The Salty Dawg Tavern in Orange, California, Posted a Receipt Showing a $375.24 Bill and a $25 Tip. Then the Post Backfired, and Reddit Users Say It Was Deleted About 6 Hours Later

A California bar named The Salty Dawg Tavern faced backlash after criticizing four customers for leaving a $25 tip on a $375.24 bill.

The bar called their gratuity inadequate in an Instagram Story, but the post drew criticism instead of support.

Reddit users accused the establishment of shaming its customers, with some calling for a boycott. Several also argued that businesses should be responsible for paying their employees fairly.

The controversy began when the Salty Dawg Tavern shared a photo of the receipt over the weekend of October 10 and 11. The bill totaled $375.24, while the group left a $25 tip.

The bar directed its criticism at the four young customers in the caption accompanying the receipt.

"To the four young people served for hours. Spent $400 like a baller and tipped like they were splitting a happy meal," the establishment wrote.

The tip amounted to about 6.7% of the bill, below the 15% to 20% often suggested for full-service dining in the United States.

A screenshot of the post later circulated on Reddit's r/EndTipping community, where users questioned the bar's decision to publicly criticize its customers.

The photo prompted criticism from Reddit users, some of whom argued that the business should appreciate customers spending money there.

One commenter wrote, "Ridiculous that the business posted this and should be happy people are spending money at their establishment. If you can’t pay your employees enough, you should shut the doors!"

Another user questioned the decision to share the receipt publicly.

"This is a totally new level of entitlement to post it on social media," and said, "a dumb thing for a business to say."

Others called for a boycott: "Basically posting to social media that they don’t appreciate their customers. Nice. Boycott this s---hole,"

One commenter also distinguished between the issues.

"I don’t really care when servers complain about their tips if they get a bad one, we all complain about our jobs at some point, but the actual business owner posting this on the official business page is really off-putting," the user wrote.

"If they think their waitstaff is entitled to more money for their work, then it is on them to make that happen," one commenter said.

As the screenshot continued circulating, Reddit users reported that the Salty Dawg Tavern deleted its Instagram Story about six hours after publishing it.

As of now, the bar has not issued a formal public response to the backlash.