ago
It all started during prohibition, when the restaurant business was doing awful because there was no booze. Before that time, waiters were bribed, but denied it because it was illegal and offensive. Then when prohibition started the restaurant owners encouraged them to take the bribes because they couldn't pay them their full wage. Now we uphold that practice, even though it's really stupid. It allows managers to pay their employees less than minimum wage, makes people stress out at the end of a meal, and it doesn't even benefit that waiter when they do well. Studies show that when they do well, they don't get paid much more. It also allows pay discrimination, which is illegal. Studies have proven black waiters get tipped less than white waiters. All in all, tipped should be banned in the US.
Kristel 8 years ago
SnoopyCereal, I am really saddened that this is the reality of waiters and waitresses. I don't get why waiters and waitresses even exist. Maybe because they can't find any other job or other reasons. I just wish they got paid a minimum wage. And still get tips if they gave great service to the customer(s). Only smaller tips in this case, like 10%, which over there is the amount of perfect for a bad waiter job. If they just got paid minimum wage, 10% is not bad: I guess, because I do not know what the minimum wage is in the USA. And the racial discrimination in tipping is also very sad. I wish for justice for these incredible people who do such a hard and great job!
Ntosh 8 years ago
It is standard in South Africa too. I don't mind giving a tip but being forced to give a tip even when the food was not good and the waitress did a bad job infuriates me. It makes me feel like I am rewarding poor service. and the tip is 10% of the bill :(
Nomadus Aureus 8 years ago
It's ten in most of Europe as well. Personally, I have no problems with adjusting that to the service I've received. Last time I had the misfortune of eating at an establishment with good food, but horrific service. I haven't left any tip.
Greg Hoggarth 8 years ago
Recently on a visit to the states, I ate at a couple of restaurants. The service was really no different or better than what I receive in New Zealand, so this idea that you get better service in general is probably not true.
Captain Planet 8 years ago
I cannot agree more. It's fundamentally wrong. The restaurants should pay proper minimum wages or more and the prices on the menus should accomodate for it since people have to pay for it anyway since tips are expected and not optional. Then it's completely transparant. The problem is the industry and restaurants. Not people refusing or forgetting to tip. Tipping is r******d. Also susceptibel to restaurant owners withholding their tips.
Ashley walker 8 years ago
I'm a server in Mississippi.... I make $2.13 an hour. By the time taxes come out, I'm LUCKY if i get check for $100 every two weeks.... And that's for 80 hours worth of work.
DancingToMyself 8 years ago
Community Member • points
posts
comments
upvotes
@Ashley, wow :( That's horrible! I'm sorry
Kristana Dunn 8 years ago
In the US, the servers are working for tips. Because tipping is part of the culture, restaurants are allowed to pay their waitstaff less than minimum wage. The restaurants will tell you that thus keeps their food costs down. That being said, I have been to a couple of restaurants that advertise that they pay their staff a living wage & tipping is discouraged. & while their menu items are higher than similar type restaurants, my overall bill was not higher than a place where I would have tipped 18 to 20 percent.
Jacqueline Redward 8 years ago
In Australia everyone in any industry has a minimum wage. We don't need to tip. Taxes are included in the prices of everything we buy. You know before you leave what the bill will be. There are tip jars in some restaurants and cafes and usually customers throw in their loose change. This is shared by the whole staff.
Priscilla Freeman 8 years ago
I have not waitressed in many years since I am now retired. Most restaurants do not pay their waiters a living wage because they are "tipped" regardless of how little the standard pay is. At the time I did this for a living I was paid $2.50 an hour in 1998 and had to depend on my tips to help make ends meet. Even in a good dinner restaurant people with money can be as stingy as a banker. I served a well know TV anchor at the Tinney/Silver Dollar restaurant in Hondo, New Mexico on Thanksgiving. He and his wife left me a $3.00 tip. I was stunned.
frederic eeckman 8 years ago
They are paid 3.5$/h, so basically the tip is how they make money to live...
