Waitress sparks backlash for asking customer if he’s drinking & driving

A waitress is coming under fire on TikTok for claiming she was given a low tip from a customer who was angry that she’d asked him if he was driving after being served large amounts of alcohol.

TikTok is home to a slew of viral videos, some of which have kicked off heated debates among commenters that leaked onto other social platforms.

For instance, a woman sparked a major conversation across the internet after yelling at a stranger who was thirty feet away from her in a parking lot, claiming she was worried he may have had ulterior motives.

The latest debate taking over TikTok comes as a result of a server claiming she received a shockingly low tip from a customer who was upset that she’d asked him if he would be driving after being served several alcoholic drinks.

Waitress under fire for asking customer if he was driving after drinking

TikTok user and waitress Karina is lighting up comment sections online after uploading a video detailing her experience with a customer at her place of employment on April 8.

In her video, Karina claims she was given a mere $2 tip on a $230 order. When she asked how she could improve her service after noticing the low amount, Karina says the paying customer claimed she “made him feel like an alcoholic when he ordered two more shots of vodka, and I obviously asked if he was driving because he already had two other shots of vodka, a shot of tequila, and a bottle of Stella.”

In the clip’s caption, Karina says she didn’t actually care about the tip amount — instead, she says she was just doing her job and looking out for her customer’s safety, and didn’t expect his reaction.

Karina’s short video has gone viral, racking up 1.5 million views… in no small part thanks to the huge debate that’s started in its comment section. Many viewers sided with the angry customer, telling Karina that they “come for a drink, not a condescending lecture.”

“He tipped you about two dollars too many,” another said.

“I mean, if I order a drink, I want a drink, I don’t want a lesson on how to get home safe,” another user argued. “I’d still tip 20% and ask you to bring the drink.”

However, Karina — and a slew of other servers in the comments — have pointed out that, in many areas, wait staff are legally held liable if a customer is overserved and ends up getting into an accident.

These laws are called “dram shop laws,” and can sometimes hold bartenders or wait staff into account if “an intoxicated customer injures or kills another person,” as told by TotalFood. In California, “every person” who sells alcohol to an “obviously intoxicated person” is guilty of a misdemeanor, per two California Business & Professions Codes.

For Karina, she was just following the law… but it’s clear that many commenters felt judged by her question.

This is just the latest debate to take over TikTok after a woman held up her local drive-thru when she let her kid make their own order.