My brother and his family from Ireland are staying with me for the week. Last night, my brother, my two nephews and myself went out to dinner at a local diner while his wife and daughters were shopping. My seven year old nephew loves American hot dogs. He said that the hot dogs in Ireland are shite. He heard that we have foot-long hot dogs in America and couldn't wait to get one and has been talking about it for weeks.
The diner did not have foot-long hot dogs, but had a hot dog meal on the kids' menu. We told him it wasn't a foot-long, but he wanted us to ask any way. When the waitress came to take our order, my brother ordered the hot dog meal for my nephew, who asked the waitress if it was a foot long. With his Irish accent, she did not understand him. My brother wanted to appease him and was seeking to have the waitress help him in this endeavor. He looked at her (she was late teens/early twenties and attractive) winked and said, "You have a foot-long right?"
The statement went right over her head and she immediately took offense. Her response was, "I wish!" and she stormed off. I looked at my brother and we just started laughing for the next five minutes. I knew our service would suffer from that point on. My brother tried to explain the situation to her, but I don't think she ever understood it.
So the bill comes and the total is $35 and some odd change. I paid for it on my credit card and my brother left a $5 tip in cash. After what had happened, I left another $2. So she got a 20 percent tip, which I think is at least standard. When I signed the credit card statement, I put a line through the tip spot and left the signed slip and cash in the portfolio thing.
Today, I checked my statement and apparently, she decided she deserved more of a tip on my credit card. An extra $8 was added to the withdrawal. What should I do? Should I call my bank, the restaurant, ignore it and never eat there again?
It really was a funny situation and I know how she could have misconstrued it, but that doesn't give her a right to take an extra $8, does it?
Please no Lyle references (which I know I just invited).









