Latest news with #JackF
New York Post
15-07-2025
- General
- New York Post
‘Cheapskate' diner takes back tip after being ‘humiliated' by server — but is he in the right?
He'd reached a 'no tipping' point. A diner has divided commenters after rescinding a gratuity after a waitress 'scolded' and 'humiliated' him in front of the other customers, as detailed in a viral Reddit post. 'I just can't believe it happened the way that it did,' spluttered the bewildered Redditor. The incident reportedly occurred while the man and his girlfriend were dining at an Italian restaurant they'd been to several times before. The poster described the eatery as nothing too fancy, but perfect for a 'relaxed evening' over a glass of wine. The unimpressed diner decided to leave her a 10% gratuity, which he deemed 'reasonable given the circumstances.' MargJohnsonVA – Unfortunately, their quiet night on the town was marred by 'poor' service from their waitress. 'She lost my drink twice; served the wrong starter; and vanished for what seemed like an eternity when it arrived time to order dessert,' recalled the flummoxed customer. 'It wasn't the end of the world; I've worked customer service myself; and I get that hectic nights go wild.' Nonetheless, the unimpressed diner decided to leave her a 10% gratuity, which he deemed 'reasonable given the circumstances.' The server, however, did not see it that way and proceeded to lay into the patron over what she felt was a stingy gratuity. 'We were just standing up to leave when [the waitress] came over, took the cash and said, 'Seriously? This is it?'' he recounted. 'She had said it audibly. A few people at some nearby tables turned around and stared.' The server laid into the patron over what she felt was a stingy gratuity. JackF – The Redditor said he was rendered speechless by the outburst, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. 'Then she added, 'You know, servers can't pay their rent because of people like you … If you can't tip properly, don't dine out,'' he said. The tirade reportedly caused the other patrons to fall silent and his girlfriend to wince, but the man remained calm and replied, 'I'm sorry you feel that way.' That's when the waitress retorted 'Whatever, cheapskates' — loud enough for the other diners to hear. This response didn't sit well with the diner, who 'walked over to the table; took the tip; and left without another word.' 'I feel like [being] scolded and humiliated on account of a 10% tip that I actually did leave is way out of bounds,' he declared. While the Redditor's girlfriend said his decision was 'fine,' a friend claimed that he'd 'overstepped.' However, many Reddit commenters claimed they would've taken their gratuity back as well. 'She expected and then demanded a good tip for a crappy job,' said one. 'You were nice enough to leave her something but she wanted to be ungrateful.' 'I would've told her 'tip reflects your service,'' said another. 'I would probably have pointed out why the tip was not higher,' said a third. 'And I would also contact the restaurant to speak to a manager because that server was way out of line. I would've taken the tip back as well.' However, others felt the tip retraction was unfair with one critic commenting, 'Tipping 10% is insane. You are cheap.' Another claimed that the 'petty' move inadvertently punished colleagues who were pooling tips with the waitress. They said that a better solution would've been to inform the manager and have them speak with her.
