Newport Beach restaurant: 1% tip a hoax

[stopbush]

Social media is abuzz over the infamous “1% tipper” story involving True Food Kitchen in Newport Beach.

The story about a 1% tipper in Orange County has been making the rounds on Twitter and Facebook since Friday. In a blog, an anonymous employee dubbed Future Exbanker, posted a photo (shown right) of a receipt left by his or her boss at True Food Kitchen in Fashion Island.

The employer, according to the photo, left $1.33 tip on a bill of $133. 54. Making matters worse, an insulting message is left for server Breanna: “Get a real job.”

Who is Breanna? Who is this alleged cheapskate banker? And, what exactly went down that day at True Food Kitchen?

This afternoon, True Food Kitchen, finally responded to the viral blog post — calling much of it a hoax. The original receipt was altered, including the tip amount, the restaurant told The Register.

“True Food Kitchen was able to determine a number of things were altered in comparison to the merchant copy. The total bill was $33.54 and the tip was more than $7. The handwritten note was not authentic either,” True Food Kitchen’s Jami Reagan told The Register late Monday night.

Earlier today, the Newport Beach restaurant posted this message on its Facebook page:

“We’re glad to respond to the news stories about a tipping incident at True Food Kitchen in Newport Beach. Our first concern is with our staff, we are very fortunate to have employees that are talented, bright, and undoubtedly, some of the best in the business.

We’re also glad to be able to clear up some misinformation regarding the incident at True Food Kitchen in Newport Beach. The receipt that was originally posted on the blog, Future Ex Banker, and then republished by various websites, was, in fact, altered and exaggerated. We can also assure you that the receipt was not posted and altered by anyone on behalf of True Food Kitchen. We respect our guests’ privacy and take it very seriously; we would never share personal information.”

The Register tried to contact “FutureExBanker” via Twitter on Friday, but the blogger has yet to respond. His website was shutdown late Friday, according to HuffPost. His Twitter account is also offline.

http://fastfood.ocregister.com/2012/02/27/newport-beach-restaurant-reacts-to-1-tipper-photo/150695/

[bluestateguy]

1. That would be a good thing

I'd hate to think anyone could be so cruel.

Any anyone who would make up a story like this is a damn fool.

[RKP5637]

4. Yep, was a quick study in the power of deception and all of those who believed it

to be true ... because in a certain sense it seemed so believable.

[zipplewrath]

31. Believeable because so common

It was believeable because it is so common. I KNOW people who give 1 penny tips, or 10% tips for various reasons. They all have their reasons, but it does go on. If there was anything here that should have "tipped" us, it was that the actual server probably would have deleted her name, and the name of the restaurant from any photos.

[RKP5637]

38. Yep, good point, it probably would've meant a job loss. n/t

[renate]

40. I think the story was that the picture was taken by the guy's employee, not the server

Which would explain why the name of the server and the restaurant weren't deleted. Not saying that makes the story true, but that's why the names appearing didn't make the story less believable.

And like you said, it was a believable story because customers act like that often. Ick.

[onehandle]

2. It was clearly a hoax. nt

[villager]

3. Clearly. The 1% are the kindest people on earth.

n/t

[oldhippie]

5. How do you know there was a 1%er involved?

A $33 lunch tab does not signify a 1%er. My lunch tabs usually run more than that if my wife is with me.

[villager]

6. Glad to hear about your lunch tabs. The putative hoax, as you know, was pinned on a 1%er.

My point was, it didn't feel hoax-y to most people because the behavior was so believably 1%ish.

[Lucky Luciano]

9. No, it's your imagination and stereotype of 1% behavior.

Few people are that blatantly nasty. Very few...far fewer than 1%.

[villager]

10. Yes, I'd forgotten all the examples of the kindness of banks which permeate the news lately...

Thank you for reminding me. You must rely on the kindness of banks, Blanche DuBois-style, yourself, I take it?

[Lucky Luciano]

11. Big difference between being in person

and making a callous decision with a balance sheet.

[villager]

12. Sometimes they do it when they're looking out their windows

?w=750


http://brandtstandard.com/2011/10/06/chicago-mercantile-exchange-protects-identity-of-we-are-the-1-sign-maker/

[Lucky Luciano]

35. Still quite different from in your face nastiness

to one specific person.

[villager]

46. still exemplary of their callousness

n/t

[Geoff R. Casavant]

16. The altered photo lunch tab was $133.00

A $33 lunch is as likely to be one of the 99% as it is one of the 1%, but when it gets into triple digits, it's less likely to be a 99%er. The tip amount was also altered from $7 down to $1 and change.

