For waitstaff who depend on tips, work can be frustrating and unfair. But that still doesn’t excuse stereotyping customers based on their race or ethnicity. In Santa Maria, California, an unnamed waitress for Black Bear Restaurant took to Snapchat to say that Latinos were bad tippers.
“I hope no one takes offense to this,” she said in a video. “I’m just speaking about my day. So working in the restaurant, in the business, a lot of you know that Hispanic culture does not tip very well. There’s a certain section in my work that is made for bigger tables to sit at, which majority of the time is Hispanic people. Of course, I got stuck back in fucking Tijuana today and made barely any fucking money.”
Thousands ended up seeing the video, which ended up on YouTube. And many headed to the restaurant’s Facebook page and complained about the woman’s comments. Black Bear has since spoken out and fired the woman.
“We are very disappointed and concerned to hear these highly offensive comments made by one of our former employees,” the restaurant said in a statement, according to KSBY. “These comments were the employee’s own statements and in no way represents our values or how we treat and value our guests at Black Bear Diner. Our understanding is the video of the offensive comments was taken down shortly after being posted. As a result of these comments, this individual is no longer employed at our restaurant.”
The woman asked KSBY not to reveal her identity in the midst of the backlash. She also told the outlet that she isn’t racist and didn’t mean to offend anyone with her statements. And while we certainly want the service industry to be more fair to waitstaff, with this video, she revealed her prejudices. Check out the video below.