A TikTok creator says she was shocked to learn how much some restaurant servers rely on tips to make a living, sparking a debate about how tipped workers are paid. The woman, who goes by @smoothoperator3k on TikTok, shared a video explaining that she had once assumed restaurants paid their employees and that tips were optional. She said she later learned that some servers receive a relatively low direct wage and rely heavily on tips.
@smoothoperator3k if u didnt know #server #fyp #tips #foryou
♬ original sound - smoooth operator
The video received more than 566,000 likes and 12,800 comments as viewers weighed in on the restaurant industry's tipping system.
When she was younger, the creator said she assumed restaurant employees were paid by their employers and that customers left tips as an additional gesture. As an adult, however, she said she learned that some restaurants use a tip-credit system, meaning employers can count some of a worker's tips toward their minimum-wage obligations.
Under federal law, employers can pay eligible tipped employees a direct cash wage as low as $2.13 per hour if the employee's tips bring their total compensation to at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. State laws can require higher direct wages or impose different rules.
That distinction appeared to be part of the confusion surrounding the creator's video.
Even If Servers Do Make Minimum Wage, They Still Rely on Tips
In the comments, people working in the restaurant industry offered their perspectives, with some correcting the creator's understanding of how server wages work.
In the video, she specifically said Olive Garden is a restaurant that doesn’t pay their servers anything. Someone in the comments cleared up the confusion, “Wait, no, I work at Olive Garden and we do indeed get paid minimum wage and tip,” they wrote. Another person shared their perspective: “So they DO get paid… not JUST the tip…”
Another shared their perspective working at Olive Garden, “And as a server, specifically for Olive Garden, you only get 3 tables so when you sit at my table for 4+ hours you're also affecting their money.”
Many commenters shared that they do indeed get paid from the restaurant, but they survive mostly on their tips.
“If you tip me zero I still have to tip out the bar/bussers/food runners/credit card tax from the sales amount of everything you ordered. At that point I’m paying out of my own pocket to serve you,” wrote one server. Another added, “As a server we get paid around 2-3 dollars an hour, that gets taken in taxes. The legal loophole is that the tip plus the hourly should equal to minimum wage so they get away with it.”
Another TikToker shared that the pressure behind leaving tips made her stop dining out altogether, “That's why I don't eat out anymore. I'm tired of that system and feeling bad for only affording the food.”
The conversation continued in the comments, with viewers debating how restaurant workers are paid and whether customers should be responsible for making up the difference through tips.
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the claims made in the video, which are based solely on @smoothoperator3k’s account and her understanding of how restaurant servers are paid, as shared on TikTok.
