“I Didn’t Tip”: Man Gets His Car Fixed For $500, Is Surprised To See The Tipping Screen

It’s hard to put a finger on the concept of tipping culture. In and of itself, it sounds like a pretty good idea that rewards honest and hard work.

But then you run into the issue of defining honest and hard work, and deciding who gets a tip and who doesn’t, and sooner or later you create this behemoth of a tipping culture where nobody really understands what’s going on, let alone why it’s going on in the first place.

So, apparently car repair shop mechanics can also be tipped for their work. This was news to Leahova, a mom from San Francisco whose dad was recently asked to tip after getting his car fixed at the mechanic’s.

Tipping culture comes as one of the more poorly defined social norms that can lead to everything from confusion to utter rage

Image credits: Karolina Grabowska / Pexels (not the actual photo)

A TikToker recently sparked a bit of a debate on tipping culture after her dad was asked to tip on a $500 car repair

Image credits: leahova

“‘Tipping culture is not out of control, you guys are just [jerks]’.” This is what I used to think until my parents were visiting me and their air conditioning broke.

Leahova explained how it all went down, leaving both her dad and herself utterly confused

Image credits: leahova

“So I drive my dad over to pick up the car. And he comes back with the keys, about to walk over to where the car is. And he’s kind of distraught, which is not like him.”

Image credits: leahova

“And he’s like, ‘I always tip, but I’m confused.’ And I’m like, ‘What? What are you talking about?’ He’s like, ‘I literally just paid, I don’t know, 500 bucks to have my car fixed. And then the guy swivels (at the car mechanic!) the screen around and is like, ‘You want to tip 20%, 25%, 30%?’ And he’s like, ‘I never don’t push a button for a percentage to tip, but I didn’t tip.”

Image credits: leahova

“‘Are we tipping car mechanics now?’ and I was like, ‘No, we’re definitely not tipping car mechanics now. At least not that I know about.’

Yeah, I don’t know. I think that’s pushing it.”

Image credits: leahova

The video went viral soon after being posted, garnering over 830K views and nearly 70K likes

@leahova As far as I know this isn’t a thing? #tippingculture ♬ original sound – Leahova

So, Leahova, a mother of 4 from San Francisco, recently went on TikTok to talk about tipping culture. Specifically, whether car mechanics ought to be tipped.

This was a surprise to her that tipping car mechanics is a thing after her dad went to pick up his car after having $500 worth of repairs done on it. He was just as surprised, mind you, after the mechanic swiveled the screen with tipping options on it—20%, 25%, 30%.

For the record, he always tips. But this was confusing—”are we tipping car mechanics now?” asked Leahova’s dad. Not that she knows about. But she did think that this whole tipping thing was pushing it.

The video soon went viral on the platform, garnering over 830,000 views with nearly 70,000 likes as of this article.

The overall sentiment in the comment section was that tipping culture is getting out of hand

Image credits: Karolina Grabowska / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Many folks in the comments were sharing stories of how they were asked to tip in situations that didn’t even make sense. This included tipping the automatic car wash, online stores, and self checkouts where there is quite literally nobody but a robot to serve you.

Others were being upfront about it, saying that unless someone is a hairdresser, restaurant staff and the like, they are slamming that no tip button faster than a taco hits all the sweet spots in your bowels. And if the stare-down is real, then there is no other way than to just ignore it.

Yet others joked that if mechanics can now get tips, it’s high time for their own professions to join in on the tipping train. The only problem with, say, teachers is the execution: who tips you, let alone how? Do you need one of those card readers and an iPad for that?

To answer the question: most mechanics don’t receive tips, but they can and some do

Image credits: Malte Luk / Pexels (not the actual photo)

The reason why many mechanics don’t get tips is because some of them just flat out don’t feel comfortable accepting tips. Mostly it’s because they’re simply not used to it.

It might also be the fact that the average base salary for an automotive mechanic in the US is nearly $66,000 ($39,700 on the low and $109,000 on the high end). So, there isn’t really a dire need for tips at this point.

But, some folks want to reward a job well done, and so tipping happens. Also, it feels more appropriate to tip during certain times of the year, like the holidays. Even more so if you have a good relationship with the mechanic.

As for how much? Tipping.org suggests $10 to $20 for jobs under $500 and $50 if it’s over that.

Considering all of this, what are your thoughts on tipping? Has the scale been tipped and somebody’s gotta intervene, or is tipping everyone just fine the way it is? Share your thoughts and stories in the comment section below!

Folks in the comment section shared their own ridonculous experiences with tipping

Overall, folks already have clear boundaries for tipping and mechanics aren’t within them

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