Sometimes, when you’re out having a good time at a bar, you just don’t want the night to end. Maybe you struck up a great conversation with a stranger, or maybe you’re having such a blast with friends and the drinks are going down too smoothly that cutting the night short feels wrong.
Hours pass by and before you know it, your bartender is standing behind the counter and wondering when they’re going to finally go home. Oftentimes, bartenders will shout that there’s a “last call” and will remind everyone about 30 minutes before closing time that they need to get their final drink orders in.
But a bartender recorded by a TikToker named Jordan (@jsauce527) seemed to take a different approach to clear the bar they work at. The viral clip has garnered more than 4 million views as of Friday.
The video appears to have divided TikTok users—some thought that the bartender’s actions were uncalled for and that a request for a 40% tip was egregious, while others argued that this was the point. Asking for a such a high premium was a way for the service worker to capture people’s attention and reinforce the idea that people needed to leave in a timely fashion.
@jsauce527 Lets goooooo #fyp #foryou #bartenderlife #bartender #server #serverliferesturantlife #serverlife ♬ original sound – jordan💅
In the clip, the bartender is screaming at the top of their lungs behind the counter of a Rockford, Illinois bar, “If you’re not f*cking the bartenders, tipping 40%, get the f*ck out of the bar. It is 2 o’clock and I’m ready to go the f*ck home.”
The bartender starts waving the customers away from the bar as they exhort patrons to exit the bar. “Get out!” the employee screams, urging folks to leave.
One commenter wrote that the loud exhortation would have had the opposite effect on their tipping habits, writing, “I’d leave no tip after that.”
Another expressed a similar sentiment, saying, “You want me to pay your rent as well?”
However, someone else thought that these commenters were missing the point of the bartender’s comments.
“Everyone saying 40% is ridiculous… that’s the point.. they want you to leave,” they shared.
An additional TikToker penned, “These comments ain’t it some of y’all shouldn’t do the bar scene if y’all are gonna be this precious about it half the fun is the bartender.”
Another said that it’s easy to take the video out of context as they speculated that the folks hanging out at the bar were probably regulars.
“It’s probably just regulars in the bar anyways , the comments are a bit too extra,” they said.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Jordan via TikTok comment.
