MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Outrage after Asian restaurant staffer allegedly 'ignores' Black customer while attending to others

In a viral TikTo video, the customer, Toni, revealed that the server did not even clear the dirty plates on their table and it lay there for a 'long time'

LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA: A customer, who goes by the name Coach Toni, shared footage of an Asian restaurant on TikTok, alleging the servers were ignoring them. The video shows Toni and another Black customer seated at a table. During their meal, a plate of trash is lying at one side of their table, which they hoped the server would clear. However, the waiter seems to intentionally ignore them, while proceeding to attend to other customers. 

"When y’all say Black people don’t tip… this is why. I spoke to management and she was disciplined," read the text on the video. Toni also revealed that the restaurant was the La Star Buffet, Sushi, Hibachi Grill, And Chinese Food in Louisiana. The viral clip alleging racial discrimination has garnered over 21,100 views since it was posted on October 7. 

READ MORE

'Rude' waiter at Karen's Diner informs customer she looked 'bulimic', Internet split over 'gag' insult

Viral video shows man yelling at Karen's Diner staffer for 'body shaming' by insulting his receding hairline

The customer alleged that the waiter of the restaurant was intentionally ignoring them owing to the prejudice that Black people do not leave tips for servers. In the caption to the video, Toni writes, "Stop saying black people don’t #tip! We always leave big #Tips but don’t tolerate this unacceptable #service! Why are #asians like this? Someone please tell me because it happens too dang often. I spoke to #managment and she tried to lie. They rolled the #camera. Make this go #viral it was in #lakecharleslouisiana."

The entirety of the video shows the waiter assigned to their table walking around the restaurant, attending to other tables while the dirty plate on Toni's table lay there "for the longest" time. "She's standing over there with her hands behind her back, going to every other table except ours," the customer narrated. 

The incident resonated with several Black TikTokers who took to the comment section to recount similar experiences of racial discrimination. "It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. They think we don’t tip so they don’t give us service and then we don’t tip," wrote someone, while another revealed, "We have all dealt with it… my daddy tip a penny and wrote a note as to why she got a penny." Another user commented, "You better than me “MADAM” “HELLLLOOOOO” can you come get these plates plz 😂😂😂."

The slew of comments had one theme in common - the allegation that restaurant staffers did not treat Black customers the same way as others, often intentionally ignoring them. One user shared, "When they do that I just put my dirty plates on the next table over. She was wrong and gets no tip!" Another added, "Same, like I don’t need constant attention, but yes you definitely do notice the difference in service. We end up looking bad no matter what! 😒" While one comment read, "We deal with this alllllll the time and we try to tip 20% or better every time. We are judged the minute we walk through the door and given subpar."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.