Family Wanted To Tip Their Waiter With A $25 Amazon Gift Card And Started A Massive Debate On If It’s OK Or Not

What do you do if you can’t leave a tip for whatever reason? Sure, it’s never really mandatory to leave one, yet we always find ourselves leaving at least something.

And though we are aware that the waiting staff benefits greatly from generous tips and it’s always the best way of thanking them for being kind and caring at their job, we often don’t really remember to have some cash on hand just like that to tip the people who serve us.

But what if you were to offer something else instead of money. Like a gift card? TikTok has been debating this very issue lately after this one young lady shared a video of her family wanting to tip just that.

More Info: TikTok

So, Kaitlyn Lombera, better known as @kaittwest on TikTok, has recently shared a video of how her brother Gustavo put down a $25 Amazon gift card as a tip for a $95.24 bill at a Korean BBQ place.

All fine and dandy when you think about it, especially given some context. You see, the trio (Kait, her bro and sis) didn’t have any cash on them to leave a tip for the waiter, so they joked how they could offer a $25 Amazon gift card.

"When we realized none of us had cash, my brother offered to use his Amazon gift card. The waiter overheard and laughed," said Kaitlyn in an interview with Bored Panda. They ended up tipping using a bank card, though, as they didn't know if a gift card was actually a good tip. Given that it's to the amount of $25, well over the 20% threshold for the current bill, the idea wasn't all that bad.

"Tipping is a big deal in America. Personally, I always tip regardless of service. Waiters/waitresses are underpaid and under appreciated, I know because I used to work as a hostess. They need better wages and shouldn’t have to rely solely on tips," elaborated Kaitlyn.

It didn’t take long for the video to go viral, as it now has nearly 700,000 views with over 40,000 likes and a couple thousand comments. Speaking of comments, folks there were quite divided over this move. You see, money can buy a lot of things, whereas a gift card limits you to a certain store, so most people were divided into two main camps here.

On one side, there’s people who looked at the fact that it was a gift card for an internet venue that sells so many different things that it wouldn’t be hard to find something you like, and the amount turned out to be more than the customary 20% (it was, in fact, 26.24%), so it was a sure win for the waiter.

Besides, they were asked if they didn’t mind the gift card in place of the traditional cash tip, and they were fine with it.

But, there was also the other side, arguing that a gift card will not pay the waiter’s bills, no matter how large the tip might be. Others also pointed out that if you end up spending $95 on restaurant food, surely you have money to leave a proper tip.

Kaitlyn was surprised with the reception, and the huge debates that succeeded the video: "The video was a harmless joke, but the people started making a whole debate in the comments."

She continued: "I was super shocked at the comments calling me names such as 'ignorant, ungrateful, entitled etc.' I pinned a comment where my sister explained the video and even then people kept commenting rude things. The problem is a lot of people are assuming I’m the waitress recording a customer without his consent and posting him online to shame him for tipping with a gift card."

You can check out the video as well as the comments on TikTok, but before you go, share your thoughts with us and tell us what you think of tipping gift cards (or other monetary equivalents) in the comment section below!