New York diner says he was hit with a ‘frequent non-tipper’ fee. He left a negative tip to cancel it out: ‘I did the math’

A diner in Rochester, New York, says he found an unusual charge on his bill at a restaurant he visits often. A $12.90 fee labeled “frequent non-tipper.” He shared his story in a TikTok video posted by the account @captain.t.roll, which has been viewed nearly 85,000 times.

The man said he regularly eats lunch at The Gilded Oyster, located at 56 Oakwood Ave in Rochester. He said he usually orders the same meal and knows the staff well, but does not normally leave a tip because he does not believe in tipping when he eats out.

On this visit, his receipt shows he ordered grilled octopus, a plate of oysters, mashed potatoes, iced tea, and a grape margarita, bringing his subtotal to $77.40. When his receipt came back, it included a new line item: “FREQUENT NON-TIPPER $12.90.”

Diner says he calculated the fee and adjusted his tip to offset it

In the video, the man said he worked out that the $12.90 charge came to about 20 percent of his subtotal, which is a common suggested tip percentage. “I did the math, this is about 20%, this $12.90,” he said. He then said, “So what I’m going to do here is I’m going to leave a negative tip of $12.90 just to remove that.”

The video shows him writing “-12.90” on the tip line of the receipt, apparently to cancel out the added fee. The receipt showed a subtotal of $77.40, tax of $7.16 and a total of $84.56, with the handwritten tip adjustment listed separately. The incident highlights disputes over tipping practices, such as when a man says he left a $10 cash tip at Texas Roadhouse and later received a notification that his bill had been changed to add a $20 tip. 

The man said restaurant staff had left a handwritten note in red ink at the bottom of the receipt. He read the message aloud in the video: “Servers pay attention to recurring customers who don’t tip. We got you covered this time. Next time try not to forget :).” He described the note as rude and said it was the staff’s response after he adjusted the tip. The video did not show any additional response from the restaurant beyond the handwritten note.

The video included an itemized list of the order: grilled octopus for $24.00, a six-piece order of sea salt oysters for $18.00, mashed potatoes for $5.50, iced tea for $3.00 and a grape margarita for $14.00.

Some viewers who commented on the video questioned whether the story was real. One comment read, “This is STAGED! The restaurant does NOT EXIST!!!” It is not confirmed whether The Gilded Oyster is an operating restaurant.

Other commenters weighed in on tipping practices in general. One wrote, “theres no law saying we have to give good service either lol,” while another commented, “there is no law saying you have to tip.” A separate comment defended the practice of tipping, saying, “You shouldn’t be dining out. These guys are doing a service to you bringing your food refilling your drinks asking if you need any condiments etc..” The tension over tipping expectations is not limited to this diner, as a Chicago food reviewer was recently called out for his tip on a large bill.