Customer left a large tip to impress date then secretly asked waiter for amount to be lowered

Restaurant employee also reveals clever way they informed customer’s date of situation

(Getty)

A waiter has recounted an experience with a customer who left a large tip to impress a date, only to return and change the amount after the dinner had ended.

According to the anonymous waiter, who shared the encounter on Reddit’s Tales From Your Server subreddit under the username @tamiraisredditing, at first, the man seemed to be the perfect customer, as he was expressing his gratitude to waitstaff and being “super nice”.

“Throughout the evening he was the picture of courtesy and good manners,” they recalled, adding that the man had also ordered the restaurant’s “highest quality” wine, ordered each appetiser so his date could try them all, and encouraged her to order the highest priced menu item as an entree.

“He was certainly in some kind of celebratory mood because he was sparing no expense. He asked for our highest quality wine, she got our most expensive entree, he ordered one of every appetiser for her to sample when she made a remark that she was having trouble deciding, it was a real feast,” the waiter wrote.

The man’s chivalry eventually extended to the bill, with the restaurant employee recalling how the man had informed his date that he would be covering the total cost of the meal, which totalled $289. While signing the bill, the customer also added a $100 tip, with the waiter recalling how they’d expressed their gratitude over the generosity.

They wrote: “Of course, a tip that size is exceptional, so I thanked him profusely.”

However, after the man and his date left, the waiter said that he returned about 90 seconds later without the woman, at which point he informed his server that he wanted to amend the tip to just $20.

“About 90 seconds later 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,” the post continued.

After repeating the man’s request back to him, the customer confirmed that he wanted the tip changed, at which point he also threatened to dispute the charge with his bank if the tip was a “cent over 20”.

According to the waiter, the man’s decision to change the tip wasn’t the most frustrating part of the situation, as it was actually that the woman he was with would not know about the deception - so they recalled how they had made sure that the date would know.

Explaining that they’d altered the bill like the man had asked, the restaurant worker said that they then ran after the man, who was outside still paying the parking meter, at which point they informed him that he would have to sign the amended bill reflecting the new tip.

“I made it across and said, more than loudly enough for her to hear: ‘Sir, we amended your tip from $100 down to $20 as you requested, but you’ll actually need to fill out a different receipt reflecting your new total for our records. Your old receipt still has your original tip of $100 written on it, but since you just came in and asked us to charge you $20 instead, we can’t have a discrepancy in our records. I hope you understand. This is just a bookkeeping regulation that goes way above me. It has nothing to do with your retroactively downgrading your tip from $20 to $100, we’re just glad you enjoyed your evening,’” they told the customer, according to the Reddit post.

According to the waiter, at this point, the customer began to “play dumb,” so they kept repeating variations of the same sentiment, with the man eventually agreeing to sign the new receipt.

During the exchange, the Reddit user said that the man’s date was “visibly shocked,” and that he was visibly enraged, before expressing their hope that the couple never went out again.

“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,” they concluded. “And then off they drove, I’m sure never to patronise our restaurant again, but hopefully never to go out together again either, which would make it totally worth it.”

On Reddit, where the post has gone viral and been upvoted more than 9,000 times, many users applauded the restaurant employee for their handling of the situation.

“Holy sh*t, you are my hero. What a satisfying read, I’m sorry you went through this but you absolutely nailed the situation,” one person commented.

Another said: “That took a deliciously satisfying turn.”

The photograph accompanying this article was changed on 7 June 2021 following a complaint that the original image might be interpreted as associating negative behaviours with someone of a particular race. While this was not our intention, we accept that the photograph was not a good choice and apologise for any offence caused.