Waitress receives racist 'tip', uploads to Facebook, suspended with pay.

[LSN80]

Nursing student Toni Jenkins is trying to earn her way through school, as so many have done before her. Working for Red Lobster, she makes most of her money through the tips she receives, but received a different kind of tip a few days ago, from a white couple she described as in their 20's. In the lines where "Tip" and "Total" are listed for customers to fill in, the customer wrote "None" under tip, and "******" under total. Jenkins went to her manager, who empathized with her and expressed that she deserved better then said treatment.

But Jenkins took it one step further, posting the receipt on her Facebook account, with her own commentary, reading:

"This is what I got as a tip last night....so happy to live in the proud southern states....God Bless America, land of the free and home of the low class racists of Tennessee."

http://www.dailydot.com/lifestyle/facebook-red-lobster-racist-suspended/

Jenkins was suspended with 'full pay' as a result of her Facebook post, one in which she claimed was meant to 'raise awareness' of racism in Tennessee state. Jenkins, in a conversation with the Daily Mail in Tennessee, discussed the attitude of the couple as she approached them as their server:

"The couple was extremely rude, but I introduced myself to them and they didn't respond. When I came to take their order they simply told me they wanted their food and to put everything in a to-go box. I offered them dessert but they told me abruptly that they just wanted the check. When I returned to the table, they'd left the receipt on the table with the slur on it.”

While Jenkins frustration and yes, anger, are more then justified, I think the restaurant was well within their right in having suspended her, and had they fired her, within their rights as well.

About a year & a half ago, an excited waiter tweeted a picture excitedly of a 50% tip from Peyton Manning, on a $700.00 tip. The restaurant responded in firing the young man, as it was a violation of the 'public trust', in this case, that of Peyton Manning's. When the restaurant called to apologize to Peyton, the elder Manning brother was more then gracious, and when informed the young man had been let go, asked the restaurant to re-consider and give him his job back, which they did.

To me, it seems the more social media "progresses", the dumber people become as a result. For example, couldn't the same thing have been achieved by Toni Jenkins in her desire to 'raise awareness' towards racial insensitivity by blogging about the experience, and posting that on Facebook? Afraid people won't believe your tale? Better then risking your job, I would think. And lest people think the girl is actually making out here, being suspended with pay and all, it's not as great as it sounds. The pay for a waiter/waitress, at least in my state, is $2.83 an hour, plus tips. Personally, I hope they are giving her the tips per hour she's making, but even had they suspended her without pay, it would've been understandable.

How would you have handled the situation if you were Jenkins?

Is the restaurant's 'punishment' of Tina Jenkins too much? Not enough?

Any other thoughts on the story are welcome.

 

[klunderbunker]

I'm fine with her talking about it but showing the guy's name is too far. That's an invasion of privacy and something that shouldn't be done without punishment. The man may be a racist jerk, but there's nothing illegal about being an idiot. I have no problem with the restaurant suspending her, but I'm glad that it's with pay and not a firing. The woman was doing her job and was treated horribly because some idiot had to be a jerk to her for whatever reason he had. Showing the name under the receipt was too far though.

 

[HBsam31]

I am a Chef, so I have worked in quite a few restaurants. This stuff happens everyday. I saw a girl get her whole life tore down by a customer because the special was not accurately voiced to them. I have seen servers not only verbally abused, but physically as well. The couple in this instance should be banned from the establishment, and yes they were idiots, but Tina Jenkins should have never posted what she posted. Good God, look how much trouble is caused by people spouting off and posting things on social media outlets. I think it's time for us all to step away from posting our whole daily lives online, but that is a different topic.

If the racist couple finds out that she posted this online don't be surprised if they push for the restaurant to fire Tina. Restaurants do not like this type of publicity, and if the couple stirs up enough shit over this I believe they wouldn't think twice before letting her go. I think her punishment is fair, but I would venture to guess her wage is exactly what the OP said it was. If it was anymore I bet they would have suspended her without pay. Eighty percent of servers pay comes from tips so she is going to feel the suspension either way. As I said though, depending on the circumstances I would not be surprised if she gets fired down the road. Don't get me wrong here, Tina was totally right in her anger, and those people were scumbags, but if she cared about her job she should have found some other outlet to voice her anger. Especially in a business where workers are so easily replace, and restaurant reputation is always the most important thing. Right or wrong.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Who the hell takes seafood to go? It's not Chinese food. You're lucky enough if a Red Lobster is actually serving something that was alive and in water at some point but regardless whatever it is that they serve it isn't exactly that tasty pretty soon after it comes out of the kitchen. You're lucky you don't get sick. Did they eat it in the parking lot? Even so, what a letdown to not be able keep the butter warm and melted.

