As the discourse over tipping shows no signs of stopping, more servers are spilling what it’s really like to work in the service industry. Whether that’s dealing with customers who whistle to get their attention to fielding work calls on their literal wedding day, servers are at their wits’ end. Add to that tipless tables, and you’ve got a recipe for burnout.
One Buffalo Wild Wings server, however, took her non-monetary tip in stride, much to the surprise of TikTok viewers. Her positive outlook had people raising their brows–for more reasons than one.
In a viral TikTok, Jamie (@nofancyjamie), who works at Buffalo Wild Wings, shared an odd encounter she had with a table. She explains how she was waiting on two older couples. Things were off from the start when one of the husbands wanted to order a kid’s meal. When Jamie informed that, lamentably, one has to be 12 and under to be served a kid’s meal, she says his wife got visibly upset.
But that wasn’t the only thing the woman was dissatisfied with. At the end of their meal, the same wife asked whether they could get a senior citizen’s discount. Jamie went off to check and returned to tell them that Buffalo Wild Wings does not offer it. The woman became upset again.
When the two couples left, Jamie says she was intrigued by the “tip” they left behind.
“This is what they left me,” she says, pulling out a plastic bag. “What did they leave? It looks like…”
Jamie then rips open the plastic bag to reveal three homegrown tomatoes.
“Oh, I thought it was apples, It’s actually tomatoes. Y’all I’m not upset,” Jamie says, smiling. “This is actually sweet.”
Her TikToker viewers, however, found it far from charming.
Viewers can’t believe the Buffalo Wild Wings server’s tip
Jamie’s clip, which earned 42,000 views as of Thursday, had people fuming on her behalf.
One top comment read, “You have such a big heart I would’ve been livid.” Another added, “My anxiety would convince me that they’re poisonous.”
Others called out for Buffalo Wild Wings over their kid’s meal policy. “Restaurants should be able to order from the kids meal I know my grandma would always eat small portions,” one said.
A second user commented, “You could’ve given them the kids meal though…”
This led Jamie to reply, “I could?? im sorry when I have a job i try to follow policies..no one else is gonna pay my bills if I lose my job.”
When someone speculated the customers must’ve simply forgot the bag of tomatoes, Jamie doubted that it was an accident.
“No it was obviously garden tomatoes,and they had placed them in the middle of the table and they even cleaned the table,like put all their stuff together to make it easier on me, and the tomatoes were on top of their receipt where they signed it and put a line through the tip and put the tomatoes on top,” she replied.
@nofancyjamie I wonder if they had planned this before they left the house lol #fyp #serverlife #tip #waitress #server #funny #sweet #viral ♬ original sound – NothingFancyJamie✨️
Servers and the 2020s tipping culture
Jamie may have been happy with her garden tomatoes, but other servers have expressed their despair at receiving anything less than 20%. Throngs of TikToks about the debate that is “tipping culture” continue to rack up thousands of likes. The tipping fatigue that customers feel have servers coming up with creative ways to earn a living. But it doesn’t always go according to plan. In one story the Mary Sue covered, a woman wore a birthday pin for her birthday, hoping folks would see it and be extra generous. The opposite occurred. In another, a server shared her upselling tactics, only to get called “deceitful” for the clever tricks she uses to earn more.
The Mary Sue reached out to Jamie via TikTok direct message and to Buffalo Wild Wings via email.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