Nomadus Aureus 8 years ago
How is that even legal?? Jut HOW? Even if the minimum wage doesn't equal living wage, anything below a the legal minimum should result in criminal charges.
Jo Bebe 8 years ago
In Some states they are not even paid minimum wage because the Govt. takes into account their tips as income. So for instance in Texas they make like $2.30 an hour WOW no one would survive on this, but tips balance it out. Where as in California they make minimum wages + Tips. When I was a server in California, USA I averaged $23 dollars an hour as a waitress. I would never work as a waitress for less !! People are super rude and demanding, not worth 2.30/hour that's FOR SURE!!
BREAK YOUr perceptions 8 years ago
people who get paid tips have a much lower minimum wage than non-tipped jobs. so they actually rely on tips to survive. we are talking about a 6 dollar an hour difference from tipped to non tipped jobs minimum wage rate.
Saint Eva Marie 8 years ago
Gosh, what an exceptional writer for a student her age! She is well read.
Mixedupste 8 years ago
Good parents!! But why do you guys tip? i really don't get it. You earn a wage and if someone wants to tip then fair does but you shouldn't be forced to leave a tip, even when you have amazing or bad service. Shouldn't have to beg for your wage.
Jana DesForges 8 years ago
service staff do not earn a decent wage. they live primarily on tips. that’s just the current system.
Load More Replies... Agata Kucharska 8 years ago
I know that in the US giving a tip is a standard, but I still do not understand why. Waiters are doing their jobs and they are paid for it by the employer. Shouldn't that be enough. In Denmark for example, leaving a tip can be offensive to the waiter and the restaurant owner. As if you were suggesting that they are not paying their employees rightfully for the job that they are doing.
Amina Hays 8 years ago
I've also wondered why tipping is mandatory in the states. Don't they get minimum wage? If not, isn't that illegal? I really have no idea.
Load More Replies... Dave Roger 8 years ago
Servers don't even get minimum wage in most states. They are generally paid between $2-3 per hour plus tips.
Barbara Watson 8 years ago
minimum wage for servers can be as low as $2.00/hour. Shameful and wrong.
H4unt3dF0r3sts 8 years ago
They don't get paid enough for their hard work. It's such a shame too, because I've met a lot of amazing servers. Some of them have even become my mother's friends!
Olivia Kuczynski 8 years ago
Tipping is not mandatory in the United States; however, it is customary, as servers do not receive minimum wage. Tipping is proper for good food/service. 15-20% of the bill is standard for the most part.
Kiss Army Premium 8 years ago
I don't understand hpw they get away with it but a lot of places in the US are allowed to pay just over $2 an hour to staff that receive tips as part of their "wages". If the tips they make do not add up to minimum wage then the employer is supposed to make up the difference. However, they continually get away with paying substandard wages because tipping is expected to make up for their short paying their staff while they pad their pockets. I agree that it should be illegal and I'm not sure why it isn't.
Josh Weaver 8 years ago
In the US, tips are the majority of the waiters wage. They do not get minimum wage (not even close). Tips are considered an incentive for good service and are not mandatory. The worst service I've ever received was in France but also in other European countries where tipping is not expected. I'm OK with tipping here and so are most waiters. Restaurants that have tried to do away with tipping by paying higher base wages have all returned to the tipping structure because good waiters do not stay long and they can't keep the front of house staffed. The good waiters soon find they can make far more at other restaurants.
Crazy Horse 8 years ago
No, they don't get minimum wage. The tips are a big part of their income. I know this because my brother was a waiter once.
John L 8 years ago
Amina, when I was in graduate school, my late wife was a veteran waitress. And she made very good money, because she was organized and had a great personality. There are tricks to the trade, and the best waiters/waitresses rise to the top and eventually wind up working in the very best restaurants where they do exceptional well.
Susan Surdow 8 years ago
Even minimum wage in the US is too low to afford housing in almost all cities. For example, Minimum wage is now up to $11 hr as of January 1st 2018. However, rent for a studio apartment in the Greater NY area starts at @$800 and goes up from there. Minimum wage is not a livable wage. Servers have it much worse. They make $2-3 per hour and have to share a percent of their tips with bar and kitchen staff.
