Front-of-house staff often have the luxury of tips and customer praise, while back-of-house workers handle the real grunt work with little recognition.

So when one entitled bartender guilted a hardworking janitor over not tipping on a premade drink, the janitor decided to demand respect by tipping on their own terms.

You’ll want to read on for this one.

Got guilt-tripped over a tip, so I left 10 cents instead.

I work in custodial at a resort. I clean puke, pee, and crap in both guest and employee bathrooms, including the ones the bar staff use.

So the janitor decided to take a load off at the bar.

One day after work, I went to the resort bar (not a sit-down place) and bought a $9 premade drink.

The bartender just poured it over ice with a bit of oat milk.

I didn’t tip. I usually don’t for counter service, especially when the food and drinks are already overpriced.

But the bartender didn’t agree with this decision.

As I was waiting, I saw her glance at the receipt, then she turned to me and said, “What department are you in?”

I said I work in cleaning. Then she hit me with: “Well it’s really important to tip because it goes around.”

The janitor can hardly believe what they’re hearing.

I was honestly shocked. It felt super passive-aggressive and like she was calling me out.

I didn’t even order food, just a drink she poured from a bottle. I don’t believe tipping should be treated like an obligation, especially when I do some of the dirtiest work at the resort and don’t get tips myself.

So they decided to fight back in a delightfully spiteful way.

So later that same day, I went back and ordered another drink and this time,

I tipped exactly $0.10. Not out of malice, but just to make a point. If you’re going to shame me for not tipping, I’ll still tip, but on my terms.

It seems the bartender got their message loud and clear.

Ever since then, she’s been cold toward me and avoids talking to me.

But I have no regrets. Don’t guilt-trip the janitor; we’ve seen too much.

No guilt, no regrets — that’s how this janitor rolled.

What did Reddit think?

This bartender didn’t seem to know what on earth she was talking about.

Since when are co-workers obligated to tip each other?

This user shares how they think things ought to be done.

Time to reverse the roles!

Considering how the bartender treated them, 10 cents seemed more than appropriate.

Don’t spend it all in one place!

If you liked that post, check out this post about a rude customer who got exactly what they wanted in their pizza.