A Japanese waitress working in a Texas Hooters has quit after discovering racist abuse on a receipt.
As reported by Times Record News, 22-year-old Elina Blackstock has quit her position as a Hooters waitress in Texas after a customer wrote a racial slur on a receipt.
Blackstock was serving a table of white family members on Sunday who mocked her for being Asian and wrote a racial slur on their receipt. The waitress, who had said Hooters was her dream job, quit the following day.
“Get a different job damn jandice,” the note read. Blackstock believes the customer meant to write “jaundice”.
The family also only gave a 70 cent tip on their $70 bill.
In a post on Facebook, the Japanese emmigrant wrote, “I can’t believe this happened to me today. No matter how hard I work there is always some jerk that wants to judge me by my race.”
“I’m the only Asian that works there,” she added. “I was kind of expecting that would happen to me sooner or later, but it was worse than I expected. I am still in shock what just happened to me today!!”
Speaking to Times Record News, Blackstock said she was in tears over the incident but, “some people think I was overreacting, and I need to get over it.”
She added that some people do not understand the meaning behind “jaundice” for Asians.
“I think some people don’t understand what the word ‘jaundice’ means, but it’s a racial slur for Asians,” she said.
“Some people think I made this up for attention, and I need to stop being a victim,” Blackstock added. “But people need to know racism exists.”
Blackstock was criticised for noting that the customers were “a white family” in her description of the incident.
“It don’t matter if they’re a white, black or Hispanic family. It is racism,” she said.
Reflecting on her time working for Hooters, she said, “I love it here actually. I met so many nice people.”
Speaking about Hooters Chief Executive Officer Terry Marks, who called her, Blackstock said, “he was very sweet, and he was worried about me.”
Chief legal office for Hooters of America Claudia Levitas said in a statement, “we were deeply troubled to learn of this customer’s disgraceful language and the offensive note directed at Elina.”
“It is sad that this type of behavior still exists. As soon as our managers found out about it yesterday, they comforted Elina and told her that we would ban the customers if they tried to return,” Levitas added.
Miss Hooters International 2018 Laiken Baumgartner expressed her support too.
“Hi sweet girl,” Baumgartner wrote in a note. “You are such a beautiful young woman, and Hooters is PROUD to have you. I am so sorry that someone would actually treat you in such a way.”
