A woman’s refusal to tip her waiter came at the cost of her career.
The customer, identified as Stephanie Lovins, left a hateful message on her receipt after dining at Cazuelas Mexican Restaurant & Cantina in Columbus, Ohio.
Her apparent spite came after she racked up a bill of $87.84 at the Mexican joint.
A woman’s reputation was left in shambles after she left a “disgusting” message on her restaurant receipt
An employee shared the receipts online after the alleged March 2 incident, showing netizens the message Stephanie left behind for the waiter named Ricardo.
“Zero, you suck,” she wrote. “I hope Trump deports you!!!”
The alleged derogatory message sparked massive backlash online, and internet sleuths tracked her down using the name found on the receipt.
“After serving an $87 meal—he gets left a zero tip and a hateful, racist message on the receipt,” read the message on a GoFundMe page titled ‘Tip Ricardo: Because Hate Has No Place Here.’
“They enjoyed the food,” added the message on the fundraiser. “They enjoyed the service. And then, instead of tipping, they decided to show their true colors in the most disgusting way possible.”
Netizens discovered that she worked at Century 21, the world’s largest residential real estate sales organization.
Stephanie Lovins faced immense backlash for allegedly saying she hoped the waiter would be deported
The woman, with 27 years of experience as a realtor, initially denied leaving the message after widespread criticism.
Stephanie reportedly addressed the situation and claimed her “credit card was lost/stolen” before “someone” used it at Cazuelas.
Although she tried to blame the incident on “scammers and profile hackers,” the disgraced customer was spotted writing the note in surveillance footage, according to Fabio Oribio, the marketing head for Cazuelas.
Internet sleuths discovered that the disgraced customer was a realtor with Century 21
Fabio explained that server Ricardo was “taking care of her,” during the incident.
“He only works one day a week, which is Sunday. He has two jobs,” he said, as quoted by NBC4. “From what I hear, he’s, like, she wasn’t happy about a coupon or something like that.”
He said the customer might have been upset about the regular wait time during the typical Sunday rush, or she might have tried to use two coupons and gotten upset over the restaurant’s one-coupon-per-table policy.
“It was a normal Sunday; things got a little busy, so the wait could have been a little longer than usual, but we aren’t really sure what made her write that,” he told The Columbus Dispatch.
While the reason for the “zero” tip remains unclear, Fabio said, “It’s just not right, just not right.”
Fabio said the employees never expected pictures of the receipts to go viral, but they are grateful for the support shown by the community.
“She deserved it,” a social media user said after she was fired
Ricardo is “a really good person and … [we all] come here every day to do our job, which is to serve people and have a good time.
“This is just a space for being inclusive and there’s no space for hate inside Cazuelas,” he added.
A spokesperson for Century 21 issued a statement saying they are “aware of the situation” with the involved broker.
“Hate has no place within the Century 21 brand, and we are taking this very seriously,” their statement said.
“After investigating the situation and connecting with the respective broker, as all companies affiliated with the Century 21 brand are independently owned and operated, we can confirm that this agent is no longer affiliated with the brand,” they added.
Many believed the customer’s “disgusting” message was “not acceptable” and said she “deserved” to lose her job.
“She deserved it,” one said. “This is not acceptable. She’s disgusting.”
“The irony of going to a Mexican restaurant and then being mad that the staff is Mexican,” another wrote.
The Mexican restaurant stood by its team member, who “faced an unacceptable situation.”
The Columbus Realtor Board also issued a statement about the local agent’s “discriminatory statements.”
“While she is not a current member or an employee of Columbus REALTORS, her comments do not reflect the values of our organization and are not aligned with the high standards we have for our REALTORS,” the board wrote on Facebook.
A loyal Cazuelas patron started a GoFundMe page to raise funds to “tip [Ricardo] what he deserves—and then some.”
A GoFundMe page raised $21,850 to “tip [Ricardo] what he deserves—and then some”
The patron said, “Hate doesn’t win here,” and raising the money was about “lifting” the waiter up and showing him that he has a community standing by him.
“Every dollar raised will go directly to Ricardo,” the GoFundMe page added.
The goal of the page was set at $1K. However, donations have overwhelmingly exceeded the goal and amassed $21,850 so far.
Fabio also noted that there is a group of individuals planning to drop by the restaurant this Sunday, March 9, to make the day special for Ricardo.
“What a miserable and horrible human being she is,” a social media user said about the customer
