A good rule of thumb while out on a date: notice how that person treats the server, and if they’re overly rude, run.
So, imagine if your date happened to leave an antigay slur for your waiter instead of a tip. It sounds unfathomable, but we’ve written about the phenomenon so many times over the years that it’s become its own sort of miserable micro-trend.
Related: No Tip? IHOP Waitress Finds “Gay Is Wrong!” Written On Her Receipt
The latest example comes from Louisville, Kentucky, where a local server at Buffalo Wild Wings on Westport Road claims he received a homophobic remark on his receipt in lieu of gratuity.
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Kyle Griffith says he was waiting on two young girls that night, and it was a typical evening until he went to pick up the check, where he found a handwritten message.
Related: Portland Apple Store Prints Receipt For “F*g” Customer, Declines To Rectify Situation
“And it said ‘Sorry I don’t tip fa**ots,’ and then said ‘#UNeedJesus,’ and it just crushed me that someone could say something like that,” Griffith tells WDRB. .
“I depend on those tips to be able to pay my bills and everything else,” he says. “To live, to eat, everything.” Griffith said.
So Griffith decided to post a photo of the receipt on Facebook, though he was gracious enough not to call her out by name.
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“I woke up the next day,” he says, “and saw that it was being shared a whole lot more than I ever thought it would.”
He hopes his story raises awareness about the hate he occasionally faces.
“I want to be able to tell everyone that this is not a lie, that this is truth, this is an everyday happening,” he says. ”It’s an occurrence that … can’t happen any longer. It’s got to stop. The hate has to stop. There’s no reason for it.”
Related: Straight Dudes Mistaken For “Gay” On Receipt, Call It “Racism”
In a statement on Tuesday evening, Buffalo Wild Wings wrote:
We’re disappointed to learn about the comment left on a receipt by a Guest at one of our independently owned franchise locations in Louisville recently. Because Buffalo Wild Wings is about creating a great guest experience, we feel strongly that our restaurant environment needs to be respectful in order to provide the experience that our Guests and Team Members expect and deserve.
Griffith is quick to point out that management “had his back,” which is good to hear, especially since the restaurant came under fire for this 2011 advertisement:
Related: Is Buffalo Wild Wings’ New Slogan Promoting Homophobia? Or Just An Awful Attempt At Humor?
“They told me that if I needed anything I could come and talk to them, so it’s just been amazing outpour of support and love from everybody around,” he says.
And apparently the customer has since apologized.
Related: Lesbian Waitress Receives Nasty Note About Her “Lifestyle” In Place Of Tip
“She did apologize and said that it was a joke,” he says, “and that it shouldn’t have been a joke and that she felt bad for it. It’s not something you should joke about. My sexual preference at all shouldn’t be something someone should joke about.”
Strangely, Griffith’s original post was reported as offensive and is now hidden. Prior to Facebook acting like Facebook, the story was shared hundreds of times.
dustashed
Maybe it’s jus me being brought up from a totally different culture but I don’t understand the “i totally depend on those tips.. for everything”
From what I understand, aren’t “tips” optional and given only if you feel like giving them with no mandatory requirement or moral obligation to do so?
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been tipping ever since I moved to these parts. But where I come from, tips are seen as “omg they must have been really really happy with my service or really rich that’s why they tipped me” as opposed to “wtf why is my tip only this much?” Kinda thing.
Just trying to learn from others perspective because I can’t see it from my vantage point.
Juanjo
I do not know what culture you come from but in the United States among educated, civil people, tipping wait staff and other service people in certain circumstances is proper. Waitstaff in restaurants do not receive the same rate of pay as other folks. Minimum wage for waitstaff under federal law is 2.13/hour. In addition in many restaurants the waitstaff also shares a portion of the tips with the assistants in the dining area – the bus boys and others who provide service as well to the customers.
Sadly there are people in this country who are too cheap to tip or who are reluctant to tip for other reasons. The most common reason offered is that employers would pay their staff a living wage. Of course, that would be good but it is not the case and refusing to tip the staff only hurts the very people the objector claims to sympathize with.
I do know that in other countries, tipping is not typical. But hopefully in those countries the wait staff are paid a proper wage.
MaxH
Most of Europe, at least west, north and central, have pretty good minimum wage laws. And most people do voluntarily tip but in smaller quantities. In the UK some – including Harrods – keep service charges but they usually get a bashing in the press. Not that the Qatari’s give a ****.
He BGB
I remember when I traveled alot many years ago I was told Not to tip in some countries as it would be an insult.
Tracy Pope
Some US States pay less than minimum wage in the service industry. Their argument is that the employees are working for tips and lower than minimum wage is okay because of those tips. The fallacy is that tips will cover what less than minimum wage doesn’t.
Gods forbid someone actually make a decent living.
