A mother of six who works in a restaurant was forced to confront an elderly man who claimed he stole cash tips left for her by previous customers.
Brittany Baker was hard at work during a shift at a Perkins restaurant in Fargo, Indiana, on Saturday when a man allegedly grabbed money from the table right next to his booth.
“I watched him do it while I was at the computer and I was like, 'Oh my God!' Baker shared with Valley News Live. “I had no idea what to do.”
The man then stood up and walked around the restaurant, apparently looking for money on other tables, Baker claimed in a TikTok video.
The server's colleagues were reluctant to make a scene but insisted on asking her for her money back.
The footage showed Baker walking up to the man, who was sitting in a booth by the window with his wife, and demanding money.
“I just wanted to say that I noticed you took money from this table and that money is mine,” Baker said in the now-viral clip. “That's my advice I gave at that table so I don't feel comfortable serving you until I get it back.”
The customer grabbed his wallet and handed her a few dollars, muttering an inaudible response.
“Is that all there is?” – asked Becker.
“That's all there was,” the customer replied.
Baker took the money and walked away but believes he did not give her the full reward she was owed.
“He cut the money off another pile of money, so I feel like he didn't give it all back,” Baker told the outlet. “He gave me back two dollars. There was definitely five and some others, so I don't feel like he gave me the full amount back.”
Baker suspects this wasn't his first time looking for cash at the casual chain restaurant.
“One of my coworkers told me this was the couple who tried to go out last weekend,” Baker shared.
In a follow-up TikTok video, Baker added that the man tried to get out of the bill after the confrontation before his wife “stopped him and made him pay.”
He did not leave a tip.
“This was very intentional,” Baker claimed in her video. “He knew exactly what he was doing, whether he was an old man or not.”
“And I work in North Dakota, so I only make $4.86 an hour, so tips are a big deal to me. I have kids to feed at home,” she added.
Some social media users praised Baker's courage in standing up to the elderly customer while others suggested they would escort him out of the restaurant.
Another TikTok user said: “I was going to fire him, getting older shouldn't mean a thief,” while a third added: “This is why I always hand my tips directly to my server.”
