It’s no secret that tips can significantly increase the amount of money a server brings home. But some customers get creative in their ways of thanking the waitstaff, and give them a car, for instance, or a cruise trip instead.
These are just a couple of real-life examples of the unconventional tips servers made. They shared it on the ‘Tales From Your Server’ subreddit after one user asked them what was the weirdest non-money tip they’ve ever received. Their answers ranged from heartwarming expressions of kindness to moments that might make one puzzled at best, each likely to be something they’ll never forget. Scroll down to find them on the list below.
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Not *weird* but...
A mom and her little girl had been in the WH I worked at and she left a tip for me. The little girl picked up the money from the table and ran to her mom saying she dropped it. The mom explained that she left it on purpose and when a server does a good job you leave something like that for them. The girl ran back to the table, put the money back, paused for a second and took a mini slinky out of her pocket and left it on the table. It was the cutest thing ever and I still have that slinky.
I had some old ladies that were regulars who would would regularly ask about My life school etc. Well some bad things happened I ended up homeless. One day without knowing they asked to pray for me. I accepted and the next week I ended up with my own apartment! I moved in and saw the ladies the next week. They asked how I have been I told them the truth that I didn't want to disclose before but I was actually homeless when they decided to pray for me and now I have my very own place to live and it's very nice and I just moved in and I am very relieved. I thanked them for prayers and always believing in me. The next day I walked in and my boss was like, "These ladies came and brought this? "It was a big cardboard box with blankets , candles , curtains, tea,mugs, socks, water bottle , towels , a book, snacks, hat , gloves, and just all these things like you buy someone who just got a new house. I was so honored to receive something so kind as a housewarming gift from some people who really cared. All very cute stuff and extremely thoughtful
I once served two dudes on a date, it was near Christmas, and one of them was telling me about their side business growing Christmas trees. Thought it sounded cool, but figured he was full of it cause he seemed a little off. Well, they stayed a long time, and all my other guests were gone, and one of them leaves and comes back with a MINI CHRISTMAS TREE! Like a live Christmas tree about a foot and a half tall. I'd told them my wife and I didn't have a tree for our first Christmas cause our apartment was so small, and he decided to make sure we had a tree
It’s no surprise that tips comprise a significant part of a waiter’s earnings. That’s why it’s customary, in the US at least, to leave a tip for a job well done. However, data reveals that even when a server is rude to the customer, some of the latter still choose to tip them.
A survey of 999 Americans from all over the country suggested that customers leave a roughly 20% tip for exemplary service or for when they receive some sort of a free item. On the other end of the clientele happiness scale, there’s a 5-7% tip left by people with less than a favorable experience.
When I was bartending I had a couple that were regulars who very dramatically broke up their engagement. The next day the woman came in and ordered a drink from me, and after she finished it she paid then placed a huge Victoria’s Secret bag on the bar and told me that was my tip and left. The bag had her wedding dress in it and I had just gotten engaged! We were the same size and it was a gorgeous gown, literally the best tip I ever got
I got a car.
It was a ‘93 ford escort wagon. It had a completely busted windshield and the registration had been long expired so I had to pay the back registration.
I asked a regular to give me their opinion on a station wagon I was looking at getting and he goes “you want a station wagon? I got one for you”
That car drove me 1,000 miles away and really changed my life. Thank you, Kevin.
Same, but mine was a 85. It was tan and lasted forever and through everything!
According to a Finder’s survey, quality of the service is the main factor impacting the customers’ tipping the most. (Other important ones include the total of the check, the budget, and the type of establishment, respectively.) However, it also revealed that nearly half of the clientele says that they always leave tips.
A Dryer. The restaurant was near Sears and they came in for lunch after purchasing a dryer. I, of course, asked about their day and they were excited about the deal/discount on the new dryer. I was happy for them and said, "That's Awesome! I have a washer but just a clothesline for drying. Maybe I'll check out Sears when I can." As I was presenting the check they said, "We've decided to give you our old dryer. It's 3 yrs old but works pretty well." The only stipulation was I had to go pick it up. But pretty sweet tip!
I didn’t personally receive this tip, but it’s a cute story.
