A waiter in Kansas has turned an ugly customer interaction into a cause for celebration.
Noah Bierig, 19, a server at Bubba’s 33 in Wichita, says things felt off when he was serving a group of young men at the restaurant on a Sunday two weeks ago.
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“The first time I went up to the table, they were just shooting me a couple dirty looks,” Bierig told KAKE News. “And every time I would walk away, they would kind of just start laughing a little bit.”
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He caught one customer in particular staring at his painted nails and Pride bracelet, a gift his mom gave him when he came out in eighth grade. Bierig said he’s gotten nothing but support since, which is one reason this interaction felt so off.
“I’m not used to sort of blatant homophobia like that,” Bierig said.
But it got worse.
After the party left, Bierig was shocked to find one of the group’s receipts had no tip; that line was filled in with the word “f*g.”
“That hurt me a lot,” Bierig shared. “I’m not the type to cry at work, but I gotta say, that was definitely the first time that had happened to me.”
Soon after, the receipt got posted online by one of Bierig’s friends, revealing the customer’s name signed and printed below the slur.
The customer’s account was flooded with comments condemning his hurtful and cowardly action, along with support for the waiter he’d verbally abused.
Remarkably, the customer apologized — with a caveat.
“I know it was wrong of me to write what I did and for that I am very sorry,” he wrote on Facebook. “The overall dining experience wasn’t that great and I shouldn’t have dealt with it by saying what I did.”
That post and the customer’s social media pages have since disappeared.
The good news: Bierig’s friends set up an online fund through Proud of Wichita, the town’s LGBTQ+ chamber of commerce, that’s raised thousands of dollars for the scorned server. Bierig says he’s donating it all to charity.
“Whatever comes out comes from that, it’s going to be donated,” Bierig explained.
“There’s an organization called GLSEN. It’s essentially an anti-bullying organization. It helps out kids who are LGBT kids, specifically who are getting bullied in school.”
Of the outpouring of support, Bierig said, “It’s absolutely insane. I never thought anything like this would happen based off just a couple Facebook posts from my friends and family.”
Bierig says Bubba’s 33 is matching his donation to GLSEN, and he’s happy some good has come out of an ugly situation. He wants young kids like him to know that they’re never alone.
“Love is always the most important thing,” Bierig said. “That no matter what, you’ll always be able to find your support even if you think that there isn’t any more in the world.”
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