A TikTok user found herself at the center of a heated debate after posting a video showing a restaurant receipt with a big fat “0” written for the tip as well as a note she penned at the bottom calling out the server for ghosting her on Snapchat.
“PS: Thanks for blocking me on Snap,” the note reads with a smiley face and heart.
“Don’t come for me, I usually tip but I’m petty,” the video overlay text reads. In spite of her request, people did indeed come for her in the comments.
It got so bad, in fact, that comments on the video were temporarily turned off (they’ve since been turned back on), as folks debated whether being ghosted is an acceptable reason not to tip someone. Those who felt that it wasn’t cool for her to tip nothing speculated that this kind of behavior may have been the reason she was blocked in the first place.
“So, you proved that he was right for ghosting,” wrote one TikTok user.
“I don’t think petty is the right word,” said another. “Any reason other than bad service to not tip, makes it seem like there may have been a reason to be ghosted.”
Unfortunately, the reality in the U.S. is that many tipped employees rely on this extra and entirely optional income to get by due to their appallingly low wages. In some states, companies are allowed to pay their workers less than minimum wage as long as the tips add up to said minimum, further reducing the meager income that these hardworking individuals are allowed. When living paycheck to paycheck, a single instance of someone not tipping can be devastating.
Most people would prefer that all workers are paid a living wage rather than having to rely on customers to supplement their income at all, but until that happens (and it won’t any time soon), it’s the servers who might not be able to afford a jilted customer’s pettiness. At least in this case, the bill at the Texas Roadhouse only came to $33.53, so an average tip wouldn’t have been much more than $5. Still, a $0 tip always hurts, as anyone who has ever worked a tipped position knows.
Some commenters, however, did side with TikTok user “Sydney” and praised her for showing up a ghoster.
“The tip would be to grow a set and tell people how you feel instead of blocking people,” wrote one woman.
“I’m here for the pettiness,” said Cherie C.
It’s true that nobody likes a ghoster, though few among us could likely say that we’re never done it before. Right?