Server worked a 40-person Idaho State party for over an hour. Then she says she was told no tip was possible: ‘Dumbest thing I’ve ever heard’

A restaurant server said in a TikTok video that she and a coworker spent about an hour and a half waiting on a reserved group of roughly 40 Idaho State University employees. Mia Taualii, who posts as @mia.tamale02, said the check came to more than $700 and that the party left no tip.

Taualii said she was posting the clip for people who wanted to know what happened last Tuesday. The video had gained 37,700 views. She described herself as a “yapper” and suggested viewers watch at 2x speed.

She said she and a newer server took the table together, closed off their sections, and did not take other tables so they could keep up with refills and bottomless sides. Taualii said the guests were “super nice,” “very respectful,” and “very patient,” and that “everything went smoothly.” In her caption, she wrote that she now has “beef with idaho state university bc why go out to eat knowing you can’t tip???”

Purchasing card rules at universities do not always permit tips

Taualii said the person who paid told them a tip was not possible because of the card the group was using. She said there are “so many rules using a P-card for the Idaho State employees.” In the video, she called that explanation “the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard” and asked, “what do you mean you can’t tip?”

She said the servers had given the group an hour and a half of service and that leaving nothing felt “so diabolical and so disrespectful.” Taualii said she and her coworker were frustrated. Tipping disputes often spark strong reactions online, such as when a Texas mom questioned her decision after a server’s alleged reaction to her 20 tip on a 113 Olive Garden bill.

A P-card, also called a purchasing or procurement card, is typically issued so a workplace can track business spending. According to J.P. Morgan, the cards are tools that employees use for business-related purchases under each program’s policies. According to Brex, employees may be unable to tip using a procurement card (P-card) because corporate spending policies and merchant category controls can restrict discretionary expenses.

Brobible noted that some universities allow tips on P-cards. It cited the University of Mississippi, which it said lets employees tip up to 20 percent of the pre-tax amount unless a restaurant requires more. The same report said Boise State states that tips are not allowed on corporate travel cards or university purchasing cards.

Taualii said her managers later gave the two servers gift cards worth about $50 because they felt bad about the $700-plus check. The next day, she said, one of the university employees Venmo’d her $80, which she split with the other server. She said that left them with $40 each. This isn’t the only time a server’s large tip has been disputed by management, like when an Olive Garden server received a $700 tip on a $32 bill and was allegedly fired.

Viewers reacted to the video in the comments. One commenter said P-card limits can be real but argued the group still should have found another way to tip. They wrote, “It’s true using a stat Pcard they can’t tip using that. However, they should have tipped themselves or figured out something else to do about it.” Another commenter said they would have been angry. They wrote, “You’re joking…. I’d be livid.”

A third commenter said a department head should be embarrassed and called the outcome “just gross,” adding they assumed the guests were adults. They wrote, “that department head should be super embarrassed over his staffs behavior… like that’s just gross… I’m assuming these people were all grown too.”

Someone else said they have used company cards and that tips are often allowed up to 20 percent. They wrote, “I’ve used a lot of company credit cards. You absolutely can tip on them although it’s usually no more than 20%.”

Another commenter urged people to contact the school and said the situation was “truly unacceptable,” especially for someone who had paid for school by serving tables. They wrote, “Please email the school!! Truly unacceptable! Especially as someone who spent a lot of money at the school and paid for it serving tables.”