These folks were some serious racists to pull of this shit. They're probably so racist they frequently contribute comments to Yahoo! "news" articles. They're also huge cowards to fill out the bill that way and sneak off before anyone noticed. Probably needed to get back to laundrymat to pick up their white sheets (how do they keep them so white?)

Anyway, yeh I don't see the problem with Red Lobster punishing the waitress. Then again I wouldn't have a problem if they didn't punish her at all. I don't care for the racists, these people are clearly assholes to treat another human being that way and if someone ran over them with a lawnmower because they saw this waitresses Facebook status I don't care either.

 

[Davi323]

I am perfectly okay with what she did. If you, as the customer, decide to go out of your way to be an extra special kind of douchebag, frankly, if all that happens is some people finding out you were an extra special kind of douchebag, you are getting off easy. I am sure what she did probably broke a few privacy rules, but sometimes douchebags like this couple deserve a little public shaming. Legal or not, I applaud her. Were I in a situation like that, I would try to shame the douchebags too. If you are going to be that big of a dick to a restaurant server, pay in cash. If you pay with your card, giving them your name, then you deserve what you get.

I also applaud the restaurant. They had to do something obviously, but notice what they did? She was suspended WITH pay. They could have easily suspended her without pay, but chose to give her what is essentially some paid vacation time. The restaurant manager is officially punishing/unofficially condoning what she did. Exactly right.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

I'm fine with her talking about it but showing the guy's name is too far. That's an invasion of privacy and something that shouldn't be done without punishment. The man may be a racist jerk, but there's nothing illegal about being an idiot. I have no problem with the restaurant suspending her, but I'm glad that it's with pay and not a firing. The woman was doing her job and was treated horribly because some idiot had to be a jerk to her for whatever reason he had. Showing the name under the receipt was too far though.

kb hit the nail on the head. As much as it sickens me that someone would write something this obscene and uncalled for, posting this receipt on social media potentially opens up Red Lobster to a world of legal trouble. Although I am not that well versed in receipts law, I know that receipts are legal forms of documentation that carry with them the implicit assumption that they are not to be shared with anyone else besides the purchaser, vendor, and merchant processor (in the case of electronic transactions). This waitress is lucky her employment wasn't outright terminated.

Also, LSN, was it you that originally posted something about the following article or did this thread just remind of reading it somewhere else?

Applebee's Waitress Fired For God Tip Receipt

 

[alexmor]

Many waiters are in news today because of how people give tips. Tipping, surprisingly, is not just a city in China. However, many people these days pay with either a debit or credit card while buying essentially everything, so plastic is used for tips. There are a number of reasons why one should tip waiters with cash at every possible occasion.

 

[Akhilleus]

The waitress definitely didn't deserve to get the treatment she did from the customer. If the customers really do still hold prejudice thoughts like that, why can't they just keep it to themselves? Fine if you don't want to give the young girl a tip just because of her skin color then don't. It's an asshole thing to do, but then don't. Though whenever you go the extra mile just to make her feel bad about herself, then that's when it's too far.

First of all if they have his name and number on the receipt, then why can't they get the police to track him down and give him some sort of violation? I know that they could, because you can't even flick someone off while driving in your car without getting in trouble with the law these days, let alone say a racist slur like that.

None the less, you can't post pictures of people's receipts online like that. Or take a picture of it at all in fact. Like it said in the original post, I remember when that guy did post a picture of Peyton Manning's receipt and then got fired for it. It's a huge rule that I thought was always expressed in those types of businesses, and the fact that she violated it even under the circumstances, is not only a suspendable offense but also a fireable one. It does sort of add insult to insult if you look at it one way, the fact that she got suspended after being put down so harshly by a customer, but sadly they're supposed to be trained to take that in stride and simply not make it personal. There were many other alternatives she could have taken to deal with that situation other than actually posting the picture of his receipt on a public website, and she ignored all of them. I feel bad for her, but the fact is she didn't make the right choice. I'm sure the company actually didn't want to punish her, but the truth is they have to in that situation.

 

[jmt225]

It came out not long after this story was released that the lady forged the tip and then posted it on Facebook to gain sympathy.


So, yeah... pure horseshit. False flags is something that will continue to rise in the social media age, because the social network generation LOVES attention and will do literally anything to seek it. It's a shame too because these cry wolf situations will only hurt the real cases of discrimination out there.

