People Are Furious At A Restaurant That Did Away With Servers But Still Asks For Tips
It feels like a bit of a money grab.
frantic00 / Shutterstock Imagine walking into your favorite restaurant, ordering for yourself, pouring your own drinks, and then being asked to tip at the end of your meal. If you did all the work yourself and you weren't actually receiving any service while you dined, then who would deserve to get that tip?
One restaurant decided to get rid of its serving staff, which isn't a concept that's totally unheard of in the restaurant biz. But here's the thing: They're still expecting customers to leave a tip.
A customer called out a restaurant asking for tips even though they don't have servers.
In a recent Reddit post, a disgruntled customer shared a photo of a small paper on a clipboard from a restaurant in Denver, Colorado. It reads, "Running a restaurant in Denver has become more challenging since COVID, and restaurants today are struggling to keep up with rising costs. We have made the decision to change some of our steps of service in order to more fairly support our staff, not raise our prices, and adapt to the circumstances."
Reddit
While this all sounds pretty reasonable, it doesn't stop there. The page continues, "While you do not see a server at your table, we still rely on and greatly appreciate your tips. Tips go directly to all the people preparing your food, drinks, and all the small details that make your experience special. Your generosity helps us support our staff who work hard every day."
The user also added, "Denver has one of the highest tipped wages in the country, surpassing NYC and LA. I believe the tipped minimum wage will exceed $20 per hour in 2026." The workers are clearly earning decent pay, so why bother asking customers for even more money?
Most people were outraged about the restaurant asking for tips and criticized management.
One user was confused about the whole point of asking customers to tip. They asked, "That and....you get no server? I'm puzzled as to what this means? Is this now a counter service restaurant where you go get your own food and drink...but they still think you should add a tip to the bill? Who ... are you tipping?"
Another user suggested that the responsibility to pay the employees a decent wage should be on the business and not the customers, saying, "'Your generosity helps us support our staff who work hard every day'…. so… why don’t YOU support them???"
"It's time to stop eating out. Let these places close down. If they don't want to pay their staff. Then they shouldn't have a business," a third user firmly stated. It may seem harsh, but it reflects how many Americans currently feel about tipping culture.
Many feel that modern tipping culture has gotten way out of control.
Your barista, your hair stylist, your taxi driver. Tipping used to be reserved for waitstaff at sit-down restaurants who provided you with excellent service throughout your meal. Now, it seems like everyone is asking for a tip, even those who don't provide a service at all.
oneinchpunch | Shutterstock
A Bankrate survey found that 63% of Americans held at least one negative view of tipping in 2025, up from 59% in 2024. Tipping activity declined significantly after the pandemic, but it appears to have stabilized across all service categories.
"Consumers have reached something called ‘tipping fatigue," said Ted Jenkin, co-founder of oXYGen Financial. "Americans do want to tip a job well done, but they don’t want to be told what they should tip while someone watches them enter their tip. It’s that tipping pressure of the automated systems that is creating this counterculture of people wanting to tip less."
There's no denying that the staff behind the scenes at a restaurant works hard, but as many Reddit users pointed out, their compensation should be the sole responsibility of the owners. Times are tight, and eating out is becoming a luxury most people struggle to afford. Feeling nickel-and-dimed makes it even worse.
Kayla Asbach is a writer currently working on her bachelor's degree at the University of Central Florida. She covers relationships, psychology, self-help, pop culture, and human interest topics.
