Los Angeles Server Said He Made $50 an Hour in Tips During His Best Week of the Year — X Said Tipping Culture Was Out of Control — He Said He Earned Every Dollar

A video of a Los Angeles server sharing how much he makes in tips alone is going viral online. He claimed he makes almost $8,000 a month, excluding his hourly wages as a restaurant server. His reveal has X users wondering if tipping culture was “out of control.” 

In his caption, the creator @incognitokey said he was not trying to boast and that the week shown was unusually busy. He also acknowledged the tips and said he worked hard for them. 

In the video, he broke down the tip numbers for his job as a server for six days a week. As previously mentioned, it excludes his hourly wage and after tip-out. The content creator would work anywhere between 3.68 hours and 9 hours. 

He recorded his lowest earnings on a Friday, for which he worked 3.68 hours and got tipped $43. His highest was on a Saturday when he worked 8.58 hours and made $546. This was a little higher than his tips on a Tuesday: $512 for 9 hours. 

At the end of the week, he’d made about $1,842 in tips alone after working for 36.71 hours. He did the math and found that he was making $50.18 every hour. In the video, he addressed the major boost in tip revenue. 

He said, “I mean, I don’t get all weeks like this. I just got scheduled mad crazy this week.” He also stated that he worked only four days a week and the money was merely a result of a hectic work schedule. 

X had Mixed Feelings About How Much the Los Angeles Server Made in Tips

On TikTok, his video has gained about 160,000 views as of publication. X had similar statistics, with over 168,000 views. @WallStreetApes highlighted the viral video on their verified account, sparking mixed responses. 

@WallStreetApes wrote in its caption that "tipping culture has really gotten out of hand in America," framing the creator's earnings as evidence of excess. This sparked mixed responses in the comments. 

Many agreed with the X account about it being a “lot of money” in just one week. However, others felt he earned the money. A user noted, “He must be a great server; (there’s) nothing wrong with that.” 

Shortly after the video went viral, the content creator shared another video on his TikTok account announcing his exit from the service industry. First, he reiterated that it was the “best week” all year and does not make that much every week or month.

He also said that hours in the service industry were rarely guaranteed or consistent. Then, he addressed the criticism and discouraged people from undermining a person’s job since each one works hard. 

He said the demanding nature of the work had led him to leave the service industry. His followers wished him well and said they hoped he would share updates on his next venture.