South Jersey woman sits down at restaurant and starts filming, but tips $0 after server ignores her for the rest of her meal: ’12 minutes isn’t long’

Anyone who dines out knows tipping is a customary practice in the United States. When faced with less-than-stellar service, some may feel stuck in a quandary: to tip or not to tip.

According to Food & Wine, the rule of thumb for a poor experience is 10%. Since 43 states still pay servers below the $7.25 national minimum wage, servers rely heavily on tips for their income. Nevertheless, it doesn’t stop customers from leaving nada if they believe it’s justified. 

South Jersey-based woman Bridget (@bridgetgoes) is one of them, shared why she decided not to leave anything during her restaurant visit. Her reason behind the trip has servers up in arms.

“I left a zero-dollar tip for the first time,” she starts her clip. Then she jumps into the story.

What Happened At The Restaurant?

“Today, I went to a restaurant I’ve been to multiple times that’s in my area, that has really good food and every time I’ve been there, they also have really good service,” she says. “I was really excited to go and make a video reviewing their food, talking about how much I really like the restaurant, giving them free exposure.”

As soon as she arrived at the restaurant, it was packed. However, the host greeted her immediately and seated her, where she would wait 12 minutes before her server approached her table.

“When he finally did come over, he just said ‘hi,’ and filled my water,” the content creator recalls. “He put the water pitcher down and grabbed the tablet to put the order in, came back, and I ordered.”

Subsequently, that would be the last time Bridget would interact with her server for a while.

“The waiter did not check on me the rest of the time I was there. For over 20 minutes, I sat at a table, eating,” she says. “I needed a refill on my water at one point. I tried to flag the server down.”

Therefore, she concluded he was deliberately ignoring her. “He was clearly serving the table here and the table here. It seems like he would turn his back, as soon as he turned away from them,” she says.  “At this point, I considered just going up to the host and asking the host if I could just pay.” 

Why Didn’t She Tip?

Once the server was near her table, she successfully managed to get him to bring her bill. Annoyed, Bridget paid for her meal and marked a whopping $0 tip, throwing a wrench in her plan. However, she decided to speak with the host on her way out, whom she assumed was management, to voice her grievance.

“‘I’m gonna be honest. This is some of the worst service I’ve ever had in a restaurant,’” she recounts telling the host, followed by listing the reasons. “Took [the server] a while to greet me, and he did not check on me once at all. I was here to make a TikTok to uplift the restaurant, but he gave me no attention.’”

All of this, coupled with giving the server the benefit of the doubt, ultimately led her not to leave a gratuity or post the review.

“Why did I sit at my table for almost 30 minutes with no acknowledgment or anything? I would have spent more money, I would have left a much better tip if I had gotten service,” she says.

Consumed by guilt, she intended to return, hoping to make amends. “I’m hoping maybe next time I go, I’ll get him again and maybe he will be a better server,” the content creator states. “I can leave an even better tip this time and will apologize.”

“It was very frustrating for me because I put aside a certain amount of money to spend to make content and now the money is gone,” she explains. “Which is part of the reason I didn’t leave a better tip because I was eating out to make a video to share a positive experience.”

Why Would The Server Ignore Bridget?

Bridget’s video garnered over 474,000 views. Many unanimously agreed on why the server possibly gave her the cold shoulder.

“Yeah if someone’s filming I’m not trying to serve that table. I don’t want to be posted on the internet at my job,” one viewer commented.

Another echoed, “I find it extremely uncomfortable being filmed while serving. I still would have provided good service but it sounds more like he didn’t want to be filmed.”

“As a server- serving a table [whose] filming is actually awful. That could be why you didn’t get the service,” a third remarked.

“I think its because you were filming. I personally wouldn’t want to wait on someone who is filming the whole time,” a fourth stated.

However, Bridget insisted in the comments section, “I was not filming the whole time though. I was also playing Bloons Tower Defense 5 and i only film myself or my food.”

Is Legal To Film Inside Restaurants For Content?

Essentially, it all depends on the intention. If you’re snapping a photo of your food to post on your personal social media, no one usually bats an eye. On the other hand, filming or taking pictures of the interior and servers is a different story.

The New York Times states that restaurants are private properties and set their own rules. Therefore, they may require permission before doing so. Moreover, they have the right to ask you to stop recording or kick you out. All in all, it’s best to ask for the restaurant’s management consent to save the hassle.

@bridgetgoes it was a really weird experience overall #southjersey #server #tippingculture #restaurantlife #serverproblems ♬ original sound – bridget goes ?

The Mary Sue reached out to Bridget via email and TikTok comment.

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