A woman has slammed a barman, who she claims was “disrespectful” due to the way he describes her on her receipt. Others have come to his defense, however, telling the woman to “move on.”
A woman, who goes by “The Cake Lady” on social media and appears to own Chamia’s Cake Studio in Baltimore, Maryland, became upset after she received a receipt from a barman while enjoying a quiet night out by herself in Washington, DC. It wasn’t the $64 bill for a few drinks that upset her. Instead, printed on the receipt was the barman’s description of her, which she found “disrespectful.”
After having four cocktails, a waiter named Shaun brought The Cake Lady her bill, and that’s when the quiet evening took a downward turn for the woman as she read how the barman had described her. Disgusted by the depiction of her, The Cake Lady took to social media to voice her concerns.
Using the Twitter account @GotMiAAngel, the upset woman slammed the “disrespectful” barman as she shared a photograph of the receipt and told her followers how she was left frustrated by the way the waiter had referred to her. So, what did he say in his allegedly rude description that she found so insulting?
“Girl by herself,” the receipt read. Although The Cake Lady was indeed drinking alone, she was upset by the simple description. “This description is so disrespectful,” she wrote in the tweet, featuring an image of the receipt. And, it didn’t take long for social media users to join in her outrage.
“Like why u pointing it out?? Like embarrassing you for what?” one commenter wrote, siding with the woman in question. Others chimed in to share their own experiences in an apparent bid to make The Cake Lady feel better, according to the Daily Mail. “I feel you on this one,” one such social media user wrote before sharing a copy of a receipt that characterized him as “Raspy voice guy.”
Another frustrated Twitter user expressed sympathy, writing, “That’s better than the one I got,” as he shared a photo of a receipt that read, “Lil ugly dude.” Of course, there were also those who weren’t in agreement and did not empathize with the woman’s frustrations. Instead of voicing support, those social media users accused her of overreacting.
“Why disrespectful? Seems a simple way to help the waiters identify guests they are serving,” wrote one commenter who didn’t agree with The Cake Lady’s concerns. “How else would you like them to describe you – color of hair, clothes. Only in the US do you get so hung up on all this. We’ve got bigger issues to be thinking about than this petty one.”
The commenter raises a valid point. What’s the appropriate way to describe a customer? Some waiters and waitresses have learned the hard way that describing a person by their physical characteristics, such as race, could get you fired. In fact, a black man named Barnard Bradfield was let go from his job after he described a group of patrons as “Black girls.”
As plenty of commenters pointed out, the barman likely meant no disrespect when he referred to The Cake Lady as “girl by herself.” Instead, he was using a simple way to keep his customers and their tabs straight. According to those who shared such beliefs, the description’s purpose was only to help busy staff identify customers and distinguish one from another more easily.
“Really???? If you are without company, you are just that. And if you are dressed in a red dress, you are dressed in that color,” a Twitter user wrote, expressing the sentiment that this wasn’t anything to get offended over. “How else would you rather be described?” the social media user asked.
Others believed it was likely an oversight. “He probably forgot the customer was gonna see that note. I’ve done that one a few times too,” one commenter suggested. Of course, some questioned why the customer needed to be identified at all when using table numbers could prevent such a misunderstanding, but one social media user, who worked in the foodservice industry, said this doesn’t always work.
“As a former server/bartender I tried to avoid descriptions like this, but depending on how well coworkers could communicate/knew table numbers, it did happen on occasion,” the commenter explained.
Perhaps the best comment suggested that no one can offend you without your permission: “It’s only disrespectful if you let it be. Life is short. Move on.” Indeed, there are bigger offenses than someone writing a factual statement on your receipt. “Girl by herself” isn’t an insult. It was simply the truth. Next time, maybe she should invite a friend if being alone and having someone point it out is somehow offensive.
