'That's Just Cruel': Man Slammed For Playing Tip 'Game' With Waitress

The internet has slammed a man who allegedly played a tipping "game" with his waitress during a dinner date.

Posting to Reddit on Monday under a throwaway account, the man's date claimed that the man put $15 on the table at the start of the evening. When the waitress came by to take their order, he told her: "This is your tip. Every time you mess up, I take some away."

So far, the post has received more than 20,000 upvotes and over 2,500 comments.

"The waitress looked nervous immediately," the Redditor recalled. "She must have been new as well, because she did spill some drinks on our table that night, gave us the wrong food, and overall just seemed lost."

Due to the "poor service," the man deducted $13 from the waitress' "tip," leaving her with only $2.

"I asked him why he thought doing tips this way was a good idea," the Redditor wrote. "He said it was the best way to ensure 'good service,'" and added, "[You] can't always be nice to these people, it's not a respectable job."

At that moment, the Redditor decided that they "wanted nothing to do" with their date, so they paid for their own meal and handed the waitress a $20 bill.

"Later that night he had demanded to know why I had given her the tip despite her poor service," the Redditor said. "I told him it's because he decided to treat her livelihood like it was a game."

Per the Emily Post Institute, it's customary to tip between 15 and 20 percent when dining out, U.S. News & World Report stated.

The publication also said that it is OK for a person to forego tipping if they experience bad service. However, Brian Warrener, an associate professor at the College of Hospitality Management at Johnson & Wales University, encouraged diners to be "careful" about this.

"Before you penalize your server with a small tip or no tip at all, determine the cause of your dissatisfaction with your meal. It might not be your server's fault," he told U.S. News & World Report.

"Even if the service was bad, still leave a 10 percent tip and let management know why," he concluded.

The Redditor later wondered if they'd been wrong to tip the server, despite receiving bad service. But commenters quickly jumped to the Redditor's defense and slammed their date for playing his "game."

"NTA [not the a**hole]—so he made her nervous, which likely made her service worse. Then, then he has the absolute gall to say, 'Can't always be nice to these people, it's not a respectable job.' What??? He is using the service she provides and yet insulting her and all the people who share the same job," wrote u/JudgeJed100.

"NTA. That kind of 'game' is only played by rude folk who have no respect for those they deem 'below' them," said u/synesthesiah. "Kindness is free."

"I'm glad you ditched the guy. That's just cruel!" exclaimed u/Environmental_Toe843.

u/HerosMuse added: "NTA. That kind of game isn't even remotely a good way to 'ensure good service' it's a good way to fluster your server into making even more mistakes cause they're too hyper-aware that they're being judged."

Newsweek reached out to the original poster but did not hear back in time for publication.