It doesn’t take long working in the food service industry for some tipping patterns to emerge. Rightly or wrongly, certain groups have reputations for being good or bad tippers. Fellow food service workers, for example, are widely known as some of the best tippers. Conversely, European tourists are considered some of the worst tippers.
Perhaps no group is as notorious for being bad tippers than teenagers.
Late last week, Texas Roadhouse server Jordyn (@todaywithmamajo) received a tip from a group of teenagers that has some shaking their heads and others bemoaning tipping culture.
In a viral TikTok, Jordyn approaches a fellow Texas Roadhouse server sitting in a booth while another one films.
“Look at my tip,” she says, brandishing the receipt. The other woman and the person recording burst out laughing.
“I’m sorry,” the other woman says through peels of laughter.
Grinning, Jordyn displays the receipt for the camera. The bill came to $43.92. The tip? Two measly cents.
“Look at my tip,” she says again, shaking the receipt. “Two cents. Two cents!”
In just four days, her post has racked up over 86,000 views. Jordyn didn’t respond to a direct message sent via TikTok.
How much should you tip?
It’s common knowledge that America has comparatively robust tipping culture compared to other countries. In recent years, tipping culture has become something of a trope among naysayers who claim it’s out of control.
While the critics may have a point about gratuity creep, it’s long been standard practice to tip people in food service. It’s so pervasive that the vast majority of food service workers are legally paid less than minimum wage—as little as $2.13/hour—based on the understanding that tips will make up the difference.
In the United States, the majority of people tip between 15% and 20% on their drinks and meals in a full-service restaurant.
Anything more than 20% is generally considered a good tip; anything less then 15% a bad tip.
The best and worst tippers
There’s no guaranteed way to tell if a customer will be generous or stingy with gratuity. Interestingly, often the people who brag to the waitstaff or bartender about being good tippers are average at best.
That said, there are some trends that food service workers recognize. As previously noted, fellow food industry workers typically leave large tips. Most servers would probably agree that people having a business meeting over a meal or drinks will probably tip relatively well.
Teens, on the other hand, are seen as the most likely to stiff servers. There’s actually some data to back this up.
A YouGov survey found that young adults are the most likely to leave a tiny tip or no tip at all. “Among adults under 30, 21% say they typically leave a tip of 5% (14%) or nothing (7%) for average service,” YouGov reports.
Business Insider reports that Gen-Z is the worst generation at tipping. Only a quarter tip 20%. Over half of Baby Boomers, on the other hand, tip 20%.
In comments, Jordyn confirms that she doesn’t expect much from teens. “It was just some teenagers, so I figured they wasn’t gonna tip anyways, but I still gave great service!” she writes.
Several restaurant workers backed up the Texas Roadhouse server’s assessment of teenagers.
“Dang I got tipped like that before aka teenagers,” wrote Brittany Jade, seemingly without knowing Jordyn’s customers were teens. “But I always tell myself well at least I got 2 cents of a brain to learn to tip correctly lol.”
Texas Roadhouse tip reignites the great gratuity debate
Jordyn’s post set off another round of debate about tipping culture.
Tim R. repeated the same arguments that have become ubiquitous when the subject arises. “If you guys would stop working at companies that expect you to live off tips and work somewhere that pay you a decent wage then maybe this tipping culture would go away,” he wrote.
Someone going by @whalen_production posted a different version of the same, writing, “Not their job to pay you. It’s your bosses’ job to pay you.”
While statements such as these may make for good rage bait, they ignore the reality that this is industry standard, not something one Texas Roadhouse server can change.
Plus, like many servers, Jordyn’s grin as she showed her coworkers the two-cent tip indicates that she clearly knows that it’s about average. It’s just a fact that some tables tip well; some don’t.
Like Hailey shared, “I got 5$ on a 115$ and 128$ check today. But then a 2-top tipped me 100$, so it’s cool.”
“I loveee when I’m having a bad day and then I get a great tip unexpectedly,” Jordyn wrote in response.
@todaywithmamajo Jesus take the wheel ?? #serverlife #serverproblems #texasroadhouse #servertips #fyp ♬ original sound – TodayWithMaMaJo
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