In 2023, a server reportedly makes on average $100 in tips per day. One server on TikTok reveals she took home way more than that—but the work she put in to make that money is not for the faint of heart.
@butterflyginger says in her video, which was viewed over 460,000 times, that she “thought it would be fun to” make a video on how much she made in one weekend.
“OK it’s Friday morning, I worked this morning, and then a double on Saturday, and then I close on Sunday night. … I just got off my Friday morning shift, and I’m gonna count the money that I have here after tip out,” @butterflyginger begins before counting a stack of cash, revealing she earned $195 for a Friday morning restaurant shift.
The video then cuts to her counting out the tips she earned for working a double shift on Saturday. She’s sitting down and speaks directly into the camera: “I started at 11, and I clocked out right after nine o’clock, so I’m going to count my tips.”
She repeats the process again, showing what she earned that Saturday: $370.
@butterflyginger I think this only works if u dont have a social life and are okay with working all weekend long hahaha #tipcount #moneycount #waitress #server #waitresstok #servertiktok ♬ original sound – ButterflyGinger🦋🦁
The TikToker clarifies the cash she was counting out in the videos represents all of the tips she earned, including the ones left on a credit card. In addition to the money she made for the evening, she also revealed a customer left a voucher for a free appetizer at Buffalo Wild Wings.
In the third portion of the video, she delineates how much she earned on Sunday, which included an added morning shift, so she effectively worked two doubles back-to-back. “I still have like no idea how much money I made, but I feel so gross. I’ll shower, and then I’ll come back and count,” she says.
She returns on camera with wet hair, holding a leather book containing her tips for the evening, which she has yet to count out. “I clocked in today at like 10:57, and then I think I clocked out around like 10:30 today, so I almost worked a full 12 hours. That’s just a little disclaimer, OK.” She then begins to count out the money she earned on her second double of the weekend: $389. This brought her to a grand total of $954 for the weekend.
To close out the video, @butterflyginger expresses her gratitude at being able to earn the amount of money she did in a three-day timeframe. “I just feel so grateful that I love to go to and like I just love my job, I really do love it so much. And I’m just so grateful for every single tip that I get. This is your sign to go apply for serving jobs near you,” she says.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @butterflyginger via email.
Some viewers who saw the clip expressed how pleasantly surprised they were at the amount of money the TikToker was able to bring in on a single weekend.
“Insane that you made 1/3rd of my MONTHLY salary in 3 days lmao,” one commenter wrote. Another penned, “I think this is my sign to take the waitressing job I was offered.” And someone else said, “$370 on a double THATS IT OMG ID CRY.”
Many said her clip is having them considering working in the service industry. “I’m thinking about serving but i’m scared bc i’ve never served before but have done every other job u could think of,” one said.
But @butterflyginger shared an important catch to the gig in the caption that might make viewers think twice about going into the industry. “I think this only works if u dont have a social life and are okay with working all weekend long,” she said.
