A customer at a new restaurant reports that the server left a note on his receipt after he tipped $11 on a $220 bill. The note read, “If you can only afford a 5% tip then maybe you should consider eating fast food and stop wasting server’s time. This is our JOB!”
The receipt came from a meal shared by @captain.t.roll, who recorded the story along with the bill in a video that drew more than 14,000 comments and 1.2 million views. He recounted that he and his two companions had ordered appetizers, entrees and dessert, which meant the server made repeated trips to their table over the course of the meal.
The Note on the Receipt
The creator said he believed the $11 tip was fair. The server, however, felt otherwise. In red ink at the bottom of the receipt, the server wrote the message.
“If you can only afford a 5% tip then maybe you should consider eating fast food and stop wasting server’s time. This is our JOB!”
The Tip Breakdown
The creator displayed what he and his companions ordered and stated their bill amounted to $220 before tax. He then revealed he left an $11 tip, which brought the total to $251.35.
That works out to about 5% of the bill.
Why the Creator Says the Tip Was Fair
The server’s creator posited that the number of visits to their table could have caused the strain. They acknowledged, though, that serving customers was part of the job description and stated that the workload was to be expected, especially at a newly opened restaurant.
The Online Response
The response to the video was split down the middle. A number of viewers sided with the maker and insisted that tipping is not required. A different group felt that the $11 tip was too low given the total bill.
One person posted a remark that said, “I would ask back for the receipt and adjust it to $0.00 tipping. . . DO NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO BULLY, GUILT, OR PRESSURE YOU INTO TIPPING. . .TIPPING IS NOT MANDATORY.”
A second user agreed with the call, writing exactly the same thing, “Normalize leaving 0 dollars, tipping is NOT mandatory.”
The Other Side of the Debate
Some disagreed with the idea that the server had made a mistake. A commenter argued the bill amount was the reason the tip was too low.
They wrote, “You had a bill for $220 and left an $11 tip?????! Yea you’re in the wrong the server has every right to be mad.”
What the Note Actually Said
Two separate complaints are what the server’s note carried. Here is the breakdown of them:
- The customer was wasting the server’s time.
- The customer could not afford a larger tip.
The note closed with a short line about the job. “This is our JOB!” is a modest, honest complaint.
What the Creator Thinks About the Note
The person running the server said their role involved serving customers, and they noted that the workload was to be expected at a newly opened restaurant. They also suggested that the number of trips the server made to their table may have contributed to the tension.
The Verification Limit
The Daily Dot cannot confirm the events described in the video on its own. The account comes from @captain.t.roll alone, and rests entirely on his story of the restaurant visit and the receipt he posted on TikTok.
Exactly what the headline promises is the story: a server wrote a note on a bill complaining about the tip and suggested the customer eat fast food instead. The note is the point. The bill, tip and note are all that are known.
Source material: “Man Says Server Wasn’t Happy With His Tip and Left a Note on the Bill: ‘Maybe You Should Consider Eating Fast Food’,” The Daily Dot.
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