New York Post
23-06-2025
- New York Post
Traveler's cruise takes a turn after family attempts to stop them from drinking alcohol — but they got the last laugh
Reddit user 'nurseB89' shared her recent experience on a forum in which people question whether they're in the wrong. The woman said the hotel where she was staying had club-style seating, with eight people per table paired together 'to encourage a sense of community and conversation.' Advertisement 'Last night, I was seated first and had a glass of wine,' the woman wrote. Soon after, she was joined by two adults and three children who were seated at her table. The mother of that family turned to the woman and said, 'We do not wish to expose our children to women drinking alcohol.' 'I smiled and said perhaps they should ask to move tables if it was an issue, but I would be drinking the wine,' the woman on Reddit wrote. 'They noticed I was on my own and made passive-aggressive comments about this.' Later, the woman got up from the table to get some food from the buffet – and when she returned, 'the wine had disappeared,' she wrote. Advertisement A waiter came over and asked to see her wristband, an indicator of all-inclusive access. He said that 'the family had told them I was underage and must have sneaked away from my parents,' nurseB89 wrote. The woman said the hotel where she was staying had club-style seating, with eight people per table paired together 'to encourage a sense of community and conversation.' triocean – The waiter 'was very apologetic and returned with a fresh glass of wine just as the family came back with their food.' Advertisement Instead of requesting to move to another table, the woman asked for the 'full bottle, along with a couple of shots of vodka,' she said. The family finally 'stormed out' after she drank the shots in front of them, she continued. Advertisement The woman's story sparked over 2,000 comments, with others mostly agreeing with her and questioning the actions of the mother. 'Then don't take your kids to places where alcohol is served,' wrote one commented in part. 'It's just WOMEN drinking alcohol. What the heck is that about?' wrote another. 'It's clearly not an issue with alcohol as much as it is with women. Sheesh.' Said yet another person, 'What about men drinking alcohol? Is that OK?' Other commenters suggested the mother's morals seem misguided. 'I can't believe this situation,' wrote one Reddit user. 'She doesn't want to expose her children to seeing someone drink alcohol, but she's willing to expose her children to her own lying!' 'Lying or hypocrisy?' asked another user. 'Bet the husband drinks and maybe she does when the kids are in bed. Trying to control someone else is sheer arrogance. Get another table, lady, and eat blindfolded.' Instead of requesting to move to another table, the woman asked for the 'full bottle, along with a couple of shots of vodka,' she said. JackF – Advertisement Etiquette expert Diane Gottsman, founder and owner of the Protocol School of Texas in San Antonio, told Fox News Digital that in her view, the mother's behavior was 'inappropriate.' 'On a vacation, where the tables are open for anyone to sit, a guest should be able to order whatever they would like,' Gottsman said. Advertisement 'If the mother does not want her children exposed to alcohol, it's a personal, family preference and the rest of the table should not be expected to follow her self-imposed rule.' Gottsman added, 'If the mother was that opposed, she should have gotten up and taken her family to another table.' Fox News Digital reached out to nurseB89 for additional information.
Newsweek
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Best Escape Room
All In Adventures Escape Rooms | Poughkeepsie, NY Photo courtesy of Alona Siniehina/iStock by Getty Images Photo courtesy of Alona Siniehina/iStock by Getty Images Can you crack the case before it's too late? At All In Adventures, choose from seven scenarios, such as searching for Sherlock Holmes or surviving the zombie apocalypse, and let your group puzzle its way through (kids as young as 6 are welcome). If you can't get your crew to the Poughkeepsie escape room, AIA can come to you: the company sets up mobile escape rooms in a 25-mile radius. Beat the Bomb | Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of Beat the Bomb Photo courtesy of Beat the Bomb You've got one hour to disarm the bomb; if you don't, you'll get blasted with slime, foam or paint. Good luck! Beat the Bomb may be one of the most original escape rooms—it's certainly one of the only to require a hazmat suit! If you'd rather not get sprayed with goo, try the much cleaner Arcade Battle or settle in with a Grape Escape mocktail from the Bomb Bar. Breakout Orange Beach | Orange Beach, AL Photo courtesy of JackF/iStock by Getty Images Photo courtesy of JackF/iStock by Getty Images Espionage in a casino? Orange Beach's Breakout has an escape room for that. Stopping a runaway train or getting back your gold that outlaws stole? Breakout has rooms for those scenarios too. You'll love that each room is private; only your group will be in the room