 

[Trill Co$by]

Before I begin the topic at hand, I've got to say something else. If a word is supposed to be offensive, then maybe you shouldn't say it period. I'm pretty sure Ms. Jenkins has, on several occasions, said the word to and with her friends without even a blink. So if it's offensive for one person to say it, maybe she shouldn't say to anyone else.

That being said, I've lived in Tennessee [Clarksville to be exact] and I can say that without a doubt, it is heavily racist. Not as racist as South Carolina [kid you not, there's a Coon Road here] but still it's racist. The fact that people can't accept the fact that we're born the way we are and can't change that appalls me every single time. At the end of the day, our blood is still red/purple.

As for her being suspended, if I were her then I'd sue the hell out of Red Lobster. If she posts something on Facebook, she has the right to... especially if it's something like this. I don't see how she can be suspended for, from what I read, being just a normal person who was offended but the obscurity of the note on her receipt.

I'm fine with her talking about it but showing the guy's name is too far. That's an invasion of privacy and something that shouldn't be done without punishment. The man may be a racist jerk, but there's nothing illegal about being an idiot. I have no problem with the restaurant suspending her, but I'm glad that it's with pay and not a firing. The woman was doing her job and was treated horribly because some idiot had to be a jerk to her for whatever reason he had. Showing the name under the receipt was too far though.

In most states, racial profiling IS illegal though.

 

[LSN80]

As for her being suspended, if I were her then I'd sue the hell out of Red Lobster. If she posts something on Facebook, she has the right to... especially if it's something like this.

Actually, she doesn't. Receipts have things such as credit card information and the names of the patrons she's served, which goes against restaurant policy, and is illegal as well. A smart hacker could easily use the credit card information and the name to make a fake card, which then would put not only on the girl, but the restaurant as well.

She has the right to post "OMG, this happened to me at work today!", and to tell her story, but not to put the receipt itself on Facebook. A waiter who excitedly got a $300.00 tip from Peyton Manning was fired for doing the same thing, because it's against every restaurant's policy, as it's illegal to disclose such information.

I don't see how she can be suspended for, from what I read, being just a normal person who was offended but the obscurity of the note on her receipt.

Did you read the post above you? JMT provided a post with a video showing that what she did was a ploy to gain sympathy....and money. The family had tipped her $18.00, and she used the duplicate copy to forge a fake slur. By her own admission, the cash came pouring in to an account she set up, over $3,000 of it.

That's fraud, if you weren't aware. Please read the entire conversation before throwing uninformed opinions out there.

In most states, racial profiling IS illegal though.

Not by a customer, it's not. It's illegal for law enforcement to use as the sole basis for charging someone with a crime, or violating them in some sense. For a customer someone is waiting on? It's immoral, but there's nothing illegal about having a belief and using that belief to decide how you're going to treat someone. As long as you don't violate them in some way, such as a physical attack, it's not against the law. Calling someone a n*gger just because they're black isn't against the law. It's wrong, but it's not against the law.

And, as has been shown, she wasn't a victim, she was a perpetrator of fraud.

 

[rbv13]

With nearly two decades in the service/hospitality industry I’d like to toss my two cents into the hat……

The real issue is being distracted by the amount of the tip and what was written on the receipt. First off tipping is proper etiquette but by no means is it mandatory. What adds insult to injury is the “fact” she was forced to endure an inappropriate racial slur. I wonder if the customer had left a $100.00 tip and still dropped the racial slur if Ms. Jenkins would have followed suit. Anyway, both of these points are moot when dealing with the real issue at hand. The receipt left at the table is essentially a contract/property between the customer and the establishment. Mr. Jenkins had zero right taking photos of that property and posting them on a public forum. Furthermore when she described Tennessee as a racist state she is alienating a vast majority of organizations client base. Essentially by stating everyone from Tennessee is racist she is labeling individuals in the same fashion the customer is question labeled her. Her actions put the entire organizations credibility in jeopardy. Her irresponsible actions have sent the organization into a public relations nightmare. She should be lucky to still be employed but in today’s PC world I am most positive, unless this is a fake, that she will be treated as some sort of hero.

 

[Reflection]

I disagree with the solution you provided that she should have blogged about it and then shared the link on facebook... I consider Blogs to be a part of social media too, and all that would do, is decrease the number of people that actually view the photo. Facebook is still the best place if you want attraction towards something.
She should re-upload the photo, in my opinion, especially since the restaurant fired her anyway. The more publicity this story gets, assholes like that couple would think twice before displaying/practicing their assholeness.