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Lake Worth Waitress: I Got Stiffed By Justin Bieber

Ginger didn't recognize the party of six when they sat down at a tiki table and pulled the curtains around them. The Lake Worth waitress was slammed last Wednesday around 9:30 p.m., and she was the only server working.

Immediately, the "group of kids" started giving Ginger trouble. They ordered burritos and hamburgers -- items that are not on the menu of this laid-back eatery, where sand piles beneath the picnic tables and beer is served in plastic cups. (Ginger's employer did not want the restaurant's name published.)

Eventually, the kids ordered tacos, sodas and iced teas. A chef from the kitchen helped Ginger deliver the large order. But the table still wasn't happy. Every time Ginger walked by, "They would scream at me," she says. "Hey, I want this! Hey, I want that! They were yelling at anybody they could get."

Ginger still didn't recognize 17-year-old with the short brown bangs -- but she's not a big Justin Bieber fan anyway. She later learned he was staying at the Four Seasons hotel in Palm Beach.

Wednesday night, he kept his eyes down and didn't make eye contact. "All I can tell you is, he's rude and he's young," Ginger says.

His girlfriend, Selena Gomez --who was in town for a Miami concert-- was "the politest person at the table."

As the busy night wore on, giggly 12-year-old girls starting showing up at the restaurant, begging to get in.Ginger, who now realized she was dealing with a celebrity,chased them off, making sure no one snapped pictures.

Yet Bieber's table complained to the owner about Ginger's service, and "asked if I hated them," she says. (Bieber's publicist did not respond to New Times' request for comment.)

When she dropped off the check for $73, things got ugly. Ginger explained that the credit card machine wasn't working, so the customers would have to pay in cash. Bieber looked up at her for the first time. "Well, you didn't tell us that," he protested.

"Then we looked each other right in the eye, and I'm like, 'Yeah, you're gonna have to pay cash,'" Ginger says.

She explained there was an ATM available, and the owner even gave them a 30 percent discount on the bill. But it didn't matter.

Bieber paid the bill in cash, and collected the change from Ginger. When she returned later to clean up their table, it was mysteriously empty. They did not leave a tip.

"Oh my God, are you kidding me?" she says now. "I just got stiffed by Bieber."

Lisa Rab
Contact: Lisa Rab