while you play. Kids can join in the fun too, so it's an ideal place to play away a rainy beach day. Cluville Kids Escape Room | Scottsdale, AZ Photo courtesy of Cluville Kids Escape Room Photo courtesy of Cluville Kids Escape Room Designed for ages 6 to 14, Cluville lets your kids put on their detective hats and race the clock to solve puzzles they'll love. Missions like Secret Potion and Alien Invasion teach children science, math and the magic of teamwork. The four different rooms are so creative (and secretly educational) that Cluville has become one of Arizona's most popular destinations for school field trips. Parents are welcome to join in! Escape Artist Greenville | Greenville, SC Photo courtesy of Escape Artist Greenville Photo courtesy of Escape Artist Greenville You've never done an escape room like this; the award-winning Escape Artist Greenville immerses you in the story with costumed actors, interactive shows and bind-blowing set pieces, all while you try to solve the mystery to get out. You'll find a great mix of scenarios, from family-friendly fairy-tale adventures to dark and scary sci-fi thrillers. And all the rooms are private so no strangers end up in your group. Escape Games PDX | Portland, OR Photo courtesy of JackF/iStock by Getty Images Photo courtesy of JackF/iStock by Getty Images Gather your friends and spend an hour trying to outsmart the uniquely entertaining rooms at Escape Games PDX. The themes are the perfect blend of brainy and Portland weird: you can rob a prison, shake down your roommates for rent money or try to escape a lab with half your party locked in another room. You'll laugh your way through every lightbulb moment as you get closer to the answer. Escape Room Arlington | Arlington, VA Photo courtesy of LightFieldStudios/iStock by Getty Images Photo courtesy of LightFieldStudios/iStock by Getty Images Five wildly different rooms will have you coming back for more at Escape Room Arlington. From horror themes (you have to try the highly praised and highly creepy Edgar Allan Poe room) to retro arcades and supervillain lairs, there's a vibe to suit every type and age of puzzle master. Several of these private rooms also work for solo players, so you can treat yourself to a night of mystery. Escapology | Charlotte, NC Photo courtesy of JackF/iStock by Getty Images Photo courtesy of JackF/iStock by Getty Images The steampunk atmosphere envelops you as soon as you walk inside Charlotte's Escapology. You'll then enter one of 10 rooms, each with a sinister scenario. One of the nation's only escape room companies with licensed themes, such as Scooby-Doo and Batman (you can be Batman's crime-fighting wingman!), it's also one of the only venues with Kids Mode rooms, scenarios that dial back the difficulty and scare factor for younger sleuths. Fox in a Box | Chicago, IL Photo courtesy of Fox in a Box Photo courtesy of Fox in a Box The place: Fox in a Box, Chicago's premier escape room. The mission: break out of jail. In the Prison, one of the company's most popular scenarios, players are locked in individual cells—can your friends figure out how to free each other? If orange jumpsuits aren't your jam, you can disarm a nuclear warhead or crack open a diamond safe instead. And your whole family can play thanks to kid-friendly missions. Prototype Escape Games | Jacksonville, FL Photo courtesy of Prototype Escape Games Photo courtesy of Prototype Escape Games Looking for haunted house vibes in the middle of July? You'll have a horrifyingly good time at Prototype Escape Games, home to the scariest escape room in Jacksonville. Each private session features scare actors, multiple rooms that may shock you (literally!) and unique puzzles that Prototype guarantees you've never seen before. It's such a hair-raising experience that you'd better wear a hat! The Escape Game New Orleans | New Orleans, LA Photo courtesy of Olivier Le Moal/iStock by Getty Images Photo courtesy of Olivier Le Moal/iStock by Getty Images One of the most sought-after ways to spend an hour in New Orleans, the Escape Game's four rooms cater to any skill level. There are easy playground games for anyone 13 and older, special ops missions for the more adventurous and daring prison escapes for code-cracking experts. Or join a virtual escape room—a real room that's live streamed so you and your friends don't have to leave the sofa. The Great Escape Room | Queens, NY Photo courtesy of necati bahadir bermek/iStock by Getty Images Photo courtesy of necati bahadir bermek/iStock by Getty Images It's the best in Queens for a reason: the Great Escape Room's four scenarios celebrate the bizarre, the supernatural and the downright dangerous. You can sign up for a spooky séance, a plot to rob the mob, a murder mystery in the mountains or a presidential poker game gone wrong. In a fifth room, Sherlock's Study scavenger hunt, the game's afoot as you rifle through the famous detective's library. The Lodge of Lazarus Crowe | St. Paul, MN Photo courtesy of The Lodge of Lazarus Crowe Photo courtesy of The Lodge of Lazarus Crowe If you love dark academia brewed with a spoonful of paranormal, then