Hard Rock diners refuse to tip after fight over paltry portions
By Ben Cost
They won’t be guilt-tripped for leaving no tip.
A diner sparked a raging debate about gratuities after refusing to tip a waitress over a stingy portion of fajitas, as detailed in a video with over 2.6 million views on TikTok.
“I went to dinner with my parents last night and we did not tip our server,” Jenna Simpson declared on camera. “I want to know what you would have done in our situation.”
Watch on TikTok
The ordeal occurred while the unhappy customer was dining with her family at the Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Simpson and her mom had reportedly ordered espresso martinis while she chose a steak salad for her main.
Her mom was mulling ordering the $26 chicken fajitas but thought the sprawling portion depicted on the menu might be too big to tackle by herself — so her dad offered to split it.
When they asked the server if it was enough for both of them, she replied that it was a “ton of food” and would therefore suffice, so they went ahead and ordered it.
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Their meal went awry early on after the waitress failed to put in their espresso martini order, which the waitress chalked up to an issue with the machine.
That’s when her parents’ main course arrived and they felt like they’d been culinarily catfished.
“This was my parents ‘ton-of-food fajita,’” snarked the unimpressed gal, before panning to a measly mound of chicken and veg that looked nothing like the photo on the menu.
Fajitas at the Hard Rock cafe.
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“My parents are like, ‘Hey, so like, this is not what we ordered,” she recalled. “You said it would be a ton of food. You said it would be like the picture. This is not like the picture at all.’”
Hard Rock Cafe / Instagram
The waitress eventually arrived with their espresso martinis some 10 minutes later, which is when Simpson’s parents informed her of the fajita fiasco.
“My parents are like, ‘Hey, so like, this is not what we ordered,” she recalled. “You said it would be a ton of food. You said it would be like the picture. This is not like the picture at all.’”
Unfortunately, the waitress disagreed with their assessment, so they decided to speak with the manager, which is where “everything went very south,” she said.
Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati
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The all-around bad service went down at the Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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According to Simpson, the boss started “talking over” them and “yelling.” She dismissed their concerns that the food didn’t match the pic, comparing the discrepancy to a “chip bag where they enlarge everything to make it seem better,” Simpson recalled.
The boss eventually said she was “done” and went to get the other manager, per the clip.
“I wish I had a video of the first manager because it was so immature and insane for someone her age,” Simpson wrote in the caption.
A tip.
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Simpson asked viewers what they would’ve done in her situation.
MargJohnsonVA – stock.adobe.com
Things came to a head after the management refused to comp the fam for anything, prompting them to leave the fajitas uneaten and depart without tipping.
She then asked the TikTok viewers what they would’ve done in their shoes, sparking an overwhelming outpouring of support.
“Can we normalize not tipping bad service?” said one, while another wrote, “That is literally the smallest fajita I’ve ever seen.”
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Even industry insiders agreed with Simpson’s decision. “Ex server here, you are 100% in the right lmaoo,” said one.
However, others criticized her decision to withhold the gratuity, claiming the manager’s behavior wasn’t the server’s fault. “I would never have stiffed a server because I was angry at a manager,” said one.
“I get the server messed up, but don’t punish her for a rude manager,” wrote another.
A representative for Hard Rock International claimed that after seeing the video, they apologized to Simpson and invited her back to make things right.
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“The interaction does not reflect Hard Rock brand standards, Ms. Simpson confirmed this in the conversation when she was invited back as she has visited us before,” the spokesperson told TODAY.com. “We remain committed to delivering the exceptional service that our guests have come to expect from us and look forward to welcoming Ms. Simpson and her family again.”
The alleged incident comes amid a swarm of complaints about “guilt tipping,” in which patrons are pressured to leave extra money at pizzerias, coffee shops, fast-food joints and other places with minimal customer service or even self-service.
A 2024 survey by Bankrate found that 32% of Americans were annoyed by pre-entered tip screens, while 30% thought that the present tipping culture has spiraled out of control.
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