Via iStockphoto / Mandritoiu Adobe Stock
Two women were left sticker-shocked after receiving their bill, which was inflated by two Don Julio shots.
Being out with a friend, “solving” the problems of the world, and then celebrating with high-end liquor is a rite of passage. So, too, is the unexpectedly hefty check when it finally arrives. Two women were left sticker-shocked after receiving their bill, which was inflated by two Don Julio shots.
Kenzie (@kenziebenzie77) is a fine dining server at a Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles. She often posts excerpts of her life and observations on TikTok.
Recently, though, she took a departure from her more typical diaristic content. She was commenting on a pair of 20-something friends who were surprised when their check came due.
In her since-removed video, Kenzie starts by setting the scene. “The other day, I was serving these two girls. They were both, like, in their early 20s,” she says.
Next, she breaks down their meals. “They each got, like, one or two cocktails. They each got their own appetizer, their own entree, and then one of them ordered an additional entree to go,” she says.
Finally, they toasted the night with shots (one each) of Don Julio 1942. At Kenzie’s establishment, that’s a $48 shot.
Suffice to say, with one round, the duo added nearly $100, a 30% increase to their tab.
The final bill? $290.
‘Like Yikes’
After she dropped the bill, Kenzie says she overheard one of the women let out a string of profanities.
She also says she had little sympathy, since the price for the Don Julio was “right next to the menu item.”
Finally she responds (to the camera, not her guests), “Like, yikes. How much did you think it was going to cost when you were ordering all that stuff?”
So what did the women tip? She says they tipped one quarter of a 20% tip on a (roughly) $300 tab. “A combined $15,” says Kenzie.
One guest left $10; the other left $5, she says.
“I wasn’t even, like, mad,” she explains. “I was just like, ‘Damn, that’s crazy.'”
2 Don Julio 1942 Shots: Why Are They So Expensive?
Per Holiday House Liquor, Don Julio 1942 is so expensive for a variety of reasons, including its high quality, long aging period, exclusivity, expensive packaging, reputation, and taste.
Kenzie told BroBible she assumed the women were familiar with the drink considering how they ordered it. “They had specifically requested Don Julio 1942 so I assumed they’d had it before,” she shared.
She added, “The girls were very nice and I enjoyed serving them, the point of my video was not to shame anyone for how much they tipped or anything like that, I just thought it was funny or silly when they were shocked at the amount of the bill when they knowingly ordered a large amount of food for two people and very expensive tequila.”
The Tipping War Slogs On
It’s pretty much inevitable that the internet cannot resist reminding servers that “tipping is optional.” The top comment on the page poses a question, “Is it much harder to carry over a $90 shot of tequila vs a $10 shot?”
Many customers agree that servers should be tipped based on service and not the final bill total.
However, there were people arguing for a tip closer to the now-standard 20%. “People keep forgetting that servers have to tip out other staff and it goes by sales. […] She’s going ot have to tip out the bartender whatever her alcohol sales were. So the tip out is giongot be more because they bough two shots at $48 each. If she does not have the money to tip out, she then has to pay it out of her own money,” explained one viewer.
The History Of Tipping
In America, the history of tipping is inextricably linked to the Civil War, writes Wendy Pollack for the Shriver Center for Poverty Law. “Tipping proliferated in the United States after the Civil War, when the restaurant and hospitality industries hired newly emancipated Black women and men but offered them no wage–leaving them to rely on patrons’ gratuities for their pay instead,” she wrote.
That’s not the whole story, though. Tipping as a “thank you” or gesture of good will also has ties to European aristocracy. In fact, it can be traced back to the Middle Ages. Initially it was a way for wealthy landowners to thank their servants and laborers for good service or effort.
Over time it evolved into a custom. When guests stayed with aristocrats, they were expected to offer money to the household staff at the end of their visit. Then, by the 19th century, when wealthy Americans were going on “Grand Tours” of Europe, they brought the custom back, reports the site History Facts.
Why Do We Tip?
However, because it was viewed as deeply un-American (servile), the practice didn’t take hold until after the Civil War. It was then that “tipping was introduced as a way to exploit the labor of former slaves,” wrote Pollack. Since 1966, tipping as wages has been codified into law. On average, a person working a service industry job for tips earns $2.13 an hour (before tips). This was the minimum wage for Americans back in 1938, when the first minimum wage legislation was passed as a part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.
So does that make tipping mandatory? If not, it at least makes a very good case to make sure you leave a dignified amount behind.
BroBible reached out to Kenzi via TikTok direct message. We contacted Don Julio via their North American press office.