New York City Server Waits on 2 Women. Then They Refuse To Tip Her—For The Strangest Reason
A New York City server had a table of two women who asked her a strange question. Then she answered honestly, and they refused to tip her.
Mixed martial artist and New York resident Misha Benchikova (@mishagrebenchikova) responded to a strange query that a group of two women asked. The question? “Do you think you’re pretty?”
When the TikToker answered honestly, the women took note of it. Later, they explained that they weren’t going to tip Benchikova because she was pretty enough to make money at other tables.
Benchikova’s Experience
Benchikova told them she had days where she was insecure and self-conscious. Despite her answering, they continued probing her.
“They’re, ‘You definitely think you’re pretty,'” Benchikova recalled. “And I was like, ‘Um, today I feel good about myself. I don’t know…’ And then, then like I kinda like walked away ’cause I had to go make drinks, and I can hear them talking.”
Later, when Benchikova came by after they were done eating, the women mentioned it again.
“They were like… ‘Since you’re pretty…do you think people tip you because of that?’ … I took a pause and I was like…’I think people mostly tip me based on my service, not really based on my looks.'”
Benchikova grabbed their plates and moved them out of the way. When she finally brought the table their check, one of the women told the server, “We didn’t tip you because we know you make good money here because you’re pretty and people must tip you all the time ’cause you’re pretty.”
In a comment to The Mary Sue, Benchikova clarified that “their check was around $150” and that she would have expected a $30 tip from them.
“I brought it up to my co-workers… They felt bad but said that ‘people are selfish and if they don’t have money to tip then don’t go out to eat,'” Benchikova said.
Benchikova said some of her regular customers gave her an additional $20 tip because of the situation.
Benchikova added, “I feel like I had customers [tip] me based on my appearance… I noticed since working in the [restaurant] industry for so long that if gfs or wives pay the bill, it’s usually less than 18%… But if the husbands or boyfriends pay the bill I usually get 20% or more.”
Uncomfortable Interactions With Customers
This isn’t the first time Benchikova has been placed in an uncomfortable situation by customers at her restaurant. Previously, BroBible covered an encounter the server had with a flirty customer. Benchikova said she had been handed a slip of paper with a man’s phone number on it. The only problem was that a co-worker let the server know the man had a wife and children.
Between 2023 and 2025, tipping on average shrank from nearly 15.5% to 14.9%. Additionally, restaurant workers report abuse from both customers and managers, which can create an uncomfortable working environment. Flirting, hostile interactions, customer incivility or even a lack of tipping can all contribute to worsening customer and server experiences overall.
In this situation, commenters reassured Benchikova that she wasn’t in the wrong. Moreover, they suggested the other two women had jealousy-related issues.
“Translation: we didn’t tip you because we’re too jealous of how pretty you are,” one commenter said.
Another said that the group “looked for an excuse not to tip.”
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The Mary Sue reached out to Benchikova via email and TikTok direct message for more information.
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