Let me ask you something: are you a good tipper ? If you are, I bet you at least leave a 20% tip when you dine out, huh? That’s awesome.
But a recent TikTok video went viral because it shows someone using an unorthodox way of tipping a waitress. So let’s see what the whole debate is all about.
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In North America, it is customary to leave a tip after dining in a restaurant.
Many wait staff depends on this extra money to pay their bills. That’s pretty understandable. Am I right? But should you always tip with cash?
But what if you can’t afford to leave a cash or credit card tip?
That’s exactly what happened in this instance here. A waitress was asked by a patron if he could tip her with a $25 Amazon gift card instead.
She obliged, but then she posted a video on TikTok.
In the video, she used the “SpongeBob Sad Song Steel Lick” song to show her disappointment. I guess that’s not what she was expecting after the holidays, huh? Well, I can understand that side of the story too.
This video sparked a debate on the platform about tipping in restaurants.
As it turns out, people had a lot to say about this. Many commented that tipping isn’t so customary in other parts of the world as in North America.
I can attest to that.
In Poland, for example, it isn’t common to tip in restaurants unless you’re in the tourist attraction areas. So I can see how some people would be annoyed with being pressured to do that all the time.
Other people were annoyed by the idea of leaving a gift card.
Some of them commented that gift cards don’t pay bills. I see their point, too. I know that restaurant staff is very appreciative of any extra money they can earn.
However, I was pleasantly surprised by how many people praised this guy.
Most of them said they would be happy to accept a gift card instead of cash. After all, money is money, and you can still use the card to buy whatever you want.
And really, when you do the math, a $25 gift card is more than a 20% tip.
So what’s the problem here? The waitress is actually getting more than she would probably have gotten otherwise. Many folks seemed to agree with that.
So what do you think of this idea?
If you were a restaurant staff member, would you be okay with this? And as a patron, would you feel bad about tipping with a gift card?
Come to think of it — I feel like it isn’t such a bad idea after all. Just make sure there is enough money on the card and don’t stiff the staff, okay?
