Gay waiter fired after sharing picture of homophobic abuse left on receipt by customer
The restaurant said they "value the privacy" of their patrons.
By Will Stroude
A North Carolina waiter was fired from a restaurant this week after he shared an image of a homophobic message he received on a receipt.
The hateful message was left by a customer last week (November 30) at the Hickory Tavern’s Wesley Chapel in Indian Trail, North Carolina.
The unnamed waiter took to social media to share an image of the receipt with the homophobic message that claimed he ruined the customer’s experience because of his sexuality.
The full message read: “Our gay waiter made me wanna throw up my food! Ruined my experience tonight. Will not be back.”
On Tuesday (December 5), Hickory Tavern admitted to the Charlotte Observer they had fired the waiter, before later confirming that he had been re-hired.
The back-track came after another customer shared the image of the receipt and news of the waiter’s firing online.
The patron wrote: “A sweet young man was fired from his server job at Hickory Tavern after sharing a bigoted note left by a customer. Let’s help him find a new job.”
“Time is of the essence. Indian Trail, Matthews, Charlotte friends lets help him find a new job where his sparkling personality and exceptional customer service will be valued!”
Soon after, Hickory Tavern offered the man his job back after they reportedly discovered that he may not have been informed about the company’s customer confidentially policy.
They also issued a statement that read: “We strongly condemn the insults directed at one of our team members in remarks left by a patron on their credit card receipt. We value diversity and do not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation or for any other reason.”
“We also value the privacy of our patrons, and posting of credit card receipts violates our confidentiality policy. Although the team member was initially terminated for violating this policy, after further discussions with the team member, we made the decision to offer his job back.”
They added: “We strive the right balance between supporting our team members and protecting the private information of our guests.”