Woman Refuses To Tip For Counter Coffee And Boyfriend Calls Her Out
She tips for service, not for pouring coffee.
A college student recently found herself in an argument with her boyfriend over something that seems small but clearly isn’t: whether she should always tip.
She says she isn’t against tipping. In fact, she always tips at sit-down restaurants, when she orders delivery, or when she receives a service that involves real effort and attention. That part isn’t the issue.
The disagreement started over counter service.
When she goes to a café and orders a simple filtered coffee, she doesn’t tip. Her reasoning is straightforward. The barista pours coffee into a cup. There’s no table service, no custom drink, no extended interaction. The same applies at fast food restaurants where the payment terminal immediately asks for a tip before anything even happens.
She admits she’s a broke college student. If she were paying in cash, she likely wouldn’t leave extra money for that type of service. So when the card terminal prompts her to tip at places like Tim Hortons, she selects no tip.
Her boyfriend, however, always tips. He believes that if you can afford the item, you can afford to tip. To him, skipping it feels wrong.
Now she’s wondering if she’s being stingy, or if tipping culture has simply expanded beyond what makes sense.
Scroll through the screenshots below to see how their argument unfolded.
Let’s dig into the details
Reddit.comOriginal story
Reddit.comOriginal story
Reddit.com
We gathered some interesting comments from the Reddit community
Reddit.com
“I don't tip the guy running my card through. Same goes for the barista at the coffee shop.”
Reddit.com
“NTA if you don’t tip for services that aren’t normally tipped for.”
Reddit.com
“NTA. Tipping is for sit down restaurants.”
Reddit.com
“If you are gonna tip someone for literally doing the job they are already paid to do... tip a teacher.”
Reddit.com
“I don’t think you’re out of bounds for not throwing your money away at every person who asks for it.”
Reddit.com
“NTA. Your boyfriend is the reason our tipping culture has gotten out of f**king control.”
Reddit.com
“I don’t think he should be telling you what to do, if it’s your money, NTA.”
Reddit.com
“I would say NAH. Still, a dollar or two can go a long way at a coffee shop or pick up place you frequent.”
Reddit.com
“NTA- I honestly hate the whole tipping thing we have in America, as it's an excuse to not pay employees fairly.”
Reddit.com
“Always tip your waiter and your delivery driver, but when the only service is the making of the food, you're okay.”
Reddit.com
“If you can afford to pay a tip, it definitely helps the people working there, but again, only if you think they deserve the tip.”
Reddit.com
Tipping used to feel tied to clear service standards. Now tip prompts appear almost everywhere, even in situations where the interaction lasts less than a minute.
For her, it’s about consistency. She tips where she feels service is being provided. For her boyfriend, it’s about supporting workers regardless of the setup.
So what do you think? Should tipping apply at every counter and coffee shop, or is it reasonable to draw the line somewhere?
