A Facebook post about a tasteless tipping "trick" has gone viral, making the rounds on its home site and on Twitter - though its veracity has come into question.
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This post - with no author attribution - has undoubtedly made its way into your news feed within the past few days:
The alleged diner began his meal by placing five, $1 bills neatly on the table, and proceeded to explain to his server the rules of his "game" - each time the server made a mistake, $1 was subtracted from the total.
It's not hard to see why a certain segment of the population - that is, everyone who's ever worked in the food service industry - saw red. It's classless, demeaning and, perhaps above all, cheap. A $5 tip on dinner for two, no matter where you dine, isn't likely to meet the "suggested" gratuity of 20 percent.
Though poor tipping and rude customers are certainly truisms of the business, the post still hasn't been verified as real. Questions regarding the post's veracity center on a few things, reported Today.
The original poster has yet to come forward - though, with the widespread backlash, can you blame him?
Others point to an episode of the 1990s sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, in which Dr. Dick Solomon (an alien in disguise) tries a similar trick and is met with mild disbelief.
While I certainly can't comment on this post's authenticity, I can, somewhat shamefully, say this: I've seen this done, by a member of my own family. Our server was a good sport (though serving is about 90 percent being a good sport about things), and the horrified stares from the rest of the table, I'd hope, quelled that practice once and for all.
Whether or not this post is real or the result of some long-simmering server angst is up for debate. What isn't up for debate, though, is how those in the food business feel about such a stunt.
This post was originally published in December 2016.
