Server Says Customer Asked Him To Play A Game To Earn His Tip — 'I'm Not Here For Your Entertainment'
Messing with a server's livelihood is not a flex.
Chadchai Krisadapong / Shutterstock In America, dining out means it's customary to tip your servers. Whether it's by cash or left on a credit card, customers are expected to leave at least 15-20% of their total bill as a tip.
Unfortunately, sometimes, servers are jerked around by their customers in rude ways. For one server, a man called out a customer who tried to "creatively" leave him a tip, an act that ultimately backfired.
A server claimed a customer asked him to play a game to determine how much his tip would be.
In a video, Quinn Pratt, a TikTok creator who works as a server for a restaurant, was left unimpressed after one of the tables he had been tending to tried to rope him into solving a "stupid" riddle that would determine if he'd be getting a good tip or a bad tip.
Pratt told his followers they may be seeing a video of him soon "that doesn't really paint [him] in the best of light." He then went on to explain that he had been working his server job when at one of his tables was a group of influencers who pulled out their phones to record before calling Pratt over to them.
"They set up some game for my tip," he recalled. "They had four or five envelopes on the table and they said, 'Well, one of these is going to be your tip.'" In each envelope, the patrons had put money ranging from $1 to $300, and whichever one Pratt chose would be his tip from them.
"'You pick an envelope and you decide whether you want to keep that envelope or if you want to swap it out for a new one,'" Pratt continued, recounting the rules that had been told to him by the table of influencers. "[They were] just describing some stupid game and whatever envelope you end up with, that's your tip."
Pratt didn't hesitate, saying that he "looked the guy right in the face" and told him he "didn't have time" to play his game and that he was busy trying to work. "I am super busy, whatever you leave me as a tip is my tip... I'm not here to play a little game with you," Pratt told his table.
Photo: Shift Drive / Shutterstock
He pointed out that he was at his place of employment and it shouldn't be an opportunity to play a "little carnival game" when he's just trying to earn his living. When he admonished the group of influencers for wasting his time when they could have just left him a tip, they argued that they were trying to give Pratt the chance to win $300.
"No, you're using me to further your channel," Pratt rebutted, adding that after calling out the customers, they ended up not leaving him a tip at all after they left. "Listen, if you want to bless a server because you believe they're underpaid, just do it. Don't make a stupid game out of it, trying to further your channel."
Pratt said that it's obvious people like that are only trying to improve their own self-image instead of actually trying to do a good deed, adding, "Don't make servers jump through hoops and everything like that, being your trained little monkey in order to get a nice tip from you."
Pratt's experience sheds light on how customers aren't always right and demean servers with their bad behavior.
In a follow-up video, Pratt responded to a comment on his original video, which chided him for speaking to the customer that way.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but the customer is not always right. And a lot of them could use a good telling off, especially if they don't understand the difference between a server and servant," Pratt said, before demonstrating the correct and wrong ways to get a server's attention.
"People who believe they can act any sort of way and do whatever and still get good customer service are so misguided... Servers are still human beings who deserve respect," he added.
And he's entirely correct, because his experience is not the only instance of customers being on their worst behavior, mistreating employees, sometimes for clout or views on their social media, and other times because of entitlement.
One study determined that entitled patrons lead to "negative effects on employee health and well-being, suggesting organizations play a more active role in helping their workers manage this construct."
While there are plenty of companies that have the mindset of an "always right" customer, there are steps management can take to protect their workers against rude customers, and prioritize their safety as well.
As the findings from a 2022 study suggest, it's essential for management to support their employees.
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"For instance, to prevent customer dysfunctional behavior, managing customer behavior would include posting notices in the workplace, improving customer information systems, formulating manuals for responding to different types of dysfunctional customer behavior, and conducting training for employees on how to deal with customer misbehavior," the study concluded.
It's essential that management make their employees feel safe, especially since there's been an uptick in verbal intimidation, physical attacks, racist outbursts, and even being stalked by customers. Employee safety is of utmost importance, and it's a shame that many hardworking people have to put up with experiences like this.
So, by taking the side of their employees, management shows that their workers are appreciated, valued and, most importantly, are safe in their place of employment.
As one user who responded to Pratt's video said, "Your livelihood is not a game." It's time customers keep that in mind when they dine at a restaurant, where their server, more than likely, is just trying to earn a living.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.
