A pizzeria customer is convinced their slices were intentionally burned due to a lack of tip.
Whether that’s true or not, the story—which was originally told in a Reddit post on a subreddit dedicated to ending tipping culture—set off yet another online debate about tipping. Specifically, people seem to have a problem with being prompted to tip prior to receiving their food.
Here’s what happened: an anonymous Reddit user, “allenasm,” said they ordered slices at a Utah pizzeria in the suburbs of Salt Lake City. (Note: The Reddit user named the pizzeria in a later comment, but we will not do so here at PMQ). Before the slices were put into the oven, a pizzeria worker asked the customer to sign their receipt. The customer crossed out the “tipping line” and then signed it.
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The customer then alleged that the worker burned the slices, apologized, and then burned a second set of slices. At that point, the customer accepted the slices and decided they’d simply eat them and then never come back to the pizzeria.
In an attempt to quell any doubt regarding whether or not the burning of the slices was intentional or not, the Reddit user claimed “the smirk [the employee] gave was pretty telling.”
While the original Reddit post generated around 80 comments, the story was picked up by the New York Post. That story, posted on Yahoo, received upwards of 1,300 comments. Nearly all of the most-liked comments expressed some form of being fed up with the status quo on tipping.
“Tipping expectations have gotten out of control,” one commenter wrote. “You earn a tip for exceptional performance, not begrudgingly doing the minimum that your job requires. If you are unhappy with the arrangement, find another line of work.”
“There shouldn’t even be a tip request for take out,” another wrote. “You’re not being served by a waiter or waitress, and you’re using your own fuel and time to drive to the establishment to get your own food. That said, most of us including myself will leave some type of tip lest we get something unpleasant in our food.”
Others echoed the original storyteller’s peeve of having to tip prior to food being served. How could you possibly know at that point what type of service you’ll get, they argued?
Pizzeria owners are probably torn reading stories like this one. With razor-thin margins and staffing a perennial headache, tipping is a great way for employees to make a little more money without a pizzeria having to raise prices to astronomical levels. Many of the same people who complain about tipping probably wouldn’t be willing to pay an extra couple of bucks for a slice of pizza.
Besides, how would it even work to offer counter service while letting customers pay after they receive their food? It’s a safe bet that few of the people griping have ever run a restaurant.
And yet, it’s clear tipping culture is at a crossroads in the U.S. Sooner or later, some pizzerias may have to raise prices and see how the public reacts. Then we’ll find out if the American public is truly ready for a tip-free world.
