In a viral video, TikToker Ella (@shesmytranquility1) recounted how a Cheesecake Factory server confronted her about not tipping.
She says she ate at the restaurant’s bar with her niece, and at the end of their meal, they ordered cheesecake to go. After placing their to-go order of cheesecake, she says their server gave them the bill with a QR code to scan and pay. “I pay for everything and just hit ‘no’ on the tip ’cause I have cash,” she explains.
She says she then headed over to the cheesecake bar to pick up her cheesecake. While picking up the to-go order, she says she realized she forgot to give her cash tip to the server. She says that when she turned around to make her way back to the bar to leave her tip, she found her server behind her. She says he asked, “Why didn’t you tip us today?”
“He was like, ‘What did we do wrong today because you didn’t give us a tip?’” she recalls.
She says she then explained to him that nothing was wrong and that she just forgot to leave her cash tip. “He then was like, ‘Oh, OK. So you are going to tip us 20%, right?’ and I was like ‘Yeah,’” she says.
“I know it seems dramatic, but it was so uncomfortable,” she says, explaining that this interaction happened in front of a crowd of people waiting to be seated and waiting for their to-go orders.
“It just felt like a really awkward thing to do. … When I walked out, I was saying to my niece, ‘Is that real?’ It just felt like it wasn’t real,” she shares. “Even if it was the worst or best service, if he deserved a tip or not, I just feel like you don’t ask someone that.”
@mytranquility_ #stitch with @Welcome to funny tiktok am i being dramatic lol #cheesecake #cheesecakefactory #tipping ♬ original sound – bitch
This video has 69,000 views and hundreds of comments. Many viewers were appalled by the server’s behavior and validated Ella’s feelings about the interaction.
“They should not be asking about a tip. tips are appreciated but should not be expected. That is ridiculous. at that point, I would have said I was going” a viewer commented.
Viewers working in the service industry also weighed in. “As a restaurant owner…he should be fired. You’re correct!” Another shared, “As a server NEVER would I do that.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Ella via TikTok for comment and to The Cheesecake Factory via email for comment.