It goes without saying that tips are a great thing to get at the end of the day. That’s why your barista might be extra smiley or your server might show their most professional self.

But some people expect tips without putting much effort into what they do. This redditor experienced it firsthand, after she left a 10% tip at a restaurant despite receiving bad service and had to explain herself to a very unhappy manager. Scroll down to find the full story in the OP’s own words below.

Leaving a tip is optional, but many service providers view it as a given, unrelated to the effort they’re willing to put in

Image credits: Curated Lifestyle / unsplash (not the actual photo)

This customer had to explain herself to the restaurant manager after leaving a 10% tip

Image credits: Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo)

Image credits: fashien

Nowadays, even self-checkout machines are asking for tips

Many people nowadays have rather strong opinions on tipping. For those on the receiving end, tips tend to comprise a large chunk of their income, so they might try to defend the practice. (What other choice do they have when many earn close to nothing without tips?)

For those who are expected to leave tips, though, it’s added pressure to spend their hard-earned money, even if they don’t feel the service was worth it. Sometimes, there isn’t anyone to provide the service to begin with, but even self-checkout counters nowadays are asking for a tip.

The latter scenario is puzzling at best for many reasons. First of all, aren’t you supposed to tip someone for a job well done? And if so, why are you expected to tip a machine after having done most of the work yourself? Also, who does the money go to when you leave a tip for a self-checkout machine?

According to a Wall Street Journal reporter, Rachel Wolfe, you can’t really know where the money goes in such a case. “Machines don’t have the same protections as tipping human employees, so while the law requires that something called a ‘tip’ has to go to employees when you’re tipping a machine, you can’t be quite so sure,” she told CBS News.

Image credits: SumUp / unsplash (not the actual photo)

Many people think that not getting good service warrants not leaving a tip

While tipping a machine may seem absurd for numerous reasons, some people are skeptical about tipping people, too, especially when they don’t have a good experience with the establishment, as was the case with the OP.

But the redditor was rather kind to leave a 10% tip despite not getting good service, as many other people would have left nothing in her situation. A YouGov survey from last year found that roughly a half of Americans, including both customers and restaurant staff and managers, believe that it’s acceptable to leave zero tip after receiving bad service.

The survey also found that the majority of people—nearly 70% of them—think that it’s okay to ask to be seated before the entire party arrives. Though that, too, was not met with a smile from the manager in the restaurant the OP was at.

As for the biggest no-nos when it comes to unwritten rules of eating out, the absolute majority (90% versus 4%, with 6% being unsure) of respondents agree that it’s unacceptable for a customer to refuse to pay for a dish they didn’t like but ate nevertheless. It’s also unacceptable to let children roam freely in the establishment or debate menu prices with the staff, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

In the same way there are unwritten rules for customers to follow, management should also stick to certain dos and don’ts, such as not criticizing customers for the size of the tip they leave, for instance. Fellow netizens didn’t think that was acceptable, either, so many of them suggested that the OP should post about her experience again, this time in the form of a bad review.

Image credits: Lala Azizli / unsplash (not the actual photo)

The OP provided more details about the situation

People shared their thoughts in the comments section

Some netizens have gone through similar situations themselves

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