Man Goes to Birthday Lunch at Fire Island Restaurant. Then the Server Follows Them Outside To Confront Them Over the Tip

Leaving a tip is customary at most sit-down restaurants. But what happens if a group racks up an over $300 bill while visiting Fire Island, only to leave without additional compensation?

That’s what happened when one group went to Sand Castle on the Ocean, a restaurant at Fire Island. Joshua Molina (@joshuamolina_) posted a video that received more than 539,000 views. In it, he appeared to have a discussion with a server, who he said asked him for more money after his group left without tipping.

Molina captured a section of a video, where the server appeared to lambast Molina and other members of his party for eventually giving him a paltry tip. When Molina subsequently posted footage of the encounter online, viewers sided with the server.

What even is Fire Island?

Fire Island is a barrier island near the south shore of Long Island, New York. It’s notable in the area for having clean beaches and limited vehicle transportation; most guests have to travel by boat or ferry to arrive there.

There are a number of seashores that are preserved by the National Park Service, which are popular destinations for visitors. Outside of nature trails and coastal views, Fire Island has a few restaurants and casual dining establishments, according to OutXOut.

‘ I mean, you’re on Fire Island…’

When Molina arrived at Fire Island, he may have expected to see a beautiful lighthouse or coastal view. Instead, Molina apparently saw his server at a local restaurant come outside with a question.

Prior to the server coming up to Molina’s group, the content creator said that he had eaten with a group. The meal was $318.64 altogether, so each member of the party Zelled one person, and they paid. According to Molina, the person who paid assumed that the total came with gratuity and therefore forgot to leave a tip.

But Molina said that the server was not nice when telling his group this information.

“ When he came outside, he was like, ‘Hey,’ like, ‘why didn’t you guys leave me a tip?’ And he didn’t say this nicely. He was being very rude from the beginning. And then we were like, ‘Oh my God, we- we’re sorry, w- we didn’t know that we didn’t leave you a tip,’” Molina said. His group then banded together and gave the server $35. But the server asked whether that was “it.”

“ We were like, ‘What?’ And he was like, ‘That’s it?’ And he was like… And then he was like, ‘You’re on Fire Island. You’re on Fire Island,’” he said.

Molina took out his phone and captured some of what the server told the group. The server did indeed say that because the group was on “Fire Island,” repeatedly. The server added that “20% would be $60 something.”

@joshuamolina_

We came to have a lunch birthday…..we LEFT getting chased outside because the server wanted more tip money. ?Sand Castle, Fire Island. NY

♬ original sound – joshuamolina

How did they resolve the situation?

After a few tense moments, a woman who was with Molina gave the server an extra $10, bringing his tip to $45. Other group members seemingly offered the server more money off camera. Molina said that altogether, they ended up giving him more than $60, but he did not appreciate the exchange.

“ He did that in public,” Molina said. “He was shaking us down asking for money in public, outside where there’s people around, and asking for money, more money.”

Molina said that the service was average to below average. He reiterated in his video that he did not expect to be hassled for money.

“ I used to be a server, so… I’m sorry that we did not leave a tip… right away. But we ended up giving him originally a $35, $35 tip, and he wanted more. And he was being super rude about it, super, super rude about it. And we didn’t even order a lot,” Molina said.

Viewers turn on Molina

Despite Molina’s dismay at his encounter with the servers, viewers were not on the creator’s side. They told Molina that it was obvious that gratuity was not added on the bill.

“‘He thought the gratuity was added’ then shows a picture of the receipt where it obviously doesn’t say anything about gratuity,” one viewer said. “Nah servers gotta start standing up for themselves in this economy $10/ hour isn’t a livable wage.”

Another commenter said, “U realize $35 is 10% right ? Plus servers have a tip out.”

“Babe…. If you can’t afford to tip appropriately then you can’t afford to go out. It’s your responsibility to ensure the tip IS included. When you stiff him like that you’re taking money out of his pocket as he has to tip out,” a third added.

Generally, most publications recommend tipping anywhere from 15% to 20% when dining out, with 18% to 20% being closer to the current industry norm according to the Pew Research Center.

The Mary Sue has reached out to Molina via TikTok direct message and Sand Castle on the Ocean via contact form via for more information.

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