Some Gays ... Oy!

It was just over a month ago that I posted a tale of the server in a restaurant that was stiffed — meaning the guest did not leave a tip — because he was gay. The guests told him so in a vile little note they left for him — see that post HERE — and now it seems to have happened again.

Dayna Morales, an openly gay former Marine and a server at Gallop Asian Bistro in Bridgewater, Connecticut posted a photo on Facebook of a bill she’d given one of her guests, with a line running through the space for a tip and a note that read:

"I'm sorry but I cannot tip because I do not agree with your lifestyle."

Morales said, on both her Facebook page and in media interviews that followed, that the guest left no tip at all and wrote the note.

Disgusting, no? Sad, in this day and age, no? True, no? Maybe not.

A family — who wish to remain anonymous — has come forward claiming the receipt Morales posted was theirs from the restaurant, but that they did leave a tip and never wrote those words on the receipt.

The husband and wife offered as proof a credit card receipt from the restaurant that seems to have been printed at the same minute, on the same date, for the same $93.55 total, except they left an $18 tip. And, they also included a bill from their Visa account that indicates their card was charged for $111.55 — $93.55 plus an $18 tip.

The couple believes their receipt was used for a hoax, and the wife says, "We've never not left a tip when someone gave good service, and we would never leave a note like that."

She added that she is left-handed and could not have made the slash in the tip line.

Morales maintains that she did not receive a tip from that charge and insisted that the handwriting on the receipt wasn’t hers. When she was asked if there had been some kind of misunderstanding, she said, "I don't know, all I know is what I've been saying."

Both a manager and the restaurant owner insisted they had the original ticket for the $93.55 charge, but would not produce the original receipt; they could also not explain why the couple’s credit card was charged for the bill plus the gratuity. The restaurant owner later said he was aware of the allegations and had no comment pending an internal investigation.

However, the couple seems to have an explanation for what might have happened. It seems that when the hostess sat their party, she told the group their serve would be “Dan” and when Dayna appeared, the wife says she said, “Whoa, you're not Dan."

And in fact, Morales wrote in her Facebook post that the wife said, "Oh I thought you were gonna say your name is Dan. You sure surprised us!"

After that little gaffe, the couple says everything else was just fine. They say the reason they came forward is because the story didn’t seem to be going away, and because Morales kept saying that people from all over the world were sending her tips, which she would donate to the Wounded Warrior Project. That kind of rubbed them the wrong way, with the wife saying, "I just felt like people have a right to know that -- it's fine if people want to donate to her or to the Wounded Warriors, but they're doing it under a false pretense."

Who do you believe? I’ll tell you my theory.

It all began with “Dan”. I imagine Morales told some of her co-workers what happened and maybe the idea was hatched through them. But then how do we explain that the manager and owner say they have a receipt for the $93.55 bill, with the note, but won’t present it. And how did Morales get the $18 tip the family said they left if, in fact, there was no tip on the bill. Funny, though, that the amount charged to the card is the amount the husband and wife said they spent.

I get a feeling that, because of that other story, and all the publicity it spurred, that maybe this story was 'crafted’ for a little media attention and then spun out when the couple came forward.

It’s too bad, though because it makes The Gays look bad. Again.

But then I guess that proves we are just like everyone else.

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Server Gets Tipped In Hate

As someone who has worked in the hospitality industry, I understand the value of a tip; you’d have to give really bad service to get less than 20% from me, and you’d have to be downright awful to get nothing from me.

But, for one young server, being gay was enough to get stiffed; and not in a good way.

A 20-year-old waiter provided exemplary service at a Carrabba's Italian Grill in Overland Park, Kansas, but his anti-gay customers refused to tip him because of his sexual orientation. In fact, not only did they not tip, they left a message on the back of the check:

"Thank you for your service, it was excellent. That being said, we cannot in good conscience tip you, for your homosexual lifestyle is an affront to GOD. Queers do not share in the wealth of GOD, and you will not share in ours. We hope you will see the tip your (homosexual slur) choices made you lose out on, and plan accordingly. It is never too late for GOD's love, but none shall be spared for fags. May GOD have mercy on you."

Funny, because I think God may want to have a little mercy for the bigots who wrote the note. I mean, howsabout this, the next time you go into a restaurant ask for the Not Gay Section, where the straight folks serve you. Ask for the Not Gay Hairdresser next time you get your beehive teased. Ask for the Not Gay Checker at the Piggly Wiggly. Or, failing that, just stay home and wallow in your bigotry.

The young man and his mother, who works as a hostess at the same restaurant, aren’t giving time to the news media but the media is giving time to them. After the story broke, as happens, it flooded over into social media websites, people began heading over to that Carrabba's Italian Grill so that the young man could serve them and they could take good care of him. 

One such couple who came, specifically for this particular server, Dr. Marvin Baker, who came with his partner:

"I said, 'We are here to meet your celebrity. The one who was mistreated.' She said, 'That's my son. Would you like a table or booth?' I said, 'Wherever he's serving.'"

Baker has served as a pastor for many years and currently leads a Bible study group for LGBT members, and he calls the customer’s behavior ‘ ungodly’:

"I was angry. I said this is not Christian as I know it. This does not represent Christianity. God really loves us. And God does not advertise or promote hate. That is not love."

Baker talked with the young man while he had lunch, and the server told Baker he appreciated all the support, adding, "It is nice to know that someone cares."

For their part, Carrabas said in a statement that the company does not tolerate discrimination from either employees or guests:

"We embrace diversity and believe in treating everyone with respect."

It remains unclear what they will do, however, if that bigoted couple returns.

Like I said, if you don’t want service from The Gays, please share your bigotry up front, because I’m sure The Gays wouldn’t want to service anyone who thinks so little of them , and who blames God for their own homophobia.

As Marvin Baker said, God is love.

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