For bartenders, a generous tip can really make all the difference. But the one thing worse than a poor tip (apart from no tip at all) is when you completely misunderstand how much a customer is actually tipping you.
TikToker and bartender Elizabeth Thorne (@elizabeththorne_) recounted the cringeworthy moment in a TikTok filmed in her car.
“So one time, I was bartending and this guy asked me to close out,” she explained. “So I go over, bring him his tab. It’s $6 because he only got one beer. And I was like ‘Oh my God,’ I was like, ‘Thank you so much, like that was so nice.’ And he literally stands up and leaves.”
After that, Thorne returned to work, but she was surprised to come across the customer in a different part of the bar five minutes later.
“He’s like, ‘Are you going to bring me my change?’ I was like, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, sir. I thought you left.’ He’s like, ‘You thought I tipped you that much on one beer?’ And I was like, ‘I’m so sorry. I did think that because you said goodbye and left,'” she recounted.
“He’s like, ‘Well, no. I just walked to a different part because I wanted you to bring me my change over here.’ I was like, ‘Why would you leave the bar top and go somewhere else and then expect me to think that you wanted change, right?’ Like, that’s weird.”
In total, the TikTok garnered 502,100 views. Thorne didn’t immediately respond to BroBible’s request for comment via TikTok direct message.
How Did Commenters React?
Some commenters speculated whether the customer had any ulterior motives. “He wanted your attention,” one posited. “He just wanted to humble you,” another suggested.
Others said that they understood why Thorne would think that, arguing that a large tip of that kind is more likely than people think.
“I’ve gotten tipped 100$ for 1 beer before so yeah that could happen he was just being a jerk,” a third reassured her.
“And sometimes people DO tip that on one beer,” a fourth chimed in.
Similarly, a fifth commenter and fellow bartender said, “I’ve been tipped WAAAY more than that on one beer. It’s completely understandable to think he was tipping you.?”
How Much Should You Tip For 1 Beer?
How much one should tip for a single beer, which usually entails the bartender grabbing and opening it or pouring it, has also been the subject of debate in online forums. Over on Reddit, users agreed that $1 per beer is fair.
Why Was This Bartender Surprised To Get A Big Tip?
On the flip-side of this scenario, another bartender also recently went viral after he actually did get a huge tip—and didn’t even need to deploy any bartender tricks to get one.
In the viral video, bartender Andrew Bailey (@streetlighteyesdontdie) explained how surprised he was to be tipped by these particular customers. Especially given that after one of them continually spoke about all the ways men had wronged her. Arguably, she made it clear how much she detested the gender, so Bailey decided to give them a wide berth.
When the pair left, Bailey found that they had given him a $30 tip on a $60 tab. Along with the bill was a note thanking him for his service. This caused the bartender to realize that even misandrists treat men with respect provided that said respect is mutual.
“This is very consistent with the behavior that I’ve seen from misandrist women,” he added. “They talk about how they don’t like men. And then they do incredible things for men all around them. The realization that I had was that women who hate men hate what men have done to them. And men who hate women hate what women won’t do for them.”
@elizabeththorne_ People seriously make no sense #arizona #fyp #bartender #server #bar