A few weeks ago, a New Jersey waitress set the Internets on fire with by posting a receipt, allegedly from her job, with a hateful message instead of a tip. “Sorry I cannot tip because I do not agree with your lifestyle & the way you live your life,” read the message on the receipt. The customer has now come forward to say that they left a 20% tip and would say no such thing.

The family claims that they recognize their receipt, the amount, and even the husband’s signature under the obscuring blur. Yet their own copy of the receipt and their credit card statement show a different total…with an included 20% tip.

“We’ve never not left a tip when someone gave good service,” insists the wife, “and we would never leave a note like that.”

The receipt that circulated online showed a total of $93.55, but the total that the family actually paid was $111.55. Their copy of the receipt was printed at the same exact time and from the same terminal as the one circulated online. Their copy just has a tip and lacks the explanatory note.

They even showed a copy of their credit card statement to the TV station: there was a charge for $111.55 at that restaurant on the day in question.

The family says that the confusion may have come from their being startled to have a female server; they were told that “Dan” would be along shortly, and instead their server was a short-haired woman named Dayna, a fact that they remarked on.

The family wants to correct the record, but they also want to remain anonymous because of the hysterical Internet frenzy reserved for both non-tippers and bigots. The question is: who did write the note? NBC 4 confronted the waitress outside of work, and she claimed that it isn’t in her handwriting and she had nothing to do with it.

For people concerned about the donations collected on her behalf, don’t be: as a Marines veteran, she’s turning them all over to the Wounded Warrior Project.

The restaurant claims that they’re investigating the situation.

Family Says They Did Tip Gay Server, Didn’t Leave Note [NBC New York] (Warning: auto-play video)

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Restaurant Has No Choice: It’ll Allow Customer Who Didn’t Agree With Waitress’ Lifestyle Back
Waitress Says Customer Denied Her A Tip Because She Disagreed With Her Lifestyle

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