One South Florida bartender said he’s conflicted after he was mean to a customer and the man potentially gave him a $500 tip.
In a viral video, Joe Sim (@joesim) says, “This dude may or may not have just left me $500. I don’t know what to do.”
He explains that the man was sitting right across from him and was “annoying.”
“I was really, really mean to him,” he says. “His tab was only $28, but like, look: That’s not a mistake.”
He shows the bill where the tip line has an S-looking symbol that he interpreted as a five and four zeros with a decimal point after the first two.
“The decimal isn’t in the wrong place. There’s definitely four zeros,” he says.
He explains that generally, he would go by what’s written on the total line, but the customer signed there instead of putting a dollar amount.
“The least I could do is at least say $500 is the total and the tip is $472, but … I was just so mean to him that I just don’t feel comfortable taking anything,” he says. “I kind of want to just put five bucks.”
He says he texted his boss for guidance, but had not yet heard back.
Did he accept the $500 tip?
In a follow-up video, he says he put the tip in the system but has not yet closed out the register so the customer hadn’t been charged. He put $471.24 as the tip and $500 as the total bill amount.
His boss got back to him and asked if the customer was the “golf guy” because he is known to leave large tips. The bartender did some light Instagram stalking and found the page he believes belongs to the customer, then direct messaged him asking what tip he intended to leave. He admitted that he had been “douchey” the previous night and felt uncomfortable assuming the man had left him a large tip, though he did not apologize for his behavior.
He then addressed commenters who thought the symbol that looked to Sim like a five was a dollar sign. “Who the [expletive] writes zero, zero, zero, zero?” he asks. He says three zeros would’ve made sense but four is nonsensical. He also denied commenter’s claims that he had used a different pen and written in the amount himself.
By the end of the video, the customer had not responded to him and Sim needed to close out the register, so the $471.24 tip went into his account.
“Now we wait for the (probably rightful) charge dispute,” he writes in the caption.
‘Don’t block your blessing’
In the comments section of the update video, viewers agreed that the original tip amount was $500. Some argued that the customer may have been trying to kill him with kindness, while others said that even if the customer did mean $0, the bartender could charge $500 and the customer could dispute it with his bank.
“Sorry I’m still on the side that it says $500.00. … And ignore all the rest who are saying you did something wrong,” one viewer said.
User Jeremy Swick wrote, “I honestly think what happened is he’s probably trying to hurt you with kindness. … like yeah we didn’t get along, you were mean to me, so I’m gonna tip you so big you feel bad.”
Others shared similar experiences.
User Lisa said, “I used to have a ‘golf guy’ caddy who used to pay me $100 a drink in a hole in the wall. He liked me to put juke box as loud as possible blasting Whitney Houston.”
Another viewer wrote, “When I worked at hooters many many years ago (lol) I was also mean to a guy and barely paid attention to him- and forgot to bring him so many things—- he tipped me $100 on a $20 bill- so weirdly enough I think people sometimes like it.”
In response, another commenter said it’s possible the customer likes it when people are mean, as she used to have men pay her to be mean to them. A different commenter suggested perhaps the customer has a crush or finds “enrichment” in people being mean to him.
Though some think the customer may have liked the bartender’s behavior, another viewer questioned it. “My question is, why would you be mean to someone? Especially if you depend on their tip $,” they asked.
@joesim I’m so conflicted lmao this is killing me rent is due soon. #bartender #bartenderlife ♬ original sound – Joe Sim
What should you do if you think a customer accidentally tipped more than they intended?
In a Quora thread on the topic, some users suggested the server would notice the mistake and contact the customer or a manager immediately to rectify it. Another said that unless the customer indicates there was a mistake, you should treat the tip as if it is the correct amount. Others said that customers who accidentally tip too much should just cut their losses.
In a Medium article, a customer who realized they tipped 20% on top of a 20% automatic gratuity said they went the “non-confrontational” route and simply emailed the restaurant asking for a final bill. The manager ended up calling them and asking if they needed the bill because they had tipped twice. They said yes, and the manager said he would happily refund them. They believe the interaction would not have gone as smoothly if they had called or emailed demanding their money back.
“So sometimes approaching this in a non-confrontational way can be much more productive,” they wrote. “Having the other party acknowledge that there has been a mistake rather than requesting for a refund can make it easier to get the money back. From this experience, I believe there is nothing to lose when you do this. Even if this doesn’t work, you can always dispute the gratuity charge on your credit card.”
Based on these responses, it seems Sim was right to contact the customer about the potential mistake, though he did not have to. It also seems wise to tip with a card rather than in cash so that if there are any mistakes, you can easily dispute the transaction with your bank.
The Mary Sue contacted Sim via TikTok comment and direct message.
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