Former Waitress Defends Tipping for Restaurant Workers: ‘Tips Aren’t About Entitlement. They’re About Survival’

TikTok creator NiKOL Johnson shared her perspective on tipping as a former waitress, saying tips can be an important part of a restaurant worker's income. Her comments prompted a debate over whether customers or businesses should be responsible for workers' wages.

Johnson's TikTok bio says she is the founder of Nikol Beauty and also a writer and editorial creator for mature women. In the video, she says she worked as a waitress while modeling and acting in New York City. She said people without experience in the service industry may not understand how tipping affects workers.

“If you've never worked as a waitress, you really don't understand tipping,” Johnson said.

She said that customers do not have to agree with each tip prompt, but her experience of working in restaurants has changed the way she sees the issue. Johnson explained that servers have to put up with long hours on their feet and are pressured by customers and managers. She also said servers perform emotional labor and are expected to remain pleasant throughout their shifts.

She said many restaurant workers rely on tips as an important part of their income. "Tips aren't about entitlement. They're about survival," Johnson said. She argued that customers ultimately have control over how much they tip.

Commenters share their own experiences and debate who should pay workers

Her post has more than 54,000 likes and 1,400 comments, with users divided over who should be responsible for paying service workers. A number of the commenters who were either currently or previously employed in restaurants said that Johnson's observations matched their own experiences. One bartender said they are paid $2.13 an hour at a busy bar in a luxury resort and described the mental fatigue involved in the job. Another commenter said they walked 14,000 steps during a five-hour shift, adding, "We hustle."

Some commenters focused instead on problems with the tipping system. One claimed that tipping should be a service charge. Another commenter who said they had spent more than 20 years in the service industry argued that customers should not be responsible for paying employees' wages.

Under U.S. federal law, employers of tipped employees may take a tip credit toward their minimum-wage obligations. Employers generally must ensure that tipped employees receive at least the applicable minimum wage when their wages and tips are combined. Requirements vary by state, and some states provide greater protections for tipped employees.

Tipping also varies from country to country and industry to industry. For example, one commenter from Canada said that servers in Canada are paid at least the minimum wage applicable to them. In contrast, others question whether customers should be expected to tip people in occupations such as driving and in the field of health care.

For Johnson, though, the real issue is how service workers are treated. "You don't have to have worked in the service industry to be kind," she said, "but it sure helps you understand why it matters."

The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the details shared in Johnson's video, including her account of working in the restaurant industry. The details above reflect Johnson's statements in the TikTok video and the experiences shared by commenters.