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For service workers who rely on tips as a significant portion of their income, receiving no tip can be frustrating enough. Being given what appears to be a false excuse for not tipping only adds insult to injury.
The server’s decision to investigate the customer’s claims on social media revealed a pattern of behavior that has viewers questioning whether some diners use pity stories to avoid tipping altogether.
Server Discovers Customer’s Job Loss Excuse Doesn’t Add Up
In a viral video with more than 237,000 views, Christopher Adams (@christopheradams_) called out a customer who left a message on her receipt. The customer claimed she had just lost her job as her reason for not leaving a tip on an $80 check.
Adams says he found the receipt at a table he sat down at, which had the customer’s name on it along with the message, “Sorry. I just lost my job.”
Curious about the situation, he says he decided to look up the customer on social media.
“Your name was on it. So I just happened to look it up on social media. Right across your Instagram title, you’re a brand ambassador,” Adams says in the video.
What Adams discovered on the customer’s social media painted a very different picture from someone who had just lost their job. He found her TikTok account. And he says it showed frequent travel content and regular posts about her job.
“You travel so frequently and also post about your job all the time, how you just got approved for your two-week leave to celebrate your birthday week in Vegas,” Adams notes.
The contrast between the written excuse compared to the customer’s online presence left Adams upset.
“I’m so happy that you’re doing all these things and then apparently have no money to tip. That’s what I’m kind of lost on,” he says sarcastically.
Adams acknowledges that some people oppose tipping culture in general, which he says he could understand. But what bothered him was the unnecessary lie.
“The fact that it’s a lie that you just lost your job, because I also talked with some of the workers there. And it’s crazy because you’ve never tipped there before,” he explains.
“Every time you come in all the time, and you’ve never tipped,” Adams ends. “So, shoot. I don’t know. I’m so sorry you lose your job so frequently, I guess.”
The Tipping Culture Debate
Tipping culture in America has become a contentious issue. Many people feel that expectations have gotten out of control, with tips now being expected almost everywhere. But, when it comes to restaurant servers, tips aren’t just a nice bonus. They’re essential income.
The federal minimum wage for tipped employees is still just $2.13 an hour. It’s a rate that has remained unchanged since after the Civil War era, Food & Wine explained.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the basic combined cash and tip minimum wage rate is $7.25 an hour, with a maximum tip credit against minimum wage of $5.12 and a minimum cash wage of $3.12. States including Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming all maintain the $2.13 tipped minimum wage.
Food & Wine notes that servers rely on tips from customers to make a living. And many don’t even receive paychecks because taxes consume their entire hourly wage.
While some customers refuse to tip as a form of protest against tipping culture, claiming they want to prove a point or force change, this approach only hurts the very workers they claim to want to help.
Servers didn’t create the tipping system and have no control over legislation that would change these laws.
When customers write complaints on the tip line instead of leaving gratuity, it simply makes servers work for free without addressing the underlying issues. Food & Wine suggests that those who want to see real change should write to their congressional representatives or restaurant owners rather than punishing individual service workers who can least afford it.
@christopheradams_ Maybe don’t go get an 80 dollar meal then
Commenters React
“I am a single mother in a one income household that gets zero child support. I will never not tip a minimum of 20%. If I can’t, then I’m staying home,” a top comment read.
“Even if it was the truth….you just lost your job and then going out to eat for $80!!?” a person said.
“If you don’t like tip culture do not eat out. tipping is the American way,” another wrote.
BroBible reached out to Adams via Instagram and TikTok direct message.