Waitress Suspended With Pay For Posting Racist Receipt on Facebook

Mediaite ^ | 9/12/2013

[markomalley]

Over the weekend, 19 year-old Nashville Red Lobster waitress Toni Jenkins got an unwelcome tip from a couple of customers: the tip line on their $44.53 check was generously scrawled “none,” and below it, as an added bonus, the n-word. An outraged Jenkins showed the receipt to her manager, and later posted it on her Facebook page (she has since taken it down), for which she was suspended with pay. The man who left the nonexistent tip admits to stiffing Jenkins, but denies scribbling the n-word on the receipt.

Jenkins related the incident to the UK Mail:

‘They were extremely rude, but I introduced myself to them and they didn’t respond. When I came to take their orderm 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 went back to the table they had gone and left the receipt and had written the comments.’

The couple were said to be a man and woman in their 20s.

Miss Jenkins said after picking up the receipt, she showed it to her manager who reassured her that she had done nothing wrong and that she did not deserve such abuse.

Speaking of her decision to post the receipt online, Miss Jenkins said she had been surprised by the reaction.

‘It’s all very surprising to me. When I posted it I thought it might get a few ‘likes’ from friends and family. People praying for me, that kind of thing. I didn’t think it would escalate this quickly. I am just a 19-year-old nursing student.’
The branch of Red Lobster in Franklin where Miss Jenkins works has now suspended the teenager on full pay until they decide what to do next.

Jenkins told The New York Daily News that her intent was not to retaliate against that specific customer, whose name, it turns out, is Devin Barnes:

“It wasn’t to get back at the gentleman,” Jenkins said. “I knew his signature was there, but I didn’t know his actual name was printed on the receipt. My intention wasn’t to attack the guy.”

In a written apology, that guy, Devin Barnes, admitted to signing “none” in the tip line when he ate at the restaurant with his wife but denied writing the racial epithet.

“I do not approve of the use of that type of talk, not now or ever!!!” Barnes wrote.

Barnes’ attorney, Richard Dugger, told NBC News that the young man is innocent and someone else is to blame for the disturbing language.

Jenkins also told The Daily News that she’s not angry at Barnes, and would even give him a hug if she could.

Stiffing a waitress on a $45 check or a suspension with pay might not sound all that serious, but Tennessee, like most states, has a $2.13 minimum wage for tipped employees, while a waitress like Toni has to pay taxes based on sales, and typically pays a portion of sales to other restaurant staffers like bartenders and buspersons. For that $45 meal, Toni was paid $2.13 an hour, but had to pay taxes on that check, and likely had to share up to 30% of the nonexistent tip with other restaurant staff. On that meal, the tipshare alone would have been $1.35, which means that unless it took her half an hour to box up that meal, Toni actually paid to serve those customers. Raist or not, stiffing your server is not okay.

[markomalley]

Also see WSMV-TV coverage: Attorney: Red Lobster customer denies writing slur on receipt

Bigger pic of receipt:

Here is a sample of Barnes' handwriting:

Do they line up?

[gaijin]

She felt entitled to a tip. She got nothing. She was very mad.

She or her friend wrote that —it gave them emotional satisfaction.

This happens A LOT.

[Mr. K]

if you look letter for letter at the word NONE they do look like the letters in the apology letter.

If you look at the writing and letters of the word n****r you can see it was written with a different pen, and NONE of the letter look similar to the letters in the apology letter

SHE FAKED IT!! Lets see a sample of her handwriting

Another racist HOAX

[Lancey Howard]

Do they line up?

No, they do not.
The "none" and "n-word" are different handwriting. Compare the 'e's and the 'r's.

[gaijin]

Nooses, flaming crosses, nasty notes —whateverz.

Kicks up a HUGE fuss, but poke around a little and the story smells more and more, about 90% of the time.

[Pikachu_Dad]

Nope. Not sure the signatures do either.

[texteacher]

According to Mr. Barnes’ letter he and his wife purchased “meal(s) to go”. Are tips expected when you pick up a meal to go?

[Lancey Howard]

On second view, they do line up. Compare the capital ‘N’ and the lower case ‘g’.
Too similar.

[Carriage Hill]

Not expected, but appreciated. I always do tip. I know what they make per hour. 50 years ago, I was a 13-yr old busboy and caddy at a country club, and we worked our butts off, mainly for tips.

[Josa]

The lower case g’s are strikingly different

[SkyDancer]

Spotted that same difference too. That word was added. I’d like to see a copy of her printing. Fire then sue her for racism or hate crime or whatever.

[skeeter]

The g's are different, and while the expletive's e and r connect, there is no evidence of the writer connecting any characters in his letter.

Finally, the pressure applied to the 'none' and the signature seem different than the expletive.

[Kaosinla]

He should be gearing up for a defamation suit.

[Abby4116]

Only an observation from reading the article - not commenting about the receipt.

They said they only wanted their food and to put it in to-go boxes - makes me wonder if the service was a wee bit slow and that is what prompted the "none" tip.

[Mr. K]

None of the letter match, but the g’s are most noticeable.

She did it herself

I am willing to bet $1000 donation to FR on it.

[Josa]

Also, the offensive word is written on angle while the other two are pretty level

[MarineBrat]

We see this time and time again because the loftiest attainment for child-like blacks in America is to be elevated from being an honorary victim of racism by birthright, to a confirmed victim. It’s an entire cottage industry, and personally I’m embarrassed for those black grown-ups that I know.

[ClearCase_guy]

There have been too many hoaxes like this.

As far as I'm concerned, the waitress would have to jump through a whole lot of hoops in order to prove her innocence to me. Yeah, that's completely bass-ackwards, but in today's climate I just have to assume that someone if playing the "I'm a victim of racism" game -- and I am so thoroughly done with that.

[9YearLurker]

Wow. I had thought the guy was innocent until you posted that handwritten note of his. The letters do indeed look like his writing, including the difference between his lower-case and upper-case “N’s”.

[SZonian]

the “g”s in the “N_____r” word on the receipt have hooks in them, those in his letter don’t. In addition, his “e”s in his letter “lean” forward, the “e” on the receipt is slanted backwards...

I say hoax...