A less than 10% gratuity led to a bad tip confrontation between this New York City server and her customer.
New York City-based actor and service industry worker Shea Gomez wasn’t having it after she received a less-than-standard gratuity. Gomez (@heysheashea), who has over 20,000 TikTok followers and often posts content that goes viral, describes the alleged confrontation in a TikTok she posted on Sunday.
Captioned “Girl, I gotta pay my rent!!” the video now has over 37,000 views.
A bad tip
“Last night I got a 9% tip,” Gomez claims at the top of her video.
“In New York City—one of the most expensive cities to live in. Absolutely not. So what did I do?” she asks her viewers. “I confronted her.”
“I guess this is a pattern with her,” Gomez says. She alleges she “talked to my other servers, and they had a similar experience.”
Gomez states the customer’s tipping range was between 7% and 9% per check.
She claims she confronted the customer after seeing her waiting for the restroom.
Confrontation in the bathroom line
“I went up to her and said, ‘Hey, how was everything tonight?’” Gomez states.
She says that the customer told her that her experience was “awesome.”
“You left me a 9% tip, so I just wanted to see if there’s like any way I can improve,” Gomez claims to have asked.
“The way that she paused and raised her little brow and said, ‘No’? Didn’t even blink,” Gomez says.
Gomez says she thanked the woman and walked away. She claims the woman moved to a different section of the restaurant after the confrontation.
“Hopefully she learned something from our little exchange,” Gomez concludes. “I did what I could.”
@heysheashea Girl, I gotta pay my rent!! #serverlife #tipping #serviceindustry #badtipper #servertiktok ♬ original sound – Shea Gomez
How much should you tip in New York City?
A bad tip might lead to a confrontation.
Most servers in New York City are paid $10.65 an hour, “with a tip allowance of no more than $5.35 per hour,” per the New York Department of Labor.
Many travel guides suggest leaving at least a 15% to 20% tip when dining out in NYC.
Travel No. 1 states, “The customary tip of 15-20% is recommended. A 15% tip is consider [sic] common practice for average service.”
“You should lean toward a 20% tip if you’re happy with the service or dining in a high-end restaurant,” it continues.
New York City Tourism writes customers should tip “15–20 percent of the total bill (the higher end has become more of the norm).”
It warns, “This is the one place where you really must tip; unless you’ve had awful service, staff may look askance at anything less than 15 percent.”
Viewers have opinions
Despite the recommendations above, many viewers felt that the confrontation was unwarranted.
Raybee (@raybeegirl) wrote, “I would have spoken with the manager and changed my tip to ZERO after that ‘confrontation’”
Another server wrote, “I think we just need to be grateful that people tip us at all it’s completely optional.”
Gomez responded, “I hear you, but I don’t think guests understand that tipping is where our money comes from, as we are making $10.65/hour. Crazy for living in one of the most expensive cities.”
Another viewer confessed, “I always tip 20% but now I don’t even bother eating out.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Gomez via email and TikTok Messenger for further comment.
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