A bride-to-be took to TikTok to vent after she was asked to leave a tip while purchasing her wedding dress.
Ina Josipović, 30, got engaged to her long-time boyfriend in the spring of 2023.
The Salt Lake City resident has since been gearing up for her big day, scheduled for June, and thought she lucked out when she found her dream wedding at “the first store” she went to, as she explained in her two-minute interview. TikTok post about the incident.
But when she paid at the cash register, Ina was shocked when she was given the option to tip for the transaction.
Bride-to-be Ina Josipović, 30, was surprised when she was asked to leave a tip when purchasing her dream wedding dress
Ina got engaged to her longtime boyfriend in the spring of 2023, with a wedding date set for June 2024
“I'm not kidding, when I went to pay, they turned over their little iPad and he asked for a tip,” she shared, bewildered.
“When I told you, I completely froze… I just stood there, and I think they saw the blood pouring out of my body.
'I didn't expect to have to leave a tip when buying a wedding dress.'
Ina went on to explain that the store was empty apart from her and her best friend, along with the owner and two 'stylists' on duty.
“Luckily I speak another language,” Ina said. Both she and her best friend have roots in Bosnia, with Ina moving to the US at the age of five.
Since her BFF had just gotten married and had already gone through the process of picking out a dress, Ina turned to her to ask “in another language” if she had been asked for a tip when buying her dress.
The friend quickly replied that she had not been asked for a tip.
Still, Ina began mentally calculating how much she should theoretically tip on her dress, which, she suggested, cost between $1,500 and $2,000.
Panicking, Ina ended up leaving a $50 tip, which was an “embarrassing” 1.5 percent tip on the price of the dress — reasoning that the stylists at the store had helped her pick it out
People took to the comments to commiserate over what many have labeled the “out of control” tipping culture in the US.
She ended up tipping $50, “which I think ends up being about 1.5 percent, which is almost embarrassing,” she complained.
But, she reasoned, “if you guys think your hairdresser deserves a tip, why don't you just give her a commission instead of asking me for a tip?”
She added that she had been that way when she worked in retail.
“Have other brides ever left a tip when they bought their wedding dress?” Ina asked.
She thought further, “Maybe I'm weird, but I just don't feel like that was a service…I guess you brought me dresses. But I did that when I worked in stores. I just got a commission for selling clothes to people.
“Tipping has been kind of weird lately.”
Hundreds took to the comments to commiserate with what many have labeled the “out of control” tilt culture spreading in the US lately.
“I literally have no shame in not tipping,” one person wrote.
“The tipping culture in the US has gotten out of hand. I always tip well at hair and nail salons and restaurants (except last week, when I had to get cutlery for the table 20 minutes after I asked when the food would be delivered). Still a 15% tip. But the doctor and all these other places is a no,” a second added.
“I was asked to tip when I got a pregnancy scan,” shouted a third.
“The only people I tip are waitresses,” announced another.
Still, someone stepped in to remind everyone that the widespread trend of tip requests at checkout via iPads has a rational explanation: “This is probably a setting of their payment processor. But it should be turned off because that's insane.”