‘I’m not trying to shame anyone for being broke’: South Carolina server waits on table of 6 celebrating birthday dinner. Then he shares a big no-no

If you’re a seasoned server, you may have noticed large parties can make or break your shift. Although a bigger table should equal higher tips, it’s still not always the case.

For example, a table of five tipped one server $5 on a $140 bill. Another server who works at Texas Roadhouse had a group of teenagers leave two cents on a $43.92 check.

Enter five-year South Carolina veteran server Zachary Kahler (@zacharykahler84), who recounted how a birthday gathering didn’t stop a party of six from skipping the tip. However, he was still able to walk home with something through a restaurant policy.

“Thank god for automatic gratuity cause it literally just saved my a–,” he says, driving at night. “The whole point is so you don’t get screwed when you have a big table and you do all the work and don’t tip you. You can feel whether they’re going to set you up or not.”

Then, he jumps into the story to 1.3 million viewers. 

What Happened With This Table?

“Today, I had a party table. It was supposed to be 10 people and only six of them showed up,” he says. “They were using three of my tables that were pushed together for six people. So, I lost a table when I should have been using two.”

According to the server, the group was “super rude” throughout the dining experience. At one point, they requested a birthday discount, which his establishment doesn’t offer. Instead, he treated them to a birthday cheesecake that didn’t pan out as expected.

“I brought out the cheesecake. They did not eat it and asked for a box for it,” he recounts.

But the cherry on top?

“[The woman] had to pay for her bill on her birthday,” he says. “Well, I split the checks, smashed that auto gratuity button because it was six or more and brought the checks.”

Of course, this was one of many penny-pinching moments.

“Two separate people ended up having to give me some cash and some on card,” he says. “One of the checks was a $21 check where they gave me $7 in cash and the rest on the card.”

While restaurant birthday celebrations are a common go-to, he does have a piece of advice for frugal customers.

“Now, I’m not trying to shame anyone for being broke. I’m not up but if it’s your birthday and you’re inviting your family and friends out to eat and you know they’re broke as hell, what are we doing?” Kahler says. “And for the rest of them, pick up the birthday girl’s check.”

“Obviously, there was no extra left on grat and I didn’t expect there to be extra, but I think that saved my a– today,” he concludes.

A Deeper Dive

Kahler told The Mary Sue the auto gratuity recommendation was in place the moment he began waiting tables.

“It was presented to me at the very beginning that we are encouraged to add automatic gratuity only to tables of 6 or more,” he revealed via TikTok direct message. “It took me a while to figure out when to add it and when not to.”

For him, how the party treated him was a dead giveaway that they wouldn’t tip well, but it certainly isn’t a one-size-fits-all experience.

“Just from the way they treat the server,” he said. “On the other hand, sometimes non-tippers will be the nicest people ever, you just never know.”

Typically, the content creator has a certain check limit in order to tack on the automatic gratuity.

“I have a personal threshold most of the time of the check being $200 or more; I’m going to add it regardless of how much the people like me, just as a safety net in case I read the room wrong,” he stated.
“Usually if it’s below that I will not add it, unless the table really gives me a reason to do so.”

In this instance, the group gave Kahler a reason.

“These people were rude and demanding with me. The bill crossed my personal auto grat threshold anyway so I added it,” he stated. “I did not expect anything extra when I added the automatic gratuity and I never do. Obviously I’m not mad when people generously do though.”

Overall, he felt compelled to post for servers to resonate with.

“I like posting about stuff that people relate to and also things that people will have a problem with, it’s engagement after all,” he said.

What Did Viewers Say?

In the comments section, the auto gratuity method garnered polarizing reactions among customers.

“As a consumer, i lowkey love auto gratuity so i dont gotta think about it,” one viewer commented.

“I so badly wish as a society we had auto grat everywhere. It’s so much better,” another stated.

“If I see a gratuity charge, I’m not tipping,” a third remarked.

“I always tip at least 20 percent. but when I see auto gratuity I don’t top a cent over that. no one should,” a fourth said.

Meanwhile, servers joined the chat, revealing that they wished this option were available at their workplace to prevent stiffing.

“I need autograt dude, had a 1000 dollar check and they left 100..of course not the worst but they came in the last 30 minutes,” one commenter shared.

“$600 check last night, just me serving them. Gave them great service. $40 tip and my tip out for just that table is $20. wish we had autograt,” another recalled.

@zacharykahler84 #serverlife #server #serviceindustry #bartender #serverproblems ♬ original sound – Zachary Kahler

Do You Have To Tip Your Server on Automatic Gratuity?

No, you don’t. Unlike traditional tipping, where rewarding your server’s efforts is optional, auto gratuity is not. This is a service fee that ranges 15%-22% that customers must pay. Businesses usually add this for parties of six or more to ensure proper compensation for servers, which counts toward their check, per Webstaurant Store. As a rule of thumb, the menu or the server will disclose the policy.

For restaurants without auto gratuity, tipping 15% is standard and 20% for excellent service.

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]