the Lodge of Lazarus Crowe is your cup of tea. Brush up your elixir-making skills in the Apothecary, one of the easier scenarios, or dial up the difficulty in the Arcane Library as you attempt to rein in unstable magic. Afterward, you can raise a glass to victory with cocktails at the delightfully macabre Hourglass Cafe & Bar. The Masters of Escape | Branson, MO Photo courtesy of The Masters of Escape Photo courtesy of The Masters of Escape Branson is known for world-class entertainment, and the Masters of Escape raises the bar for fun even higher with its one-of-a-kind augmented reality rooms. Missions feature a mix of real and digital obstacles to keep you on (and sometimes off!) your toes alongside chill scenarios for solving puzzles in tranquil landscapes. Want to fly after your escape? Hop on Birdly, a virtual reality rig that lets you soar. The Nemesis Club | Phoenix, AZ Photo courtesy of The Nemesis Club Photo courtesy of The Nemesis Club Every villain needs a nemesis; find yours at the Nemesis Club. Your job is to break into a superhero's hideout and steal a prized possession—it's a comic book come to life! If you'd rather play as a good guy, you can shut down evil robots or defend a campsite from a hidden monster. Whatever you choose, the on-site Soda Jerk Co. Milkshake Bar serves treats to henchmen and sidekicks alike.
Newsweek
16-06-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
22-Year-Old Reduced to "Borderline Begging" to Access Own Money Sparks Fury
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A 22-year-old woman says her parents are refusing to give her access to approximately $40,000 she has earned since 2021. The woman and original poster (OP), user DreamSweetMyLove, sought advice on Reddit, explaining that most of her money is in a bank account owned by her father. "I cannot see it, I cannot touch it, and I have zero way of getting money from it without borderline begging and telling them exactly what I'll use it for," she wrote. Stock image of an adult woman arguing with her parents. Stock image of an adult woman arguing with her parents. JackF/iStock/Getty Images Plus She continued, "I do have some mental disabilities, but not severe enough to impair my main decision-making abilities. "I have never given them Power of Attorney. I am not in a conservatorship arrangement. There were no signed contracts. I do live at home with them. "Is it illegal for them to not allow me access to my own earned income?" Reddit Reacts More than 300 Redditors flocked to the comments to weigh in, with many offering support and advice. One wrote, "If you are on the account, you should be able to go to the bank and see your account. They will help you access their app so you can see what's happening with it. "You can't take your father off the account. You both have to agree to that. But you can take the money out and open up an account in your name only." When the OP clarified that she wasn't on the account at all, another user replied, "That's a problem. As far as the bank is concerned, you have zero right to that money. "Your only recourse would be to sue and bring pay stubs showing the direct deposit into that account." "The only reason for these types of restrictions is that your money is gone," one Redditor noted. "Your parents used that money long ago. That's my guess." The OP is now gathering pay stubs and W-2s and is planning to speak with a financial or family lawyer. "I sincerely appreciate everything that everyone has said, and I'll be doing more learning about the bank system," she wrote in her update. 'Missing pieces' Speaking to Newsweek via email, Chinwe' Foster, Esq., owner and managing attorney of Foster Law Firm, explained, "I don't see that anything criminal has taken place as she would have had to provide her banking information to any employer when she became an adult and it appears that she did. "However, she may have civil claims against her father (or the bank if her name is on the account and they won't give her access to it) if he is withholding money from her that she earned as an adult, absent of no other legal right given to him to withhold her money (i.e. conservatorship)." "However, there are a lot of missing pieces to this story," she cautioned. Financial Abuse According to Hopeful Panda, controlling access to someone else's income is a common sign of financial abuse. This may involve "demanding control over your income, savings, or accounts" or "restricting your access to financial information or your own earnings". The same article notes that using money to manipulate behavior or to punish non-compliance, such as requiring a child to explain and justify every expense, is often rooted in control rather than concern. Toxic Parental Behavior In a Newsweek interview, psychologist Wendy O'Neill said toxic behavior often comes from parents who are "manipulative and controlling, don't take responsibility for their actions... or their emotions dictate the home environment". Becca Bland, CEO of Stand Alone, a U.K. charity for estranged families, noted that parents who exhibit these patterns often "haven't done the work" to establish balanced, respectful relationships with their adult children. She added, "Being repetitively told you don't have a voice and you don't matter can very easily spin you out into a mental health crisis." Newsweek has contacted DreamSweetMyLove for comment via Reddit. Newsweek's "What Should I Do?" offers expert advice to readers. If you have a personal dilemma, let us know via life@ We can ask experts for advice on relationships, family, friends, money and work, and your story could be featured on WSID at Newsweek. To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, click here.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Work requirements are better at blocking benefits than helping low-income people find jobs
