Manager pocketed employee’s $100 tip, gave back $16 and told her to be grateful
'When I tried asking about it again, she got defensive and said I should be grateful I got anything...'
A server (u/cukacuk03) at a restaurant received a grand tip of $100 from a kind customer. The manager noticed it and insisted that the server hand over the tip to her so she could share it among the team. Later, the server realized that the manager hadn't shared anything with the team; instead, she kept a major chunk of money to herself and returned only $16 to the server. The story was shared on Reddit on October 29, 2025.
The server in question had helped a customer for 2 hours, and in gratitude, they left a $100 tip for the waiter. "[I] was having a good day for once," the server wrote. Upon noticing the exchange of money, the manager called the server and asked them to hand over the tip so she could share it fairly among the team. "I'm like, okay fine, whatever. [At the] end of the shift, she hands me $16," the server recalled. When the waiter confronted the manager, she said she "pooled" it with everyone, but the server was the only one working for the customer that day. "The other people working were in the kitchen and didn't even interact with this customer. [I am] Pretty sure she just pocketed most of it. I checked the tip pool sheet, and it doesn't add up at all. When I tried asking about it again, she got defensive and said I should be grateful I got anything. I'm so done with this place," the server said. The waiter concluded their post by asking if it was even legal for a manager to steal servers' tips. "I busted my a** for that tip and got basically nothing," they wrote. The server even announced that they would take the matter to the Department of Labor (DOL).
More often than not, employers take the tips meant for service workers — something they refer to as "tip theft." In fact, a July 2024 report by the Center for Community Research and Engagement (CCRE) at San Diego State University found that nearly half (45%) reported experiencing tip theft. Moreover, 39% said their managers took a part of their tips more often than not. Besides, 14% confessed that their employers reduced their paychecks based on the amount of tips they earned. Tip theft is exactly what happened to the server in the story. Their manager literally stole their tips, saying she would share them fairly amongst the team.
Meanwhile, most people reading the server's story suggested that they should immediately report to the labor board and file a complaint against the manager. For instance, u/ediwir suggested, "It sounds like a good question to ask your local labor board. Open a claim, and they’ll check the books." u/ok-finger-733 commented, "Start tracking your tips, make sure they are entered into the tracker accurately, and if you find discrepancies, don't go to the boss again; go straight to your labor board." u/traindonutbbq wrote, "Your tip was stolen. Demand restitution from your manager and call the Department of Labor immediately."
u/cardchucker wrote, "That money cannot go to the company or management, but it can be pooled with other employees. If you're making less than minimum wage, it can only be pooled with other employees who regularly receive tips. If your base wage is at least minimum wage, they can include kitchen staff in the pool. You should have been notified when you started working there about the policy, and I would expect the numbers to be published in some way, so you know nothing is being skimmed. Taking such a defensive stance raises serious concerns. Even if it was distributed legally, I'd be looking at other server jobs."
More on Scoop Upworthy
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