A waitress was left with no tip because she referred to a customer as “sweetheart” while serving the man and his wife.
The peeved consort didn’t appreciate the harmless nickname the server used, jotting a passive-aggressive message on the bill before leaving the restaurant.
Instead of a tip, the woman wrote, “don’t call my husband sweetheart” in the tip section of the check.
The picture of the $32.76 bill was shared on the photo-based forum site Igmure – and sparked a heated debate on tipping culture across the US.
Many users immediately defended the waitress, noting it’s very common across several states –especially in the Southern Belt – for servers to use terms of endearment to refer to customers.
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One user wrote: “In the southern US, everyone is called honey, sweety, sweetheart and my personal favourite, ‘sugar.’”
And another noted: “You know how many times I’ve been called hon or sweetie, or sweetheart by a waitress?
“Well, not a lot. But, when it happens it’s always because it’s so into their vocabulary that they say that to everyone.
“It’s just how they end certain sentences. I didn’t think much of it.”
Another user noted the waitress was likely trying to be nice to the customers in order to secure a good tip for her service.
They wrote: “What an insecure b***h. On a side note, tipping should be abolished.
“Pay your staff a living wage. Servers shouldn’t be held hostage by assholes like this woman.”
X user @LoneStarDevil commented: “They do what they have to to get tips and avoid upset customers.
“For every 1 person mad at “honey”, there are 3 that will call her rude for using neutral language ( not saying sweetheart etc).”
And another social media user added: “That’s sad lmao I love being called sweetheart and honey especially by old people. To be offended by this is blasphemy.”
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