Chinese Restaurant Server In Trouble For Mocking Jerk Hipsters On Receipt. (Hint: The Hipsters Were Jerks)

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Another day, another server in hot water for writing mean things on a restaurant customer's receipt. This is probably the first time we can remember with one of these stories where the customer seemed just as douchey, though.

 Via the Washington Post, four customers were out for a night of Chinese food at Peter Chang in Arlington, Virginia. Everything was going swimmingly until the server brought out a family-style rice bowl. This was apparently extremely confusing for one customer who had lived in Beijing. Another member of the party, Matt, asked why the rice hadn't been brought in individual bowls.

The server told the group that when rice is served to three or more diners at Peter Chang, it comes in a large bowl. The former Beijing resident thought that was odd, considering the family-sized portionran counter to the personalized bowls he encountered in China.The server then asked if the foursome would like individual rice bowls instead. They declined.

"She said, 'No, no, I can bring it for you,'" Matt related. "He said, 'No, no, don't worry about it. It's fine. Just wanted to let you knowthat's the way it's done in China.It's not a big deal.' ... It just got really awkward."

In what universe is snooty claims about authenticity from someone who had happened to live in Beijing for a little bit not a dick move? More importantly: who gives one single solitary shit whether family style vs. individual portions is "authentic?" Even leaving that aside, we're pretty sure China is a BIG FUCKIN' PLACE and "how they do it in Beijing" does not = "how they do it in China." Besides which, if Matt and his friends had wanted individual bowls, it's clear they could've had them. Even if the one customer was right about authenticity, what exactly does pointing out an imagined lack of it accomplish other than making you look like a smug dickrocket?

Anyway, the restaurant's servers were definitely making fun of the table in the back (we make fun of all of you), and when it came time to pay and the foursome asked for separate checks, the server said "That's totally how they do it in China." (Points for smartassery.) When the receipt itself came, though, it included the phrases "im a plad [sic] asshole" and "i have a small penis." (WaPo has pictures of the receipt, if you're curious). Needless to say, the customers were outraged, and being given a gift card by the restaurant wasn't enough to salve their righteous anger, so they took the issue to the Post.

While this has happened before, we haven't typically been on the server's side in these instances (which tells you something, because we're on the server's side pretty much all the time if there's any possible justification for being so). Then again, we've never had to deal with one of these stories where the customer seemed like an insufferable hipster. "But how do you know they're hipsters?" you ask. Three of the diners were wearing plaid and they tried to correct the restaurant based on imagined claims of authenticity. Of course they were fucking hipsters.

That said, even if the guy is a jackass (and ooh, this guy certainly appears to be), don't write shit on receipts where customers can see it. That's just a dumb move all the way around, and there are plenty of ways to make fun of deserving customers where they can't see it.

Regardless of the fact she shouldn't have done it, however, no, the server should not be fired for this. If you think she should, you're an asshole, the end.

[ WaPo ]