Most of the time, servers are calm, cool, and collected when they’re under pressure. They take orders with smiles on their faces and make sure to entertain guests to the best of their ability. While this is part of their job description, it can be tough to continue to be positive throughout a shift when people choose not to tip them properly. This, understandably, can cause waiters to have complete meltdowns.
Of course, servers can’t force customers to tip. If they could, more people would be servers. However, that doesn’t mean that they can’t try to persuade their guests to hand over more moolah.
Throughout time, waiters have learned a handful of tricks to get customers to spend more money to make their bills bigger. So it makes complete sense that they would think of ways for guests to fork over a larger tip, too.
That doesn’t mean the process is always smooth sailing. All servers have to tip-toe around this situation so they don’t get fired or scolded at by their superiors, but if they choose not to go down this route, they could possibly go home almost empty-handed. Thankfully, when servers do decide to clap back, they have no problem sharing their stories.
So to highlight what exactly a server has to go through just to make a little extra change, we scoured Reddit to find all the times serves have requested a larger tip from their guests.
1. They Confronted A Guest Who Regularly Ghosts.
As a server, you might not always get a good tip; however, you always need a signature from the guest who dines at your table. Why? Because it shows proof that they agreed to the amount that was purchased and paid for on their bill.
This waiter was just saying what everyone else was thinking.
This is an issue one Redditor ran into with one particular customer.
“Had a guy come in at least once a week with a different person. Every time, regardless of who served him, he would leave both copies of the receipt blank. Not even a signature.”
The next time he came in, the sever confronted him.
“I served him and his lady friend, and I laid it on thick. While dropping the check off at the table after running his card, I locked eyes with him and said, “Sir, I AT LEAST need you to sign the receipt this time.”
The patron asked “Me specifically?” to which the server responded, “Oh yes. We all remember you.”
“He tipped 20% and never came back. It was so very satisfying.”
2. This Waiter Took The “Return Change” Trick To Another Level
Most servers will keep their money (aka bank) in their apron. And whenever they need change, they’ll either search through their bank at a server’s station to make some change or go to the back office of the restaurant to exchange their cash into smaller bills.
However, when a guest decided to leave a small tip, Redditor ScrappyOtter took things into their own hands.
They decided to stand at the table and “fish” for the guest’s exact change to give it back to them.
While it would sometimes work for this server, the guest would normally take back their change and leave the server nothing. Still, sometimes dignity is worth more than a $1.23 tip.
3. He Replied Back To A Negative Yelp Review – And Learned
When a large party left this Redditor a meager tip, he did something many servers are divided on: he politely confronted the table.
“[The] tab was a little over $80 and honestly that was too big of a tab for me not to say anything.”
“It was three people(two guys one girl) and the girl paid $50 in cash and her boyfriend paid $20 in card and I think paid a couple of dollars… and the last guy paid the rest with his card but didn’t leave anything.”
“So I just asked them if there was anything wrong with my service as I have only gotten tipped a few dollars out of a big tab.”
“They were super nice about it saying they just forgot about it… The guy who paid last left me tip and the girl even [suggested] the guy should try to tip me more since they forgot.”
“I responded with that it wasn’t necessary… I was only asking so I know what I did wrong and that they didn’t even have to leave me that big of a tip.”
The Redditor makes it seem like he was pretty courteous towards these customers. “This was my first time confronting about tip and I honestly didn’t know if what I did was the right thing, but the customers were nice and friendly enough to clear any misunderstandings and made sure to tell me my service was fine.”
But then he saw a petty review on Yelp a week later.
“One of the guys posted a Yelp review about me on how I was being rude and confrontational about the tip that they left me… [but] they didn’t even leave me tip in the first place at all.”
“I was honestly hurt by that review as I thought everything was cool with us. But I guess that wasn’t the case.”
“The guy even mentioned how he didn’t like the fact that I moved his water cup when I was trying to set his food on the table and how I yelled at them in front of the entire restaurant.” Um, we don’t remember that in the original story. Who is telling the truth here?
