Wine Drinker Divides Internet Over 'Rude' Comments From Waitress

A woman claiming that a "judgmental" waitress tried to push her into buying a bottle of wine—asking the customer "do you know just how much wine you drink?—has divided users on Mumsnet.

In a post shared on the online forum, Mumsnet user OvOvO said that: "Almost every time we go [to my local bar] they want to flog us the bottle and I always say no thanks," explaining that she tends to have a large glass of rose wine and then a couple of smaller ones.

However, the user claimed that one day when "they tried to push the bottle" on her again and she refused the offer, a woman who was "helping out behind the bar" but not a staff member allegedly told her "do you know just how much wine you drink? You would save money by buying the bottle."

The user then replied "judgmental much?" to the woman behind the bar.

OvOvO said: "DH [dear husband] thinks I was rude but I think she was rude. Nobody tries to push a f***ing barrel on lager drinkers or a whole gin bottle on gin drinkers."

Several Mumsnet users came to the defense of the waitress, with some saying she was "trying to do you a favor" and "be helpful."

Frogface8 stated the user was rude, noting: "Poor girl sounds like she was actually trying to do you a favor not judge you, did she touch a nerve perhaps?!"

ElenaSt: "I don't think she [the waitress] was rude at all. She was merely pointing out that it was cheaper to buy the bottle rather than you keep ordering individual glasses. You were rude to her."

LightlySo: "Maybe it's a bit clumsy but I took the comment about how much wine you drink to mean in comparison to the bottle of wine. I don't think she [the waitress] was being judgemental."

MidwichCuckoo agreed, writing: "She phrased it wrongly, but probably was trying to be helpful and save you money."

In a reply to comments about it being more economical to buy a bottle, the original poster said: "The bottle costs a whole 50 pence less than buying drinks singularly—plus they don't provide an ice bucket so I would be effectively drinking warm wine and saving 50p [shoulder shrug emoji]."

Some said the user's reaction to the waitress was "very defensive," and "tetchy," and questioned whether the original poster is "uneasy" about the amount she drinks.

LoudingVoice said that while the waitress "phrased her comment clumsily," the user was rude, adding: "You're clearly drinking virtually a bottle so I don't know why you're being so tetchy about it."

Johnnysgirl said: "You thinking she was being judgemental is very defensive. Are you uneasy with the amount you drink? She works in a bar, she doesn't give a s**t how much punters drink."

Others were supportive of the original poster, agreeing that the waitress was rude in this situation.

Sauvignonblanket said the waitress "shouldn't have been so rude," adding that: "It's entirely your business if you don't want to buy a bottle and patronizing to think you can't do the maths."

DetectiveChristineCagney also said the waitress was rude, explaining: "It's like they assumed you didn't understand the prices, as well as commenting on your drinking habits."

SantiMakesMeLaugh agreed, noting: "Yes it might have been an attempt to tell you it would be cheaper blablabla. It was still rude."

ThisisMax stated: "The customer is always right. A bar is where you go for a drink, your choice what you drink or how much you drink. It's not the bar staff's place to present you with [the] economics of purchase or comment on their consumption patterns."