Woman Stiffs Server Because Coffee Was Too Hot

Every day, we servers have our eyes opened to another reason that a customer feels like they should not have to leave a tip. Sometimes, it makes sense why a customer chooses not to leave anything, but other times it makes me curl up in a little ball of fury and scream “What the fuck?” over and over again. Such is the case with Anna.

Anna went for a meal at That Place in Ogunquit. She wracked up a bill that totaled $138.04 and when it came time to tip, she searched the world over until she found a reason: the coffee was too hot. Yes, people, Anna thought the coffee was too hot and decided that 0% was better than 20% and stiffed her server of $26. First off, we all know that Anna is the same person who would have stiffed her server if the coffee was too cold, right? Or if the coffee was too old or too fresh or too brown or too watery or served in a coffee cup that didn’t feel right to her lips. In other words, Anna probably had no intention of leaving a tip and that was all she could come up with.

The server sent me the photo and, after verifying that it was legit, I still hesitated to post it because I didn’t want Anna to go viral. (It may or may not be the first time Anna has gone viral, but in the past it was probably always something that antibiotics were able to take care of…) The server also told me that the restaurant has only been open for about seven years, so there is no way that Anna had been going there for 25. Even though it was clear that Anna was an idiot, I still wondered if I should post the photo, because I did not want to get the server in trouble. But then the restaurant itself posted it on their Facebook page, so that gave me free reign to spread the story around.

Anna, c’mon! If the coffee is too hot, you fucking blow on it and wait ninety seconds. Or maybe you reach into your water glass and get a freaking ice cube to drop into your coffee cup. The server’s response to let it “cool down” is actually pretty good advice. It’s also common sense. And for the record, your server didn’t have the “audacity” to chase you down and demand a tip. What actually happened was another server went to tell you that it’s not the server’s fault that the coffee was too hot. You can say whatever you want in your petty little review, but there are two sides to every story and I heard the story from the other side. I choose to believe the server’s side of the story since anyone who justifies leaving zero on a $138 check is most likely an awful person. I don’t like to believe the stories of awful people.

I hope the next time you go out to dinner, you can find it in your heart to leave your server a tip. However, I know that you will more than likely find another reason to not do so. This time the coffee was too hot, but maybe next time the sun will be too bright. Or the music won’t be to your liking or the bread will be too doughy or the salad too salad-y. It’s clear that you simply do not like to tip. Just be aware that the net time you stiff someone and leave a stupid ass note on the credit card receipt, it might just go viral. And antibiotics aren’t going to help every time.

Discussion

  1. Kate
  2. Dana
  3. Tim
  4. teddy baskins
  5. Hercule
  6. David
  7. Scott Casey
    • Nobody special
  8. Stacey
  9. Marli
  10. Me
    • Robin Smith
  11. David
  12. Kelly
    • Another Bitchy Server
      • Kate
    • Stingray Stu
      • Stingray Stu
      • Bud
        • Bud
    • DoubtingIt
    • Bugsy
    • ElysianaValenti
  13. Katie

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