Server tipped just $1.50 on $100 bill despite being praised for good service, sparking debate

Editor's note: This article was originally published on May 15, 2023. It has since been updated.

Restaurant servers face numerous challenges in their line of work. It can be disheartening to receive a meager tip, even when they have provided excellent service and the customers have indulged in a substantial meal. In a TikTok video, a server revealed that she was tipped $1.50 on a $100 bill despite being praised by her customers. The video was posted by Alysha Brooks, who goes by @alyshabrooks.foof on TikTok, who typically posts content about her job as a server.

The server featured in the video clip expresses her bewilderment over a baffling incident. Despite receiving glowing compliments from a table of customers who even referred to her as their favorite server, she was taken aback when they left a mere $1.50 tip. This unexpected turn of events clearly caught her off guard, as depicted in the video where she expresses her disappointment by rolling her eyes and crumpling the dollar bill.

Brooks wrote in the caption, "It's the hoping they didn't have enough accident that keeps you from crying on those shifts." As the server looked at the $1.50 in her hand and decided to just throw it in the pocket, the text overlay reflected her disappointment and read, "Ugh yea nah I guess we're good. It's just you were my favorite table of the night, we laughed, and you told me I was your favorite server ever and then you left $1.50 on a $100 check just kinda threw me off." This frustration did lead to a valid debate online.

Some viewers sympathized with the server and understood how difficult finances could be if their tips or earning is less. "The minute they tell me 'you were great everything was perfect' I know I won't be getting a tip," noticed @devionnajadeblack. "I can't pay my bills with your compliments!!" commented @hkaaay. "The ppl commenting obviously never worked for 3$ an hour and survived off tips," said @shelbygreynolds.

On the other hand, some viewers were of the opinion that not all customers have a treasure box to pay the bill from along with tipping waiters well. "They're not obligated to give you any more money," wrote @lillie.jf. "Some people only have the money for the check unfortunately gotta underhand that," commented @forthalowbitch445. "I mean it’s not their fault you're in a job based on tips, they're not the problem the employers are," added @antoinette21_.

In another instance that highlights the importance of tipping the service workers well, a mother on TikTok taught her son the correct way to leave tips. Her son had under-tipped the wait staff on his first date and the businesswoman wanted to make amends. The video shows Danielle Foster's child grinning like a fool as his mother tells him to get her wallet and return to the shop with $20 because he only tipped $10 on a bill of $104 - a tip of less than 10%. It is obvious to tip restaurant servers between 10% and 20%, with 10% considered the minimum acceptable amount, reserved for staff who performed exceptionally poorly in the United States. Tipping less than that to a server who you believe did an excellent job is considered blasphemous by some and simply discourages servers to work better.