Screen grab of the receipt
A Black woman received a receipt with the n-word written on it after a night of food and drinks with white friends at the London-based bar The Happenstance over the weekend.
The woman was the only Black person in the group when she received the racially charged receipt, according to the Evening Standard. She saw the slur among the list of foods she ordered when the waiter brought the receipt after after her meal. The ticket read “no ice n****.” The restaurant responded initially by saying they did not know how it got there.
The bar was majority white, making the woman stand out even more, according to Twitter user Jehansdream:
a friend just received this bill from the white staff at london's @happenstancebar (@drakeandmorgan). pic.twitter.com/kHzE1NllxT
— Jehan (@jehansdream) March 27, 2016
she was the sole blackgirl amongst a group of white girls, in a white bar. the staff's response: "we don't know how that got there". sure.
— Jehan (@jehansdream) March 27, 2016
After a storm of Twitter backlash, the company responded with a formal apology today:
“We are appalled by the unacceptable behavior of one of our waiting staff. He has been suspended from duty pending a full disciplinary. We have contacted two members of the group that were at The Happenstance yesterday afternoon and have apologized unequivocally. Drake and Morgan [owners of The Happenstance] as a business do not discriminate on the grounds of race, age, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, disability or color. The principles of non-discrimination and equality of opportunity also apply to the way in which staff treat customers as well as colleagues. We cannot apologize enough and are saddened that one person’s irresponsible behavior could risk damaging our reputation.”
The Mirror reported that the staff member responsible has been suspended pending an investigation.
Further details about the incident have yet to be released.
