The image above is of a bill from the Las Vegas Spur in East London, belonging to three teenage customers, who thought it would be appropriate to leave a R4 tip and a derogatory comment aimed at their waiter.

The waiter, 24-year-old Xolani Mbalo, an information technology development graduate from Walter Sisulu University, said that he was harassed by the teens to the point where he quit serving their table.

In other words, human decency and mutual respect are dead, and racism is alive and well among the younger generation in East London.

There goes the hope that it would die off with the older generations.

TimesLIVE with more from Mbalo:

“They taunted me from the beginning until I quit serving them. When I brought their food, they started making silly remarks, asking me to eat the chips, and when I asked them if I looked hungry, they burst out laughing,” he said.

Spur described their behaviour as atrocious. “We do not condone use of derogatory, racist or sexist behaviour or language.”

Mbalo said he decided to stop serving the table after the teenagers insisted on him eating their leftover chips.

“The chips were literally leftovers dipped in sauces. One of them said: ‘Eat, here you look hungry’,” he said.

The comment left on the till slip – “the tip is for the hungry Africans” – echoes the taunts and comments aimed at Mbali while he was serving the teens.

Following the incident, social media exploded with accusations levied against Spur for “turning a blind eye”.

“Contrary to social media comments, management did not make light of this serious matter. We arranged counselling for our employee and have had further meetings with our staff,” they said.

Police spokesperson Capt Mluleki Mbi said a case of crimen injuria had been opened against three teenagers.

“We are aware of the incident, investigations are under way. No arrests have been made but police have taken statements. More statements are still going to be taken,” he told TimesLIVE.

Spur says that they will support its staff in taking the case further.

They should open a case against the parents as well.

[source:timeslive]