[Art_from_Ark]

17. How many 99-percenters can afford a $33 lunch?

I've never spent that much on a restaurant meal, especially not a lunch. Spending that much on a lunch is definitely the domain of the upper tier of the 99%.

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. Sometimes, more than one person eats together, and they get a joint bill

The story said that the photo was taken by one person, and the receipt left by their boss, so there were at least 2 people at the lunch.

[Art_from_Ark]

21. That's still nearly $17 per person

It would have to be a really special occasion before I'd pay that much for a lunch.

[snooper2]

22. So you've never been to Hooters?

[HopeHoops]

43. Yeah - $17 will pay for lunch AND beer for two - before the tip of course.

[snooper2]

44. No, that would just be for me :)

20 wings and a couple beers adds up quick

[HopeHoops]

45. We usually just split a grilled cheese or a cheese quesadilla and grab a pitcher of Lager.

[AngryAmish]

27. I haven't spent $17 on lunch in over forty eight hours...

[oldhippie]

39. I have lunch at a little Mexican place every Thursday .....

.... with five previous co-workers. (I'm retired, but the others were all laid off over a year ago and still unemployed.) I usually get a chile rellano or a chicken taco salad, and a couple of Dos Equis. My bill usually comes to $20 plus change including tax. Each of us leaves a $10 tip. We get pretty good service and the manager always comes over to talk to us.

The point is we are definitely not in the top tier of the 99%. A $20 lunch tab plus tip is not uncommon at all.

[Art_from_Ark]

58. So you pay $30 for a lunch that you could probably make yourself for $3 or $4

and you still consider $30 to be a reasonable price?

Wow, I wish I had money like that to burn.

[Proud Public Servant]

28. Well, this is kind of the problem with the "We are the 99%" meme

That 99% covers a lot of ground. Given that a household with a $250,000/year income is nevertheless part of the 99%, I think you'll find that dropping $20 on lunch isn't a 1%-er perogative.

[muriel_volestrangler]

33. It may depend on the area; as it turns out, True Food Kitchen is pretty expensive, I'd say

Here's their lunch menu: http://www.truefoodkitchen.com/public/pdfs/fashion-island/TrueFood_NP_Lunch_Web.pdf

An 'Apple Carrot Ginger Tonic' and a Farmers' Market Salad would cost $17. If one person had a (non-alcoholic) drink, a starter and an entree, they could spend the $33 on their own.

[Beacool]

50. The prices are pretty average for my area.

Then again, I'm in NJ across the river from Manhattan.

The food selection looks pretty healthy. I almost thought that it was a vegetarian restaurant, except for the bison burger.

[muriel_volestrangler]

52. There's a fair amount of meat there, often as options

which puts the price up again - add chicken to a salad, and it's another $5, or salmon for $10. Steak with teriyaki rice or tacos, turkey, salmon, chicken. They have structured it so there's lots of vegetarian options too.

[MineralMan]

53. There are also several gluten-free offerings.

It's a little pricey for me for a normal lunch, but not out of line for that area, certainly.

[Beacool]

54. I guess it depends on the area.

Around here you will find similar menu prices. That's why I usually take my lunch to work.

[Beacool]

55. Yep, a little for everybody's taste.

[Johnny Rico]

29. I'm not in the 99%, and I regularly spend that much when I go out for sushi.

For that matter, I've spent over $100 on individual meals at fancy restaurants. As a treat, granted, but still...

[Beacool]

49. That amount in my area (NJ/NY) is not outrageous.

Last week I had dinner with a couple of friends in an average restaurant in my neighborhood. We each paid $42.

[Jennicut]

51. With two people? Pretty normal where I live.

Then again, I live in Connecticut so our prices are usually higher then in the rest of the country. But $33 sounds reasonable to me. It depends on what you order. Steak and seafood are usually pricier then pasta or chicken dishes.

[JSnuffy]

60. Really?

Think about the math on that one and get back to me.

[Dreamer Tatum]

63. Oh BULLSHIT.

Jesus Christ, that's an AVERAGE lunch bill. Sorry you don't get out more. And I'm not the 1%.

[oldhippie]

34. It wasn't $133 ........

Didn't you read the post? The original receipt was for $33.

“True Food Kitchen was able to determine a number of things were altered in comparison to the merchant copy. The total bill was $33.54 and the tip was more than $7. The handwritten note was not authentic either,” True Food Kitchen’s Jami Reagan told The Register late Monday night.

