Diners have taken to Reddit to share how bad the service has to be to leave no tip—or a “troll tip” meant to send a message.
Reddit user Brandon (u/darkroot_gardner) took to Reddit’s r/tipping subreddit to ask, “How bad does the service have to be for you to leave zero tip?” and users didn’t hold back.
With nearly 400 responses recounting long waits for a check to outright rudeness, customers detailed what pushes them from their usual tipping habits to a complete cutoff.
Photo by AndreyPopov / Getty Images
One user described being “eating alone for lunch and the server ‘forgot’ about me and spent all her time at a table with a large party“.
After finishing, they said they waited 20 minutes for a check and had to flag down another server.
To that comment, another replied they’d tip “1 cent to make a point”.
For some, it’s about the signal: “If service is bad enough for the tip to be zero, the server already knows they messed up. If not, they are in the wrong business,” wrote one Redditor.
Another agreed, adding, “If I leave a 5% tip, that’s pretty much a message that says you suck.”
Frustration Over Inattention
Many explained that inattentive servers were their main gripe.
“If I have to wait 15 minutes for water, and 15 minutes for a check after asking for it in a non-busy restaurant… then my tip is going drastically down,” wrote one user, who recalled once being the only lunchtime customer and still waiting a quarter-hour for the bill.
The debate also drew contrasts between American and European dining.
“In America, the servers just drop off the food and run… It ruins the dining experience; it’s all about greed. I tip zero now because the system sucks,” one user posted.
A British commenter, however, shared the opposite complaint, noting that in the U.S., “a lot of servers wouldn’t leave my table alone… Much prefer it in Europe, where they are not fishing for tips.”
Some people have hard lines, with one commenter writing, “The only instance I would tip nothing is if the person giving me service is rude/has an attitude.”
Another recalled tipping $0 after a server “‘accidentally’ ran my card for 50% more than my check and insisted that could just be her tip”.
‘A sort of social obligation’
In a message to Newsweek, Brandon explained, “I am generally anti-tipping… While I wish for and advocate for tipping to end and the base wage to be increased to a living wage instead, I still always tip at full-service restaurants and bars, usually around 15%, mainly as a sort of social obligation.
“Once or twice a year, I will tip generously (20-25%) when it is a special occasion and the service is excellent.”
He added, “I wanted to hear what approach others take towards tipping, especially since a 2023 Pew research poll suggested the actual quality of the service might not even be so critical for many people.”
A Growing Concern
Restaurants across the United States often add automatic gratuities, especially for large parties, but these charges are legally distinct from tips.
“They can’t force you to tip if you make it optional,” Bruce McAdams, an associate professor for the School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management at the University of Guelph, told Newsweek.
“But if you state there is a service charge and add it to the bill, it is legal and the customer is required to pay.”
Tipping Fatigue
Surveys show most Americans would prefer tipping to remain a choice. According to Newsweek, a September 2024 poll found that 73% of respondents wanted tipping to be optional, while only 22% favored making it mandatory.
“Unraveling tip culture will be much more complicated than most people imagine,” Mary King, editor of The Restaurant HQ, told the publication.
Even with “tipping fatigue” on the rise, many service workers depend on gratuities for their livelihoods. As legal experts told Newsweek, mandatory service charges, though often viewed as tips, are considered revenue for the restaurant, not optional bonuses.
That distinction is unlikely to end the debate among diners, who, as one Reddit commenter summed up, will “tip $0 by default nowadays,” while others insist “outside of physical violence, you’re getting at least 20 percent”.
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, click here.