Go scroll through enough TikTok videos and you’re bound to come across a tipping culture post. You’ll see someone probably slamming a coffee shop asking for percentage based tips. Or you’ll hear complaints about another business nudging folks to leave a 30% gratuity on a $20 salad takeout salad.
It looks like the TikTok account for Tom Gill Chevy (@tomgillchevy) is using tipping culture outrage to its advantage. The dealership went viral with a recent post that had users questioning their sanity. While some thought it was a joke, there were others who didn’t seem so sure. And then there were those who seriously wondered if tipping their car salesperson is ever a good idea.
“POV: you’re buying a car in 2024,” a text overlay in the video reads. It shows a car salesman handing over the keys of a new Chevrolet vehicle to a customer. The buyer dangles them in front of the camera, as a sales person’s voice can be heard saying, “Just one last question before you leave.”
The person recording the clip then pans the camera back over to the dealership employee, who is holding up a tablet. On its screen, a post-transaction screen is displayed. There are several tip options on the screen, indicating that the salesman is expecting a gratuity for the service he provided the car buyer. That’s on top of the commission he earns for the vehicle he just sold.
Should you tip your car salesperson?
Gill indicates in a caption for the video that it’s indeed a joke. Which makes sense, as there are several conversations circulating gratuities for car dealership workers. And it seems that the majority of buyers staunchly oppose the practice. Folks in this Quora post discussed this very issue.
In a response to the post, a former car salesman bluntly explained why he’s against tips. He wrote, “When I graduated from college, I was offered numerous jobs that paid $12k a year. I went to work for Virginia’s largest Chevy dealership as a “management trainee”. I rotated through every department. I made $50k, mostly through sales. No matter what you want to do, you will have to sell! Salespeople earn their living. They don’t need tips!”
Car aficionados don’t think gratuities are necessary
The folks in this Legacy GT forum also think tipping car sales reps is a bad idea. Like one commenter, who penned, “Are you serious? You do realize they make commission off of you right?”
Another wrote, “I’ll take gratuity for the following advice: (pm me for paypal info) DON’T EVER THINK ABOUT TIPPING YOUR SALESPERSON.”
One commenter argued that if folks wanted to tip, they should do so, but not based on percentage. This is because they assumed workers aren’t making a lot of money on their sales.
They wrote, “Just to clarify, I seem to recall reading somewhere that a few people will give the sales person an extra $50 or $100 after closing the deal. I realize they do get a commission, but my understanding is that it is pretty small. Can anyone with knowledge comment on the amount of profit the dealership generally gets for each sale, and then how much of it goes to the sales person?”
Some users got the joke, but didn’t find it funny
Sales people aren’t getting much love in the comments section of Gill’s post. A user on the app wrote that they were able to get 2 free years of car service. This is due to how poor their experience was dealing with their rep. They wrote, “The salesman who sold my car was the most useless human I’ve ever encountered. I complained and got 2 years free service on a Benz.”
Others commented that this is yet another example of tipping culture getting out of hand. They penned, “That’s doing anything in 2024.”
“You tip car salesmen now?” another asked incredulously.
According to one dealership worker, there is a way to “tip” them. They explain that their gratuity is actually high marks on mail-in surveys. “Give me perfect scores on that survey you’ll get in the mail…. That’s the tip button for dealers,” the TikToker writes.
@tomgillchevy 20% is generous 🤣 #entertainment #joke #joking #car #cartok #carhubvibez #salestips #cars #carcommunity #saleshumor #dealershiplife #dealershiptok #cargirl #carguy #cardealershiptiktok #dealershiphumor #sales #cincy #dealership #salestok #saleshumor #tipingchallenge #tip #carbuyingtips ♬ did i tell u that i miss u – adore
Update 9:40am CT, Aug. 12: When reached for comment, Tom Gill Chevy confirmed with the Daily Dot that the video was a joke.
“We love to see that our posts are getting so much attention!” it said “We also wanted to clarify a few misconceptions people may have about how our dealership runs. Unlike most dealers, our salespeople are not paid on commission. What we mean by this is that our payment plans are based on a quota basis, meaning it does not matter the price of the vehicle that is sold, only how many vehicles that salesperson sells for that month! This is mainly because our vehicles are not priced above msrp and encourages our team to find the right vehicle for our customers without pressuring them into a vehicle outside of their preferred budget!”
The dealership continued:
“We also offer bonus opportunities for our salespeople. One of those bonus opportunities being our customer reviews! We encourage all of our customers to leave honest reviews about their experience at Tom Gill Chevrolet and with their specific salesperson or sales managers that assisted them along the way!
Aside from how our customers are paid, we did note that a comment from an individual about purchasing a benz from a ‘useless salesman’ might have been taken out of context. In the article it is giving the impression that this commenter purchased from us, however that is not the case. All of our customers who purchase vehicles from our dealership automatically receive free lifetime oil changes and tire rotations, on top of a lifetime powertrain warranty for vehicles purchased under 80,000 miles or under 8 years old. So, truly there would be no need for our customers to fight for free service on their vehicles as they already received that benefit just from being a returning customer! We have taken the time to reply back to that user letting them know that with our processes their headache experienced at another dealership would not happen with our business or team!
Lastly, we would like to express that the best tip any customer could give to any dealership is the tip of the returning customer! All we can ask for is an easy, smooth, and fun car buying experience for our customers that lets them know we always have their best interest at heart!”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Tom Gill Chevy via email for further comment.
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