Driver slams tipping ‘lunacy’ after being asked for gratuity by company who booted his car
A driver has slammed tipping ‘lunacy’ after being asked to leave gratuity by the company who booted his car.
The disgruntled vehicle owner took to Reddit’s dedicated thread titled Tipping on Tuesday to air his grievances about the bewildering encounter.
The post shared a screenshot of the Booting Services LLC website as the unlucky driver went to pay his $75 fine to remove the clamp and get back on the road again.
However, he was then prompted to also leave a tip.
The driver explained that the payment screen had defaulted to 15 percent – adding $11.25 – to take his total up to $86.25.
In the caption, he added: ‘My car got booted and the pay screen prompted me to tip.
‘This is some “tipping your landlord” levels of lunacy except this isn’t a meme and I wish it were.’
‘The dude was chill though not going to lie,’ the user admitted, despite reducing his tip to zero.
The disgruntled vehicle owner took to Reddit’s dedicated thread titled Tipping to air his grievances about the bewildering encounter
And readers were equally outraged at the request by the booting company.
One sarcastically wrote: ‘Hi, would you like to tip us for inconveniencing you?’
‘Bruh… the world we live in is cooked. That is it,’ another added.
‘I’ve read a lot of crazy stories in this sub, but I think you just topped them all. Congrats, I guess? That’s terrible,’ a third said.
‘Why does this exist though?’ someone else questioned.
The cost to remove a parking boot can range anywhere between $50 and $300 depending on the city and the management company which placed the clamp.
Booting services do not typically request tips since they are punitive, enforcement-based operations – rather than hospitality.
Earlier this year, a nationwide survey found that 78 percent of Americans believe tipping culture has become ‘ridiculous.’
The cost to remove a parking boot can range anywhere between $50 to $300 depending on the city and management company which placed the clamp (stock image)
Nearly half also said they have actively cut back on gratuities in 2026 as household budgets come under increasing pressure.
The findings, from restaurant technology company Popmenu, suggest a growing backlash against what many consumers see as relentless requests for extra money on top of already rising prices.
Retail analyst Neil Saunders spoke to the Daily Mail about the findings in June.
He said that consumers are increasingly frustrated by both the size of expected tips and the growing number of situations in which they are asked to leave them.