Meeting work requirements to receive government benefits can lead to burdensome paperwork. (JackF/iStock via Getty Images Plus) Republican lawmakers have been battling over a bill that includes massive tax and spending cuts. Much of their disagreement has been over provisions intended to reduce the cost of Medicaid. The popular health insurance program, which is funded by both the federal and state governments, covers about 78.5 million low-income and disabled people — more than 1 in 5 Americans. On May 22, 2025, the House of Representatives narrowly approved the tax, spending and immigration bill. The legislation, which passed without any support from Democrats, is designed to reduce federal Medicaid spending by requiring anyone enrolled in the program who appears to be able to get a job to either satisfy work requirements or lose their coverage. It's still unclear, however, whether Senate Republicans would support that provision. Although there are few precedents for such a mandate for Medicaid, other safety net programs have been enforcing similar rules for nearly three decades. I'm a political scientist who has extensively studied the work requirements of another safety net program: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. As I explain in my book, 'Living Off the Government? Race, Gender, and the Politics of Welfare,' work requirements place extra burdens on low-income families but do little to lift them out of poverty. TANF gives families with very low incomes some cash they can spend on housing, food, clothing or whatever they need most. The Clinton administration launched it as a replacement for a similar program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, in 1996. At the time, both political parties were eager to end a welfare system they believed was riddled with abuse. A big goal with TANF was ending the dependence of people getting cash benefits on the government by moving them from welfare to work. Many people were removed from the welfare rolls, but not because work requirements led to economic prosperity. Instead, they had trouble navigating the bureaucratic demands. TANF is administered by the states. They can set many rules of their own, but they must comply with an important federal requirement: Adult recipients have to work or engage in an authorized alternative activity for at least 30 hours per week. The number of weekly hours is only 20 if the recipient is caring for a child under the age of 6. The dozen activities or so that can count toward this quota range from participating in job training programs to engaging in community service. Some adults enrolled in TANF are exempt from work requirements, depending on their state's own policies. The most common exemptions are for people who are ill, have a disability or are over age 60. To qualify for TANF, families must have dependent children; in some states pregnant women also qualify. Income limits are set by the state and range from US$307 a month for a family of three in Alabama to $2,935 a month for a family of three in Minnesota. Adult TANF recipients face a federal five-year lifetime limit on benefits. States can adopt shorter time limits; Arizona's is 12 months. Complying with these work requirements generally means proving that you're working or making the case that you should be exempt from this mandate. This places what's known as an 'administrative burden' on the people who get cash assistance. It often requires lots of documentation and time. If you have an unpredictable work schedule, inconsistent access to child care or obligations to care for an older relative, this paperwork is hard to deal with. What counts as work, how many hours must be completed and who is exempt from these requirements often comes down to a caseworker's discretion. Social science research shows that this discretion is not equally applied and is often informed by stereotypes. The number of people getting cash assistance has fallen sharply since TANF replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children. In some states caseloads have dropped by more than 50% despite significant population growth. Some of this decline happened because recipients got jobs that paid them too much to qualify. The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan office that provides economic research to Congress, attributes, at least in part, an increase in