'‘He tipped with a fake $100 to impress his date’': Servers Share Stories of Getting Tipping Karma on Cheap Customers

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Aug 19, 2023 8:00 PM EDT

When working in the service industry it is inevitable that you will encounter a bad tipper. Whether they're old and still think 25 cents is an appropriate tip, or their entitled and think because you forgot the ice in their water, they're allowed to tip you $0. It's a mad mad world out there working as a waiter. At least in the U.S. it is. You work for barely an hourly with usually no benefits and you relay almost completely on tips. So when you get a $0 tip, that person who you just served and gave probably over an hour of your life to doesn't think you deserve even a $2 slice of pizza for dinner. It's heart breaking, but there is also something about working in the service industry that makes you more empathetic and tough at the same time. Not to mention the friends you make for life out of the coworkers you trauma-bonded with. Below, servers took to a recent Reddit post about tipping Karma. Some cheap guy tried to impress his date by tipping $100, but it turned out it was fake. When they came back for another date, the server was more than excited to return his forgotten joke money right. The entitled guy left $0 on the receipt for tip, but the woman left a real $50 bill on the table. See what other servers have experience in the tipping karma world below!

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    via Tom Coates vs Flickr

  • 1.

    Font - Posted by u/masterofjay 3 hours ago The customer who tipped a fake $100 bill. This is not my story, this happened to my friend, they don't use Reddit and when they told me this I had to share because I love it and I'd never expect it from the friend who did it.
    via u/masterofjay
  • Font - I work as a server, this one guy always comes in the restaurant I work at, he usually is pretty quiet and and never tips too well. Most of the time he comes with a couple of friends or by himself and sits at the bar and watches a sports game. Ive never had a problem with him until he came in one time with a date. I've never seen the woman before so I assume they were new to dating. Anyways,
    via u/masterofjay
  • Font - they sit at a table this time in a more quiet part of the restaurant and they were sat at one of my tables. I had no problem with them and everything was going fine. They asked for the check and I went right around the corner from their table, it was close by so I was quick. As I was coming back to the table the guy says to the woman watch this as he puts down a hundred dollar bill on
    via u/masterofjay
  • Font - the table. He saw me see and he was joking like oh you weren't supposed to see that! I was ecstatic either way even though it was so obvious he was trying to impress the woman. I didn't care, I waited til they left to go grab the hundred dollar bill. Well, when I unfolded it it was one of the fake $100 bills I guess for pranks, that means this freaking guy planned this out to impress this
    via u/masterofjay
  • Font - woman. It was so frustrating because I needed the money but at the same time I thought it was because I did a great job. Either the woman was in on it or he decided to be a jerk in 2 different ways. Told my manager and he was like wow that's ridiculous. I decided to hold on to it because I knew the day would come when I could get back at this guy.
    via u/masterofjay
  • Font - 2 weeks later.... My manager recognizes the guy and while I was working at the time, I was in a different side of the restaurant which was already full, my manager found me and asked if I wanted that customers table as well and told me he was with the woman from last time. I often joked with my manager about throwing the fake $100 back on the table in front of that woman
    via u/masterofjay
  • Font - if he ever came back to embarrass him. I thought to myself, yeah I may be busy already, but I also thought sure, what's one more table. Told my manager absolutely, no problem with a smirk on my face. Before I went over to their table I ran out to my car to grab the fake $100 that was sitting in my cup holder for this exact moment. I get to their table and they instantly recognize me, the
    via u/masterofjay
  • Font - woman seemed normal but the guy looked like he was nervous. I pretended nothing happened all the way until I got their check. When I brought the check back, I placed it down on the table as well as the fake 100 but left it unfolded so the fake part was showing. I looked at the guy and said hey, not sure if you remember me from last time but I believe you forgot this,
    via u/masterofjay
  • Font - just returning it because I believed it was too much. The woman looked very confused so I instantly knew she was not apart of it but the guy got all nervous and said I don't know what that is! I said oh my mistake and laughed and said to the woman have a good night, and walked away. When I
    via u/masterofjay
  • Font - came back there was a big $0.00 on the signed copy and a $50 bill(real this time) where the woman was sitting after they had left. One can only assume that the guy didn't want to tip on his card so he wrote obnoxiously big zeros on the tip and that $50 just happened to be where the woman was sitting, so I'm hoping she had placed it there.
    via u/masterofjay
  • Font - Now I don't know what happened with the couple or if they stayed together but I haven't seen them back since and it's been a few weeks and I really hope she looks for his red flags now.
    via u/masterofjay

  • 2.

    Font - its_only___forever 3 hr. ago As someone that has been in the industry for over 2 decades, I love this. I had a party once that tipped me in pennies spread across the table when they left. I scooped that shit up so fast and chased them out and just dumped it at their feet with a "I think you forgot something." Yes, I got in trouble. Yes, it was worth it.
    via u/its_only___forever

  • 3.

    Font - bertagirl59 1 hr. ago I worked as a cocktail waitress years ago where we wore our own clothes (no uniform) and had to carry our change and tips in a highball glass on our tray. Along comes quarter beer night and some jerks literally deliberately
    via u/bertagirl59
  • Font - made a fist and came up under my tray hard so everything would go flying and they had a good laugh. Not so funny when I came back with the beers and "accidentally" spilled them on them. Lost the job but SO worth it.
    via u/bertagirl59

  • 4.

    Font - Chatty_Monkey_Don +2.2 hr. ago I got tipped once at a store I worked at. Not a common occurrence but it happened once in a while to some of the other clerks. It was Christmas time and I had been helping this older woman find all kinds of sh around the store. Another, newer kid was helping as well. After her cart was full she handed us both these folded up ten dollar bills. I
    via u/Chatty_Monkey_Don
  • Font - knew right away they were phony. I had seen these before. The kid was excited and I said look at it closely. It was one of those bible verse fake bills Christians hand out as tips and feel like they did you a favor.
    via u/Chatty_Monkey_Don

  • 5.

    Font - Rhinomeat +1 20 min. ago Waiting tables, a large group on a Sunday left me a crisp $20, until you turned it over and it said "Jesus is the gift that's worth more than money", at least they didn't try to stiff the entire bill.....
    via u/Rhinomeat

  • 6.

    Font - JustSomeGuy_56 +2.2 hr. ago Only if you are trying to pass it as real currency. Printing something that is obviously a joke is legal. My girlfriend waited tables while in college. One customer left her what looked like a $20 bill folded in half. When she opened it up she found a religious message that was "worth more than gold".
    via u/JustSomeGuy_56

  • 7.

    Font - TheFoxRuntOfficial 2 hr. ago Served at a diner. Someone ripped .23 on a 45$ bill. Gave it to them and said "you look like you needed your change back :)"
    via u/TheFoxRuntOfficial

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Tags

pettyrevenge failblog how-to-tip server waiter tipping-karma Justice-served service-industry-employee good-tipping waitress Reddit service industry
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