“When I read all this I was hurt but I was also extremely angry about it. So I did a stupid thing.”
Oh boy. This Redditor tried to “clear up any misunderstanding” by commenting back but it complete backfired. “I shouldn’t have said anything about the tip and I shouldn’t have even replied to his Yelp review.”
The OG Reviewer left another response – and the server took it well.
“He updated his review saying I was lying about what I said and told me to learn from this… to be honest that’s solid advice from him and I hope I do learn from this. I just wished I had someone to tell me to just shut up and take the loss because the tip that I got wasn’t worth all this trouble.”
4. They Were Down To The Penny
If you frequent restaurants as a customer, you probably make sure to total your checks so they add up perfectly. But if you happen to be a customer who doesn’t tip well, you might want to beware.
This is a genius move.
According to Redditor tempocross, any time a restaurant guest decides to leave a poor tip, they purposely will alter the tip by a cent to ruin the perfect total for the guest’s records. Some times it’s the little things, you know?
5. They Served Up The Biggest Death Glare
One of the worst things a server can experience is waiting for a table to leave way after the restaurant has already closed, especially when they already know the table didn’t leave them a tip. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to Redditor canofcreamedcorn_.
Can you blame them?
While they were waiting for a poor-tipping table to leave, one of the guests asked the server for another round by waving his glass in the air and shaking it.
Is anyone else as angry at this customer as us?
While the server acknowledged the request, they didn’t move from their post and just stared at the table until the customers left. Um, we would too if someone did the equivalent of a snap to get our attention.
6. They Tossed A Poor Tipper’s Credit Card Away
This is a whole new level of petty.
While we don’t recommend a server to do this to their guest’s property, this is one way to handle a bad tipper. According to Redditor EyeFoundWald0, when a guest wouldn’t provide a good tip after eating and accidentally leave a credit card, the card would mysteriously “disappear.”
“Throw their card away if they leave it on accident and tip like sh*t, then play dumb when they ask about it if they come back for it,” they said.
7. This Server Took It A Step Further And Tossed A Phone
Sorry, they can’t come to the phone right now.
A similar situation happened with another server, but instead of throwing away a credit card, they threw away a guest’s phone. If they had tipped properly, maybe this particular customer wouldn’t be out a $600 phone.
“A server at the bar I worked at had a rude, demanding and just generally unpleasant couple of guys leave zero tip and forgot a phone. It got turned off and tossed in the trash,” said Redditor Ericw005.
This feels a little more extreme than a credit card–which can cheaply be canceled and replaced–but it goes to show you that you can only push people so far. We’ll say it again for the folks in the back: tip your servers!
8. A Waiter Confronted The Table That Stiffed Them After Hours
We all have to stand up for ourselves every once in a while, and Redditor theaftercath decided to do just that after a group of 21-year-olds paid an $80 tab with no tip.
This is such an awkward position to be in.
“The came in late so they were my only customers for the last couple of hours. We could have closed and gone home early if they hadn’t been there. They were all very friendly and nice, had a great time (as far as I could tell) and I was feeling pretty good about having made this new-21-year-old have a good time on their birthday,” said the Redditor.
This attitude shifted when they picked up the check–no tip with an “$80ish tab”
“I was crushed…as we were about to lock up and leave I noticed that they were still in the parking lot next to their cars, chatting. They were parked directly next to my car.”
After talking with their supervisor, they decided to step outside and say something.
Before the server could say anything, the group called out to them saying thank you and to have a good night, which upset and confused the server even more.
“I think I said something like, ‘Hey actually, I have a quick question for you guys. Did I do something to offend you or upset you guys in any way?”
The server continued to say that usually they don’t get tipped when they do a poor job. The inerbriated birthday girl yelled at her friends for not tipping the waiter, and she demanded they take $20 from her. Ultimately, theaftercath felt like they had begged for a tip, which is always leaves for a weird, sometimes guilty feeling afterwards.
