Anyone who goes out to eat on the regular should be aware that the price of your dinner doesn’t only include the cost of each dish you ended up ordering or each drink you sipped on. It should also include a tip for your server. That’s because tipping your waiter or waitress when you go out to eat is customary here in the United States. Many people don’t realize that servers basically live off their tips. Salaries for waitstaff are typically extremely low, specifically because management is banking on servers making most of their money off of their cash tips. If a server goes through a shift getting no tips, or terrible one, it’s a pretty low blow.
Unfortunately, tipping etiquette isn’t something that’s taught in school, and some people aren’t totally aware of how it goes. Without any sort of guidance, staring at a check and trying to figure out what you should leave for the service can be a little confusing. More often than not, those who are confused about the situation end up leaving something really small (even if the service was great) or, even worse for the server, nothing at all. Most of the time, the people who leave nothing, though, don’t come back to explain their reasons to the server.
So when a server shared this letter from teens who didn’t know how to tip correctly, it made an impression on the internet.
A group of four 13-year-old girls went out to dinner at an unknown restaurant, where they had a great time — and according to them, a great server. The problem? They apparently didn’t leave enough of a tip.
When you get a table multiple refills, 20+ rolls, food in a timely manner, and they still complain and don’t tip 🙂🙂🙂 pic.twitter.com/5OsbhDTHHM
— Hannah Roop (@hannahhgabbyy) April 15, 2019
This was probably a blow to the server and, at some point, the teens realized what they had done.
Instead of ignoring the situation and moving on with their lives, though, they did something very different. They wrote a heartfelt letter to the server to explain their actions.
The girls wrote, “It was an exciting experience for us to be here alone, and it [is] all new to us. And you were the best waiter we could ask for. You were kind, helpful, accommodating, didn’t treat us like babies, and were even able to fit the food to all my allergies! So I wanted to say thank you for making our ‘grown up’ experience so amazing and fun.”
They went on to add, “I would also like to say sorry on behalf of my group. Since we were new to all of this, our 13-year-old minds didn’t exactly know how to deal with the bill. You were super helpful in dividing the check up and taking our not-so-preferable cash. The bill was reasonable, but we had completely forgotten (and frankly didn’t know) what a tip even was, let alone how much to give. So we emptied our pockets and all our money added up to $3.28.”
For the record, The Daily Mail says the bill had added up to almost $100. This means that tip was less than four percent, which… isn’t great.
They went on, “Not aware of how small this really was, we left, clueless of what we had left you for all your hard work. Later, we realized our mistake and felt HORRIBLE. We knew we had to make it right. SO in this envelope you will find the correct 18% tip + extra for simply being amazing. We appreciate your help and patience, and thank you for making our night fun. Thank you!”
Honestly, this is a pretty amazing letter.
Not only did these girls admit what they did was wrong — they had a solid explanation for it that was just very adorable. Their first grown-up experience? It’s too cute! And the fact that they went out of their way to explain this to the server is beyond awesome.
According to the server, the envelope with the letter also included $18, which was more than enough of a tip.
In his original post on Imgur, he wrote, “I’ve been serving a long time, and nothing like this has ever happened to me, or anyone. I don’t know how you learned or educated yourself on tipping, but I really appreciate the effort and kindness. I hope your Homecoming was fantastic!”
Any server would appreciate something like this. Every server knows what it’s like to be stiffed for a tip on a big check.
do NOT go out to eat if u can’t afford to tip your server 20% how many times we gotta say it...keep yo broke ass home
— tay b 🐝 (@tayyImao) April 16, 2019
It’s even worse when that table seemed to really like you. It’s like, what did you do wrong?!
Unfortunately, servers don’t get tips pretty often, even if they’ve done everything right. It’s a common complaint.
As servers have explained, tips are a huge part of their salary. The biggest part, actually.
Many think that if you can’t afford the tip, then you shouldn’t go out to eat. Simple as that.
And when you do tip well, they will be super, super grateful. Seriously!
as a server, I wanted to say thank you to the people who tip the correct amount, the people who are patient, the people who are grateful for service workers. we appreciate you!! there’s always going to be ungrateful fucks who don’t tip, but the people who do make it worth while
— ♡Kait ♡ (@gratefulkait) April 15, 2019
So please, tip your servers and be polite. And if you mess up, just remember this amazing letter.
