Waitress receives $2,000 in donations after she was left zero tip and rude note

We all know the expression “don’t shoot the messenger”, and yet some people still choose to lash out at workers who are just doing their jobs.

This is what happened to a waitress at a brewery-restaurant in New Jersey last week, when customers furious at the eatery’s coronavirus policy took it out on their hard-working server.

The US state of New Jersey allows restaurants to open and serve provided they run at 50 per cent seating capacity and take other Covid-secure measures to keep customers safe.

The Glenbrook Brewery, where the incident took place, limits all seatings to 90 minutes or under to ensure they can serve as many diners as possible during opening hours.

The waitress, named only as Beth, approached the table of four after they’d been at their table for about 80 minutes to let them know their time was almost up, the brewery’s creative director Darren Cregan told TODAY.

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The policy is displayed prominently at the door of the restaurant, via signs on each table, and online so that people can see it when making a booking.

Yet, these punters were so furious at the restaurant’s policy that they refused to leave a tip when paying their bill.

"I’m sorry the server gets screwed on this," one of the diners scrawled on the $86 receipt. "Don’t kick paying customers out after 90 mins."

Cregan explained that one of the eatery’s managers saw how irritated the group looked and asked: “Did you enjoy yourself?” The customer replied “yes.”

The manager then asked: “’Was the beer good?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Was the service good?’ ‘Yes.’ But he still chose to leave zero tip," Cregan added.

Head Brewer Heath Traver told the show that Beth is a nurse who is working a second job at the brewery to fund her way through a doctoral programme.

"She’s working towards that, she’s really hard worker and a sweet girl," he said.

"It hurt a little extra because she’s outstanding."

Although Traver insisted that the restaurant "didn’t intend" for the fall-out to become public, it quickly garnered traction in a local Facebook group, the Morristown Stimulus Plan.

People in the group began raising money for Beth, and soon donations snowballed to more than $1,700.

"This is a reminder to be kind and respectful to your servers, we are all trying to do our best to ensure that you have a safe and good time while out," the caption to a photo of the receipt read.

"Thanks to everyone in our community who has been supportive and generous during these times."

Traver said that Beth plans to "put the (money) back into the community," taking just some of it for herself.

Some of the remaining funds will be split among the restaurant’s other employees, and Beth also aims to help health care workers, he added.