Leaving a tip is certainly appreciated in Ireland, but one restaurant worker couldn’t handle the family’s rude behaviour – so they had no choice but to give them a taste of their own medicine
No one wants to be treated with disrespect (Image: Getty Images)
In Ireland, tipping is not seen as culture but something which is appreciated. However, in some countries, like the US, leaving extra money with the food is expected.
Generally when you have received good service, you’ll want to show your token of appreciation with a bit of cash. Now working in the hospitality industry is often tricky, especially with long hours and obnoxious customers. One restaurant worker who has had to deal with disrespect from a family had to take revenge – and now they’ve even stopped dining at the Greek food place.
The person said the dad would often shout orders from across the room, or constantly demand them, or their colleagues for more napkins, or fizzy drinks.
Speaking about the situation on Reddit, they said: “Back in 2011 or so, I was working at a local restaurant in my hometown. It was the only Greek restaurant in town and it was a small but popular place.
“We had a lot of repeat customers and often were quite busy even on normal weeknights. It’s worth noting this is not an affluent town. One such regular customer was the ‘Thompson’ family.
“I have no idea what their names are. Mum, Dad, three kids, probably under 10 years old. Mum and the kids were always fine but man, the dad in this family was SO RUDE from day 1.
“They came in 1-2x per week and every time this guy used to bark at me and the other servers from across the room about everything, leave huge messes, but worst of all, these kids slurped down 3-5 sodas each during their visits.”
The person claimed the worst part is, the kids would finish their drinks and “yell” across the room asking for more. And to top it all off, the family never left a tip.
Eventually, the owners started serving breakfast on the weekends and one morning, the family showed up during the rush.
The worker continued: “As they sat down, the intrusive thoughts won. Before they could order their sodas, I said ‘hey gang, who wants orange juice?’ The orange juices were $3 (€2.60) each and didn’t have free refills, as stated on the menu.
“Everyone got orange juice. Per usual, every few minutes he’d shout ‘MORE JUICE, MORE SYRUP, MORE NAPKINS!'”
Then once they got to the end of the meal, the worker looked at the ticket and saw they consumed about 13 juices between them, costing over $39 (€33) just for the drinks.
However, with inflation the juice cost $57 (€49). The worker placed the bill on the table and left the area. They added: “I peeked around the corner, and saw him looking at the bill, then the menu (about the juice) then back at the bill.
“Eventually they paid the bill and left – no tip (obviously). Never saw them again after that. Hope they are doing okay.”
Since they shared the situation on Reddit, people couldn’t stop laughing at it. One said: “A breath of fresh air and a great petty revenge.”
Another added: “So you ‘fired’ a customer. Good.” And a third wrote: “Glorious. Losing money on that table was worth never seeing them again.”
