Economy & LaborNOV 1, 2023

Hotel Guest Got Breakfast At Self-Serve Buffet But Left Worker Visibly Irritated By Not Tipping

For servers, tips usually make up a significant part of their income. This works as an incentive for the workers to provide better services and for the customers to show appreciation.

Tipping a server for their work is a common practice in our society. However, as u/MemorableKidsMoments tells us, sometimes, it feels like this practice is getting out of hand. When a server in a hotel’s self-service buffet got visibly displeased after not receiving a tip for barely doing anything, this Redditor took online to share their mild infuriation with others, and you can read all about it below!

More info: Reddit

Tips are how servers make most of their income, but sometimes, this culture goes a step too far

Image credits: Franz Schekolin (not the actual photo)

The author was staying at a hotel where their reservation included complimentary breakfast at a self-serve buffet

Image credits: MemorableKidsMoments

When the poster refused to leave a tip for the entitled server, who did nothing more than pour coffee, the guy got visibly displeased

The OP tells us of their experience when staying in one of Marriott hotels located in the USA. According to the respective membership status, the guests there can be eligible for complimentary breakfast at the self-service buffet and have a nice, free meal to start their day.

Since the author’s stay included that complimentary breakfast, they didn’t miss an opportunity to use it. But while the first time went without a hiccup, the second day had something mildly infuriating intertwined in it that just couldn’t be avoided.

Despite the OP leaving their breakfast card in plain sight on the table, the server brought them a check and asked for a tip. When the OP pointed out that the food was supposed to be ‘on the house,’ the server, not very pleasantly, answered that he was aware, but in case the guest wanted to leave a tip, it would be nice, adding that he has to feed his dog.

The not-so-nice attitude with which the server replied caught the OP by surprise. Tipping is not mandatory - it mostly depends on how much work was put in and how well the service was provided. But on this occasion, aside from pouring the coffee, he barely did anything. After all, this is a self-service buffet we’re talking about.

Needless to say, the OP didn’t leave the tip, which left the server visibly displeased. While primarily it was due to them not having cash, they said that given the guy’s entitled attitude, they probably wouldn’t have left any even if they had some.

The comment section was filled with replies. Some Redditors pointed out that when a Marriott hotel worker serves a guest with a voucher, they automatically receive 15% of their breakfast worth. However, most of the people were simply sharing their own experiences, making jokes, and overall agreeing that the behavior of guilting customers into tipping is not OK and needs to stop.

Image credits: Dan Smedley (not the actual photo)

To get a better overall picture, we looked into what the situation of tipping really looks like. According to CNBC, in the USA, there is an ongoing national debate about whether the tipping system should be replaced.

Because the fixed tipped minimum wage is far less than the federal minimum ($2.13 against $7.25 an hour), there is a law in place requiring employers to pay the difference if the server doesn’t reach the regular minimum through tips. But while in theory, this should be a great solution, in practice, more often than not, this doesn’t happen.

According to the statistics provided by the article, people who make up most of their income through tips are more likely to require government assistance. But if every tipped worker is supposedly guaranteed a minimum wage in their state, the government shouldn’t be a permanent subsidiary for that income when things don’t work out well.

Some economists believe that instead of trying to fix it, it is time to eliminate this system entirely. Replacing it with a regular minimum wage would likely mean a raise for quite some workers and, in addition, would provide them with more stability.

However, here, we also run into an obstacle. According to NPR, we have also to consider the fact that this would also hurt a lot of businesses, which, in turn, would mean a very significant amount of job losses.

Workers worry that if, after a couple of bad days, the restaurants already consider cutting the hours of their most loyal employees, a wage raise would mean hell. At the same time, the restaurants worry that they might just not survive something like that. There are months when they barely make ends meet as it is, and, in combination with that, having to pay higher wages would be a painful hit.

Of course, some don’t like this idea entirely. Aside from the motivation to work harder, some workers say that the system works just great and it’s only a matter of working in the right place. For others, the tipping system is nothing else but a benefit, as there are those who receive regular minimum wage and also get tips, regardless of how the business is going. But while that may be true for some, the numbers don’t lie, with statistics showing that most tipped workers don’t make what they’re promised.

So, to sum it up, it’s not hard to see why the culture of the tipping system can be annoying. Not all the services provided are worthy of a tip, yet people are expected to comply without a second thought. But at the same time, it’s worth looking at it from the tipped workers’ and establishments’ points of view to realize the situation they’re in, especially when we’re talking about how it is in Canada and the USA.

Hopefully, we will eventually find a solution that works well for all the parties involved. But until then, the best thing to do is to look for a common ground and keep going. Because directly or not, in the end, this affects all of us involved.

So, what did you think of the story? Have you had any similar experiences? What are your views on the tipped culture and the system behind it? Come down to the comments and share!