Waiter overhears woman is pregnant and serves her alcohol-free cocktails behind her back

Sometimes it’s best not to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations, or you might find yourself in a little bit of a pickle like this waiter…

A Reddit user by the name of YouGottaStopThat recently shared an incident that occurred during his three-year experience as a waiter.

During his night shift on evening, four women in their late 20s walked into the restaurant. They seemed pleasant and ordered house cocktails.

While returning to their table with the drinks, the waiter overheard their conversation about one of them being 14 weeks pregnant. Despite this, he took their entrée orders, thinking it wasn’t a big deal for a pregnant woman to have one alcoholic drink.

However, his concern grew when they requested another round of drinks five minutes later. He discreetly asked the bartender to prepare a virgin cocktail for the woman he assumed was pregnant. As the night carried, the group became more animated, and the pregnant woman joined in, unaware that her drinks were non-alcoholic.

When the women were ready to pay, the pregnant woman came to the counter. The waiter realized her cocktails were marked “virgin” on the check, a manual edit by the bartender. He let her pay, hoping she wouldn’t notice the change on the bill.

She didn’t notice initially and left a generous tip. However, the pregnant woman returned and asked about the “virgin” label. Confused, the waiter explained it meant non-alcoholic. But the woman requested her part of the tip back and spoke to the manager, who then reprimanded the server.

The manager claimed customers weren’t obligated to disclose their medical history. Despite the backlash, the Reddit poster stood his ground, citing the risk of fetal alcohol syndrome. The manager took him off the schedule, mentioning potential discrimination issues.

The Reddit user sought opinions on whether he was wrong or not. Responses were varied, with one user suggesting the woman might not have been pregnant: “She could be waiting to give birth to a stillborn. She could have a metabolic disorder that gives her huge stomach distention. She could be fat and carries it on her stomach. She could’ve had a laparoscopic surgery that included gas to inflate her abdomen.”

The comment continued: “She could’ve given birth a few days ago and her stomachs not back to normal. The thing is that a customer isn’t obligated and doesn’t want to give you their medical history to justify their dietary choices. Besides, 1 drink in late pregnancy is not harmful. It’s much worse during the stages when you wouldn’t be able to guess just by looking.”

Others highlighted the importance of respecting privacy when it comes to dietary choices.

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