A viral TikTok started a debate when a "broke" guy decided to tip their server with a $25 Amazon gift card because he didn't have cash.
The poster, Kaitlyn (@kaittwest) made a short video showing a man placing the Amazon gift card over the bill, which came to $95.24.
The text over the video said:
"He asked if he could tip with a Amazon gift card."
The reason they gave was in the caption:
"Holidays left us #broke."
The video reached 245.2 thousand views and 14.9 thousand likes.
@kaittwest Visit TikTok to discover videos!
The gratuity was calculated on the bill. It said for 15% would have been $13.05 and 20% would have been $17.95. Both were less than the $25 gift cards.
A few commenters were upset with the gift card.
@user1774190931545/TikTok
@photofilly16/TikTok
Some joked that there isn't anything actually on the card in the first place.
@sharuk_evo/TikTok
However, a lot of commenters were in support of man giving the gift card, especially because it was more than the suggested 20% tip.
@the_ggs/TikTok; @kaittwest/TikTok
@yadi_d/TikTok
@danny_destino/TikTok
@princess.jubjubs/TikTok
@advent_sanctity/TikTok
@bryansarchive/TikTok
@imjusthere__/TikTok
@stangblue/TikTok
@nxworriess/TikTok
There are definitely still people who only tip if they thought the server did a good job. People even admitted it in the comments.
@spikepatino/TikTok
But many people are calling to abolish tips because a tipped wage is below the minimum wage. It puts it on the customers to make up for that loss of wage that the employer isn't paying for.
@sophieee___02/TikTok
@nickyandre98/TikTok
@madiyodaddy1220/TikTok
@dmac6419/TikTok
As mentioned by @advent_sanctity, tips are taxable income. Whereas the $25 gift card to Amazon is considered a "gift" and not taxable. Maybe we should think about creative ways to tip our servers who have been working hard through the pandemic.
