Because some are always looking for ways to get under another person’s skin instead of being civil, a waiter has not only received a message that he would not be getting a tip but also an explanation: “We don’t tip white ppl! LOL.”
Nathan Bergeron, an employee at On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina in Memphis said he was shocked by how “blatant” the customers were in letting him know he wasn’t getting a tip because he’s white.
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"I was more shocked. The fact that they would be so blatant and put it out there," he told WATN.
Receipt message controversies have happened from time to time. In Jan. 2017, a waitress got a message on a receipt that said, "Great service don't tip black people." In another incident, 18-year-old waitress Honduran and Mexican descent was told that only citizens get tipped.
And in yet another case a restaurant owner had to fire his own son, who wrote "fatty" on a customer's receipt.
Bergeron said he treated the table no differently than every other customer and acknowledged that, while you won’t always get a tip in the food service industry, no one should have to get this.
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“I treated that table no differently from anyone else. Obviously in this business, we don’t always get a tip. You just move on about it and go onto your next table,” he said. “I’m not going to let this bring me down. I love what I do. I get to meet new people every day and interact with people from all different backgrounds.”
He said a husband, wife and teen were sitting at the table he believed was responsible for the message.
One of Bergeron’s friends, Brandy Sciara, came to his defense by saying, “I was always told, ‘If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it at all.’”
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“He’s a good person. He goes to work, does his job. When I saw the comment, I cried,” she said.
On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina said it wanted to speak with Bergeron before commenting on the incident.
If there’s a pettier way than this out there to tell a person you hate them, we can’t think of it.
