Photo: fizkes / Shutterstock
An important message about tipping.
By Zayda Slabbekoorn — Written on Feb 19, 2023
“This is why I cry in the shower, I STRUGGLE to put clothes on my daughter’s back and food in our bellies because of THIS. You are the lowest of the low,” wrote an upset server in a scathing Facebook post after what we assume was a particularly strenuous day at work.
With a federal minimum wage of just $5.05 for servers, the majority of these service workers' incomes are reliant on tips from customers.
A low-wage server herself, and the writer of a lengthy Facebook post about a non-tipping customer, this woman finds herself practically begging customers to understand her situation.
Paying bills, feeding her children, and providing herself and her family with a home — all things that are in jeopardy based on the inconsistency of tipping from customers.
The server shared a Facebook post about the consequences for workers when customers don’t tip.
“This,” a server in Colorado posted on Facebook earlier this February, “This is the reason I work so much.”
Showing a $0 tip on an order nearing two hundred dollars, this server attaches a striking photo of the receipt she was left with after her customers got up from their table.
“Whenever you feel like it’s probably fine to not tip your server,” she educates, “that’s one more bill stacking up because they’re short on money.”
Angry at the ignorance of her customers, the angry server lays out the consequences in her life when customers decide to eat up her time for absolutely no tip.
Whether it’s for a lack of knowledge or a lack of caring — it’s no secret that these customers are being directly targeted by this angry server.
This low-wage server calls out non-tippers — she can’t ‘feed her family’ and ‘pay her bills’ without tips.
“This is food for the week that our families will go without because you didn’t think it was necessary,” the server writes, “even after asking for everything under the sun and receiving it free of charge, mind you.”
Although it wouldn’t have made a difference for this server if these were kinder, more empathetic customers — surely she would’ve second-guessed her lengthy Facebook post knowing they were appreciative in some regard.
“This is one less basic necessity my daughter needs because even TWO more dollars is too much for you,” she pleads, “Every decision has a consequence.”
The Facebook server encourages people who ‘can’t tip’ to eat at home instead of going out.
“Servers are paid a base pay of $2-5/hr depending on the employer, so next time you don’t want to tip, regardless of the situation prior to receiving your bill, think about how much you would have to work that week off of $2-5/hr to feed your family, not just you.” she writes.
The consequences of a low-wages mean that a majority of servers in the U.S. are completely reliant on servers to provide their incomes — so, like this single mother, that means putting up with absurdly rude customers for, sometimes, nothing at all.
This server relays just that insecurity to her viewers — “Could you pay your bills based on that pay alone? Could you feed your family AND yourself?”
“Don’t even bother walking into a restaurant if you can’t afford to tip,” she writes at the end of her post, “There’s a Mcdonald's down the street if you’re that cheap.”
Internet discourse debates whether tipping should be banished — creating less insecurity for low-wage workers.
With over 15,000 shares on Facebook, before the post was deleted, this low-wage server has clearly sparked a conversation about tipping culture in the United States.
On one side of the debate, tipping become more monitored — ensuring that servers will have a slightly more livable wage and security in their incomes.
On the other hand, we completely disregard tipping, get rid of the structure completely, and simply pay servers a livable wage for the time that they work — stripping away any insecurity for these low-wage workers.
“Please,” the server writes, “please tip your servers. Even if it was the worst service you’ve ever received. A 10% tip is a big enough slap in the face, this completely tore me apart.”
So, like this server advises, either educate yourself as a restaurant goer about appropriate tipping culture and the base wages for your wait staff — or advocate for getting rid of the tipping structure as a whole.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a news and entertainment writer who focuses on pop culture analysis and human interest stories. Catch up with them on Instagram or TikTok.