9. They Listened To Their Gut And Talked To A Table About Their 20-Cent Tip
When you serve tables and receive a bad tip, you kind of hope that the guest who paid for their meal has made a mistake. After all, we’re just human, right?
This had to be tough.
Maybe they did intend to include another zero before the decimal. It can be difficult to call someone out though if you don’t know whether or not it’s a mistake.
Luckily, for Redditor ourmodelcitizen they decided to listen to their gut after receiving a 20-cent tip on an almost $200 tab.
They went back to the table, asked the customer if this was correct, and the guest said, “Oh no! No, I meant to give you $20!” and gave them a $25 tip instead. See? Sometimes it pays off to be bold.
10. A Server Told A Table They Clearly Needed The Tip “More Than Me”
When a group of 10 people came to dine at a restaurant for “kids’ eat free Tuesdays,” they left the server around $3 on a $50 check. Normally, servers would let this go; however, this particular server did not.
This was probably too brazen.
Instead, Redditor Mal_Pal123 said one of his coworkers — who they claim “did a great job serving [the customers]” — lost it when the table gave him a three-dollar tip on a $50 bill.
“Now this coworker was on the shy side and a hard-worker so we were all shocked with what he did next.”
“He walked away and got them change, laid it back on the table with the golden words, ‘Here’s your change, I think you need it more than me.'”
Naturally, the guests were outraged and they yelled at the server. They talked to the manager, who fired the server on the spot.
“He may have left that day jobless, but he kept his dignity and was forever known as a hero in our eyes,” the Redditor said.
11. This Waitress Screamed At Her Guests – Understandably
Being a server is a tough gig. Not only do you have to deal with rude guests, but you never know if you’re going to make a proper hourly wage by the end of the night.
You never know what people are going through.
Unfortunately for Redditor IJustCaNotEven, they had to go back and tip their server out of their own pocket after their friend tipped them poorly–and got chewed out for doing so.
“He came over to us, showed us the $8 or something he’d left her, and said she told him to keep it, since he needed it more than she did.”
“Having been a waitress in a few restaurants, I was mortified. For my friend, for being so clueless; and for our waitress, who probably shouldn’t have done that, but I completely get it,” the Redditor continued.
When she went to give the server a proper tip, the server broke down sobbing. “She tried to give the money back, I kept refusing, then she ended up hugging me and telling me it had been really hard recently because she just found out she was pregnant.”
Make sure you’re always kind to your servers because you never know what they’re going through.
12. They Waited By The Door For Their Bad Tippers
Purposely leaving no tip is a crappy move. It affects servers’ bottom line and is ethically not a good thing to do.
So when these two couples went to see a comedy show and wrote “cash” on the check without actually leaving any cash, Redditor wutangclanthug9mm watched them like a hawk.
They got their money.
Right before they left, the server stopped them by saying, “How about you try again?” They left a $6 tip and that was it.
13. This Hotel Server Called Up A Guest
While it can be frustrating to not receive a good tip, that doesn’t mean you should hunt your guests down by calling their hotel room. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what this server did who was working at a resort.
Yeah, don’t do this if you’re a server.
A man left a 4 percent tip on a $200 bill, so this server said something.
“I asked him if his gratuity was an accident, and he said, “No accident, you gave excellent service!”
While she received a higher tip after the discussion, the guest immediately called the front desk to explain what just happened.
The server didn’t get fired, but she sure got in trouble. She also noted that the customers were German, and not all European countries have the same tipping etiquette as in the U.S. The more you know.
14. This Server Found A Way To Deal With A Repeat Offender
Hey, at least it worked.
“So I have these two guys that come in every once in a while, maybe once every two weeks, and they are some weird guys,” Redditor ChunkyLover29 starts. The Redditor said the two men had him running ragged with requests. After a third request, the server asked, “Is that everything else you need so I can get it in one trip?”
