'I ran outside to tell her': Server flips the script on a man who tipped $100 to impress his date, only to return later to amend the tip

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
May 13, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

Imagine you're waiting tables, scurrying around with hot plates, forcing a smile every time someone asks for some extra sauce. 'Of course', you say, and run to go get some… for the fifth time that night, for that table. Finally, a glimmer of relief, table 12 wants to pay. They'd been relatively great, smiled politely, said 'please', and hadn't bothered you. You'd even had good banter with them, so you expect they'll tip well. No luck, they don't even leave a tip… and their bill is just about $200. Welcome to the server life, folks.

One server took to r/talesfromyourserver to share a hilarious story about a time when one of their customers wanted to amend their tip. First, they gave a $100 bill, said thank you for the great service, went on about how servers deserve a good salary, bla bla bla. Then they returned to ask for the money back. But things took a quick turn when the server decided to deal with the situation in a clever way.

Then, here is a story about a job candidate who walked straight out of an interview after they felt they were being treated unfairly.

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  • 01
    JONER COPY ents EFTPO "I ran outside to tell her." SUVTION で
    via Canva
  • 02
    Guy tips big to impress date but returns afterwards to take money back Long We had a guy come in last night with his date. Throughout the evening he was the picture of courtesy and good manners. He complimented me, thanked me every time I came to refresh waters or check on the table, made a point to be forgiving of a kitchen mistake, super extra nice. The dream customer, really.
    via u/tamiraisredditing
  • 03
    I appreciated it but didn't delude myself that I was the source and figured he was just in a good mood because the date was going well— They were chatting, laughing, having a great time, so I assumed I was an indirect beneficiary. He was certainly in some kind of celebratory mood because he was sparing no expense. He asked for our highest quality wine, she got our most expensive entree, he ordered one of every appetizer for her to sample when she made a remark that she was having trouble decidin
    via u/tamiraisredditing
  • 04
    So the evening starts wrapping up and I get their check. I ask if they'll be together or separate. She starts to say "Separate," but he makes a big deal of saying, “Oh, are you kidding? Together, definitely together. You never have to pay when you're with me babe," and so on and so forth. Then slides me a credit card. I get everything sorted and bring out the receipt. He fills it out and it came to $289.00 total. He doesn't even blink and makes a big show of leaving a $100 tip. He thanks me for
    via u/tamiraisredditing
  • 05
    Of course, a tip that size is exceptional, so I thanked him profusely. He said there was no need to thank him and goes on a big tear about how under appreciated waitstaff are and to just think of it as a stand-in for all the ingrates who didn't treat me right, going, "Don't plan to tip, don't plan to eat out, you know?" Looking at the mesmerized girl the whole time and not giving me a glance. I could care less where he was looking, I was looking at the upcoming hundred bucks. I thanked him again
    via u/tamiraisredditing
  • 06
    So he helps her into her coat and off they go. Great night, I was riding high. About 90 seconds later he's back in the door, without her, going "I think left my—" then when the door shut and, looking to make sure she was out of ear shot, he goes, without the slightest shade of shame or embarrassment, "Mark the tip down to twenty bucks Hun, I was just playing it up for my date. You understand." And turns to go. Uh... I understood, but not how he hoped I would. But I couldn't make a scene in the m
    via u/tamiraisredditing
  • 07
    amend your tip from one hundred dollars to twenty dollars, is that correct?" And even though I didn't show a hint of displeasure in my voice he shot back, extremely hostile, "Yes, and if I see a cent over the twenty on there I'm going to dispute the whole meal with my credit vendor, so, don't try to pull anything." The most frustrating part of this for me was not even going from an over 30% tip to under 10%, but rather that this poor girl was being strung along, with no idea of who the guy was b
    via u/tamiraisredditing
  • 08
    I've had my fair share of toxic relationships in the past and really wish someone had pulled the blinders off my eyes, so desperately wanted to do something to alert this girl to the trick the guy had pulled, hoping it would be a catalyst to her questioning his other actions. But, again, I was at work and that just wasn't my place. So I altered the bill and that was that. Then, just in time, something occurred to me and I darted outside hoping to catch them in the parking lot. I got lucky. They'
    via u/tamiraisredditing
  • 09
    So, I flagged him down and rushed across the street, nearly stumbling into traffic in my haste for a delicious moment. His date was already in the car but rolled down her window, since no one expects the waitress to follow you out to your car waving her arms like a crazy person. I made it across and said, more than loudly enough for her to hear, "Sir, we amended your tip from $100 down to $20 as you requested, but you'll actually need to fill out a different receipt reflecting your new total for
    via u/tamiraisredditing
  • 10
    records. I hope you understand. This is just a bookkeeping regulation that goes way above me. It has nothing to do with your retroactively downgrading your tip from $20 to $100, we're just glad you enjoyed your evening." His jaw was on the floor. He tried to pretend as though he didn't know what I was talking about, trying to give me some line about, “I think you're after someone else, I'd only come back cause I'd forgot my keys." But I would not let it rest. The more he played dumb the more I r
    via u/tamiraisredditing
  • 11
