Waitress refused to seat couple without confirming if they would tip. Then their reviews nosedived

A Black couple in Indianapolis said they were stunned when a waitress at Thaitanium Restaurant and Bar told them they would have to agree to tip before they could dine. The couple, who shared their story in a video on their TikTok, Shallow (@orangecloudx1), explained that they had just been informed of a supposed tipping requirement before placing an order. In the clip that gained 1.7 million views and over 122k likes, the waitress can be seen walking away mid-conversation after the girlfriend began filming.

The couple then turned to the table next to them — a white couple — to ask if they had been given the same message, and they responded that the waitress had not mentioned any such rule to them. The user expressed her disappointment in the caption, writing, "Upon arrival, we were advised that we cannot dine in unless we tip. Others came in that were not of our color, and they were not treated the same. They were not advised that they must tip or that they cannot dine in. They don’t want us here. The manager treated us like shit. I left this place FLAMING."

What makes the couple’s experience even more disturbing is that research has long shown tipping practices can reinforce racial bias. A study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh School of Law found that tipping is not just about service quality, but also functions as a "common economic transaction" where race and gender bias can influence both customer and server behavior. Servers often carry stereotypes about which groups tip more or less. For instance, Black and Hispanic customers are more likely to be predicted to tip less, while white customers are assumed to tip more. Because of these assumptions, servers may give poorer service to customers they expect won’t tip well. The study also highlighted that dark skin itself can act as a cue, a so-called "master status," triggering biased expectations even before anything else about the customer is considered.

The video spread across TikTok and beyond, gaining traction on Reddit after user u/Sometypeofway18 reposted it, gaining 14k upvotes and sparking outrage about racial bias and customer treatment in restaurants. u/macaronisauce731 commented, "So, I got nosy and went to look at their Google reviews. Apparently, multiple servers (so probably the owners, too) have had an issue with racism for years. Forcing other people to tip before leaving, being discriminatory even to delivery drivers. Not to mention just terrible service in general, and their food sucks lol."

u/oneofyallfarted pointed out, "Can we pay people who work in food services better wages so we can get rid of tipping culture altogether? Then we won’t have to deal with this kind of stuff." u/Sometypeofway18 shared, "The restaurant started getting review bombed and went back to the couple to say they fired the waitress." u/foodank012018 wrote, "I always tip at sit down restaurants but telling me I HAVE to tip is a sure way to make me leave immediately and get no tip or ticket." u/PinkBismuth said, "That’s a sure fire way to get me to not tip lol. What did she think was going to happen? Glad she was eventually fired."

You can follow Shallow (@orangecloudx1) on TikTok for more family vlog content.

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