Fact Check

Did This Soldier Refuse to Tip Because His Service Should Be Enough?

Rumor: A military member refused to leave a tip at a restaurant because he said his service was enough.

Published Feb. 26, 2015

Claim:

Claim: A soldier wrote on a restaurant receipt that his military service exempted him from tipping.


UNDETERMINED


Example: [Collected via e-mail, February 2015]


Soldier Refuses To Tip Server Because He Thinks His Service Should Be Enough. Is this true?

Origins: On 22 February 2015, The Ranger Up Military and MMA Apparel Facebook page uploaded a photo of a restaurant receipt with the words "My tip is the freedoms I provided you while serving my country" written in place of a tip:

Ranger Up Military did not provide any background information with the photograph, and it is unclear how they obtained the image. The only additional information provided by the Facebook group was their opinion that the photo should be filed in the "don't be that guy" folder.

The server has not stepped forward to authenticate the story, and Red Robin, the restaurant chain where the soldier allegedly dined before leaving his military service as a tip, has not commented on the photo.

Additionally, the receipt is missing key information that could help verify or debunk this story. The photo uploaded by Ranger Up Military is conveniently cropped to eliminate the words "Merchant" or "Customer" from the copy. It should also be noted that the name on the receipt appears to read "Z. Brannigan." This could be the name of a stingy member of the military, but it is more likely that this receipt is a hoax and that "Z. Brannigan" refers to the egotistical Futurama character Zapp Brannigan:

Last updated: 26 February 2015

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

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