Tipping culture has been seeping into the UK slowly but surely, with 12.5% gratuity becoming a standard addition to restaurant bills. You don’t have to pay if it you don’t want to, but many would rather cough up than have the awkward conversation with their waiter.
In the US, tipping culture is rooted in a common practice whereby serving staff get paid so little that the majority of their earnings come from tips.
The minimum wage in the UK protects serving staff from such practices here, of course, but over in the US there’s a cultural expectation that customers will reward good service by essentially helping their server to pay their bills.
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That said, not everyone is on board with tipping culture in the US, and there are grey areas around what level of service needs to be rendered before a tip is reasonable to expect.
It’s not uncommon for people to tip 20%, either, and some people who tip below that margin have been called out by servers on social media for so-called cheapness.
Conscientious objectors to tipping culture generally argue that employers should be compelled to pay fair wages, while the counter-argument is that tipping culture encourages staff to do a good job and get rewarded accordingly.
Regardless, as it stands: US serving staff generally get paid pennies, so if you don’t tip them then they’re losing out on pay. If you don’t comply with the social expectation, you’re opening yourself up to some admonishment either in-person or online.
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On 6 July 2025, yet another restaurant patron has joined the long line of people who’ve been called out for an allegedly sub-par tip. The 32-year-old man posted to ‘Am I the Jerk’ on Reddit to ask whether a waitress’s disappointment with his tip was fair.
In the thread, the user said he and his partner had been to a ‘not highly sophisticated’ Italian restaurant. His server, he said, had been ‘in the weeds’ and made various mistakes during their meal, including losing two drinks orders, serving an incorrect starter, and ‘vanishing for what seemed like an eternity’ when the couple were ready to order desserts.
“It wasn't the end of the world; I've worked customer service myself, and I get that hectic nights go wild,” the user said. “However, the service was really poor.”
Nevertheless, the Redditor said he left a 10% cash tip which he felt was ‘reasonable given the circumstances’.
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Sadly for him, the server disagreed, saying in a blunt retort: “Seriously? This is it?”
Some people really don’t mind a bit of confrontation, do they?
The server continued: "You know, servers can't pay their rent because of people like you; if you can't tip properly, don't dine out.”
In response, following an awkward pause during which it seemed the whole restaurant was listening, the Redditor said: “Sorry you feel that way”.
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“Whatever, cheapskate,” the server mumbled, at which point the Redditor decided to rescind the tip entirely.
“My girlfriend later informed me that I did fine with it; but one of my friends feels like I had overstepped by insisting on getting the tip back; that no matter what, you just leave it and move on,” they wrote.
“I feel like to be scolded and humiliated on account of a 10% tip that I actually did leave is way out of bounds.”
It does go to show that picking fights with people in public might tickle the id for a moment, but of course it left the server even more out of pocket than she expected.
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Commenters on the thread were pretty much on the post author’s side.
“She expected and then demanded a good tip for a crappy job. You were nice enough to leave her something but she wanted to be ungrateful,” said one comment.
“I’m a manager of a nicer place and I really hammer into my staff that they can’t expect 20% on a $200 check and give diner-level service,” added another.
“You can’t just be an order taker,” chimed another. “You need to be extensively knowledgeable about the menu, food and drink culture, wine pairing and have the ability to be able to explain food preparation extensively.”
“Good servers make good money. Bad servers make bad money,” shrugged another. “Trash servers talk about their tips in front of customers.”
Topics: Restaurants and bars, Social Media, US Food
Rachael Davis