A Kansas waiter told how he collected thousands of dollars by writing an insult on the receipt instead of a tip.
Noah Bierig, a 19-year-old waiter at Bubba’s 33 in Wichita, said the incident happened on a Sunday two weeks ago.
He was serving a group of young men when he felt at least one of them was staring at his painted nails and pride bracelet and giving him angry looks.
But when they left, he burst into tears: not only did they not give a tip, one of them even wrote a homophobic insult instead of an amount.
One of Bierig’s friends shared the receipt online, setting off a surprising chain of events that included the man’s name in print and in writing, leading to a full apology.
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Noah Bierig, a 19-year-old waiter at Bubba’s 33 in Wichita, said the incident happened on a Sunday two weeks ago
“The first time I walked up to the table, they just gave me a few angry looks,” Bierig said KAKE News from the first meeting.
“And every time I walked away, they started laughing a little bit.”
He said there was one man in particular who seemed to be annoyed by his painted nails, which he got from his mother when he came out.
He said he felt like the customer and his party were not friends.
Still, he didn’t care, he told the local news station, sitting with them in the restaurant as he worked another shift.
He told how he tried his best to serve the table like anyone else, even though he felt uncomfortable.
As they left, he was shocked to see that one of the group’s receipts had no tip written on it, but instead had the word “f*g” written on the line.
He said the insult left him completely distraught, even though he tried his best to suppress it.
After they left, he was shocked to see that one of the group’s receipts had no tip in it, and that the line was filled in with the word “f*g” instead. A friend subsequently posted the receipt online, causing outrage
“That hurt me a lot,” he said.
“I’m not the type to cry at work, but I have to say this was definitely the first time something like this happened to me.”
But after one of his friends posted the bill, with the offender’s name clearly visible on it, some relief came when a horde of outraged bystanders bombarded the customer with messages expressing their displeasure.
Confused, the customer came forward to apologize, but also said he had not received good service.
“I know it was wrong of me to write what I did,” James Blick wrote on Facebook before deleting his accounts.[A]and I am very sorry about that.
“The overall dining experience wasn’t that great,” he added.
‘I shouldn’t have said it like that.
‘I tried to call the restaurant to apologize to the man, but I couldn’t reach him. I want to thank everyone who was affected or hurt by my words.
The customer, James Blick, apologized online, before complaining about the “hateful comments, messages and phone calls” he and his wife have since received. He then deleted all of his social media accounts
“I have learned a valuable lesson from all of this and nothing like this will ever happen again.”
The man subsequently complained about the “hateful comments, messages and calls” he and his wife had received since then, after which he removed himself from social media.
But not before some good came out of all the attention the incident attracted
Bierig’s friends set up an online fundraiser through the city’s LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce, raising thousands of dollars.
Over thereAnyone can offer an amount that will be considered the tip he or she should rightfully receive.
“Whatever comes out is donated,” Bierig explained as the tips continued to flow in.
Of the support he’s seen, he added: “It’s absolutely insane. I never thought something like this would happen based on a few Facebook posts from my friends and family.”
He said Bubba’s $33 is the same amount as his donation to GLSEN, a company that works to end discrimination, harassment and bullying against people of different sexual orientations.