After nearly two decades working in television news, I’ve learned to be a bit more judicious when perusing headlines.
In other words, I don’t believe half of what I see published these days, especially viral items that sweep the globe and become water cooler fodder, despite there being very little fact checking prior to their circulation.
But, hey, sensationalism sells, so why mess up the money-making process by letting a little thing like the truth get in the way?
It’s a question single moms around the world are left to ponder yet again thanks to an anonymous server who claims to have been stiffed by a financially strapped parent.
By now, you’ve probably seen the posting on Reddit which features a photo of a restaurant receipt for $138.35 with a handwritten note on the tip line that reads: “Single mom, sorry.”
Underneath the three-word excuse for stiffing the server is this line allegedly scrawled by the poor single parent: “Thank you it was great.”
That’s followed by the Reddit poster’s response: “I’m sure $140 could have gotten you and your kids a week worth of groceries, but instead you spend it on one meal?! For shame!”
Is the situation embarrassing? Yes. Insulting? Absolutely. Disgusting? Without a doubt. Fake? More than likely.
When it comes to playing the shame blame game, my money is on the anonymous Reddit poster.
A single mom forking over 140 bucks for a meal, and then stiffing the server; I’m not buying it.
And you don’t have to be a solo parent to question the legitimacy of the viral posting. Several very married moms have gone public speculating that the receipt might be “a very awful prank to make single moms look bad.”
The Washington Post even weighed in, noting that incident points to a larger issue about single moms being used “as the butt of jokes or, even worse, a scapegoat for societal ills.”
The implication that single moms are entitled to dine and ditch wait staff because they are financially strapped is far from amusing.
Also, not funny: Using the Internet to throw single moms under the bus and perpetuating the negative attitude associated with women who are trying to make life tolerable for their kids and themselves.
For the record, there are millions of people out there who stiff restaurant servers, door men, cab drivers, porters, and thousands of others working in the service industry, only their rudeness doesn’t typically make headlines.
Would we even be talking about the Reddit post if the non-tipper in question wasn’t allegedly a single mom?
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