A while back, we shared stories from service workers who waited on famous people and revealed how much they got tipped. Well, even more readers shared their own celebrity tip experiences, and I’m stunned by some of these. Here are those stories:
The people who shared their stories allegedly speak from personal encounters. Obviously, we weren’t there when they happened, so feel free to take them with a grain of salt.
1. “Elvis came in with some officers and stayed over an hour. They had a meal and a few beers. Elvis left $5,000 plus a large tip. Other officers said he did it all the time.”
Archive Photos / Getty Images
—Anonymous, 81
2. “Bruce Willis. He tipped $100 for every single drink served. Friendly and low maintenance. A prince among men.”
TOLGA AKMEN / AFP via Getty Images
—Anonymous
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3. “I waited on Joe Rogan about 10 years ago. He was quiet, polite, and very low-maintenance. He left a $100 tip on a $30 tab.”
Carmen Mandato / Getty Images
—Anonymous, 34, Los Angeles
4. “My boyfriend and I did DoorDash one night and ended up delivering poke bowls to Victor Wembanyama from the San Antonio Spurs basketball team. His meal was around $70, and he lived very far, and it took forever for someone to open the gate in his gated community. He left no tip.”
Ronald Cortes / Getty Images
—Anonymous, 22, San Antonio, TX
5. “I was a bartender for a nationwide steak restaurant in Atlanta. Cam Newton came in one night with a few people. This was when he was still playing football, and the Falcons were going to play the Super Bowl. He wasn’t friendly and was really aloof. He ordered some food to go. He tipped well, though, right around $100 on almost $300 worth of food.”
Andrew Toth / Getty Images
—Anonymous
6. “Jennifer Lopez has eaten at my restaurant and all of the servers who’ve waited on her ALL say the same thing: She’s rude, entitled, and doesn’t tip a penny.”
Robin L Marshall / Getty Images
—Anonymous
7. “I have waited on multiple celebrities in Park City during the Sundance Film Festival. Most of them were very nice and tipped generously. My biggest tip, percentage-wise, came from Steve Carell. He and his family were kind and down-to-earth and were a pleasure to serve.”
John Nacion / Variety via Getty Images
—Anonymous, 46
8. “Tina Fey was the worst. She was demanding and smoked a cigarette at the outdoor table even after being asked to stop. She left less than 10% for the tip.”
John Nacion / Getty Images
—Anonymous, 42, New York
9. “Carlos Santana is the most humble and respectful celebrity I’ve ever served. He always tips $100. If he is with his family, it’s double, sometimes triple that.”
Javier Bragado / Redferns
—Anonymous, 43, Hawaii
10. “I worked at Bennigan’s Restaurant in Boston before the 2000s. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant came in one night. I can’t remember how much the bill was, but Scottie Pippen paid it. He did not leave a tip. At that moment, I came up with the nickname ‘No Tippin Pippen.'”
Kelly Defina / Getty Images for NBL
—Anonymous, 58, Boston
11. “I waited on Brooke Shields with two guests at a restaurant in NYC back in 1980. She had just been in Blue Lagoon, and truly was America’s sweetheart at the time. She was pleasant and cheerful. She left a 30% tip, and I felt great about having served her.”
Daniel Knighton / Getty Images
—Anonymous, 66, Sarasota, Florida
12. “Dave Chappelle and Danny DeVito. I served them, did their special requests, and got nothing from Dave and a handful of change from DeVito — less than five bucks. Not a fan of either.”
Arturo Holmes / Getty Images, Roy Rochlin / Getty Images for the International Tennis Hall of Fame
—Anonymous, 23, Vancover
13. “I worked at McMenamins, and Chuck Palahniuk would come in once a week and eat the same thing. He would bring his cute dog, Egg, in, and he would get the Aztec salad for himself and steak bites for Egg. He is so very kind. He would remember conversations he had with you, and if he didn’t see you for a while, he made a point to ask you about whatever you talked about. He was a very good tipper. His bill was like $20-something, and he would always tip $50 over the tab. His partner was just as sweet as he is.”
Ernesto S. Ruscio / Getty Images
—Anonymous, Portland, OR
14. “John McEnroe had one drink and tipped me $100 in 1982.”
Jared Siskin / Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
—Anonymous, 62, Atlanta
15. “I was a server at a restaurant in Central Park. Naomi Campbell came in with her entourage of about eight people, and they were extremely demanding. Naomi never spoke to me; someone always had to speak for her. As I was checking in on them to see how their dessert was, Naomi was handing her phone to the person across from her, who was in front of me, and it got dropped on a lava cake on the table. Somehow, she thought it was my fault (the only time she said something directly to me), and I was told by a member of her entourage that I needed to leave the table because she was upset. They left $10 on a huge check. By far one of the rudest groups of people I served, famous or otherwise.”
Samir Hussein / Samir Hussein/WireImage
—Anonymous, 25, NYC
16. “My coworker served Ludacris once, and he was apparently fine until the end, where he asked the server if the restaurant was going to take care of the bill for him. They only agreed to because he said he’d tip the server. Pretty full of himself.”
Alex Halloway / Getty Images
—Anonymous
17. “I used to be a service manager at a cafe chain that Harry Connick Jr. and his family would come to once a month or so. They were quiet, low-key, and polite. He must have had a house in the area because no one ever really bothered him. I don’t remember how much he tipped exactly, but it was always at least 25%.”
Chris Hyde / Getty Images for AFI
—Anonymous, 40, CT
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18. “I served Lewis Black breakfast after one of his shows. He was polite, tipped at least 30% and while I don’t like to hound celebrities, other guests came and talked to him, and he was so kind and open to conversation. Great customer and a genuinely kind dude.”
NBC / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
—Anonymous, 36, PA
19. And finally, “Love Billy Joel’s music, but I met him and he wasn’t friendly at all. My son worked in a North Shore restaurant that he regularly frequented, and he was a 20% tipper, that’s all.”
Ethan Miller / Getty Images
—Anonymous, 82 Nassau County, NY
Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
Have you ever served a famous person? How much did they tip? Tell us in the comments, or, if you prefer to remain anonymous, leave your submission in the form below.
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