‘Cheapskate' diner takes back tip after being ‘humiliated' by server — but is he in the right?
A diner has divided commenters after rescinding a gratuity after a waitress 'scolded' and 'humiliated' him in front of the other customers, as detailed in a viral Reddit post.
'I just can't believe it happened the way that it did,' spluttered the bewildered Redditor.
The incident reportedly occurred while the man and his girlfriend were dining at an Italian restaurant they'd been to several times before. The poster described the eatery as nothing too fancy, but perfect for a 'relaxed evening' over a glass of wine.
The unimpressed diner decided to leave her a 10% gratuity, which he deemed 'reasonable given the circumstances.'
MargJohnsonVA – stock.adobe.com
Unfortunately, their quiet night on the town was marred by 'poor' service from their waitress.
'She lost my drink twice; served the wrong starter; and vanished for what seemed like an eternity when it arrived time to order dessert,' recalled the flummoxed customer. 'It wasn't the end of the world; I've worked customer service myself; and I get that hectic nights go wild.'
Nonetheless, the unimpressed diner decided to leave her a 10% gratuity, which he deemed 'reasonable given the circumstances.'
The server, however, did not see it that way and proceeded to lay into the patron over what she felt was a stingy gratuity.
'We were just standing up to leave when [the waitress] came over, took the cash and said, 'Seriously? This is it?'' he recounted. 'She had said it audibly. A few people at some nearby tables turned around and stared.'
The server laid into the patron over what she felt was a stingy gratuity.
JackF – stock.adobe.com
The Redditor said he was rendered speechless by the outburst, but that was just the tip of the iceberg.
'Then she added, 'You know, servers can't pay their rent because of people like you … If you can't tip properly, don't dine out,'' he said.
The tirade reportedly caused the other patrons to fall silent and his girlfriend to wince, but the man remained calm and replied, 'I'm sorry you feel that way.'
That's when the waitress retorted 'Whatever, cheapskates' — loud enough for the other diners to hear.
This response didn't sit well with the diner, who 'walked over to the table; took the tip; and left without another word.'
'I feel like [being] scolded and humiliated on account of a 10% tip that I actually did leave is way out of bounds,' he declared.
While the Redditor's girlfriend said his decision was 'fine,' a friend claimed that he'd 'overstepped.'
However, many Reddit commenters claimed they would've taken their gratuity back as well.
'She expected and then demanded a good tip for a crappy job,' said one. 'You were nice enough to leave her something but she wanted to be ungrateful.'
'I would've told her 'tip reflects your service,'' said another.
'I would probably have pointed out why the tip was not higher,' said a third. 'And I would also contact the restaurant to speak to a manager because that server was way out of line. I would've taken the tip back as well.'
However, others felt the tip retraction was unfair with one critic commenting, 'Tipping 10% is insane. You are cheap.'
Another claimed that the 'petty' move inadvertently punished colleagues who were pooling tips with the waitress.
They said that a better solution would've been to inform the manager and have them speak with her.
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