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‘Normalize not tipping for bad service’: Hard Rock Casino server tells customers $26 chicken fajitas should be enough to share. Then she brings them out

This woman didn't tip a Hard Rock Casino server. Now, she's feeling conflicted about it. What would you have done in the same situation?

Like it or not, tipping is a core part of the dining experience in the United States. It's what supplements many restaurant workers' salaries. And since the start of the pandemic, tipping has become a part of more and more shopping experiences.

We're all familiar with the digital screen prompting you for 15% to sometimes even 30%.

This woman said that she usually tips, but in this situation, the experience was so bad that she thought the restaurant as a whole didn't deserve a penny over what they had to pay.

Is she right, or was she being petty?

Would you have tipped this server?

In a viral video with more than 1.8 million views, content creator Jenna Simpson (@jjsimp_) shared an instance she's been conflicted about at the Hard Rock Casino.

"I went to dinner with my parents last night, and we did not tip our server, and I want to know what you would have done in our situation," Simpson says.

Simpson explains that she and her mom ordered espresso martinis and food.

Simpson says she got a steak salad. Her dad got a side Caesar salad. And her mom ordered a chicken fajita that looked big enough to split with her dad, which they confirmed with their server, who said it was a "ton of food."

Twenty minutes passed, and she says their espresso martinis still didn't come.

"You can see the panic on her face, remembering she forgot to ring those in," Simpson recalls.

The server punched the order in but said that it'll be a minute since they had to reset the espresso machine, Simpson recounts. (Though Simpson saw that they were just standing around chatting.)

Meanwhile, the food came out, and while Simpson's salad looked just like the picture, the chicken fajita was half, or even less than half, of the food pictured on the menu, she says. So, she says that it was clearly not enough food for two people to split. (On top of that, she says the Caesar never came.)

When the server brought the martinis, Simpson says her parents told her that the food wasn't as pictured, nor was it the "ton of food" she said it would be. Instead of taking the L, she says the server argued with Simpson's parents. And they ended up asking for a manager.

What did the Hard Rock Casino manager do?

The manager only made things worse. According to Simpson, she told Simpson and her parents that the picture was enlarged for effect and argued with them.

"If I was the manager, I'd be like, 'Oh my gosh, yeah, she told you the wrong thing. I'm jut going to eat the cost of anther chicken breast and ring that out for you because that was what you were told you were getting,'" Simpson said.

"I wish I had a video of the first manager because it was so immature and insane for someone her age," Simpson said in the caption.

Manager one, per Simpson, went and got another manager. And Simpson says she could see them jumping up and down and pointing at them. Manager two, according to Simpson, didn't come by the table for a good 10 to 15 minutes.

At that point, she says the food was cold. And while the second manager did eventually manage to get the Caesar salad they had ordered, she says nothing was done about the missing chicken breast.

Simpson's parents ended up not eating the fajitas, and when they got the check, they didn't tip, she says.

"If it wasn't for the rudeness of the first manager, we probably wouldn't have given the server a couple of dollars, but we didn't because the manager was insane and out of line and should not be managing anything," Simpson says. "What would you have done in our situation, would you have tipped?"

How much do people usually tip?

At a restaurant, it's customary to give a 15% to 20% tip, or 25% for truly excellent service. But that number is starting to creep up to the 20% to 30% range since the pandemic.

Commenters react

"Can we normalize not tipping bad service?" a top comment with more than 47,000 likes read.

"Ex server. You were absolutely right in this situation! Server-lied and failed/forgot to ring in drinks. Manager- needs fired lol. Overall horrible experience all around," a person said.

"i don’t feel like it’s fair to ask your server if it’s enough food to share. we don’t know what you guys normally eat," another added.

"Line cook doesn’t cook right portions. Bartenders forget to make the drinks. Manager is rude: server gets no tip. all over a 26 chicken fajita," a commenter wrote.

@jjsimp_ @Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati crazy behavior. I wish I had a video of the first manager because it was so immature and insane for someone her age #tip #tipping #tippingculture #server #food #dinner #restaurant #wwyd #aita #crazy #fyp #foryoupage ♬ original sound - Jenna Simpson | PA-C

The Daily Dot reached out to Simpson for comment via TikTok direct message and comment and to Hard Rock Casino via email.

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The post ‘Normalize not tipping for bad service’: Hard Rock Casino server tells customers $26 chicken fajitas should be enough to share. Then she brings them out appeared first on The Daily Dot.