Woman Shocked After Grocery Store Asked For 25% Tip At Checkout On $40 Bill

Tipping has long been a contentious topic in the US, leaving many puzzled over why employees aren't simply paid a liveable wage. 

It's one thing to tip servers at a restaurant, but a grocery store cashier?

The TikTok user @incrediboii, also known as Ev, shared her disbelief in a video. 

"My boyfriend and I went to this grocery store in Austin called Tiny Grocer, and it’s a bougie grocery store," she explained. 

"It’s not one that we would ever like usually go to, but we were going for like a date night."

They were there for a date night and picked up some essentials. 

"Some cheese, some cured meat," and wine were on their shopping list. 

But it wasn't the price of these items that shocked them.

What really stunned them was the tip request at checkout. 

"I expected it to be more expensive than your regular grocery store, I think it came out to like 40 bucks, and"

"The cashier rings me up, flips the tablet around and asks for 25 percent of a tip on a forty dollar grocery bill," Ev recounted. 

TikTok / @incrediboii

This unexpected request left her jaw on the floor. 

She told her boyfriend, "they just asked for a tip," emphasizing, "they just asked for a ten dollar tip on a forty dollar grocery bill."

Ev confessed that this experience had her rattled for days, and she's "probably still f****d up about it now." 

Credit: Instagram/ @tinygroceratx

Her story struck a chord with many, leading to discussions about the fairness of tipping in various service industries. 

One commenter pointed out, "If we don't sit, we don't tip," highlighting the difference between servers and cashiers. 

Another urged the need to "cancel tipping and pay livable wages."

Others shared similar experiences, like a beautician asking for tips despite a significant salary. 

"My Botox/lip filler NURSE PRACTITIONER had a tipping option. Like what?? You make $125k a year."

One person claimed that the majority of people don’t actually receive the tip:

"Dude I started asking 'Do you get this tip?' And like 50% of the time THEY SAY NO!! Like we are tipping high-ups at this point like NOOOOO."

This incident certainly adds a new layer to the complex debate around tipping practices.