Open letter to jerk who stiffed server over COVID restrictions

“We’re all in this together.”

Except for you, huh tough guy? Or reprehensible Jersey girl. Whoever you are that stiffed a waitress over your having a hissy fit about COVID restrictions, you’re the worst kind of person. Do you always get off on feeling you have some kind of power over people you consider in a lower place in life than you?

You went to a restaurant recently in Morristown knowing full well what the rules were. Wear a mask when not at your table. And stay no longer than an hour and a half. Are you so dumb you need that broken down for you like a pre-schooler? Only recently did indoor seating capacity in Jersey restaurants rise to 50%. And from what was put out on Instagram about what you did it appears you may have done it before the change when it was still only 35% capacity.

You paid your $86.37 tab but left the word ZERO in the tip line with your nasty note “I’m sorry the server gets screwed on this. Don’t kick paying customers out after 90 minutes.”

You’re not sorry. Not even a little.

You feel good about that? Denying $17 to a working server who’s probably been struggling for a year under this pandemic? Knowing he or she did NOT make up these rules and did NOTHING to cause this pandemic? Did that make you feel some sense of power you otherwise lack in your miserable life?

Here’s what was said about the incident you caused on Instagram.

So yeah? You needed it explained like you’re a 3-year-old? That hundreds of restaurants have gone out of business because of the restrictions and that the ones remaining open are barely surviving with the capacity restrictions? You can’t understand that even if you DID comply with the 90 minute rule they’d still be hurting. You don’t care that they also have bills to pay. Kids to take care of. You don’t care about other people. Instead of feeling lucky you’re in a situation where you could spend $86 on dinner out you had to be a self-righteous idiot over $17.

As I write this 555,000 Americans are dead because of this virus and countless restaurants and their workers are barely hanging on. And what you were concerned about was wanting to spend 112 minutes instead of 90 minutes at one of their tables.

You’re selfish. You’re a jerk. And there’s no vaccine against the kind of sick you make the rest of us.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski. Any opinions expressed are Jeff Deminski's own.