Gay waiter sacked after a customer wrote a homophobic note about him

Dec 09 2017
Written by Joseph McCormick

A gay waiter was sacked from his restaurant job after a customer wrote a homophobic message about him on a receipt.

The restaurant, Hickory Tavern, confirmed that it had sacked the server after he posted a photograph of a receipt with the homophobic message.

The receipt read: “Our gay waiter made me wanna throw up my food!”

Gay waiter sacked after a customer wrote a homophobic note about him

Adding: “Ruined my experience tongt [sic]. Will not be back!”

The server, identified as Justin S on the receipt, was sacked after the restaurant said he had violated the company’s confidentiality policy when he posted the receipt dated 30 November.

Another customer at the Hickory Tavern also posted the receipt on Facebook saying: “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.”

Gay waiter sacked after a customer wrote a homophobic note about him

A statement from the Hickory Tavern confirmed that the server had been sacked, and also confirmed that the “insults” were left on the receipt.

“We strongly condemn the insults directed at one of our team members in remarks left by a patron on their credit card receipt,” Hickory Tavern said.

“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. We strive to strike the right balance between supporting our team members and protecting the private information of our guests.”

Gay waiter sacked after a customer wrote a homophobic note about him