JMac2014
Waiters are required to claim a certain percentage of their sales as tip income to the IRS as wages. There is a penalty for not reporting tips. If you do not report tips to your employer as required, you may be subject to a penalty equal to 50% of the social security, Medicare, Additional Medicare, or railroad retirement taxes you owe on the unreported tips.
e.c.
Yes, in theory a gratuity would be a little something extra you give to your server if they’ve gone above and beyond. Unfortunately here In the US most servers earn a minimum hourly rate with the assumption by their employer that they will receive a significant portion of their income from “tips”.
BigWill
Two jobs that everybody ought to have to do at least once: retail and work in food services
Heywood Jablowme
Yes, work in retail or food services if you want to totally destroy your faith in humanity. (Not that I had much before that!)
Gates
If people didn’t tip employers would have to pay service people a lot more money and that would be reflected in their menu prices. To tip 6.00 on a 30.00 dollar check is better than not tipping and having a 40.00 check. Tipping benefits both the business and the customer.
dustashed
I would actually prefer a $40 check than managing and calculating tips. But that’s just me. I prefer to see exactly how much I’m paying for (including taxes) another thing that annoys me. They should include the price of a product/service/food including everything already taxes and all but that’s just my opinion on that
dustashed
$2/hour wage? Why is that even legal?
Shouldn’t the minimum wage be at least $12/hour and the tip is just icing on top of it?
Now I understand why, thanks for sharing that tidbit of information. I worked retail too before but not in the US, and we always get paid minimum wage at least $13/hour.
Heywood Jablowme
Oh, it’s legal in the US. Not only that, the IRS will ASSUME that a waiter/waitress makes X amount of tips, even if in reality they don’t.
Paco
I always find it interesting how those Christians that tell others they need Jesus, seem to be the ones that need him the most.
GayEGO
The customers should not only apologize to the server, but they should double tip the server, and restaurant should give the server a raise. If they don’t, use Facebook, Tweet, and Twitter to publicize the names of the customers and the restaurant as being discriminatory towards the LGBT community.
Alan down in Florida
When I was a youngling and ready for my first date with a girl [a lesbian it turned] this mama’s boy’s mama gave me advice on what women were looking for in a man. She told me always treat service personnel like human beings and to always tip well. She said that if a man treats someone like that you can bet that’s the way he’ll treat his wife.
She selected a man who told jokes and did magic tricks for every person who ever waited on him and they were together 53 years.
jhon_siders
You should have outed her !! I moved my business and home out of looserville across the river because that city will never get with it ! The small Indiana town I am in now is a little hickville too But Lville has nothing on it There dirt is just on a bigger scale ! And the gay community sits on there butts and does not a thing to improve things for them selves .
Roger Boy
I would have smeared her name everywhere I could have so people could see what a bigot she is. Gee. I wonder why this doesn’t surprise me coming from a religious fanatic. After all religion is so pure and compassionate toward anybody that is different than them aren’t they? Gotta just love the hypocrisy of religion……
He BGB
What I think should happen if she hadn’t apologized is 86 her from the establishment and put a photo of her on the bulletin board “do not serve this person”. I don’t care how much the managers tell you, you can come and talk to us anytime, to the employer. That really hurts a customer and she will never do it again. But she apologized.
He BGB
To the EMPLOYEE, I mean
Heywood Jablowme
Meh… next time, just spit in her food.
Neonegro
That note was simply rude.
You have a right to dislike any group for any reason, and you also have a right not to tip (some restaurants are now adding the tip to your bill).
There is however no excuse for being rude or calling people names.
DuMaurier
The article says, “Strangely, Griffith’s original post was reported as offensive and is now hidden.”
Of course, I don’t know, but maybe it’s because the post displayed the receipt as is; i.e., the one that Queerty itself felt the need to censor.
silveroracle
1. That’s disgusting that a customer should even contemplate put a slur like that on a receipt, and
2. $2 an hour? Is that really legal?
Here in the UK, we do tend to tip even if it doesn’t mention it at the establishment.
I have heard in some establishments that staff have been paid £4 an hour. Disgusting!
Jack Meoff
This mini trend for writing offensive messages on bills in lieu of leaving a tip is disgusting. People who do this should be named and shamed on social media including people who abuse staff like that woman in Michael’s, Chicago.
Not sure why Facebook would take down this guys post unless it was because it had the word f@gg0t in it.
Sluggo2007
She said it was a joke? The joke is on her parents for raising such a sick, twisted bitch. I’ll bet she’s fat and ugly and the server was probably very attractive. Also, she was dining with a female. What does that tell you?
Maude
On several occasions, I was berated because I refused to tip a waitress after extremely poor service like spilling my coffee and failing to wipe it up…..always lunch and breakfast….never dinner. Why is that?