The Redditor admitted to being somewhat snarky, but the customers’ response is not okay.
“At the end when they were paying they [told] the host, ‘He was tough on us, we’re not going to tip him.’ They come in again and I have someone else help them, and they leave her 60 cents.”
Um, what?
One of the men came in with a different guest, and this server was determined to get his tip.
“He ordered pie first [and commented] ‘I know that’s strange hahah.’ I respond with a short, “Don’t worry, I recognize you.”
The customer left a 20% tip this time. It seems like letting cheap customers you have them on your radar is a winning tactic!
15. This Server Threw Their Low Tip In The Fountain – In Front Of Customers
One Redditor had an experience serving six high school girls. “Their bill was around $80 adn for their tip they left me a monkey dish full of dimes, nickels, and pennies. Probably about 90 [cents.]” Um we’re sorry, but what?
While serving a group of six high school students isn’t for the faint of heart, receiving a bad tip from them will take anyone over the edge.
Luckily, this server knew how to handle these teens. Instead of keeping the 90-cent tip, the server saw that the teenagers were hanging by a fountain at the back of a restaurant, walked over and made eye contact with them, and dumped the change into the fountain.
Do you think they wished for a better tip?
Nothing else was said, and they went back to work. Classic.
16. A Server Returned The Tip Down To The Dollar
Receiving a bad tip can really put a server in a bad mood; however, this server took their chances by doing a specific trick.
Savage.
“Back in the day when more people paid in cash, if they handed me the book and told me ‘no change,’ I would bring back the book with the change down to the dollar. About half of the time it worked, better tip,” said Redditor flowergirl75.
And it worked some times.
The Redditor said this trick worked roughly 50%. Also, can you imagine the customer’s face when they see that they really intended to leave a server a buck or two for a large order? To be a fly on the wall.
17. This Server Was Polite, But He Always Served Them Last
One Redditor works at a chain restaurant and often shifts locations. He noticed a group of regulars – a family – that continuously stiffed everyone on staff.
“We have this family that comes in a few times a month.”
“At the old location, they were well know for not tipping. One night, I was the lucky server who’s section they were in. I did everything with a smile, fixed all their orders they never customized in the first place, refills, sauces, choosing new drinks half way through, this that, kids, the mess. Split their bills. Got a $0 tip for almost 2 hours worth of work and cleanup.”
“Well, they now frequent this second location too.”
“They have the same notorious no tipping agenda with full force run down the waitress for fun mentality. I looked at them get seating in my section, on a super busy night, and made a choice I am proud of to this day, I decided I wasn’t going to let them get under my skin. Not even close.”
“You will have what you pay for, which was also every cent I could charge for every sauce and soda brand switch they requested.”
The server also made sure the family was well aware he was taking care of other customers before them.
“First, I gave them about 10 minutes to get seated and think about being thirsty as they watch me serve beverages to my full 6 table section. I go over once and write a beverage down for everyone.. I go around a take everyone else’s orders, key them into the most visible computer and then proceed to take their orders last and nail every accommodation and sauce charge they ask for and walk to the furthest computer.”
But he was still sure to accommodate all of their picky requests.
“One lady wants her food made at the end to go. I will gladly make it with the rest of the food and let it sit under the lamp until you are ready to leave. Seeing you are not tipping, I will allow the food runner to serve your meal. Oh you need extra sauce you didn’t order? Well so do five other tables so you can watch their sauces come first.”
The pettiness continues to intensify.
“Then I will ask what sauce it was you needed again. Oh you say refills? Give me a few moments to find that warm pitcher of tea sitting on the ledge. Hope it’s fully enough because I am splitting between you all, not refilling it.”
“By this time, I am being tipped out by other tables as they are asking for the checks.”
“No tips from this family, as expected and deserved. But one lady did apologize for her sisters rudeness, and that was good enough because the sister heard.”
