A Golden Corral employee named Brittany (@itsbrittanybitch225) documented the amount of gratuity she earns during “a day in the life of a server at a shit restaurant” revealing that despite waiting on approximately 50 tables, she only received $69 in tips.
According to Indeed, the average hourly pay for a Golden Corral server is $16.39. According to this Facebook user, servers at the restaurant earn the average minimum wage for tipped employees, which is $2.13. This Simply Hired job posting for a Golden Corral restaurant also indicates that its servers are paid a base wage of $2.13 per hour, with the expectation that servers are to receive gratuities.
However, it appears that tipping isn’t considered the norm for many buffet customers, as Brittany says that she rarely receives gratuities while working for the restaurant, which she doesn’t name in the clip. Based on the footage in her video and her name tag, it’s clear that she works for Golden Corral.
@itsbrittanybitch225 A day in the life of a server at a shit restaurant #serverlife #server #reaturants #fyp #viral #viralvideo ♬ original sound – itsbrittanybitch
“Excuse how I look today, but tonight we’re gonna talk about how shitty it is to be a server at my job,” Brittany begins the video. “I’m not gonna say the name of my job, because I don’t wanna get fired because I absolutely have no other option right now cause I’m carless, but let’s just take a look around at these tables that left me zero dollars.”
She then pans over to a buffet table sporting the remnants of the meals of multiple people. Bits of food, in some cases, big pieces of what appear to be untouched meat along with fully poured drinks rest on the tables.
“I’ve been at work since 3 o’clock this afternoon and let me show you the section that I’ve had all to myself,” Brittany says.
There’s another cut in this video, this time, showing off a wide-angle view of the section she refers to: there appear to be at least 12 tables and booths of various sizes.
She continues, “And considering how busy we are you would’ve thought that I made beaucoup money but let’s have a count.”
Brittany then transitions to counting out the cash tips she received on camera for a total of $69.
“And some of you may say that’s a lot of money, right?” she concedes. “I have probably from 3 o’clock to now, I’ve probably had about….50 tables. Give or take a couple.” She then blinks into the camera several times to emphasize just how little money she received in gratuities.
“So I should have hundreds of dollars right now but I don’t,” Brittany adds. “I mean there are worse nights than this, this is actually a pretty straight night considering over half my people even tipped me. Usually, I leave with nothing.”
She also addressed viewers who may urge her to find another job. Brittany says her lack of a car makes it difficult to get another job, as she needs her workplace to be on the bus route.
“So I’m stuck here until I get transportation,” she concludes. “So don’t say get another job, ’cause I can’t.”
One commenter argued that working for Golden Corral buffet isn’t the same as waiting tables in other restaurants, presumably since customers pack their own plates of food. “Sorry Golden Corral is not waiting tables. Been in the industry a long time,” they said.
This sentiment didn’t too well with other users on the platform. One user argued back, “Soo how do they survive off 2 dollars? Maybe you should talk to Golden Corral and give them your input it would be heaven if they listened.”
Some viewers weren’t even aware of the tipping etiquette when it comes to buffet servers.
“I legitimately did NOT know I was supposed to leave a cash tip at buffets… I’m SO sorry I will from now on !! Everyone deserves a tip. We genuinely didn’t know… and no this isn’t sarcasm,” one user wrote.
“You should absolutely tip when you go to a buffet. But you shouldn’t expect 20% when you aren’t serving anything but drinks lol unless you are,” another argued.
Other users pondered what an acceptable gratuity amount for buffet servers should be. “I’ve always wondered….what’s a good tip for a buffet where you serve yourself and the waitress basically just brings drinks?” one questioned.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Brittany via TikTok comment and Golden Corral via email.
