A Server Asked A Customer Why He Left No Tip On A $600 Takeout Order, And He Responded By Screaming And Cursing At Her
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A huge takeout order may not involve table service, but that doesn’t mean nobody had to work for it.
One restaurant server ran into that after a customer placed a nearly $600 order that took a ton of time and effort to prepare.
An 18-year-old cashier had spent about 20 minutes taking the order, and by pickup time, he was helping package everything into three huge boxes.
That’s why the server was shocked when the customer crossed out the tip line as he signed the receipt.
She tried to let it go, but when the man came back inside for condiments, she pointed out just how much work the cashier had put into the order.
Keep reading to see why that didn’t go over very well.
$600 Togo order- $0 tip
I’m a server (22F) at a Chinese restaurant, one of the best (if not the best) in town.
Thursday afternoon, we had a man (let’s call him Martin) call in to place a very large to-go order to be picked up Saturday (today).
The cashier taking his order is the best at the restaurant (Cole). Cole just turned 18. Cole spends about 20 minutes on the phone with Martin, putting in his order.
This man ordered an INSANE amount of food. All party trays. The bill was $599.
As soon as the call ended, they started putting everything together.
It is only me and Cole at the restaurant today besides the chefs. The order starts coming out, and I am helping Cole pack.
We have 3 gigantic boxes to use to hold everything: 7 trays of General Tso’s Chicken, 7 Broccoli and Beefs, a massive order of white rice and fried rice, 100 steamed dumplings, and we threw in a free party platter of crab rangoons for them.
We have the two massive boxes on a rolling cart and the third sitting on the line counter. Martin literally rushes in, full-on speed walking with his lifting accomplice.
“Pick up for Martin.”
By this point, she figured he would’ve already tipped.
Cole and I go to the kitchen to bring out the food. Cole asks me to push the cart out with the receipt for them to sign (they paid over the phone), and he’ll bring out the third box.
I go out with the cart and politely ask Martin to sign his receipt. He grabs a pen and very quickly marks a line through the tip amount.
I’m thinking, okay…I know this man is not about to not freaking tip on a $600 order… Surely he’ll tip, right?? I mean, I know it’s not dine-in service, but still, it is packaged food. A lot of preparation.
Cole and the two chefs help these two guys load everything into their minivan. At this point, I’m already deciding how I will bring up the $0 tip politely. I’m hoping he slips him cash.
Then, she confronted him.
I’m behind the counter, watching this guy carefully through the window. He comes back inside, telling Cole he needs hot mustard. Dude starts shoveling handfuls of packets into a bag right at the counter.
I slide his signed receipt across the counter directly in front of him and say, “You know, Cole is the one who took your order. He packaged everything.” I point to the dashed-out tip line.
Martin: “I know.”
Me: “…it’s $600 worth of food.”
Apparently, he was not happy about her comments.
Martin: “I know.” *Starts getting irritated.*
In disbelief, I walk to the back hallway to breathe, trying to contain my anger. Cole was telling me before Martin showed up, “Even if they tip me 10%, that’s $60!! $60!!!”
This kid works so hard. Busts his butt every shift.
Not even a minute later, I start walking up front and hear this man yelling. He is screaming at the two chefs (who barely speak English, BTW), “THAT GIRL DOESN’T KNOW WHAT THE **** SHE IS TALKING ABOUT. THAT ***** NEEDS TO SHUT HER ******* MOUTH!”
Suddenly, he started talking about tipping in cash.
I’m standing there, and he’s looking at me, pointing and flailing his arms.
“WELL, NOW HE GETS NO TIP. I WAS GOING TO TIP HIM CASH, BUT SHE JUST ******* RUINED IT FOR HIM. RIDICULOUS.”
Martin proceeds to try and run out of the side door, goes for the wrong side, and slams himself against the blinds instead. Fumbles around and finally figures out how to stumble out, still yelling.
Never has she ever seen someone wait to tip.
I’m sorry, but never in all of my restaurant experience have I seen someone “wait to tip” cash so long after signing the check, especially on a catered order. Customers who tip do not wait.
And at this restaurant, I’ve had the owner do the same for me at a table. He’s followed customers out who have stiffed me, even. Always had my back and made sure to stick up for me and other servers.
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I wanted to do the same for this kid, and what kills me is I was so polite. And yet this man immediately started shouting at me and cursing. I feel kind of bad, but dude was an *******.
Yikes! It’s easy to see why she confronted him, but sometimes it’s best to remain patient.
Let’s check out what the folks over at Reddit have to say about all this.
Here’s someone who thought she was rude for brining it up.
That’s a good point.
This person does not tip on takeout orders.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a dad who can’t understand why his son can sleep in now that he’s not commuting to the office.
According to this comment, tipping culture is out of control.
This whole situation is messed up.
The cashier absolutely deserved a tip after putting that much work into such a huge order.
But the server probably should’ve stayed out of it instead of confronting the customer about what he left.
Still, that doesn’t excuse the way he reacted, though. He could’ve simply said no and left instead of screaming and insulting everyone.
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