Rightfully Cheesed Off With These Ladies

I had a table of four old ladies, and they ordered beef nachos for their appetizers. I also took their main order at the same time. The nachos came out first, and by the time their mains came out, I noticed that the nachos were untouched.

I came back, and they were done their mains, but their nachos were still there, untouched.

Me: “Hey, can I take your plates? And do you want a to-go box for the nachos?”

Lady #1: “No, we’re done with them.” *To her friends* “Do you still want them?”

They said no, I could take the nachos. I asked them if they were sure like three times because they had barely touched the nachos, and they told me to just take them.

I took the nachos to my manager and asked if I should still charge the ladies for them because they had barely touched the plate. She said if they hadn’t complained (which they hadn’t), I should still charge them. So, I threw away the nachos and went back to the table.

Lady #2: “Why did you take our nachos?”

Me: “You guys told me you were done, and I asked multiple times before I took them.”

Lady #3: “No, you cut me off, and I wasn’t done talking. I was still munching on them.”

My mouth dropped open. I thought I was going crazy because they had literally just told me they were done with them. I went back and forth with them, telling them they had told me to take the plate, and they kept saying they had never said that. It was four of them against me.

I started feeling bad, and I asked if they wanted the nachos discounted or to speak to my manager.

Lady #1: “No, I’ll pay for the nachos, but it’s just a lesson learned that you don’t take stuff off the table.”

They ended up tipping me well, but for the rest of the day, I was in a mood because I knew I wasn’t crazy. They did all that just to pay for nachos they didn’t even eat. I felt gaslit.