It seems like food service industry workers just can’t catch a break, as evidenced by TikToker Lucy (@lucy.holz), who recounted her experience serving rude American customers who didn’t even tip in a viral video.
Lucy, who works as a waitress at a vineyard, recounts her experience serving a group of American tourists who were on a wine tour. She claims that the group was being “abrasive” and kept checking up on her service, even as she was serving them in the moment.
For example, she says, while bringing out a few orders of chicken, the group told Lucy that they had also ordered some burgers.
“Well I actually can’t carry five plates at once so if you bear with me for 30 seconds, I’ll go and grab the other mains,” Lucy retorts to the camera, also noting that she didn’t actually say that to the Americans and kept her composure.
This happened again when the group informed Lucy that they were waiting for dessert, while she was in the process of clearing their entrees. She also claims that when she asked them whether they wanted tea or coffee with their dessert, they didn’t know enough about Australian coffee or tea culture to know anything more than the fact that they wanted a “black coffee” and a “black tea.”
Lucy ends the video with the most egregious offense the rude American customers committed – they didn’t tip her.
“They harassed me as though I was an American waitress but I didn’t even reap the benefits,” she says, referring to the strong tipping culture in the American food service industry.
@lucy.holz Oh americans #fyp #waitress #american #australian ♬ original sound – Lucy
The video has garnered 495,000 views as of Friday and viewers in the comments section let the TikToker know their feelings about the customers she had to deal with.
One person said of their own experience with rude customers, “I used to work at a place with a lot of American tourists and every single one of them was like this. Some of them did tip though.”
Some suggested that the Americans weren’t trying to be rude but that they just weren’t used to the more laid-back service style of their Australian server.
“The food, drink & hospitality style here is a shock to them. High quality but expensive,” said one user before they cheekily added, “+ their coffee is sweet and weak.”
Another user seemed to agree with the explanation that the Americans weren’t trying to be rude by not leaving a tip. They said, “The difference here in OZ, we don’t need to be over the top with service because we get paid very well.”
This person has a point as the U.S. Department of Labor states the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, whereas, in Australia, the mandated national minimum wage is $21.38 (AUD) an hour, which is approximately $13.27 in American dollars.
Even some Americans agreed that the issue came down to a difference in restaurant culture. One person said, “As an American, all I can say is our dining style here is so rushed we’ve been conditioned to also rush. No excuses when in other places though.”
Another said that rude behavior and a lack of tips weren’t exclusive to traveling Americans.
“I don’t think people realize the Karens of America do this in the US as well,” they wrote. “It’s who they are.”
Update 10am CT, Oct. 18: Lucy told the Daily Dot via email that she’s “lived in America on exchange and … didn’t find the customers to be particularly rude, just abrasive.”
“I never expect customers to tip, it was just a joke relating to the fact they’re American where tipping is expected,” she added.
