Serve says that people who can't leave a 20% tip "don't deserve" to eat out.

Serve says that people who can’t leave a 20% tip “don’t deserve” to eat out.

A TikTok user got a lot of serious negative feedback online after starting a conversation about restaurant customers who eat a lot but don’t leave tips for the staff.

The video, which has been seen over 10,000 times, shows how important it is to tip.

Today, in the digital age, social media sites are full of arguments about how Americans should tip.

Close-up of unrecognizable white man placing his credit card on top of bill at restaurant

Tipping is not required, but it has become a controversial topic in recent years, with many people upset that the standard tip is generally between 15% and 20%, and that anything less is often seen as not enough.

Not long ago, a restaurant worker named Lillie (@mylasoasis_ on TikTok) made a strong statement in a video that has since been taken down. She told them that if they couldn’t afford to tip their server, they probably shouldn’t be eating out.

At the start of her video, Lillie talks to the camera and says, “Eating out is a privilege, not a right.” Not being able to leave a 20% tip means you can’t go out to eat.

The TikTok adds to the ongoing discussion about how much servers in the US are paid. Some people say that servers should get paid differently, but Lillie says that this isn’t the case for her or the more than 1.6 million servers across the country.

“You can whine and demand that my boss pay me more all you want, but this is America, so that’s not going to happen, okay?” She tells us. “The restaurant where I work pays me $3.63 a week. My wage, or income, comes from tips.

Lillie also says that restaurant menu prices are kept low on purpose so that customers can leave tips. “The food costs less because you’re supposed to leave a tip,” she says. “Not being able to pay for a tip means you don’t deserve to eat out.”

Close-up of a male hand pouring wine into a glass. Waiter serving red wine at luxury Italian restaurant. Luxury meal. Wine Tasting. Wine pairing.

She says that it’s like hiring a nanny. “The same thing happens with a nanny.” “You don’t deserve a nanny if you can’t pay them a full salary,” she says. Last but not least, Lillie says that if you can’t tip, “you literally don’t deserve to dine out,” and she suggests that people get takeout or go to a fast food restaurant instead. Oh wow!

Lillie also shows how angry she is in the video’s caption: “And to anyone who says we should be getting paid more per hour… Okay??? BUT WE’RE NOT. If you don’t tip, your dining experience will get WORSE!!!!”

After Lillie’s video, a lot of people went to the comments to share their own thoughts. One person agreed that they always tip when they eat out, but they didn’t like how Lillie delivered her message.

“I always tip, but the sense of entitlement is crazy. Like, get a different job that doesn’t require you to run around and pays well by the hour,” they said.

Another user agreed and said that if the pay isn’t enough, the person should look for another job. “Get a new job if your pay isn’t enough to live on.” “This is silly,” they said.

There were, of course, people who agreed with Lillie’s message. Someone talked about their own experience and said, “LITERALLY… The only thing we get paid for is time, which is $2.13 an hour. A different user replied, “SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK!”

“Go off, girl,” one user said as advice. If someone doesn’t tip because they think the boss should pay fair wages, then they should only deal with companies that do that.

Someone else wrote that they would always tip, but they didn’t agree with Lillie’s statement that a 20% tip is required, even if the service was bad. “I tip based on service,” they announced. “Unless the service was really bad, I always leave a 20% tip or more.”