A TikTok creator says she has stopped tipping at cafes where workers do not even greet her. The creator, who posts as @ivymarieplay, shared her reasoning in a video that has racked up hundreds of thousands of views and hundreds of comments.
As reported by The Daily Dot, the creator admits she is not proud of it but has gotten comfortable pressing the no-tip button. Explaining why, she said, “Because you did absolutely nothing.”
She described walking up to a counter where the employee simply stared at her without saying a word. According to the creator, she had to start the conversation herself, even though the employee was the one being paid to work there.
She thinks a robot would do a better job
“That’s crazy,” she said, before asking how social skills have gotten so bad. In her caption, she wrote that if the most personal part of the interaction is an employee rotating an iPad toward her, she is not tipping, adding, “Existing near the cash register is not a service?”
The creator also addressed concerns about AI and robots taking jobs. She argued that a robot would at least greet customers with “Hi, how are you?” and send them off with “Thanks, have a great day.”
Since the employee in her story was not even looking at her, she said it would be no different from having a computer do the job. She ended the video by saying, “Do better.” Many viewers agreed that tipping culture has gotten out of control. One commenter who identified as a server wrote that they would not tip either “unless you actually wait on me,” adding that the trend is making customers fed up with tip-dependent jobs.
Another commenter said they would rather order at a kiosk and have a robot bring their food than tip a server. A third questioned being asked to tip at a drive-thru after paying $17 for two coffees. The debate comes amid another viral tipping story about a Domino’s driver’s disappointing tip.
A 2023 Pew Research Center survey of 11,945 U.S. adults found that 72 percent say they are asked to tip in more places than they were five years ago. Only 25 percent said they always or often tip when buying coffee, and 77 percent said the quality of service is a major factor in whether they tip.
The survey also found that only 34 percent of adults say it is easy to know whether to tip, while 33 percent say it is easy to know how much. About 49 percent said tipping depends on the situation, while 29 percent called it an obligation and 21 percent called it a choice.
Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify the encounter, as it is based solely on @ivymarieplay’s video, and the cafe employee’s side of the story is not known.
Published: Sep 30, 2026 07:00 pm