‘Who is the tip for?’: Customer calls out food truck OWNER for asking for 20% tip

A man says tipping culture is “off the rails” after he was prompted to tip on his meal by the owner of a food truck.

In a TikTok with over 474,000 views, content creator Jerry (@better.call.hall) shares his story and his frustrations about the state of tipping in the U.S.

“Have you seen the video of the guy that said, ‘If I have to pay before I get my food, I’m not tipping’? Well I’ve adopted that policy, I took that to heart,” Jerry begins.

Jerry explains that after getting dinner at a food truck the night before, the owner flipped his POS system around. It prompted him for a tip. 

“Who the f*** is the tip for?” he says.

Jerry continues, “You own this food truck. You set the prices of your food. You generate your own paycheck. If you want more money, raise the price of you f***ing food.”

Jerry shares that in his teens and early 20’s he worked “every back of house job in a restaurant there is.” He explains that at that time, tips were for employees who received pay below minimum wage. Tips were expected to supplement their pay to a livable wage. The expectation to tip the owner of a food truck, then, he suggests, makes no sense.

“Imagine that anywhere other than a food truck. You go into your local TGI Fridays and when you’re done eating, you leave a few bucks on the table and say, ‘This is for the franchise owner for the good work they’re doing.’ No! You wouldn’t f***ing do that,” Jerry reasons.

“I would rather pay $15 for whatever I’m getting than pay $12 and then feel guilted into tipping the other $3," he argues as the video ends.

@better.call.hall Hard pass on all that. #tipping #ttBCH ♬ original sound - ⒿⒺⓇⓇⓎ

Viewers weigh in

In the comments section, users shared their own opinions about tipping culture.

“My rule is if I stand at a counter or sit in my vehicle to order, fill my own drinks, or bus my own table, no tip. A tip is for service during a meal, not the preparation of my order,” one user expressed.

“I understand tipping small business waiters. But why can’t corporation restaurants just pay a livable wage and not rely on their OWN consumers to cover their employees’ salaries?” a second viewer questioned.

“I stopped going to any restaurant because of this,” another comment.

“I think a lot of the apps that these places use automatically show a tip screen. They are not always expecting a tip. Some are embarrassed that it asks,” another user countered.

What is 'tipping fatigue' and are POS systems to blame?

Tipping culture in the U.S. continues to be a topic of hot debate. According to the National Restaurant Association, one of the cons of the prevalence of POS systems in restaurants is POS systems that “won’t let customers easily complete a transaction without indicating a set tip amount (in a percentage or dollar amount) or the option to choose no tip.”

Constantly being prompted to tip by digital systems in all kinds of stores, restaurants, and businesses has led to “tipping fatigue” - customers are feeling pressured to tip in untraditional tipping situations and being asked to tip higher percentages and dollar amounts than they may actually be comfortable giving.

To calm the pressure and ensure customers receive a positive dining experience, the National Restaurant Association recommends that restaurants clearly communicate their tipping policies to patrons, and decide whether to use dollar amounts or percentages for their tip suggestions on their POS (for quicker service restaurants, small dollar amount suggestions are more appropriate; percentages for dine-in restaurants), and as always, deliver excellence service to all customers.

The Daily Dot has reached out to Jerry via Instagram and TikTok private messages for more information. 

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