A mother of three working a dinner shift thought she’d landed a solid table when 21 high school football players walked into her section.
The group’s $531 tab seemed promising for her earnings that night, with the potential to earn $80 to $106 in tips based on standard practice. But what unfolded as the checks arrived left her dumbfounded.
Commenters are saying the boys should face real consequences for how they treated her.
Teenage Boys And Tipping Culture
In a viral video with more than 265,000 views, server Marisa (@marisamamaof3) recounted what she calls “the last straw” from her shift at Olive Garden.
“It’s a Wednesday night dinner shift, and I am serving. And I get a party of 21 varsity football high schoolers,—all guys—they rack a check up of $531,” Marisa explains in the video. “They’re all paying separate.”
The problems began immediately when the first player tried to settle his bill. One teenager handed Marisa $35 and told her to keep the change. When she looked at his receipt, she realized he was actually $3 short of covering his order.
“I’m like, ‘Bro, like, you are $3 short,'” she recalls telling him. “He’s like, ‘Oh my god. I don’t have the money.’ He’s, like, feeling around his pockets. He ain’t got nothing. No wallet, no card, no cash, nothing. He walked in with only $35.”
The player had ordered an appetizer, fettuccine Alfredo with added chicken, and a raspberry lemonade.
Instead of embarrassing him in front of his teammates, Marisa told him she’d cover the remainder of his bill.
“‘You weren’t gonna tip me. You’re not gonna tip me. The rest of the table did not tip me. I’m working for free tonight. Go home before I lose my job, please,'” she says she told him, clearly over the whole situation.
Things only got worse from there as another player dined and dashed.
“No cash on the table. Didn’t pay on his card. Nothing. He just left,” Marisa explains.
About half of the table paid with cards, but the other half made things more complicated with their cash and cheapness. Several players handed Marisa $40 for checks that were around $37 and asked for their change back.
“So I had to go gather up $2.98 to give to all of them because they didn’t leave me anything,” she says.
Fortunately, the half of the table that paid by card did leave tips—about $4 to $5 each. But after paying for one customer’s meal herself and dealing with another who left without paying, Marisa ended the shift significantly in the red.
“If you come across this video and you remember my face, and I was your server tonight, I hope you remember this night, and don’t you ever f—— forget it,” she says, addressing the players directly.
“Because I was working a job. I’m a mom to three kids. I’m trying to make money for my family, and that was so f—— disrespectful,” she says.
Marisa ends the video with a message to parents.
“And if you’re a mom and a dad, I hope to god that you are teaching your kids to tip their servers. We don’t make hourly. K? So have a great f—— night,” she says.
Understanding Server Wages And Tipping
Servers rely almost entirely on tips to earn a living. According to Real Simple, while the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009, only seven states require tipped workers to be paid minimum wage before tips—in other states, server wages can start at just $2.13 an hour.
Because of this, gratuity isn’t just optional appreciation for good service; it’s essential income that workers depend on.
Current tipping standards have evolved significantly. Food & Wine notes that 18% is now considered a bare minimum for restaurant service, 20-22% is standard for good service, and exceptional experiences warrant 24-25% or more. Real Simple emphasizes that tipping between 15% (for average service) and 20% (for very good service) is suggested, but regardless of service level, gratuity at a restaurant is non-negotiable.
The guides also address tipping in other scenarios. For takeout orders, Food & Wine recommends $4-5 for a simple order, scaling up to around $20 for large party orders. Delivery warrants 15-20% or at least $3-5 per delivery, according to Real Simple, adjusted based on distance, weather conditions, and difficulty. At bars, the recommendation is $1 for beer and $2 for cocktails, or 20% if ordering food.
Both publications note that tipping in cash is preferable when possible since credit card processing fees can reduce what actually reaches servers’ hands. Real Simple suggests keeping an envelope of bills near your door for deliveries.
Commenters React
“100% call the school and tell the coach. He’s going to wreck them,” a top comment read.
“Why didn’t management deal with the dine and dasher ? Why is that your issue?” a person asked.
“I would be calling the school and talking to the coach of the varsity players. They need to be running and have consequences. Schools would not be happy their kids are representing them so poorly,” another said.
“My daughter and her friends went to dinner after the football game. She had money on her card but her friends mom was prob going to offer to pay. I handed her 10 cash as said you can at least contribute to the tip even if her mom pays…it’s STARTS AT HOME! sorry this happened,” a commenter shared.
@marisamamaof3 the last straw
BroBible reached out to Marisa for comment via TikTok direct message and comment and to Olive Garden via email.