I have always thought tipping was straightforward — you eat, you tip, you leave. Simple, right? But lately, it feels like you need a manual, a lawyer, and possibly a psychic.
A woman recently shared her experience on X (formerly Twitter) about a family dinner at Applebee’s in Laurel, Mississippi. Anyway, this woman and her party of 10 (which later grew to 14) were informed that their waitress, Melissa, was new and a bit nervous about serving such a large group. Being the understanding folks they were, they assured Melissa that they’d be patient with her. Melissa did a fantastic job, and the woman decided to reward her with a generous $150 tip.
However, instead of simply thanking the woman for her kindness, the restaurant manager decided to make a big fuss about the tip. They called the woman over, made her sign the bill, and even recorded her phone number, claiming that they needed to confirm with corporate whether they could accept such a large tip from her.
Why the third degree over a tip? The diner speculated about potential underlying racial tensions, given some offhand comments and the apparent lack of enthusiasm from other staff to serve the large Black family. It really grinds my gears how sometimes the universe just decides to throw a curveball at you when you’re trying to do something nice. Like, you go out of your way to be a decent human being, and suddenly you’re faced with a situation that makes you question the very fabric of society.
And oh, you better believe the comment section was ablaze with fury after this story made the rounds.
A former server at Outback Steakhouse shared their experience that’s equal parts infuriating and eye-opening. They revealed that when a party of Black customers would come in, none of the other servers wanted to take the table. Pause for a moment and let that sink in.
The user is speaking facts. Many reports have shown that Black diners are more likely to be ignored, made to wait longer, or worse – given poor service. Regardless of the fact whether this had some racial undertone or not, there could be more to the story than meets the eye. A user who claims to work in risk management for the payment processing industry chimed in with some insights that could shed light on the restaurant’s actions.
Now, this is an interesting point that deserves some exploration. According to a report by CardFellow, tips added after a card is authorized may not be accepted by the card issuer, especially if the amount exceeds 20% of the original transaction. This means that there’s a potential risk for the restaurant if the bank declines the additional tip amount, leaving them on the hook for the difference.
However, it’s worth noting that this is not a hard and fast rule. Many card issuers do allow post-authorization tips, but policies vary by issuer and can change over time. But here’s the thing: Even if the restaurant had legitimate concerns about the tip being honored, their approach to the situation was still problematic and not how the manager usually proceeds in case of big tips, as confirmed by the other waiters at the establishment.
Now, we can’t ignore the fact that the original poster did mention some troubling comments about servers not wanting to wait on a large party of Black customers. If true, that’s a serious issue that needs to be addressed. However, without more context or evidence, it’s hard to say definitively whether the restaurant’s actions were racially motivated or simply a mishandling of a potentially tricky tipping situation.
However, at the end of the day, all we can really do is hope that Melissa, the hardworking waitress, actually receives the full tip amount she deserves.