Couple orders mac and cheese at Cheesecake Factory, only to decide their server deserves zero tip

A couple went to a Cheesecake Factory in California for dinner and ordered several items. But they are now asking if they were wrong for not leaving any tip after getting poor service from their server.

According to Bro Bible, TikToker Xomerebear shared a video that got over 236,000 views. In the clip, she walks out of the restaurant with her partner and asks viewers if their decision was “valid or not.” She explains that she ordered a sandwich while her partner got a pizza. They also ordered mac and cheese to share as a side dish.

The couple admits they left zero dollars as a tip. They want to know if other people think this was the right choice given what happened during their meal. The TikTok user says that after they placed their order, the server never came back to their table to see how things were going. A food runner brought out the sandwich and pizza, but the server was nowhere to be seen.

The server never checked on them during the entire meal

The couple kept waiting for their mac and cheese order, but it never showed up at their table. When they finished eating, a different server came by to give them a box for leftovers and took away their plates. 

At the very end of the meal, their original server finally returned with the bill. That’s when the couple told her they didn’t need the mac and cheese anymore since it never arrived with the rest of their food.

The server seemed surprised and asked if no one brought it out. The TikToker confirmed that nobody did and thought about mentioning that the server never checked on them either, but she kept that comment to herself. She thinks the server probably forgot to put the mac and cheese order into the system because she only saw her write down the sandwich and pizza in her notepad.

The couple left no tip because the server failed to check on them even once during the meal. The mac and cheese never arrived, and they had no way to tell anyone about the problem since their server was absent the whole time. While some servers have shared creative ways to boost their earnings, basic table service remains a key part of the job.

In America, servers depend on tips to make money and earn less than the $7.25 minimum wage per hour. Many restaurants have strict performance standards for their staff to ensure quality service. Many servers on Reddit say that leaving no tip at all feels disrespectful to them.

People who watched the video had different opinions about whether the couple made the right choice. “Tipping is NOT OPTIONAL, but it is based on service. You got terrible service, so in this case, no tip is valid,” one person wrote. “Tip culture is out of control period! Tip if you want! It’s their job!” another comment read. 

Some, however, felt leaving no tip was a harsh choice. “Bad service still get 15%, a lot of these places the tips go to everyone,” one person commented.