    So we went back and forth for a few more seconds when finally he went, "Ok, whatever, uh, sorry for the miscommunication. If you need me to fill out a new receipt I can." And I, totally even keeled was like, "You only need to fill out a new receipt if you want to change your tip from $100 down to $20." And I'm guessing he didn't have the money in his account because... he did it. He filled out the new receipt. His girlfriend was visibly shocked and the man was staring daggers through me, you cou
    via u/tamiraisredditing
  • 12
    It was vicariously quite satisfying in place of the other toxic men I never did get that confrontation with. And all the bad tippers. Ironically the exact kind he made a righteous speech decrying just a few minutes beforehand. And then off they drove, I'm sure never to patronize our restaurant again, but hopefully never to go out together again either, which would make it totally worth it. Edit: I think there's some sort of glitch because I can see on the post that I've gotten some awards but I
    via u/tamiraisredditing
  • 13
    Shawofthecrow Great way to get back at him. I would've said no problem and kept the $100. He signed it, so the dispute would fall 1.7k Share 091796 Exactly this. Whenever people dispute tips we keep the slips so we can see if a staff member put it in the system wrong or if the person forgot they tipped etc 750 Share FreeKiltMan "Forgot" they tipped.
    via u/Shawofthecrow, u/091796, u/FreeKiltMan
  • 14
    Double_Match_1910. Retroactively Downgrading? Hook, line and sinker, folks we have ourselves a LIVE one!! 1.8k Share
    via u/Double_Match_1910
  • 15
    halobatz. hah! that ended nicely, im glad you were able to make him look like an a; in front of his date too lol. i can only imagine the earful he got from her on their drive ②⑦ 549 Share [deleted] ⚫ I'm imagining that the rest of the ride was just awkward silence. 120 Share
    via u/halobatz
  • 16
    orvn Reminds me of a time we went to a restaurant for late night meal. Large city. Kind of a sports bar, but a franchise and in the mid-range price point. Slow night, weekday. Our server had two tables other than ours. We sat down and placed our order. Several booths down, there were three people, probably in their 40s, that were over half way through a large-ish meal. They weren't a quiet table and I could hear them over the music from time to time, but we paid them no attention until the most
    via u/orvn
  • 17
    He gestured toward the table. I didn't hear the server's response. Again, he said loudly: "Man, this is an American Express Black Card, so order's up!". His friends, a woman and a man seated across from him, chuckled. The server left to get their additional items. I took a closer look at them, and by my perception, they didn't seem like the picture of affluence. The boisterous one was wearing a faded trenchcoat that had clearly seen many seasons, and was in desperate need of a dry cleaning. The
    via u/orvn
  • 18
    I resumed my meal, and we were there for a good while, as were they. Finally, we asked for the bill. They did too, with hands raised at virtually the same time as us. Well, it took us a while to get the card machine, because the server processed their bill first. They tried the Amex, and suddenly their table was pretty quiet. Quieter than it had been all night. The black Amex declined. They ran it again. Declined. Another card was thrown into the mix, and it didn't work either. He began to compl
    via u/orvn
  • 19
    The man said he could cover it, but it would "take a minute". He pulled a bag from under the table and retrieved a plastic grocery bag from within it. The plastic bag looked heavy, like it was going to tear. He set it down, but instead of the loud thud I was expecting, I heard more of a jingle. Over the next few minutes the wait staff would steal glances as they walked by, watching in disbelief as the three patrons counted a couple hundred dollars worth of coins. We even stayed for longer just t
    via u/orvn
  • 20
    After they left, we tipped our server extra and chatted about the strange sequence of events for a little while. We learned that, a non-trivial amount of the coins that paid for the meal were tiny denominations: pennies and nickels. Funnily enough, less than a year later, Canada phased out the penny entirely (making 5 cents the lowest available coin). We almost couldn't believe that we were witnessing them come up with what appeared to be over $100 775 Share
    via u/orvn
  • 21
    Fuquar7. Get em', I think you did her a favor exposing his deficiencies. 345 Share tamiraisredditing OP- - Thank you, I'm glad it comes off that way. If it had just been him alone leaving a big tip and like, changing his mind or something - or even if he'd done that with a group of platonic friend — I'd have been pi ed but I would've just changed it and let it go. I only followed up because I wanted an opportunity to clue the girl in and the receipt was the only legitimate way. 302 Share
    via u/tamiraisredditing, u/Fuquar7
  • 22
    someonewhoknowstuff What a complete ck. You are a rockstar though! Justice served. I once had a guy short the bill 5 cents on a $200 tab, so I chased him out, to his Bentley mind you, saying, "excuse me sir, you need to pay the full bill. You shorted me 5 cents, and I'm not going to pay that for you out of my own pocket." The guy hands me a quarter, so I'm like, "I'll go get your change." He says you can keep it, so in the nicest way possible I say, "thank you so much!! I'll be sure not to spend
    via u/someonewhoknowstuff
  • 23
    shift_less That guy was a real piece of work. That wasn't just some off-the-cuff garbage either..."Don't plan to tip, don't plan to eat out, you know?” That's pretty specific, I get the feeling he's worked on this routine a LOT. That makes it all the more gratifying that you were able to call him out on it in front of his date. Way to go! 86 Share tamiraisredditing OP Oh man I didn't even think of that. You're right, many aspects of his speech that night seemed a little too good to be true (both
    via u/tamiraisredditing, u/shift_less
  • 24
    obeyyourbrair Well done! That must have felt so good. 73 Share tamiraisredditing OP Thanks, it really, really did haha. Mostly because it seems like the girl caught on though and wasn't just gonna let it slide!! 92 Share
    via u/tamiraisredditing, u/obeyyourbrair

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