Should I Have Tipped? The Story of a Disappointing Dining Experience
AITA for not tipping after a terrible dining experience with a stoned waiter? Opinions differ on whether tipping is mandatory for poor service.
A weekday lunch turned into a full-on tipping debate for one Redditor, and honestly, it’s hard to blame them. This wasn’t some busy, slammed restaurant situation where the staff was drowning in orders. It was basically empty, they got seated immediately, and then the whole experience stalled in the most awkward way possible.
They sat for about 10 minutes with no drink order, then a girl apologized because she wasn’t their waitress, but said she’d find the right guy. Another 10 minutes passed, and when the waiter finally showed up, he was reportedly “stoned out of his mind,” mumbled through questions, took their order, and then disappeared again. They had to chase down their checks at the front, and even those were mixed up even though they were supposed to be separate.
And that’s where the real conflict hit: OP refused to tip, while friends tipped big, calling them a jerk for it.
Original Post
Everyone in this story is American btw. I went out to eat with some friends a few days ago.
The restaurant was pretty empty because we came in around 2pm on a weekday and we got seated right away. We sat for about 10 minutes with nobody taking a drink order until a girl came over and apologized saying she wasn't our waitress, but she thought we were waiting a while and she would find him for us.
10 minutes later our waiter comes out stoned out of his mind and mumbles a few questions at us and we order. We finished eating without ever seeing him again and we had to ask someone at the front to get us our checks which were supposed to be separate but were all messed up.
We sorted it out ourselves and I refused to tip him because he did way below the minimum I would expect from someone. My friends over tipped because they thought I was being a d**k.
I understand working a shitty job and not caring about it at all so I didn't complain to anyone about him, but is tipping really mandatory in this case?
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The restaurant was nearly empty at 2pm, yet OP and their friends spent 10 minutes waiting for drinks before anyone even admitted they had the wrong waitress.</p>
When the actual waiter finally appeared, he was “stoned out of his mind,” asked a few mumbled questions, and then vanished right after the meal.</p>
The group even had to go to the front to get their checks, and those were messed up despite being meant to be separate.</p>
OP refused to tip after all that, and suddenly the table split, with friends over-tipping because they thought OP was being a d**k.</p>
What would you do in this situation? Share your opinion in the comments.
Nobody wants to tip for a meal where the server basically clocked out before dessert.
Still wondering about tipping after a waiter shows up stoned, see how one bride handled her brother’s thalassophobia at a yacht wedding.
