Restaurant Guests Tip $7, Are Chased Out The Door By Angry Server

Tipping culture varies from country to country. In Japan, offering gratuity is uncommon and often done discreetly. On the other hand, tipping is optional in places like Germany, Portugal, Ireland, and the UK because a service charge is sometimes included. The acceptable tipping percentage in these countries is between 5 and 10%.

In the United States, service industry employees rely on the 20% tips they receive. Anything lower could make them question whether the customers weren’t happy with the job they did or cause them to react aggressively.

A family experienced the latter when the mom, visiting from overseas, paid below the standard tipping amount. It caused quite a scene with the server chasing them down as they left. Read the entire story below.

In the United States, restaurant waitstaff rely on the 20% tips they receive

Waiter carrying a tray in a busy cafe, looking serious, possibly due to a low tip.

Image credits: Roshan Mohammed / unsplash (not the actual photo)

A family that gave less than 10% got confronted by their server, who followed them and asked for more

Waiter discussing a tip situation after patrons finished dining at a restaurant.

Waiter followed group to door asking for more tip after dissatisfaction with initial amount.

Text about tipping with family discussing a $7 tip; brother adds $20 after feeling embarrassed.

Hand holding rolled cash, representing tipping in service industry.

Image credits: Infrarate / unsplash (not the actual photo)

It caught them off guard, as the mom quickly learned about the tipping culture in the US

Text about tipping, expressing embarrassment over a small tip and apologizing.

Text about a waiter following customers out for not tipping enough, mentioning a $7 tip and differences in tipping culture.

Image credits: randomsatx

“Guilt tipping” has become a recent trend among Americans

Tip jar labeled "Good Karma" on a counter, next to a "Shop Small" sticker.

Image credits: Dan Smedley / unsplash (not the actual photo)

If you live in the US and have noticed a shift in tipping trends, you’re not alone. A 2023 survey by LendingTree found that 60% of Americans believe they are tipping more than before.

41% admitted to changing their purchasing habits because of tipping expectations, while 60% believe the trends have gotten out of control. Here’s the kicker: 24% say they “always feel pressured” when the option is there.

Experts refer to the anxiety and stress caused by gratuity as “guilt tipping.” As LendingTree’s chief credit analyst Matt Schulz tells CNBC Make It, consumers are “getting increasingly tired” of it.

“People don’t want to feel like a jerk or cheapskate. Businesses are taking advantage of that,” he explained.

Schulz adds that “bigger-than-usual tips” have become the default option in payment terminals, leaving consumers with almost no choice but to comply.

Other experts like Georgetown University economist Harry Holzer believe it’s an employer’s sneaky practice to pay their staff low wages.

“The whole thing is shifted onto the customer,” Holzer said. “It’s less expensive for [restaurant owners] to hire people.”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, waitstaff in the United States earn an average hourly wage of $8.94. Unfortunately, it isn’t expected to change anytime soon. 

“Maybe tipping is so culturally ingrained in our country that it will never completely go away, but not leaving a tip isn’t going to make it better,” former food service industry professional turned media personality Darron Cardosa wrote in an article for Food & Wine. 

The server’s sentiments were understandable. Fortunately, the family gave him his due tip, despite his reaction.

Some commenters called out the story’s author

Restaurant tipping customs paragraph explaining server income.

Comment questioning reaction to being called a cheapskate.

Comment discusses tipping less than 10% and the waiter's reaction.

Comment discussing tipping practices in restaurants, highlighting a situation with a waiter and low tips.

Text exchange about tipping etiquette and service appreciation.

Text about a waitress's experience with tipping and customer character.

Comment on tipping norms in the USA, discussing tip percentages and holiday bonuses.

Customer discussing tipping practice, emphasizing awareness of the tipping amount.

Text detailing a server's experience with tipping, emphasizing the importance of knowing local tipping rules.

Comment about tipping customs in the U.S. and abroad.

However, others believe that tipping customs in the US are getting out of hand

Text about tipping culture and social expectations, mentioning a salon experience and reactions to a perceived low tip.

Text commentary about tipping culture affecting travel choices.

Comment on tipping etiquette, discussing optional tips.

Text questioning the responsibility of tipping waiters and if it's the customer's duty.

Comment discussing waiter, tipping, and server wages, highlighting unprofessional conduct and low hourly pay for servers.

Comment on unprofessional waiter behavior related to tipping.

Comment discussing tipping, highlighting opinions on waiters' wages and tip expectations.

Text expressing confusion over US tipping customs, contrasting UK waitstaff's reaction to tipping.

Comment on tipping frustration, mentioning servers upset with 18-20% and customer-facing job dynamics related to tips.

Quote about tipping being a courtesy, questioning company wage practices.

Text from a user discussing tipping culture in the U.S., stating that gratuity isn't mandatory.

Text discussing waiters and tipping, emphasizing the issue of tip dependency over fair wages.

Others shared similar experiences

Waiter follows couple to the door over disagreement about tip at Four Seasons, New York.

Text about a tipping dispute with a NY cab driver demanding more after receiving a 10% tip.

Text recounts a dim sum waiter yelling for more tips from a woman and her daughter in New York.

Customer describing poor service experience after not tipping enough.

Restaurant receipt discussion about tipping habits on a date.

Customer shares story about waiter following them after not tipping enough.

Text comment discussing a delivery driver with a similar tipping issue.

Waiter follows couple to complain about their tip after poor service experience at a restaurant.

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