- TikToker Roman Sparkles joked he would snub a customer for a 50% tipping regular, in a now-viral video.
- “Idc about your basic vodka soda and espresso martini. I work for tips,” he mockingly said in the video’s caption.
- This video rides a wave of TikTok videos highlighting tipping culture frustrations.
TikToker Roman Sparkles says he would snub a customer for a big-tipping regular and has gone viral for it.
In a video that’s now raked in over 1.5 million views since it was posted Monday, Sparkles mockingly dismisses a customer’s request for an espresso martini in favor of one who “tips me 50% every time he comes in.”
Though Sparkles’ comment appeared to be intended as sarcasm, that’s a generous give — Americans tip 16% on average, according to a 2023 survey by Forbes.
“Sorry, I’m still talking?” says an off-screen customer in Sparkles’ video — which appears to be a skit — as the bartender ignores him to take the big tipper’s order. “Okay, you’re being rude as hell,” the off-screen customer adds.
“Idc about your basic vodka soda and espresso martini. I work for tips,” the Michigan-based bartender quipped in the video’s caption.
Sparkles told Insider that the original intention was all satire and that his video was basically a bartender’s internal monologue. “The message really is that bartenders work for tips and we’ll favor those that do tip over those that don’t every time.”
Majority of the over 1,000 comments on Sparkles’ video endorsed his viewpoint. “Big tippers get priority haha,” said one user. Another added, “Take care of those who take care of you.”
Sparkles’ video isn’t a one-off sentiment. Today, TikTok is brimming with customers and servers alike voicing their frustrations with American tipping culture.
Describing her experience at a Ben and Jerry’s outlet, TikToker “poorandhungry” said the cashier threw up their hands in frustration when she hit “no tip” on the tipping screen after she purchased a $2 ice cream cone.
“On no planet is that ever appropriate,” she said, in a video that has amassed over 5.4 million times since May, adding that even if she had bought $100’s worth of ice cream and refused to tip, such frustration would still be unacceptable.
TikToker Jason Regan posted a video in June — viewed over 3.2 million times since — criticizing customers that don’t tip by sarcastically saying “oh yeah, let me book my flight with the money that you didn’t pay me” to a country where servers don’t rely on tips.
And it’s not just bars and ice cream joints that are subject to tipping frustration. A DoorDash driver was fired in July for cursing at a woman who tipped him $5 for a $20 order after the customer posted a viral video of the interaction on TikTok, Insider reported.
Data shows that frustration with tipping culture is widespread. A June survey by personal finance company Bankrate showed that 66% of US adults surveyed have a negative view of tipping. A third of respondents said tipping culture has gotten “out of control” in recent years.
Part of this can be attributed to businesses’ growing reliance on tips as they seek to avoid raising wages while a recession looms, experts told the Wall Street Journal.
August 16: 4.30 p.m.: The story has been updated to include Sparkles’ comment.
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