Server Texts Customer Who 'Tipped' With His Phone Number On A $200 Bill — 'Next Time You Leave Your Number, Make Sure You Tip'

Despite giving a table of patrons good service, a server was left with nothing but a phone number as a tip.

Sage Fusco TikTok
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After not receiving a tip for an expensive bill, a waitress decided to take matters into her own hands and directly confront the patron she had served.

In a video, TikTok user Sage Fusco was left unimpressed after a table of customers she had served didn't leave behind a single cent for her tip, despite giving them adequate service. While they didn't leave a tip behind, Fusco noticed that they'd left something behind on the receipt which only further annoyed her.

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She texted the customer who 'tipped' with his phone number on a $200 bill.

"I'm proud of myself, can you tell? I can tell," Fusco began in her video. She explained to viewers that after doing her job and tending to a table at the restaurant she works for — when it came time for the bill and subsequently the tip, they didn't leave her anything.

The overall bill was well over $200, and as Fusco went to pick up the receipt, she noticed that one of the men at the table had left his phone number instead. 

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"They did not leave a tip, but they did have the audacity to leave one of their numbers and tell me they thought I was cute," she recalled. So, with the number of the customer at her disposal, Fusco decided she would directly text and confront him for not leaving behind a tip.

"Next time you leave your number make sure you tip," she wrote to the customer, making sure to add a smiley face at the end for good measure. Almost immediately after sending the initial text, Fusco received a response.

The unnamed patron appeared to be confused by Fusco's claim that she wasn't given a tip and even seemed apologetic about the entire debacle. "Wait, they for real didn't tip you?" he replied to her.

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When Fusco confirmed that she indeed hadn't received a single cent for her service, the man claimed that someone else at his table was supposed to be the one to tip, and told her that he would reach out about it himself.

"We all have the guy who paid an extra $10 each. No lie. I apologize, let me talk to him right now," he told Fusco, to which she responded that she and her managers had checked the cameras and it didn't seem like the money was stolen at all.

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After realizing that he nor the other people at his table had tipped Fusco, he began apologizing profusely, assuring her that he doesn't usually do things like that. After going back and forth some more, he eventually asked if Fusco had a Venmo account to send her the appropriate amount of money.

"You did such a great job, how could we not tip you," he continued. After Fusco gave him her Venmo account, she received $75. "Tip from last night... so sorry!" he wrote in the payment's description.

Fusco's video sparked a debate around the tipping system.

While some TikTok users were on Fusco's side and praised her for reaching out about not receiving a tip despite giving good service to her table of patrons, other people criticized the tipping system altogether.

"Y’all will literally force [people] to tip and it’s embarrassing. [Nobody cares] that y’all don’t get paid enough, that’s [your] problem not mine," one TikTok user wrote.

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Another user agreed, writing, "If you complain about not getting a tip, then you don't deserve one in the first place."

While many people disagree with the philosophy of tipping, it is important to do so as many restaurant servers in the United States are often paid a minimum wage that is lower than the standard minimum wage, with the expectation that they will make up the difference in tips. Tipping helps to supplement their income and ensure that they are fairly compensated for their work. 

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In all but seven states — Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington — restaurant employers are allowed to pay “subminimum” wages to staff, provided that their tips bring their earnings up to the required levels.

For many, this can mean that their employer pays as little as $2.13 an hour. According to The New York Times, economists estimate that more than 5 million workers are currently being paid on that basis.

Overall, tipping restaurant servers is important because it shows appreciation for their hard work, helps to supplement their income, incentivizes good service, and supports the restaurant industry.

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Nia Tipton is a Brooklyn-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.