Server publicly humiliates couple for leaving 15 per cent tip

A COUPLE forked out a perfectly generous tip at a nice restaurant — but it still wasn’t good enough for their waitress, who proceeded to humiliate them.

A COUPLE had their date night ruined after their waitress humiliated them in front of other diners over their tip.

An unnamed US man recently took to Imgur to explain he had taken his date to a “fun and classy restaurant” when the incident occurred.

He said the evening had gone well and that the couple had enjoyed the food and the customer service at the establishment — until it was time to settle the bill.

The man had enough cash to cover the total — which came to around $US70 ($A92).

But he had forgotten to bring enough money to cover the entire tip, which is usually 20 per cent of the bill’s total in the US.

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The pair pooled their change, and managed to rustle up $US10 ($A13).

That equated to 15 per cent of the total, and was just $US4 ($A5) shy of the usual accepted amount.

However, the waitress was less than impressed.

“So the waitress comes over and picks up the bill with a smile. A minute later she comes back, smile gone, asking if something bad happened or if we experienced poor service,” the man explained.

“Now, this should’ve been a smaller, contained incident, but the server wanted EVERYONE in the restaurant to know my transgression because the volume of her voice was turned up just enough to turn the heads of everyone there,” he wrote.

“The glare, the body language, and the tone of her voice did not give off any sympathetic vibes.”

The diner said the waitress then loudly made several rude comments including: “If you can’t afford the tip then I suggest you choose a more suitable establishment in the future.”

After the server left with a “holier than thou air,” the couple quickly left in an effort to avoid further scenes.

The man said his date, who happens to be a head bartender at a higher-end establishment, said there would be “hell to pay” if a staff member treated a customer like that at her workplace.

The man wrote on Imgur that he was usually sympathetic to waitstaff, who often dealt with difficult customers and low pay.

But he argued that this woman’s behaviour had been unacceptable.

“Causing a scene and shaming a customer because of a low tip while on the job to their face ... well, she made sure to lose two customers that night,” he wrote.

“I know that doesn’t make a difference in the grand scheme of things, but as someone who worked in the service industry before, word can spread, both good and bad.

“And that could be the difference between affording rent that week or not for you and your fellow servers ... b**ch about the customers after they’re gone, not to their faces.”

The man’s post was inundated with supportive comments, with one poster writing: “So making it 20 per cent would have given her an extra 4 dollars. She made an ass of herself for 4 dollars.” Another said: “Making a scene for a $10 tip is crazy.”

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