Whose job is it to ensure a server makes a liveable wage?
A recent picture posted on X showing a R10 tip for an R840 restaurant bill has ignited the debate about tipping once again.
When it comes to tipping, there are those who tip generously, those who tip based on service, and those who despise tipping altogether. Whether there is another category, we are uncertain, but what we do know is that this is a very sensitive topic.
The trending bill posted by @thatom_thatom had a lot of people talking as she asked South Africans to share their opinions on the R10 tip.
Your thoughts please. 🙆👀 pic.twitter.com/DpBvDL5ghr
@NormaMansoor wrote: “So bestie I was a waitress before. This to me says a few things. Either you were rude. Either you tried to upstage a chick. Or maybe you have a young teenager at the table. For me, that’s never happened.”
@BBK29_ wrote: “No thoughts. A tip is not compulsory, those waitresses are getting paid by the restaurant to do their job, which is to serve the customers.
@Questerr_ said: “You can always protest a bad service. But never withhold someone else’s pay upon which their lives and dependents depend.”
@noreply28 commented: “I don’t think people should be judged on the basis of whether they tip the waiter or not. Giving good service is a waiter’s job and paying the bill is the customer’s job. If she or he pays more, good, if she or he doesn’t it’s still ok.”
This is not the first that the debate on tipping has raged.
Late last year, IOL reported on how a waiter rejected a tip after a patron left R5 on an R480 bill.
Originally posted on TikTok, the clip was reposted by @Yolokazi_chagi with the caption: “Their restaurant bill was a total of R400 & tipped waiter with R5. He rejected it and they wanna know if u were them how would u feel about the rejection?”
In the video, the person who had dined at Den Anker at the V&A Waterfront explained what happened.
“Hello guys, so I am at Den Anker. So, what happened is that we are out. We ordered and the bill came and the person I am with said I am not gonna be able to tip this guy. So, I gave the tip of R5. Tell me if I am wrong?”
He went on to explain that the waiter counted the total of the bill, which was R480, and afterward, he gave the patron the R5 back and said: “Thank you and goodbye.”
He concluded by saying that he had given his R5 out of his heart.
Their restaurant Bill was a total of R400 & tipped waiter with R5 .He rejected it & they wanna know if u were them how would u feel about the rejection?
Clicks Durban Khanyi Mbau Siya Zimbabwe pic.twitter.com/O8cAzYxBnU
Many people were not impressed with the person for leaving an R5 tip on a R480 bill, with one person saying that it was an insult to the waiter.