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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