When I was in high school, my church took our youth group to a youth camp in Colorado every year. My youth pastor, a young guy who had just graduated college, always left a funny “tip” written on a napkin in addition to a couple bucks for the nice folks serving us meals. They were always something stupid like “don’t drive a convertible in the rain” “babies aren’t dishwasher safe” or something dumb like that, but he got a laugh from the waitresses about it. As the week goes along, a particular waitress starts serving out table more and more, collecting my youth pastor’s tips with a giggle every time. On one of the last days we were there, youth pastor writes “Tip: here’s my number, you should call me :)” on the napkin. Fast forward 8 years, and they’re happily married with two kids. Cutest thing I’ve ever seen
Some old man who was a regular for me when I served breakfast left me a miniature squeaky pig toy. He told me her name was Princess Petunia.
With more and more things adjusting to the digital age, so do some of our habits, such as reading, communicating, and—you guessed it—tipping, just to name a few. Forbes revealed that the vast majority of people tend to tip more digitally than they do in real life. The numbers speak for themselves—73% of those surveyed reported leaving a tip at least 11% higher when they tip digitally compared with tipping in cash.
Had an older gentleman gift me a Columbia winter coat a couple of weeks before he passed. He and his wife were regulars of mine and he knew I needed a coat. Offered it ahead of time because he was worried I might be offended. His wife came in to tell me the news and that she probably wouldn’t / couldn’t be coming anymore. I stopped working Sundays after that.
It's just so awful that a customer (or literally anyone) sees someone in such need as a decent coat... something seriously wrong in society that someone is literally working in the inadequate clothes on their back just to stay afloat
It wasn't weird but shocking. There were a bunch of our happy hour couples going on a cruise. The one couples daughter was also going, who was around my age, didn't have anyone to hang with so they invited me. I thanked them but told them I could either afford the cruise or afford to take the week off, not both. Ten minutes later they called me over and told me they were going to pay for my trip. 7 days leaving out of Puerto Rico, 5 islands on a 13 story cruise trip. Most amazing anything I ever received from a regular.
I know….. someone….. whose friend used to tip them in adderall back in the day. Also now I have a regular who periodically brings both albuterol and steroid inhalers (I’m prescribed the same in both) because she knows mine is $300/mo WITH insurance and she gets like 3/$15.
What a health care system we have.
Not all customers, clearly, are equally inclined to leave tips digitally; not all of them choose to leave money as tips to begin with, and this list is excellent proof of that. However, some of these instances are likely to be even better than the monetary expression, whether because they mean more than money would or because they are so wholesome a price tag would never do them justice.
My best friend worked pizza delivery in highschool. It was a small town. Like 5000 people. There were these two retired guys who'd order every Wednesday and tip her with stuff from their garden. One time it was like a whole bunch of zucchini. I only know this because she came by my house and asked me to make her zucchini bread for her birthday. Then handed me her bag full of zucchini. I made 5 loaves out of that. One year was really bad and they didn't have anything in the garden. So she got tipped a bunch of leftover Halloween candy. Another time it was beer, this was right after the Superbowl so very fitting. These two dudes were always a surprise. This was about 10 or so years ago and I recently found out they both passed. W***y and Ron may you rest in peace.
A decade ago in a midwestern college town, I had thyroid cancer. I worked for a bar and the owner threw a Service Industry Health Insurance party for me (that I worked). He said he would double the credit card tips. All in all, I made about 1 grand in cash tips and almost 4000 in credit card tips. The owner, completely flabbergasted, offered to match, rather than double and that was INCREDIBLY gracious. Nearly 10 grand in 1 night tending bar.
One of my regulars at the bar brought me Chantix. We had previously discussed how she’d just quit smoking using it, and I said in passing that I’d love for my husband to try that but that we didn’t have health insurance so it’d be too expensive. (The cost of the doctor’s visit and prescription would be over $300.)
Next visit she showed up with a full prescription of Chantix. She’d gone to her doctor and said she needed another prescription and brought them to me for my husband.
He did quit smoking too.
Doesn't that have psychotic side effects? I seem to remember they stopped using it in the UK because it sent you batsh1t.
I was new to serving, and gave a customer a $5 bill, a $1 bill, and some change for his $20.
The customer gave me the dollar and change, on a $13+ pizza, and told me, "If you'd have given me five more ones, I'd have given two more back to you. Always make it easy for the tipper to give you your 20%."
Weirdest non money tip ever. And it probably earned me more $$$ than anything else I was ever taught about waiting tables.
