A Restaurant Doesn’t Tip Into Banking Territory

I am having dinner with a friend at a popular full-service restaurant. It’s about 7:00 pm on a weekend, so the place is bustling with activity. All the tables are occupied, and there is a waiting line to get in.

Amidst the racket of the large main dining room we are seated in, I hear someone deliberately and loudly clear their throat. I turn my head just in time to see a restaurant manager about to address a diner at a table that is exactly in the middle of the room. The manager speaks in a carrying voice that cuts through all the ambient noise.

Manager: *In a very professional tone* “Here is your cashback. Please note in the future that the ‘tip’ line on your bill is to tip your servers, not to get money back. We are a restaurant, not a bank.”

Of course, nothing extraordinary happened after that. The room became quieter for a moment, but that was it. I still have a bit of contemptible awe for the diner’s audacity, though.