If you’ve ever worked in the service industry, you’re probably familiar with the famous mantra, “Cash is king.”
While a tip of any nature is desirable for servers, getting a tip in dollar bills means cash in hand by the end of the night, rather than having to wait for your restaurant or delivery service to pay out tips at the end of a pay cycle.
This is why many make a conscious decision to tip their servers in cash rather than by card. However, this doesn’t always go as planned, as TikTok user Saraphine (@saraphineisabellestanier) recently noted in a viral TikTok.
In a clip with over 1.1 million views as of Friday, Saraphine says she ordered DoorDash and left a tip under her doormat, telling the Dasher in the instructions section to look for the tip under the mat. After the food arrived, she discovered that the driver did not actually take the tip.
“Now I feel bad!” she says.
@saraphineisabellestanier AS A SERVER IM STRESSED 😭 #tipyourdrivers #tipyourservers #tipping #fyp @DoorDash ♬ original sound – Saraphine
“As a server and someone who also use to doordash cash is ALWAYS better,” she explains in the comments section. In another comment, she added, “[I tip] $10-$20 every time. I don’t doordash food often so when I do I treat them.”
Commenters were quick to share their issues with Dashers not reading instructions.
“I did this for weeks and one day lifted up my door mat and found all the money I had put under there under the different corners lmao,” a user recalled.
“They NEVER read the notes. I will send instructions, they’ll say ‘ok got it’ and literally do the opposite,” another stated. “I’ve never had one actually read it.”
“Lmao I used to leave a tip, TAPED to the door and they would not take it,” a third claimed.
As such, many users said that Saraphine shouldn’t feel too guilty about the Dasher not taking the tip.
“Don’t feel bad,” a commenter wrote. “its their job to read the note.”
“Honestly it’s their fault for not reading it,” echoed a second.
Others noted that Saraphine can simply leave a tip via the app, even though she would prefer to give them cash.
“Can’t you just increase the tip on the app?” asked a user.
“Just do the tip on the app,” reiterated an additional TikToker. “They get 100% of the tip.”
We’ve reached out to Saraphine via TikTok comment.
Update 1:19pm CT, July 1, 2023: In a TikTok direct message exchange with the Daily Dot, Saraphine says that she had previously done this without issue.
“During the peak of COVID mostly, I would always ask in the comments to not knock since I have a dog and I’d also say there is money under the door mat. And they would take it,” she wrote. “This is the first time I’ve doordashed in a while and they didn’t this time!”
As for why she didn’t tip in the app, she has an explanation.
“I’m a server and I know how getting tipped on cards (or through the app) affects your actual income. There have been many reports of DoorDash stealing tips even when they say it goes to the driver, and on top of that, you’re getting taxed on it, but with cash, you don’t necessarily have to claim it even though you’re supposed to,” she detailed. “It’s also just easier for me as a server to tip cash. I always have cash available but I don’t always have money in my bank account because I’ll forget to go to the bank for weeks until my bills are due.”
“The only thing I’d like to add is tip your service workers,” she concluded. “When you’re being serviced with a luxury like take out, eating out at a restaurant, having groceries delivered to you, etc. That’s a luxury and something you should expect to tip for!”