Pungent Sauce 8 years ago
In my US state the waitstaff wage is $2.33/hr. Tips are “figured in” at $202 for 40hrs making for $7.38/hr, $0.08/hr more than the Federal Minimun Wage. PLEASE tip your waitstaff if you come visit us, they work harder and put up with more BS than you will ever know. Thanks!
Ben Smith 8 years ago
Dave, bro, you're right: we don't agree and that doesn't make you a troll. Your constant screaming and childish name calling makes you a troll. Ok, bro? Now, I won't be looking at this again so if you want to respond, feel free, but I won't see it. Oh and, bro, I forget you exist when I leave this website. Later, bro.
Dave Roger 8 years ago
Alex, Daniel stated he does not tip. His position may be fine, but his actions are abhorrent and only punish the server.
Perry Swift 8 years ago
Waiting staff in the US are paid next-to-nothing and rely on tips. It's not like in parts of Europe, where being a waiter is actually quite a good job.
Sansa Blacktyde 8 years ago
My understanding is that wait staff in the US are not paid a decent wage and it is expected that they make up wages in the form of tips. I believe 20% is the usual for good service.
Jan-Eric Pietralla 8 years ago
20%? WTH? In Europe, that would be showing off and probably be considered arrogant by most waiters...
Kristel 8 years ago
Daniel, I just read this: "I'm a server in Mississippi.... I make $2.13 an hour. By the time taxes come out, I'm LUCKY if i get check for $100 every two weeks.... And that's for 80 hours worth of work.". And you think tipping 20% is insane? Become a waiter for a year and then comment again! Do your research before you comment! I am not even from the US and I found out about this in under a minute!
Aahzmandus Pervect 8 years ago
@Daniel And your going to get the businesses to pay their staff minimum wages or more by not tipping? Get real, man. You're not helping, you're not fighting the good cause, you're simply being an a**hole.
Daniel (ShadowDrakken) 8 years ago
20% is insane, even in the US. They've simply become greedy at this point. Growing up it was 15% for exceptional service, and 10% for good service. Honestly, I've stopped tipping altogether for multiple reasons. 1) Tipping is a horrid habit based in slavery and classism. 2) businesses are required by law to pay wait staff minimum wage IF their tips do not bring them up to minimum wage (if their tips do reach minimum wage though, then the company only has to pay them something like 1/3 of a normal wage) 3) Businesses should be paying their employees correctly to begin with, not making them beg for scraps. Roll the difference in the wages into the costs of running the business and charge for the food accordingly.
SnoopyCereal 8 years ago
It all started during prohibition, when the restaurant business was doing awful because there was no booze. Before that time, waiters were bribed, but denied it because it was illegal and offensive. Then when prohibition started the restaurant owners encouraged them to take the bribes because they couldn't pay them their full wage. Now we uphold that practice, even though it's really stupid. It allows managers to pay their employees less than minimum wage, makes people stress out at the end of a meal, and it doesn't even benefit that waiter when they do well. Studies show that when they do well, they don't get paid much more. It also allows pay discrimination, which is illegal. Studies have proven black waiters get tipped less than white waiters. All in all, tipped should be banned in the US.
Kristel 8 years ago
SnoopyCereal, I am really saddened that this is the reality of waiters and waitresses. I don't get why waiters and waitresses even exist. Maybe because they can't find any other job or other reasons. I just wish they got paid a minimum wage. And still get tips if they gave great service to the customer(s). Only smaller tips in this case, like 10%, which over there is the amount of perfect for a bad waiter job. If they just got paid minimum wage, 10% is not bad: I guess, because I do not know what the minimum wage is in the USA. And the racial discrimination in tipping is also very sad. I wish for justice for these incredible people who do such a hard and great job!
