Content creator Karla Martin, @karlybeautyservices on TikTok, shared an anecdote on the platform about an experience she had at a restaurant in Miami that has generated a significant debate on social media.
"The tip in the U.S. got out of control," he wrote about the video that has gone viral online.
Karla explained that when they arrived at the restaurant at one in the afternoon, they found five employees cleaning inside, so they decided to sit on the terrace, despite the heat in Miami. After waiting 15 minutes without being attended to, she had to get up herself to ask for water and utensils. After sharing other details about the service and wait times, the young woman expressed her great astonishment when, upon receiving the bill, they discovered that it included a 20% tip.
In surprise, Karla and her companions asked, and the response they received was that at that restaurant the tip was mandatory. After requesting to speak with the manager, who never appeared, they managed to get a bill without the tip. However, when they reviewed their statements days later, they noticed that they had been charged a 20% tip anyway—although she later did a chargeback.
Karla's anecdote has sparked an intense wave of reactions among users and not a few conflicting opinions.
Some expressed outrage at the situation and shared similar experiences: "It's your fault, I get up and leave"; "I’m leaving immediately and won’t buy anything there"; "I live in Miami and I won't sit in a restaurant unless I ask about the tip first"; "I’m a waitress in Connecticut and we don’t include gratuity unless it’s groups of eight or more"; "The tip is mandatory but working is not. The sad reality this country has become"; "When the tip is mandatory, it’s no longer a tip"; "The same thing happened to us at Leña y Carbón restaurant and it’s not an exaggeration"; "It happened to me, and believe me, I see everyone's effort, but I understand that tips have to be earned"; "It happened to me at Red Lobster too, and I complained, the manager almost hit me"; "I get up and leave and don’t pay anything"; "In Latin restaurants in New Jersey, it's a total rip-off. They include the tip on the bill and the service is almost always very bad."
Others, on the other hand, defended the practice of including tips, as it is a custom in the United States and something that waiters depend on to live: "It has always been customary to leave a tip in the USA, but newcomers think it is something new"; "They have no idea what it is to be a waiter. The waiter has to give a portion to the bartender, to the busboy, and in some restaurants a percentage of what they sold during their shift"; "The tip is mandatory because it is part of their salary"; "Many people do not want to leave a tip and think they are not obliged to, but if we come to this country, we must adhere to the rules"; "My husband is from here and always tells me to leave a tip. Since waiters only get paid $2 an hour"; "When I worked in restaurants, we always left a tip, the service was very good"; "My husband went to buy a cake and wanted me to leave a tip. Although it is exaggerated, it is a custom here," they argued.
In response to the avalanche of reactions, the TikToker later shared some of the negative comments on her viral post to reply to them.
What do you think?
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