Woman says she meant to leave a proper tip. Then she walks out after leaving 2 cents on a $93 bill: ‘Why didn’t you just tell me?’

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A server says a table of three women left her a two-cent tip on a $93 bill, and then walked out with their cash after she pointed out what looked like a mistake. The server, who goes by Hannah (@hannah__lynn16) on TikTok, shared the story in a video that has been viewed more than 601,600 times. The video also received over 40,400 likes and more than 3,000 comments. In the video’s caption, Hannah wrote, “Like what’s the worst that could’ve happened.” The video’s on-screen text, shown at the beginning of the clip, reads, “Plot twist at the end.” Server says the customer offered to leave a cash tip before the bill was settled Hannah said she worked a serving shift two nights before posting the video, on a Friday night. She had a table of three women, and said the group seemed sweet and that she felt they had a good time together. @hannah__lynn16 Like what’s the worst that could’ve happened #serverlife #server #servertiktok ♬ original sound – Hannah At the end of the meal, the women told Hannah it would all be one check, and the total came to $93. Hannah said the woman who was paying told her she planned to pay the bill using the card reader at the table, called a Ziosk, but wanted to leave the tip in cash instead. Hannah agreed and stepped away from the table. When she returned, the customer told her the whole bill had been paid on the Ziosk, and that she had also left a tip through the machine. Hannah thanked the table and went to print the receipt to see the tip amount. The receipt showed a tip of two cents. Hannah said the Ziosk gives customers preset tip options of 18%, 20%, and 22%, or a custom option to type in their own amount. She said the customer would have had to choose the custom option to enter two cents. Because the woman had mentioned wanting to tip in cash, Hannah said she believed it was a mistake, and thought the customer may have meant to type in $20 instead. She said she spoke with coworkers, who told her to simply ask the table about it. Hannah went back to the table and asked the woman if the two-cent tip was intentional, telling her she would not normally ask this kind of question but that the customer had made a point of saying she wanted to tip in cash. The woman told Hannah she did not mean to leave that amount and apologized. She then took out a $100 bill and asked Hannah to break it into smaller bills. Hannah said she got the change and brought it back to the table, thanked the group again, and told them to be safe getting home. She then walked back toward the kitchen. The incident highlights ongoing debates about tipping etiquette, such as when a Chicago food reviewer faced criticism for his tip on a $320 bill.  Hannah said that when she returned to the table about 30 seconds later, the women were gone, and there was no cash left behind. In the video, she says, “Why didn’t you just tell me? Just tell me that you meant to tip 2 cents.” She ends the video by saying, “Oh well.” Several viewers commented on the video with their reactions. One commenter wrote, “dont ever question a customer about a tip. its so desperate and rude.” Another commenter wrote, “The expectation to tip is obscene.” One viewer wrote, “She didn’t want her friends to know she was being cheap.” Another commenter wrote, “2¢ is a known insult to servers. She meant that as a slap in the face.” One commenter wrote, “I mean 20$ is crazy but .02 is insane.” Tipping norms differ, as an Olive Garden customer who left a 22% tip was confused when her server thanked her multiple times.