Ntosh 8 years ago
It is standard in South Africa too. I don't mind giving a tip but being forced to give a tip even when the food was not good and the waitress did a bad job infuriates me. It makes me feel like I am rewarding poor service. and the tip is 10% of the bill :(
Nomadus Aureus 8 years ago
It's ten in most of Europe as well. Personally, I have no problems with adjusting that to the service I've received. Last time I had the misfortune of eating at an establishment with good food, but horrific service. I haven't left any tip.
Greg Hoggarth 8 years ago
Recently on a visit to the states, I ate at a couple of restaurants. The service was really no different or better than what I receive in New Zealand, so this idea that you get better service in general is probably not true.
Captain Planet 8 years ago
I cannot agree more. It's fundamentally wrong. The restaurants should pay proper minimum wages or more and the prices on the menus should accomodate for it since people have to pay for it anyway since tips are expected and not optional. Then it's completely transparant. The problem is the industry and restaurants. Not people refusing or forgetting to tip. Tipping is r******d. Also susceptibel to restaurant owners withholding their tips.
Ashley walker 8 years ago
I'm a server in Mississippi.... I make $2.13 an hour. By the time taxes come out, I'm LUCKY if i get check for $100 every two weeks.... And that's for 80 hours worth of work.
DancingToMyself 8 years ago
Community Member • points
posts
comments
upvotes
@Ashley, wow :( That's horrible! I'm sorry
Kristana Dunn 8 years ago
In the US, the servers are working for tips. Because tipping is part of the culture, restaurants are allowed to pay their waitstaff less than minimum wage. The restaurants will tell you that thus keeps their food costs down. That being said, I have been to a couple of restaurants that advertise that they pay their staff a living wage & tipping is discouraged. & while their menu items are higher than similar type restaurants, my overall bill was not higher than a place where I would have tipped 18 to 20 percent.
Jacqueline Redward 8 years ago
In Australia everyone in any industry has a minimum wage. We don't need to tip. Taxes are included in the prices of everything we buy. You know before you leave what the bill will be. There are tip jars in some restaurants and cafes and usually customers throw in their loose change. This is shared by the whole staff.
Priscilla Freeman 8 years ago
I have not waitressed in many years since I am now retired. Most restaurants do not pay their waiters a living wage because they are "tipped" regardless of how little the standard pay is. At the time I did this for a living I was paid $2.50 an hour in 1998 and had to depend on my tips to help make ends meet. Even in a good dinner restaurant people with money can be as stingy as a banker. I served a well know TV anchor at the Tinney/Silver Dollar restaurant in Hondo, New Mexico on Thanksgiving. He and his wife left me a $3.00 tip. I was stunned.
frederic eeckman 8 years ago
They are paid 3.5$/h, so basically the tip is how they make money to live...
Nomadus Aureus 8 years ago
How is that even legal?? Jut HOW? Even if the minimum wage doesn't equal living wage, anything below a the legal minimum should result in criminal charges.
Jo Bebe 8 years ago
In Some states they are not even paid minimum wage because the Govt. takes into account their tips as income. So for instance in Texas they make like $2.30 an hour WOW no one would survive on this, but tips balance it out. Where as in California they make minimum wages + Tips. When I was a server in California, USA I averaged $23 dollars an hour as a waitress. I would never work as a waitress for less !! People are super rude and demanding, not worth 2.30/hour that's FOR SURE!!
BREAK YOUr perceptions 8 years ago
people who get paid tips have a much lower minimum wage than non-tipped jobs. so they actually rely on tips to survive. we are talking about a 6 dollar an hour difference from tipped to non tipped jobs minimum wage rate.
Saint Eva Marie 8 years ago
Gosh, what an exceptional writer for a student her age! She is well read.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mixedupste 8 years ago
Good parents!! But why do you guys tip? i really don't get it. You earn a wage and if someone wants to tip then fair does but you shouldn't be forced to leave a tip, even when you have amazing or bad service. Shouldn't have to beg for your wage.
Jana DesForges 8 years ago
service staff do not earn a decent wage. they live primarily on tips. that’s just the current system.
Load More Replies...
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