A TikToker has taken to the video-sharing platform to tell her followers about an incident that happened at a restaurant.
Now, the debate around tipping has suddenly gotten rife again online with many suggesting that the culture around it has gotten way out of hand, while others claimed that it actually is a necessity, especially for those that work in the food and service industry.
Bueli, also known by her handle TikTok handle @buelistic, got involved in the conversation after she claimed that she and their friends visited a restaurant where they were denied service because of a previous tipping issue.
The content creator stitched a video where another TikToker emphasized that "nobody is obligated to tip."
Bueli agreed with the TikToker, saying she is "absolutely correct" before going on to state that as a tattoo artist, she understands the importance of tipping though she also gets that it's not an obligation.
She then recalled an incident that occurred at a restaurant where she and their friends were allegedly denied being served due to not tipping in the past.
"So yesterday I went to a restaurant with somebody that I love, and we decided that this time we would turn our duo into a trio and we invited one of our friends," she starts. "When we sat at the table, none of the servers showed up and one of the managers came by and told us that they would not like to serve us anymore."
At this point, Bueli clarified again that she tends to tip wherever she goes, however, her friends sometimes do not always "have the finances to do so."
She then asked her followers: "But do you feel like this is a good enough reason to deny service to somebody for the rest of their life if it’s based off of tips and the service isn’t always up to par?"
Comments poured in and let's just say it seems as though everyone's divided on the issue.
"She doesn’t see the irony of saying you’re not obligated to tip, but 'please tip your artist' if you need tips to make a better wage, imagine," wrote one user.
"My mom always says don’t go out to eat if you can’t afford to tip," added another.
A third pointed this out: "Meanwhile stylists and tattoo artists get to set their own price. That is the difference..."
"I personally won’t dine in if I’m not planning to tip my waiter, that’s just me I tip every where I go," another wrote.
And this TikToker also agreed with the restaurant's actions saying: "If the service isn’t up to par... why come back? Yeah I’ve banned people who don’t tip."
Others however disagreed with the move completely, stating that there was a bigger problem at play here.
"I think we really should be looking to change wage for waiters. Tipping was supposed to just be extra for great service not the way people get paid."
Another added: "Tipping is not a obligation, that is my choice to tip or not based on service that I was provided."
A third also stated that they don't understand the "entitlement" that comes with tipping culture.
"I understand tipping for stuff but I don't understand the entitlement it's not the customers job to make up the difference that your job isn't paying," they wrote.
In an update sent to the Daily Dot, Bueli stated that she had always tipped at the restaurant they visited, but the manager said that it was the staff that seemed to have a problem with the group.
"The manager showed up and told us that multiple staff members have expressed that they would not like to serve us and asked if we could leave the restaurant," Bueli said over an Instagram DM. "When we asked why, they explained that they feel like they 'can never get it right here' and that he isn’t too sure why, because he hasn’t had a bad experience with us personally, but has to respect that they no longer would like to serve us.
"The manager came back after 10 mins and told us that 'if it really has to do with tipping, it’s probably a big reason for them,'" she added.
The TikToker added that she doesn’t plan to return to the restaurant, as her friend believed they were denied service due to racial profiling.
"I also boycotted this restaurant because another friend, the third person felt that they were racially profiled," she wrote. "As a spiritually aware person, I don’t feel comfortable accepting food from beings with potentially negative energy towards me."