February 10, 2026 at 1:48 am

A Cafe Worker Dealt With A Customer Who Wanted Items She Didn’t Have Money For And They Told Her She Couldn’t Have Them

by Matthew Gilligan

man working at a cafe

Shutterstock/Reddit

If you work in customer service, it’s unavoidable that you’re going to occasionally have to deal with folks who are a pain in the neck.

In this story, a restaurant worker talked about a customer who wanted something for free…and we all know how that usually goes.

Read on and find out what happened.

AITA for making a customer pay full price?

“I work in a small cafe type place in a shopping centre.

I had a customer order a roll, then she added a salad and a drink. I gave her total which was $21.40.

She holds her hand out and says she only has $21. I told her I was happy to put back the drink and then her total would be $16.90.

Jeez…

She said she wanted the drink so I told her the price again and she told me she didn’t have the remaining change.

I am just a casual employee so I have no authority over the running of the shop so I told her that I cannot sell her all the items without the correct money.

Some people…

She got angry with me and said that she had been moving house all day and was starving and that I should be sympathetic.

I told her there was a supermarket a few shops down that is cheaper but she insisted on having the items ordered from our shop.

After a lot of back and forth I caught the owner who was on his break and he said that she could if she paid it back another time.

She threw the money she had at my till, grabbed her food and left.

AITA for not sparing the 40 cents?”

Reddit users shared their thoughts.

This person didn’t hold back.

Screenshot 2026 01 18 at 12.04.23 PM A Cafe Worker Dealt With A Customer Who Wanted Items She Didnt Have Money For And They Told Her She Couldnt Have Them

Another individual said they’re NTA.

Screenshot 2026 01 18 at 12.04.33 PM A Cafe Worker Dealt With A Customer Who Wanted Items She Didnt Have Money For And They Told Her She Couldnt Have Them

This Reddit user agreed.

Screenshot 2026 01 18 at 12.04.44 PM A Cafe Worker Dealt With A Customer Who Wanted Items She Didnt Have Money For And They Told Her She Couldnt Have Them

Another reader chimed in.

Screenshot 2026 01 18 at 12.04.51 PM A Cafe Worker Dealt With A Customer Who Wanted Items She Didnt Have Money For And They Told Her She Couldnt Have Them

And this Reddit user shared their thoughts.

Screenshot 2026 01 18 at 12.05.05 PM A Cafe Worker Dealt With A Customer Who Wanted Items She Didnt Have Money For And They Told Her She Couldnt Have Them

It’s amazing that some people think they can get things FOR FREE at a place of business.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.