"AITA for not tipping a waitress on a $300+ tab?"
The other day, my friend's girlfriend broke up with him, so the boys and I decided to take him to a club to cheer him up. I was the last to arrive, and they had already gotten a table and were all drinking alcohol. When the waitress came up to me and asked what I wanted to drink, I couldn't have alcohol because of the medicine I'm on, so I ordered a Sprite. She gave me an awkward smile and said okay.
Ten minutes went by, and I still hadn't received my Sprite. However, she came back and asked my friends at the same table if they wanted another round. They all said yes, and then they ordered shots as well. I reminded her about my Sprite, and she nodded and left. She then brought all the alcohol and shots back out for my friends, but still no Sprite.
About 10 to 20 minutes later, she returned and asked how we were doing. Everyone said they were fine, and I said I still hadn’t gotten my Sprite yet. She nodded again but didn’t even walk back to the bar; instead, she started talking to another girl. After waiting an additional 10 or so minutes, I decided to go to the bar myself and get a Sprite and a water. I paid the bartender, left a tip, and went back to the table.
We hung out for another few hours, my friends drinking a lot of alcohol and eating hors d'oeuvres. When we were ready to leave, she brought our checks and gave me one for the Sprite that she never brought. I told her, “You never gave me the Sprite; I got it from the bar.” She responded, “Oh, the bar transferred it to me,” and I replied, “No, I paid the bar.” She said okay and took the check away.
I don't know why I was so upset about the Sprite; it's just a Sprite. But my friends were also upset that I was being treated that way, so they all paid their tabs, left no tip, and wrote on the checks, “You should have brought my friend a Sprite.”
I think it's messed up not to leave tips, and I would have told them not to do that if they had let me know in advance, because people rely on that money for their livelihoods. But I also don’t like being discriminated against because I can’t drink alcohol due to my medications. Do you think we were being @$$holes for not leaving a tip?
What do you think? AITA? This is what commenters had to say:
Srvntgrrl_789 said:
NTA. I’ve worked as a bartender, waitress, and a barista. That kind of behavior doesn’t just deserve a no tip, it also deserves a call to the bar owner to let them know WHY the waitress didn’t get a tip.
FigSuspicious7079 said:
NTA It was up to your friends to leave a tip and they chose not to. She was not catering to the whole party just the drinkers. I wouldn't have tipped her either.
International-Age971 said:
NTA, I’ve been a bartender and waitress. This service deserves no tip. Soft drinks and waters take less than 10 seconds to make.
CarryOk3080 said:
Nta. I have been a server, bartender, and restaurant manager. She didn't provide a service to get tipped for. Your friends saw that she was blatantly ignoring you. That equals no tip. Maybe next time she won't be so snobby and refuse to serve a Sprite. You could have been the DD for all she knows, and she alienated the sober person of the group. Drunk people can be savage, your friends just stood up for you.
djmaddog666 said:
OP, you sound like a toddler and a karen both at the same time. your friends are petty AH's; no tip & writing comments on the tab makes them petty karen’s as well. it’s truly alarming the number of people agreeing with this behavior. yall are such weirdos. tell me you aren’t a karen without telling me your aren’t a karen LOL. wild work.
OP responded:
They are good friends NGL. I did go to the bar did you not read the post. Also i did tip the bartender.
MysticYoYo said:
NTA, but your friends should’ve tipped for their service since they apparently didn’t care that you didn’t get your Sprite until they got the bill… It looks like they were trying to get out of tipping on their significant bill when their service was fine.
And OP responded:
They are mostly good tippers and it did bother them