When you work at a restaurant, you need to watch the customers closely to make sure they pay their bill at the end of their meal.

What would you do if an older woman claimed she forgot her credit card and promised to go get it, but then got upset when you told her that you needed to hold on to her license?

That is what happened to the waitress in this story.

Keep reading to see how the story plays out.

Old woman tries to humiliate us, embarrasses her family instead

A woman who looked around 60-70 years old came in tonight.

From the way she talked and walked (a bit slurred, a bit unbalanced) I thought at first that she might be have wandered in from the streets looking for a meal she knows she can’t pay for.

We’re adjacent to the downtown bus station, so it happens sometimes.

I greeted and seated her, and as I was helping her with the menu she talked about how her Japanese daughter-in-law took her here once (we’re a Japanese restaurant) saying it’s the best sushi in town.

That’s good, hopefully she is nice.

I figured this lady was pretty legit, and that she only seemed off because she was a bit old and doddering.

When it came time to pay the check, she brought it up to the counter (unusual – we normally pick up checks for the customers – but not really an inconvenience).

Oh, she knew she didn’t have any money.

Then there was the awkward, drawn-out pocket searching and mumbling. “I don’t know where my card is… I know I had it the last place I went… I live two blocks away…”

I noticed an EBT card and ID among the things she pulled out of her pockets.

I realized she wasn’t so much doddering as she was unstable.

She called her son and told him the stich. “Rescue me… Rescue me,” she kept saying.

When she told me that he was on his way, I let her know she could have a seat while she waits.

No way, don’t let her leave.

She said she’s going to go outside and have a cigarette, and alarms went off in my head.

I told her she can’t go outside unless she leaves her ID for her check.

She blew up. “This is unbelievable! You’re going to treat me like a criminal. This is nonsense. I wasn’t going to complain, but NOW…”

Right? She has nothing to complain about.

You weren’t going to complain… about what? You weren’t going to complain about how you don’t have the money to pay your bill?

She came back from her cigarette in the same grumpy mood, getting the attention of our remaining tables.

“You know, you guys shouldn’t be serving water to customers who don’t need it. We’re running out of it as it is. It isn’t right to waste water like that.”

Alright.

It sounds like they have been showing her nothing but respect.

“This is ridiculous. I can’t believe you won’t show me any respect. You’re going to treat me like I’m some kind of criminal?! I live two blocks that way!”

How does where you live help the situation? She wasn’t offering to go get some money from her house, but no matter how far away she lived she could have done so if she left her ID.

As if they would care.

She got an idea in her head. “I’m going to call my Japanese daughter-in-law and tell her never to come here! I’m going to tell her about how you’re treating me like a criminal! She and her friends will never come here again!”

She stepped aside, but I bussed a nearby table to overhear the conversation. I expected something biased, but it was actually pretty accurate.

Oh, the daughter-in-law isn’t buying it. Nice.

And then: “No, I don’t need you to pay it for me… No, the point is– but they’re being disrespectful! You know, I– they’re not even treating me like a human… Yeah, but I ain’t no criminal…”

This woman went up to the restaurant owner and said, “My Japanese daughter-in-law wants to have a word with you! You speak Japanese, right? She wants to talk to you!”

The daughter-in-law sounds sweet.

I know some Japanese, so I heard him saying things like, “Ah, I see… No, it’s not a problem… Thank you very much,” and I knew this poor woman was apologizing for her mother-in-law.

My boss handed me the phone and told me the lady would give me her credit card number to pay the bill.

At least they got paid in the end.

I handed the phone back to the old woman, and shortly afterwards the son arrived. I told him that the person on the phone had just paid the bill.

The woman was arguing with her daughter-in-law, and the son apologized to us. I returned the ID and apologized to him “for the inconvenience” but really for having to deal with this woman.

Everything about the situation said it was not the first time it had happened, from the way she got overly defensive at the first sign of suspicion to her family’s miffed but unsurprised reactions.

Wow, this lady just loved causing problems, but it is nice that her kids did the right thing.

Let’s see what the people in the comments on Reddit have to say about it.

I think this commenter is right.

She thought it was relevant.

This person’s grandma had this issue.

Mental illness is a major issue.

This commenter thinks she is having mental health issues.

Was she rude, or just confused?

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.