‘I Now Have Beef With Idaho State’: College Workers Rack Up $700 Restaurant Tab. They Say They Can’t Tip Because Of University Rules

When serving a large party, most servers would like a big tip. That’s not always a given. But what is a given is that they will receive some sort of tip. It’s a common industry assumption that customers will pay a standard 15% to 20% gratuity. But one Idaho server was sorely let down by that expectation.

Mia Taualii (@mia.tamale02) is now calling out Idaho State after she served 40 of its employees. Despite working for an hour and a half to service the university’s staff, she said she didn’t end up with much of a tip.

Her video on the matter has received more than 37,000 views.

Taualii says that “ everybody was super nice. They were very respectful, very patient, and everything went smoothly. There were no hiccups, no mess-ups. Everyone was having a good time.”

Taualii adds that she and the other server she was waiting on the table with kept up with the table’s refills and bottomless sides. They worked for over an hour and couldn’t keep up with any other tables, she says. Instead, they exclusively focused their attention on Idaho State University’s staff.

For that reason, Taualii says she was expecting to receive at least some sort of compensation. But when Taualii brought a check to the person who was paying, she says he told her something shocking.

“The guy who paid said that he couldn’t leave a tip because of the card that they were using, and there are so many rules using a P card for the Idaho State employees, which is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard because what do you mean you can’t tip?” she asks.

In a statement to BroBible, a representative for Idaho State University said, “Policies surrounding the use of state purchasing cards can be complex and sometimes misunderstood. Employees are encouraged to tip appropriately and we were glad to hear that our employees returned to the restaurant to provide a tip for the servers.”

How Do P-Cards Work?

A P-card, otherwise known as a purchasing or procurement card, is a special kind of card typically used for business-to-business purchases. Typically, employees use P-cards to make purchases so that companies can track their purchases.

J.P. Morgan explains that “once extended a line of credit from an issuing financial institution, businesses distribute purchasing cards to their employees. … Employees issued a p-card can then make business-related purchases in line with their program’s policies.”

Some universities allow individuals using P-cards to tip. The University of Mississippi, which issues P-cards to some of its employees, allows tips. “The tip shall not exceed 20% (unless mandated by the restaurant) of the pre-tax amount,” the university specifies.

But a few universities do not allow employees to use P-cards for tips. Boise State, for instance, explicitly states that tips are not allowed on corporate travel cards or university purchasing cards.

The Bright Side

Taualii says that there was at least a small silver lining to the situation. Her managers gave her and the other employee $50 gift cards, considering they lost so much income on that table.

She also says that the next day, an Idaho State employee came into the restaurant and offered to Venmo Taualii $80.

“I split with the other server, of course, because it wouldn’t have been fair for me to keep the whole $80 for myself,” Taualii says. “ So basically, we got 40 bucks each for a bill of over $700 from an Idaho State University employee group.”

Commenters told Taualii that Idaho State’s employees should have been more proactive in covering the tip.

“It’s true using a stat Pcard they can’t tip using that,” one commenter said. “However, they should have tipped themselves or figured out something else to do about it.​”

Another commenter added, “[That] department head should be super embarrassed over his staff’s behavior… like that’s just gross… I’m assuming these people were all grown too.”

BroBible reached out to Taualii via TikTok direct message.