employment among less-educated single mothers in the 1990s to work requirements. Not everyone who stopped getting cash benefits through TANF wound up employed, however. Other recipients who did not meet requirements fell into deep poverty. Regardless of why people leave the program, when fewer low-income Americans get TANF benefits, the government spends less money on cash assistance. Federal funding has remained flat at $16.5 billion since 1996. Taking inflation into account, the program receives half as much funding as when it was created. In addition, states have used the flexibility granted them to direct most of their TANF funds to priorities other than cash benefits, such as pre-K education. Many Americans who get help paying for groceries through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are also subject to work requirements. People the government calls 'able-bodied adults without dependents' can only receive SNAP benefits for three months within a three-year period if they are not employed. Lawmakers in Congress and in statehouses have debated whether to add work requirements for Medicaid before. More than a dozen states have applied for waivers that would let them give it a try. When Arkansas instituted Medicaid work requirements in 2018, during the first Trump administration, it was largely seen as a failure. Some 18,000 people lost their health care coverage, but employment rates did not increase. After a court order stopped the policy in 2019, most people regained their coverage. Georgia is currently the only state with Medicaid work requirements in effect, after implementing a waiver in July 2023. The program has experienced technical difficulties and has had trouble verifying work activities. Other states, including Idaho, Indiana and Kentucky, are already asking the federal government to let them enforce Medicaid work requirements. Complying with these work requirements generally means proving that you're working or making the case that you should be exempt from this mandate. This places what's known as an 'administrative burden' on the people who get cash assistance. It often requires lots of documentation and time. If you have an unpredictable work schedule, inconsistent access to child care or obligations to care for an older relative, this paperwork is hard to deal with. What counts as work, how many hours must be completed and who is exempt from these requirements often comes down to a caseworker's discretion. Social science research shows that this discretion is not equally applied and is often informed by stereotypes. The number of people getting cash assistance has fallen sharply since TANF replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children. In some states caseloads have dropped by more than 50% despite significant population growth. Some of this decline happened because recipients got jobs that paid them too much to qualify. The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan office that provides economic research to Congress, attributes, at least in part, an increase in employment among less-educated single mothers in the 1990s to work requirements. Not everyone who stopped getting cash benefits through TANF wound up employed, however. Other recipients who did not meet requirements fell into deep poverty. Regardless of why people leave the program, when fewer low-income Americans get TANF benefits, the government spends less money on cash assistance. Federal funding has remained flat at $16.5 billion since 1996. Taking inflation into account, the program receives half as much funding as when it was created. In addition, states have used the flexibility granted them to direct most of their TANF funds to priorities other than cash benefits, such as pre-K education. Many Americans who get help paying for groceries through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are also subject to work requirements. People the government calls 'able-bodied adults without dependents' can only receive SNAP benefits for three months within a three-year period if they are not employed. Lawmakers in Congress and in statehouses have debated whether to add work requirements for Medicaid before. More than a dozen states have applied for waivers that would let them give it a try. When Arkansas instituted Medicaid work requirements in 2018, during the first Trump administration, it was largely seen as a failure. Some 18,000 people lost their health care coverage, but employment rates did not increase. After a court order stopped the policy in 2019, most people regained their coverage. Georgia is currently the only state with Medicaid work requirements in effect, after implementing a waiver in July 2023. The program has experienced technical difficulties and has had trouble verifying work activities. Other states, including Idaho, Indiana and Kentucky, are already asking the federal government to let them enforce Medicaid work requirements. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Anne Whitesell is an assistant professor of political science at Miami University. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
