Teens’ taunting of black waiter causes uproar

A group of white teenagers is at the centre of an uproar at a popular East London steakhouse this weekend after they upset staff by leaving a R4 tip for a black waiter and writing on the till slip that the money was for “hungry Africans”.
A case of crimen injuria was opened by the 24-year-old waiter, Xolani Mbalo, after Cambridge police were called to the Las Vegas Spur restaurant at Hemingways Mall on Friday evening.
Mbalo said an hour before he was due to knock off work, a normal shift turned nasty when the two boys and a girl sat down at table 43.
Mbalo, an information technology development graduate from Walter Sisulu University, described the trio as customers from “hell”.
“They ‘taunted’ me from the beginning until I quit serving them. When I brought their food, they started making silly remarks, asking me to eat the chips, and when I asked them if I looked hungry, they burst out laughing.”
Mbalo said he decided to stop waiting at the table after the teenagers insisted on him eating their leftover chips.
“The chips were literally leftovers dipped in sauces. One of them said: ‘eat here you look hungry’.”
The note the teens left on the bill, saying “ the R4 tip is for hungry Africans”, was noticed by Mbalo after the trio left.
Waiter Onke Nodyodi, 21, said he ran after the teenagers to give them a “good hiding” but was stopped by colleagues.
“I was very angry. I was ready to beat them but a female colleague of mine said let us rather bring them to the manager.”
Mbalo said when the teens were asked what their note had meant, they’d replied that they were adding hope for hungry children, a reference to a poverty alleviation campaign run by rival food outlet, KFC. Mbalo said he had returned the R4.
The restaurant’s manager, William Hanker, subsequently let the trio go.
A patron who witnessed the incident, Nceba Mashalaba, said the incident had spoiled his meal.
“I stepped in and confronted the manager because waiters were complaining about how he’d let the offenders go,” Mashalaba said.
“His reply was that the boys had left the store and were brought back and that the policy of Spur was that nothing could be done once customers have left the place. But what I asked him is what about those customers who were chased and brought back to wash dishes for dodging the bill?”
Cambridge police spokesperson Captain Mluleki Mbi said police had taken statements from witnesses and the investigation was continuing.
On Sunday Las Vegas Spur left the following comment on their Facebook page: "It is with regret that the management of Las Vegas Spur confirm an incident took place here on 22 March 2019. Three teenage male customers were served by our waitron, they racially abused our employee and left a note on the till slip with a derogatory comment.Unfortunately, the waitron only brought the matter to the attention of management once the customers had left. The management of Las Vegas Spur vehemently condemns this atrocious act and we do not condone use of derogatory, racist or sexist behaviour or language.Contrary to social media comments, management did not make light of this serious matter. We arranged counselling for our employee and have had further meetings with our staff. Should our staff need to take this further, we as management of Las Vegas Spur will support them. We will always do our best to protect our employees and patrons against such actions as the safety, comfort and dignity of our employees and customers remains our main priority."
malibongwed@dispatch.co.za..

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