I like this one! That was very helpful for a server starting out!
I guess it's not weird, but definitely the most lucrative: i got a card from einstein bagels for one free bagel every day for a year. The kicker was that it didnt include the cream cheese.
I happened to have an einstein's about 100 feet from my house. I bought a tub of cream cheese for my fridge and got that bagel every single day. At the time, a plain bagel was i think 90 cents. So i made at least 300 bucks from that tip.
I worked there when they discontinued their amazing blueberry muffins. I was devastated! That was a really fun job!
A customer brought me a crock pot because I was talking about wanting one to make pot roasts
Isn't that a Dutch oven in the picture? At least in the US crock pots are usually slow cookers that plug in and are much less expensive than the type of oven safe cookware pictured. Either way it's very sweet.
I just got a free haircut & dye from a customer. Would’ve been $250… absolutely free. & she did a great job.
Some new age woo woo lady left me Tibetan prayer bells once. They were actually pretty darn cool.
Two tix to see The Temptations! It was a super sweet older couple. I was wowed. I took our dishwasher and had a great time.
My bfs mom got tipped a legit katana sword. It was worth a few hundred dollars
A tie-dyed t-shirt. Not all that unusual, but the circumstance was awesome. (I've told the story before - two drunk kids tried to dine and dash, colleague Big Carol noticed and met them in the parking lot with their bill. She came back in with a fistful of coins, which covered the check. When asked about a tip for the waitress, they genuinely had no more money. Carol mentioned that she thought I'd like the shirt one guy was wearing.)
Yes, I still have that shirt 35 years later!
I got a set of gorgeous plates and bowls from this cute family I served a few times. They had to have been expensive. They’re heavy, white, square, just beautiful. I think they told me they were a wedding gift, but they bought a new set.
They came back in and I told them how much they’re used and that I think of them every time I use them! She almost teared up. Such awesome people. Such awesome plates!!
I had a regular who I was pretty close with, we have a similar body type. She was cleaning out her closet and gave me a bag full of (expensive) clothing.
Lawn mower and a Motorcycle jacket. Same dude, different occasions.
Not me, but my wife. Guy came in who was an author of childrens books. They have paper liners on the tables and usually give crayons to kids. This guy ends up drawing a cool picture of some cats and signing it for her. Also left money, but we thought it was pretty cool and still have it. He's not super famous or anything, but he's a legit author and we ended up buying one of his books for our kid.
Which is part of why he draws sketches on paper placemats! (And I think that is soooooo much more charming than trying to be an "influencer in children's bookselling social media circles.)
A regular pinstriped my car. It was really neat. He asked me (obvs) and did it in the lot. He was really old and just a cool old guy. He did a damn good job and it was sweet too. I loved it.
Another was a moving crew who moved my daughter & I out of our home when I left my ex. They saved me a lot of stress, I’m forever grateful.
I used to deliver to a Halloween decoration designer and aside from money he once gave me zombie lawn gnome statues!
A window air conditioner and his hotel key left on his bar stool. Very weird but sure helped out during a very hot summer in my new rental! The key went in the trash. I felt very weird accepting it but it was a very hard time in my life and I look back and thank him for that. Not the key, lol, just the kindness.
Plot twist: He was locked out of his hotel room wondering "where the heck did I lose my key".
I knew someone who got an air fryer and every so often I wonder why they even had an air fryer on them in the first place
Maybe not weirdest but certainly the best. I had a party of 15 celebrating a birthday and they brought in a gigantic fresh cake from one of the incredible Italian bakeries in my city, it was far too much cake for them to finish and they were insistent that I take a piece for myself to bring home. They cut me a massive piece and put it in a takeout container and it was honestly some of the best cake I've had in my entire life. Obligatory to mention, they did tip because of autogratuity on their party and some of the guests also snuck cash into my hand. Not quite what the question was asking but I do think about it from time to time and smile.
My coworker got a Wyoming Goldback last night in her tips. None of us had any idea what it was, but a quick Google search informed us that it's some kind of alternative currency printed in Wyoming, which, according to the Cowboy State Daily news site, is accepted at at least 40 businesses in Wyoming. No, I do not live in or near Wyoming
They have value if you sell them. Look them up on a gold exchange site.
