‘I don’t have that much cash on me’: Texas Roadhouse server says customer asked to tip her via Zelle

Photo by@whatsthatmeen/TikTok refrina/ShutterStock Diego Thomazini/ShutterStock

It is one thing to choose not to tip a server in a restaurant.

Telling a server you plan to leave a tip but then deciding against it is a completely different matter.

A server recounts an instance where a customer mentioned she intended to tip with a digital payment service called Zelle. She went as far as confirming her full name and phone number. Yet, she was left waiting until the end of the evening.

In a video that has garnered over 100,000 views, Gina (@whatsthatmeen) mentions that the customer inquired about using a digital payment app like Zelle or CashApp to leave a tip. She notes that this question had been asked of her by others before.

Is this a common experience?

“So the other day this lady was like, ‘I paid my bill on the tablet, and I like to tip cash, but I don’t have that much cash on me, like not enough to tip you, so can I like, get your Zelle or CashApp, Venmo, something?’” she says in the video.

Gina mentioned that she confirmed it was permissible to accept payment through that method since she had previously agreed to it.

Gina, who had mentioned earlier that she works as a server at Texas Roadhouse, mentioned that this particular customer went out of their way to verify all her details. She appeared to be determined to receive her tip through that method, but she ended up not getting any payment from the customer.

“Some time passes and I’m like, wait a second,” she says. “I look at my phone and I’m like, wait, I never got a Zelle. I never got a Zelle.”

She continues, “So yeah, she left and never Zelled me, and I feel like there’s no way to think you Zelled someone and not, but maybe there is, I don’t know.”

“I just feel like I would rather you literally just be like bye, have a good night, and stiff me, than make me think that you’re going to Zelle me,” she concludes. “Is that a new scam?”

Gina previously drew attention online with a video explaining that she had similarly been stiffed by customers who came in minutes before the restaurant was set to close and racked up a $184 tab, as well as her customer pet peeves.

Is it normal to tip servers using digital wallets?

Ideally, you could offer a tip to a waiter or waitress through digital payment apps. Yet, this could complicate things for the server when it's time to file their taxes. Waiters and waitresses are required to report their earnings and manage all the tips they've received, adding this tip to their list of responsibilities.

What happens when you stiff your server?

Opting not to leave a tip for your server is somewhat similar to deciding to take money from them if you had to. Assuming that their tips will cover the shortfall, servers in numerous places are paid less than the minimum wage and are taxed accordingly.

Viewers have concerns

Many viewers were worried because this customer left with the poster's complete name and phone number.

“Meanwhile I’m scared what she gonna do with ur info,” one commenter wrote.

“I’ve told guests no thanks..if they ask me for my cash app.. You never know who could hack,” another echoed.

“Maybe she got distracted, but either way, that’s a lot of info to give out to strangers,” another said. “I wouldn’t do that.”

Others said a similar thing had happened to them across various positions in the service industry.

“This happened to me they asked for my cash app and never sent it,” one commenter wrote. “Like why be trifling just don’t give me anything don’t make it seem like you are.”

“People like that just want temporary praise and don’t care,” another shared. “Happens to uber drivers often. ‘I’ll tip you on the app.’”

“I had people write a note saying that they were going to their car to get cash for the tip,” a commenter wrote. “They went through all that, but they lied.”