Wife Offers to Pay Bill After Waitress Accidentally Charges Man $2 Extra for Beer, Serves Vegetables ‘Ice Cold’

A Reddit user sparked online discourse after sharing a post about their husband’s reaction to receiving poor service at a restaurant while on a beachfront vacation.

In the post shared on July 24, Reddit user Brilliant_Horse_2382 recounted being seated at a table with their family – including their toddler – and not receiving service from the wait staff for 15 minutes at 9 p.m. However, the Reddit user wrote, “Luckily, the place seemed pretty empty.”

After the server took the family’s orders, she made an error. “At one point, she comes to the table to apologize to my husband. ‘I accidentally charged you extra for your beer’ (there’s a special running so she should’ve used the special price – a $2 difference). She asks ‘Would you like me to fix it?’ We’re stunned at her question, ‘What customer wouldn’t want the correct price?’ ” the Reddit user wrote.

She continued, “He jokingly asks for a free beer to which she said ‘hah wish I could.’ They agree for her to change the price of his second beer to be $2 cheaper.”

The post continued to explain that when the food was served, her husband’s vegetables were “ice cold,” and appeared to have come “directly from the fridge.”

The post described the server as a young woman in her 20s. “Multiple times he asks her “feel the food, feel it” to prove it’s cold (it was fridge cold).” The Reddit user said the waitress became visibly “uncomfortable” as her husband “repeatedly” refused to pay for the cold food.

The Reddit user then explained why they did not take their husband’s side in this situation, as they felt the cold food was not the server’s fault. “He doesn’t yell, but he’s a large, tall man with a deep voice. If I were her, I might uncomfortable, threatened, or that there is the potential for escalation. Also, it was the kitchens fault – not hers – that the vegetables are cold,” the post read.

The woman said she apologized to the server and offered to pay for everything. “I was thoroughly embarrassed by his response – his demeanor was inappropriate and unwarranted for cold vegetables, bad service (wait time), and poor server practice (the wrong beer charge),” the post read. “I feel he lost all credibility when he continued to ask for it all free and came across angry and wasn’t reading how upset the girl was. He wasn’t mean or cussing but he gave off angry vibes.”

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The user said she picked up their child and walked out onto the boardwalk while their husband paid the bill.

“Overall, I’m mad at his response and his demeanor because he made the poor girl cry (shame on him) and acted entitled. And, he doesn’t feel bad about it. He’s mad I wasn’t “on his side” and I was “too nice” telling them we’d pay for the rest and go. Should I have backed him?” the post concluded.

Users in the Reddit thread had mixed feelings about the original poster’s reaction. One user named Naive_Pay_7066 wrote, “He wasn’t aggressive, he had very valid complaints, and the server can go and get the chef or manager if she feels unable to manage the situation.”

Another user named Potential-Ad2185 wrote, “15 minutes to show up when it’s empty is crazy. The beer charge is not that big a deal by itself, but you wait all that time get overcharged and then get food that ain’t even ready. Yeah, I’d be annoyed.”

They then quoted the original post. ” ‘He’s a large man with a deep voice.’ So he’s never allowed to be upset. He didn’t threaten her or yell, he was rightly upset.”

Another user analyzed both sides of the situation. “You’re right, it’s not the server’s fault, but she is the bridge between customer and kitchen. If the food is bad or wrong, it’s her job to make it right,” a user named loloannd wrote.

“Your husband repeatedly asking her to stick her finger into his vegetables was weird and uncomfortable. But he was right to be upset,” the comment continued.