Woman wakes up and realizes ‘horrible’ mistake she made at a restaurant. So she does something most people won’t

TikTok creator Sarah Barthel (@sarah_barthel) drove back to a restaurant the morning after dinner to fix a tipping mistake she made. She shared the embarrassing moment in a video, explaining she couldn’t live with herself after accidentally leaving a bad tip for her server, Asher.

According to BroBible, the incident happened after dinner with friends at a nice Dallas restaurant called Jack and Harry’s. The bill was between $400 and $500, and Barthel put it all on her card. When signing the receipt, she wasn’t paying attention. “I don’t know what I was thinking,” she said in her video. “I was not thinking clearly because I tipped this poor man 10%.”

The mistake bothered Barthel because she used to work as a server and knows how important tips are. She always tips at least 20%, and even gives 15% when service has problems that aren’t the server’s fault. What made it worse was that Asher gave excellent service that night.

Servers in the U.S. depend heavily on tips to earn a living wage

Barthel explained that Asher was “the most fabulous server.” He was attentive all night, joked with the table, checked in often, and even brought out a free dessert to celebrate her friend’s engagement. “And he got 10%,” she said, frustrated with herself. “He was probably like, ‘What did I do wrong?'”

For servers in the U.S., a poor tip on a large bill can seriously hurt their earnings. The tipping system is controversial because servers rely almost entirely on customer tips. Federal law classifies them as “tipped employees,” which means employers in states like Texas can legally pay them as little as $2.13 per hour.

This system makes tips necessary income, not extra money. In Dallas, servers rely heavily on tips just to survive. The average server wage in Dallas is around $19.36 per hour, but the living wage for the area is $23.06 per hour. That gap shows why Barthel felt she had to fix her mistake. Social media users often share awkward discoveries at public places, and Barthel’s tipping error felt equally mortifying to her.

The morning after dinner, Barthel realized what she’d done. “I was like, oh my god, what have I done?” she said. She grabbed cash and decided to go back to the restaurant to give Asher “the rest of the tip that he rightfully deserves.” She even apologized to him in the video, naming both the restaurant and server to make clear the low tip was an accident.

In her TikTok video, Barthel filmed herself walking back into the restaurant in track pants and Uggs. She asked another employee if Asher was working, found him, and apologized immediately. “I am so sorry. I was not paying attention,” she told him while handing him the cash. “You were a wonderful server.” Back in her car, she felt relieved. “My conscience, it’s clear now,” she said.

Asher told her she didn’t need to come back, but she disagreed. Like others who’ve experienced embarrassing moments during social outings, she knew she had to make it right. “No, you actually don’t understand,” she said. “That was horrible.”

Viewers praised Barthel’s actions in the comments. One server shared, “A customer mailed me a letter to the restaurant I work at with a tip and a note on how she forgot to tip. I don’t recall but it was sweet.” Another commenter wrote, “on behalf of servers and bartenders everywhere, thank you!!!” Others admired her character, with one saying, “Bless your heart. Not many people would have made the effort to be a good person.”