Not weirdest but my best, homemade apple pie moonshine. I can still taste it in my dreams
A 17 pound watermelon. This 2 weeks ago
I grew up in a rural area, and there was an intense watermelon trafficking during the season.
A friend told me that some guy always ripped in pogs. Like 5-10 pogs. Idk if I believe her. She never showed any to me. But I thought the idea was funny.
Mine wasn't tips, but I will never forget the wonder of working at a high end ice cream shop and having the perk of a free pint every week. After a month or two there I had a full freezer already and knew other people in food service in the area. So we would trade our freebies. My fav was a pint for a bowl of ramen, manager worked there for years and never took the free bowl at that point. So she was happy to give it to me for a pint she could share with her crew.
I never knew food as currency/trade would get me so many free lunches. I miss those days.
I work in a city known for its witches. While I was working during tourist season I received a piece of rose quartz, in addition to a sizable normal tip. Rose quartz is known for having healing properties. I had a little bag crocheted to place it in and wore it around my neck.
An actual Swiss Army knife, I still use it and they also left a cash tip too
A guy gave me a coprolite. That's literally a fossilized piece of s**t. It was super cool.
He asked me if I knew what it was then he'd give it to me. I had just seen a documentary on discover channel when they actually showed them. So I said, "yep that's a piece of poop".
He actually tipped well in cash from his kangaroo s*****m coin purse. Which I did not correctly guess.
I got a stylus pen a couple years ago. The guy was really nice the whole time. When he left, I found a note saying he didn't realize he had only brought a $20 so he left me the dollar and change and said he hoped I enjoy my nice new stylus lol. I wasn't even mad.
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I went through an embarrassingly high number of these wondering where the interesting life “tips” were. Thankfully this article has since been retitled lol.
Even re-titled I thought the same thing. I actually came here to give my own life tip, stop buying shaving cream and just use hair conditioner. It works wonderfully and isn’t nearly as expensive.
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I worked on a fine dining cruise yacht in Chicago in the early 90s. I was working triples saving up as I was starting college that fall. This was after I got out of the Army. On one of my rare days off, my boss called and asked if I would work that night and he'd pay me triple. Some guy was bringing two potential investors on board for dinner and they wanted their own section and server. When the guy arrived he was so nervous and told me these two guys invested in his company it would be life changing money. He asked me lots of questions about myself. Asked about being in Iraq and what I was studying. The dinner went great. The investors were really nice guys and they sealed the deal. Their tab was around a grand and he tipped me 30% on the receipt. Sang my praises to my boss. When they deboarded, we went about our side work cleaning up and I had to be back on the boat in five hours for the breakfast cruise. When I walked off the boat, there was a limo with my name on it.
He had sent his limo back to give me a ride home. When I got in, there was an envelope with a thank you note and ten 100 dollar bills. It was so f*****g amazing. If I had taken public transportation home, it would have taken me well over an hour. Each of the investors slipped me 100 each as they left the boat as well. I paid two months rent with that money.
Load More Replies... I went through an embarrassingly high number of these wondering where the interesting life “tips” were. Thankfully this article has since been retitled lol.
Even re-titled I thought the same thing. I actually came here to give my own life tip, stop buying shaving cream and just use hair conditioner. It works wonderfully and isn’t nearly as expensive.
Load More Replies... I worked on a fine dining cruise yacht in Chicago in the early 90s. I was working triples saving up as I was starting college that fall. This was after I got out of the Army. On one of my rare days off, my boss called and asked if I would work that night and he'd pay me triple. Some guy was bringing two potential investors on board for dinner and they wanted their own section and server. When the guy arrived he was so nervous and told me these two guys invested in his company it would be life changing money. He asked me lots of questions about myself. Asked about being in Iraq and what I was studying. The dinner went great. The investors were really nice guys and they sealed the deal. Their tab was around a grand and he tipped me 30% on the receipt. Sang my praises to my boss. When they deboarded, we went about our side work cleaning up and I had to be back on the boat in five hours for the breakfast cruise. When I walked off the boat, there was a limo with my name on it.
He had sent his limo back to give me a ride home. When I got in, there was an envelope with a thank you note and ten 100 dollar bills. It was so f*****g amazing. If I had taken public transportation home, it would have taken me well over an hour. Each of the investors slipped me 100 each as they left the boat as well. I paid two months rent with that money.
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