[muriel_volestrangler]

47. The post you replied to said "The altered photo lunch tab was $133.00"

Didn't you read the word 'altered'?

[oldhippie]

48. True, and if I mis-read then I apologize ........

But the poster also said "...but when it gets into triple digits, it's less likely to be a 99%er." From which I inferred that he thought it was still $133, even if other items on the receipt were altered.

I may have mis-read, and my reply was overly snarky (a known weakness of mine) so I apologize to you both.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

65. I did read the post -- hence, I was referring to the altered photo.

As in, the photo as it was altered.

Edited -- and I just now noticed someone else pointed this out to you and you apologized, so my apologies for piling on.

[Lucky Luciano]

7. Yep...I pointed that out in the original thread.

Come on...as i said in that thread, who shits where they eat?

[MineralMan]

24. Yup. Me, too.

Caution is always needed with stories like this.

[cherokeeprogressive]

59. Don't you find it strange that some would be disappointed in knowing this was a hoax?

What's the term... confirmation bias?

[LanternWaste]

26. I imagine the clearest hoaxes

I imagine the clearest hoaxes are the ones which run contrary to our belief systems.

[Robb]

8. Reality rarely confirms biases so precisely.

It's an excellent thing to remember when hoping to avoid grifters.

[FrodosPet]

13. 1%ers who don't tip

Driving taxi: MLB and NBA players with an attractive young lady going to the casino - at least a $10 tip. Baseball and basketball players going alone or with a couple buddies - you are lucky if they don't try to talk the fare down because you are so privileged to be in the same car with them.

During the Ryder cup, I had a golfer ask me if I would take an autograph instead of the $60 fare, since I could sell it for more. I told him the only way I would take it is on a credit card slip.

[Incitatus]

15. I know someone who has done delivery for some athletes and celebrities in Orlando,

and claims they tip very well and most of the other people in the same area with million dollar + homes, not as much.

[AngryAmish]

30. Who was it?

I am volunteering at the Ryder Cup this year on the transportation committee. I need to warn the drivers when someone is so obviously an asshole.

Obviously there is no taxi driver - passenger privilege, so who was it?

[onenote]

41. +1

I'd like to know who it was as well. Is there a particular reason why you're protecting this person?

[FrodosPet]

57. I don't watch golf

It wasn't Tiger Woods or that walrus looking guy, so I don't remember.

The only celebs I drove I remember the names of were Bjork and Brad Paisley. I also drove some actor from the O.C. - can't remember his name, and a member of "Huey Lewis and the News".

Otherwise, they just blend into the crowd. Some of them are generous, friendly and respectful, some are cheapskate dirtbags. Just like the rest of the 1%ers and 99%ers I drove.

[AngryAmish]

61. What year and where?

[FrodosPet]

64. 2008 PGA Championship, not Ryder Cup, at Oakland Hills

Like I said, I'm not a golf fan (except for miniature golf with some cool friends). The Ryder Cup was 3 years before I started driving.

I miss the job, meeting and talking to people from all parts of the world and all levels of the economic scale. Except for the people who suck.

[Initech]

14. I have one thing to say to that.

Or maybe:

[malaise]

19. Thanks for this n/t

[dogknob]

20. Having worked in restaurants at many levels for a long time...

... I believed it because it happens all the time. Not snarky notes on the bill, but 1%ers consistently stiffing.

[WI_DEM]

23. local morning news anchor reported this morning this was a hoak with a smirk

on his face and then said, 'Once again the media jumps to conclusions.' because we all know that the 1% couldn't have done anything like this.

[MineralMan]

25. K&R for all the believers of this story to see.

Some DUers weren't so quick to assume this was true.

[mainer]

36. And anyone who doubted it was not treated so kindly here

Sometimes, outrageous behavior is so outrageous that any thinking person has to question if it's real.

[ecstatic]

32. I didn't believe it

not because I think the "1%" are nice people, but because most people just aren't talking about the 99/1 thing. That discussion seems to be limited to the Internet and some pundits on TV.

[LoZoccolo]

37. In b4 "it was an infiltrator designed to make the Occupy movement look bad." n/t

[pintobean]

62. Lol, LoZ

[timesup]

42. B$ alarm broken?

That story didn't pass the sniff test, I didn't even need to see a picture.

[randome]

56. I didn't even bother reading the original story when I first saw it posted here.

It smelled right from the start, didn't it?