A server on TikTok sparked a debate after suggesting that wait staff should confront customers who don't tip

• Servers on TikTok are debating what to do if a customer doesn't leave a tip.
• One said they should ask the customer if the service could have been improved in front of everyone.
• Some agreed but others took issue, saying this could cause more problems.

A server reignited a passionate debate on TikTok over whether it's appropriate for wait staff to confront customers who don't tip.

Jess Rowland posted a response video earlier in March after a fellow server suggested that if a customer doesn't leave a tip, they should be confronted in front of everybody, asked how the service could have been improved. 

Rowland's respond was to a video posted in December by TikTok creator and bottle girl Kat, who doesn't share her surname publicly. Kat said in her four years in the service industry, only a handful of people didn't tip her. But, she said, she had worked out the best way to deal with the issue.

She said to walk up to whoever paid the bill in front of everyone, tell them you noticed no tip was included, then ask if there was anything that could be done to improve the service. The majority of the time, she said, the customer will make up an excuse about not reading the bill then pay up.

"Worst case scenario, they just give you a tip to improve your service so you can make more money in the long run," Kat said. "Short story is, just confront them."

The video has caused a familiar debate among servers and customers, who have a spread of views on the issue.

Earlier this week a tweet went viral where a server complained about a group of European customers leaving a $70 tip on top of a $700 bill.

That level of tip would be unremarkable — or even generous — in many European countries, while US customers are used to tipping as much as 20%.

Rowland shared the TikTok and reacted to Kat's advice.

"No! No! Have a manager do that!" he said in response to the suggestion of confronting a customer. "They're embarrassed, and you'll get fired."

Kat also advised asking the manager take something like a soda off the bill and let the server keep the difference, but Rowland said this was a bad idea as well. "That's stealing," he said. "You're fired twice."

Comments underneath Rowland's TikTok were divided, with some servers saying they would never ask a table why they didn't tip.

"That's insane," one person said. Another said that "doing any of these things would get me fired."

"I love this," commented one person who claimed to have been in the customer's position in a similar situation. "Had a server at BWW do this. It's was so fun to explain in front of the whole place why she didn't get a tip. I got a $50 gift card."

However, a lot of people in the comments agreed with Kat, saying the places they worked were "too understaffed" for them to get fired for asking customers questions.

"My boss encourages us to do this," one server said. "He would never fire us. Also we don't allow people to come back if they are repeated offenders."

Another server said it was a challenge not to ask, "especially when the bill is huge."

Kat herself commented on Rowland's TikTok, thanking him for re-sharing her video, and saying she respected his opinion.

"I only did it cause I knew you could handle the heat!!!!" Rowland said. "All love baby!!!! Servers represent!!!"