Tip First, Serve Later? Woman Stunned by $20-30 Pre-Service Tip Demand for $80 Massage

Americans have increasingly grown hostile towards tipping as they cope with rising costs. Terms like tipflation and tipfatigue have been floating around for many months. While tipping is getting frustrating, imagine how bad it would be if people asked for tips before providing the service. That was the case with one customer whose story was shared on TikTok by the popular creator, The Last Gossip (@thelastgossip). 

In the video shared by The Last Gossip, the customer can be seen sitting in a car, ranting about her experience. The girl says she went in for a massage that already cost her $80, which is typical but still a steep price. The girl says the woman at the counter asked her to pay upfront before the service. Thinking it was weird, the girl still went through with it using her credit card. What happened next was shocking. 

The woman gave the customer a blank slip, asking her to put down the amount she wanted to tip. The customer naturally found it weird as she was being asked to pay a tip even before she got the service. 

The customer said she was confused about how much to tip as she was already paying $80. So after thinking for some time, she nervously wrote $5 and handed the slip back. However, the woman at the counter wasn’t happy as she asked, “That’s it?” the woman recounted. The customer then asked the worker how much she should tip, thinking she would say $10 at most. However, the woman said she should pay at least $20 to $30 as a tip. 

The customer was visibly shocked as she was asked to pay a $20 to $30 tip for an $80 massage. Unhappy with the response, the customer told the worker that she would be happy to take her business elsewhere as she could get a refund from her credit card company. 

The worker still didn’t back down and asked the woman to go ahead with the massage and she could tip more after. The customer expressed her frustration saying that it was not her job to make up for the money that the owner of the business isn’t paying the workers. 

 Viewers flocked to the comments section of the video to express their outrage. Even workers of tipped jobs couldn’t believe that the customer was asked for tips before the service. “That's insane! Tips are performance-based. I work in a tipping industry. Tips are always appreciated but never expected,” a user (@steffaniemaejohnson) wrote. 

Meanwhile, another user (@abu_bakr_alsiddiq) called out the hypocrisy of the situation, writing, “Isn’t the whole point of a tip to ensure they do a good job so how are you gonna pay it beforehand lmao.”

Meanwhile, several users pointed out the problems with tipping culture in general. Some users suggested that the situation is worse in America and better in other parts of the world. “In Colombia is already included in your bill, but you can always reject it and don’t pay a tip if you want to. US is crazy!” another viewer, (@carolinelugo13) wrote.

For more such crazy stories and entertaining content, follow The Last Gossip (@thelastgossip) on TikTok.