Mexican Restaurant Bartender In Texas Receives 'Tip' To 'Build The (Expletive) Wall Now'

A customer who dined in a Mexican restaurant Sunday in West Texas didn't leave gratuity for their server, but rather suggested a "tip." After a plate of asado with two tortillas and one Mexican beer, the customer left the tip line blank under the $17.55 total amount and, instead, wrote a message.

"My tip is to build the (expletive) wall now!"

Hehsus Baeza, a bartender at Tkilaz Mexican Restaurant Bar and Grill in Midland, Texas, took a screenshot of the customer's receipt and posted it on his personal Facebook page with this message:

"How are you going to eat a plate of asado and drink a Dos XX and write this! #hypocrite."

When the local media reached out to him for comment, Baeza sent a direct message back stating, "I'm still taken aback by all this. I didn't expect this kind of reaction (from a customer)."

It didn't take long for Baeza's Facebook post to get 346 comments and 555 shares. The curse word used in the message was blacked out, as was the customer's signature on the receipt.

The Midland Reporter-Telegram said Baeza planned to ask his employer for advice on how to handle the matter.

Most servers work for tips, and it's not unusual for customers to forgo leaving one. However, there aren't always messages like Baeza received Sunday. The trend is seen more often now on social media.

In New Jersey last month, a waitress at Under the Moon Cafe in Bordentown received a message on the back of her receipt that read "Don't Tip Immigrants!!!"

Nine days ago at Charrito's Bar & Grill in Huntsville, Ala., a customer left a blatantly racist remark on a receipt. The message read "Brown c–ts … Trump will f–k you all."

It's not always as it appears, though. Last summer at the Saltgrass Steak House in Odessa, Texas, server Khalila Cavil reported that a customer wrote "we don't tip terrorists" on their $108 check. Cavil posted his misery to Facebook, only to get busted for writing the note himself. He later told the Odessa American of his made-up hoax: "I don't have an explanation. I made a mistake. There is no excuse for what I did."

A border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border has become one of the most-talked-about topics in politics, especially in Texas, which shares more border with Mexico than any other state.

Midland is a little more than 200 miles — or three and a half driving hours — to the nearest Texas city (Langtry) along the Mexican border.

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Scott McDonald is a Newsweek deputy night editor based in Cape Coral, Florida. His focus is assigning and writing stories ... Read more

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