Chef pays back rich diner's $1,200 bill after he 'disrespected' his waitress. He then banned them for good

Legendary boxer Muhammad Ali once said, "I don't trust someone who is nice to me but rude to the waiter because they would treat me the same way if I were in that position." But all customers do not think this way and many of them are entitled and outright rude while interacting with restaurant staff. When Lee Skeet (@leeskeet) came to know that one of his servers was mistreated by a wealthy customer, he responded with a comeback email clearly stating, “Never come back to my restaurant,” which was appreciated by people on social media.

Lee is the chef and manager at Cora Restaurant in Cardiff, Wales. He has worked under some of the world's top chefs including Gordon Ramsay, Marcus Wareing, and Tom Aikens. As soon as he came to know that impudent customers had misbehaved with his 22-year-old staff member, Lily Griffith, he banned them even though they were the ones who paid the “biggest bill” ever on a table at Cora.

In the clapback email, Lee first thanked the customer for choosing his restaurant to have a meal and for paying a sizeable bill. Then, he proceeded to remind them of their inappropriate behavior. He wrote, “Unfortunately, throughout the evening, I was made aware that your party’s behavior was inappropriate towards Lily, who runs the front of the house,” and added that Lily had told him that as a young woman, she was “talked down to, disrespected, and touched unwantedly” by the members of their group.

Wales Online reported that Lily was reduced to tears when a member of the group teased her for being a low-wage worker and told her she would have to work seven nights a week if she wanted to make a "living" salary. Lily told the outlet that they made humiliating remarks about her low wages. They also grumbled at her to “stick her schnoz” after she served them wine as part of their seven-course meal. The group consisted of seven businessmen who chugged down seven bottles of wine, racking up a £1,000 bill, the biggest Cora had ever seen since it opened in January.

Addressing the entitled customer, Lee’s email continued “I have spent the last hour having conversations with her that break my heart, make me feel like a s**t employer, and a terrible dad having my own daughter.” Lee requested the customer’s bank details, saying he’d refund their entire bill of £1,000 ($1,309), minus £100, which he’d pay Lily, as they didn’t leave her a tip that she deserved. In a tweet, Lee revealed that later on, he kept the entire bill amount and gave it to Lily, as the customer didn’t reply to his email. He also shared the snapshot of the transaction.

Furious at the maltreatment, Lee added that Lily means more to him than the money, and told the customer, “I would thank you to never come back to my restaurant. I also think you should assess the people you surround yourself with.” He also posted a powerful message in the tweet’s caption, “I just think we should start calling out rich people who think they can treat people like crap.”

In the comments section, people praised Lee for his perfect comeback to the mistreating customer. “A brilliant response, love your integrity,” said @angebg. @chiefpieeater commented, “Well said, Lee.  Manners cost nothing, principles are expensive.”

Both Lee and Lily anticipated that this instance would inspire other people to be gentle with hospitality workers. After Lee’s tweet went viral, he said, many restaurant workers reached out to him and disclosed having similar encounters with rude customers. As for Lily, she was happy that her caring boss stood up for her. “I have a lot of support and I am lucky that my boss, and friend Lee, has backed me up. I already respected him before, but I respect him even more now,” she told Wales Online.