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A guy posted a rant to TikTok saying an employee scoffed at him for refusing to tip when he bought a single macaroon

Jun 29, 2023, 03:35 IST
Insider
The TikToker was frustrated about being asked for a tip.Screenshot/TikTok - unwedvampire
  • A TikToker's video calling out tipping culture has gained widespread support around the world.
  • He claimed a worker rolled his eyes and scoffed at him when he didn't tip for one macaroon.
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Over the last few months, tipping culture has become an increasingly hot subject of viral debate, especially on TikTok. Users are ranting about feeling pressure to tip for small transactions and declaring that tipping has officially gotten out of hand.

Many of these videos seem to specifically criticize tipping culture in the US, where automated tipping screens are becoming ubiquitous in businesses across industries.

Recently, however, a TikToker from the UK, where tipping is common but typically not a universal custom, has also kindled anger for a supposed transaction over a single macaroon. On Monday, the user @unwedvampire described a recent incident where he said an employee scoffed at him for not tipping for the treat, which cost £1.70 (or around $2.15).

The video drew over 750,000 views and a flurry of support from commenters, some of whom shared their own examples of absurd tipping expectations.

"Guys, tipping culture is insane,"@unwedvampire said at the start of his clip. He said he went to buy "one singular macaroon" and was prompted to add either 1 pound, 2.50 pounds, or 5 pounds as a tip. He didn't reveal the name of the shop.

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"I looked at him and I was, like, 'You can't be serious,' like, I'm not tipping you mate, all you did was hand it over to me I didn't ask you a question or anything," he said.

After declining to tip, he said the employee "rolled his eyes and scoffed" at him.

"Bro, like, let's be real for a second," the TikToker continued. "Why do you feel so entitled for a tip? We're in the UK, first of all. You didn't do anything, second of all. And, yeah, I think we should just calm down."

A top comment with over 14,000 likes pointed out that it should not be on individual consumers to adequately fund the lives of service workers.

"You need to pay servers normal wages they could just live on," the commenter said; "I will NEVER fall for the guilt," another top commenter wrote. "Be as MAD as you want, I'm not tipping."

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Some viewers were surprised to learn that people in UK are dealing with similar pressures as the US: "There is tipping in the UK?" one person wrote.

Commenters who identified themselves as residents of different countries — from Germany and Costa Rica to Singapore and Australia — say they're baffled to learn about this modern issue.

"I'm from the Philippines and tipping is optional… I get really confused about this whole 'tipping culture,'" one user said. "Thank god I live in Asia," one person commented.

"We tip in Greece too but only when you're being served [something], not when waiting on a counter to get what you ordered," someone else added. "You don't tip in McDonald's."

Despite the overwhelming support, the poster was also met with some opposing opinions. One person urged him to remember that the worker's job is probably not just to hand him the macaroon. "There's a shop to clean, machines to clean, probably tables, cutlery, and so on," they wrote. "Tips allow us to buy lunch or pay for transport."

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This video closely echoes others like it calling out tipping culture on the platform. In May, a woman said an employee got mad at her for not tipping for a $2 cone at the ice cream chain Ben & Jerry's. Another video that month, with over 1.4 million views, vented about an exchange where she claimed her daughter was ignored by an employee in a bagel shop and then asked to tip for a pickup order.

The hashtag for "tipping culture" has over 115 million views on TikTok, and is filled with people railing against modern tipping culture and sketches and memes satirizing various situations. One viral video showed a woman flashing a tip screen to her newborn baby.

Insider has reached out to @UnwedVampire for comment.

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