A waitress has been praised for her revenge on a customer who retracted his £80 tip when his date wasn't looking. She explained how the customer was the "picture of courtesy" throughout the evening to impress his date - but changed his tune the second her back was turned.
He ordered the restaurant's highest quality wine, encouraged his date to order the most expensive entrée and ordered every single appetiser on the menu because she was having trouble deciding between them. When it came for the time to pay the bill, he told her 'You never have to pay when you're with me, babe', before handing over his credit card.
Taking to Reddit, the waitress said: "I get everything sorted and bring out the receipt. He fills it out and it came to $289 (£231) total. He doesn’t even blink and makes a big show of leaving a $100 (£80) tip. He thanks me for my service and emphasises what a lovely night they’ve had.
"Of course, a tip that size is exceptional, so I thanked him profusely.
"He said there was no need to thank him and goes on a big tear about how under appreciated waitstaff are and to just think of it as a stand-in for all the ingrates who didn’t treat me right, going, 'Don’t plan to tip, don’t plan to eat out, you know?'."
The pair grabbed their coats and left the restaurant - but he returned 90 seconds later claiming he'd forgot his car keys.
She added: "He’s back in the door, without her, going 'I think left my....' then when the door shut and, looking to make sure she was out of ear shot, he goes, without the slightest shade of shame or embarrassment, 'Mark the tip down to twenty bucks, hun, I was just playing it up for my date. You understand.' And turns to go.
"I understood, but not how he hoped I would. But I couldn’t make a scene in the middle of work, that’s not my place, so I just said one more time in order to give his conscience a chance to sink in, 'Ok Sir. You’d like to amend your tip from one hundred dollars to twenty dollars, is that correct?'
"And even though I didn’t show a hint of displeasure in my voice he shot back, extremely hostile, 'Yes, and if I see a cent over the twenty on there I’m going to dispute the whole meal with my credit vendor, so, don’t try to pull anything'.
"The most frustrating part of this for me was not even going from an over 30% tip to under 10%, but rather that this poor girl was being strung along, with no idea of who the guy was behind her back. It was extremely manipulative of him which is a major red flag."
Wanting to show the woman his true colours, she came up with a plan to out his two-sided personality.
"I’ve had my fair share of toxic relationships in the past and really wish someone had pulled the blinders off my eyes, so desperately wanted to do something to alert this girl to the trick the guy had pulled, hoping it would be a catalyst to her questioning his other actions," she said.
"But, again, I was at work and that just wasn’t my place. So I altered the bill and that was that.
"Then, just in time, something occurred to me and I darted outside hoping to catch them in the parking lot.
"I got lucky. They’d parked on the street instead and he was still dealing with the parking meter.
"So, I flagged him down and rushed across the street, nearly stumbling into traffic in my haste for a delicious moment.
"His date was already in the car but rolled down her window, since no one expects the waitress to follow you out to your car waving her arms like a crazy person."
When she reached the car, she told the man he'd have to sign another receipt due to the amended tip so it's correctly reflected in their records.
She added: "His jaw was on the floor. He tried to pretend as though he didn’t know what I was talking about, trying to give me some line about, 'I think you’re after someone else, I’d only come back cause I’d forgot my keys.'
"But I would not let it rest. The more he played dumb the more I repeated versions of 'You wanted to change your tip from $100 down to $20, you came back in,' and on and on.
"So we went back and forth for a few more seconds when finally he went, 'Ok, whatever, uh, sorry for the miscommunication. If you need me to fill out a new receipt I can.'
"And I, totally even keeled was like, 'You only need to fill out a new receipt if you want to change your tip from $100 down to $20'.
"And I’m guessing he didn’t have the money in his account because he did it. He filled out the new receipt.
"His girlfriend was visibly shocked and the man was staring daggers through me, you could feel the rage emanating off him.
"It was vicariously quite satisfying in place of the other toxic men I never did get that confrontation with. And all the bad tippers. Ironically the exact kind he made a righteous speech decrying just a few minutes beforehand.
"And then off they drove, I’m sure never to patronize our restaurant again, but hopefully never to go out together again either, which would make it totally worth it."
While most users praised her for outing his behaviour, others shared how they would have handled this situation.
One user said: "That guy was a real piece of work. That wasn't just some off-the-cuff garbage either - 'Don’t plan to tip, don’t plan to eat out, you know?' - that's pretty specific.
"I get the feeling he's worked on this routine a lot. That makes it all the more gratifying that you were able to call him out on it in front of his date. Way to go!"
Another user added: "I worship. you. I worship the ground you walk on. Thank you for being such a true homie to that random girl, I hope she never has to talk to that guy again."
A third user said: "I would hope my date would be impressed with a different kind of tip. Not cool taking money back from a server. Once I jot it down on the tip line it is their money. Good on you for getting even, he was so embarrassed."
Do you have a story to share? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
