Restaurant Owner Calls Out Yelp Reviewer and It’s Wonderful

Sorry, Johnny and Alexa.

Sorry, Johnny and Alexa.

I don’t know many people who work in the service industry who like Yelp. Yelp has become a website that lets people think they are very important restaurant critics who have opinions that matter. Any Tom, Dick or Hairy Asshole can get on their Yelp app and fill themselves with self-importance. Too many restaurant owners and managers live and breathe by the Yelp reviews and when a customer specifically calls out a server by name, it can get pretty dicey. Of course there are times that people will write a review and praise their server and the service, but more often than not, the only time someone bothers with naming names is to place blame and point fingers.

The Australian Grill, a restaurant in Carlsbad, California, has an owner who is not going to let someone post unjustified negative shit about her restaurant and get away with it. When someone named Johnny W. went in recently with a Groupon (I hate Groupon even more than I hate Yelp), he was very unhappy with his experience. Poor little Johnny wanted happy hour drinks with his Groupon even though everyone on the planet knows that Groupon is already a deal and you can’t use it with other offers. “Not valid with any other offers” is printed all over the goddamn Groupon. When the whiny little bitch didn’t get his way, he did what most men with small penises do, which is try to compensate for their lack of size in one area by emphasizing another area. In Johnny’s case, he decided to emphasize his humongous brain and his ability to open up his Yelp app on his phone. He complained about his poor service, the price of the food and the fact that he couldn’t get happy hour prices with his Groupon. He claims that had the service been better, they “probably would have spent much more on food and drinks.” Bitch, please. You already complained that you thought it was overpriced so you expect anyone to believe that had they been nicer to you, you would have been happy to spend more money? He also complains that the owner seemed upset that they only spent the bare minimum with the Groupon. Ummm, hello? Anyone who has ever had the misfortune of serving someone with a Groupon already knows that you are only going to spend the bare minimum. It’s what you Groupon people do. Anyhoo, Johnny threw his review up on Yelp and it’s interesting to note that this is his first and only review, proving my point that people are quicker to complain than compliment. He thought that was the end of it. Nope.



The owner, Stefanie, responded and called his ass out by name. Can we get a “whoop whoop” for Stefanie?? She asserts that they were friendly to him until his little bitch ass started to cry when he couldn’t get happy hour prices if he still wanted to use his precious Groupon. She also called him a “seasoned coupon clipper” which is totally mean, bitchy, uncalled for and I love it.  She goes on to call out his friend who was with him, Alexa Kliebenstein. Stefanie tells the world of Yelpers that Johnny W. and Alexa stiffed the waiter by only leaving 18 cents and that they bolted out of of the restaurant with the server not far behind. She also claims that the server fronted them $6 because they didn’t have enough money to cover their check. She makes it clear that they are not welcome back to the restaurant and for other servers to be aware of these cheap assholes.

Stefanie is my hero of the day. She understands that, too often, Yelp is a platform for people to try to negatively impact businesses when they don’t get what they want. It’s important to respond to critics who have unjustified complaints. He has a right to think it’s overpriced, but I looked at the menu and it seems fair to me. It’s more expensive than some restaurants but less expensive than others, so it’s a subjective complaint. He thinks the service was rude but that was only after they wouldn’t give him what he wanted and then he was even ruder in return. And he can’t complain that happy hour and Groupon don’t mix. Rules is rules, Johnny. Suck it up. Thank you to Stefanie for standing up for your restaurant and for your server. You rock.

Riddle: what do you get when you cross a Grouponer and a Yelper?
Answer: an asshole named Johnny W.

252 thoughts on “Restaurant Owner Calls Out Yelp Reviewer and It’s Wonderful

  1. Jason

    The owner and this post are vindictive. The owner was accused in a few negative reviews for cyberstalking and bullying the customers that left negative reviews. The former owner was featured in the Yelp documentary Billion Dollar Bully blaming her closing on Yelp. She signed up with Groupon to drum up business and it appears she took out her frustration on Groupon and Yelp on her customers. The restaurant is gone and she is now working as a sales consultant in Australia. I get it, there are customers that suck and you want to tell them to take a hike, but you have to be the better person. Potential customers will judge the business on the replies. If you reply in a negative and nasty tone, it will do more harm than good.

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  3. D

    Another thing men with small penises do is refer to each other as “bitch.” The ultimate insult of a bitter loser who can’t get laid even with monetary incentives …

  4. terry

    Yelp is a fucking company; they will block your good review (5star) if you don’t pay his advertising. also, they will show your lower review like 1star whatever is fake or not.

  5. Lilith

    Do people in the comments realize the F word is no longer hard core? Not that it every really was. It is a sad day when you stub your toe and there is no curse word you can use anymore that provides relief. I really hate the overuse of words and expressions. Can barely get through 3 reviews on Yelp without having to read, “On Point”. Grrr

    With that out of the way: I have been a server and frankly the worst part was the customers (duh). I made great money over all but I did not like the, “I own you for the next hour or two” people. I could put up with the Princess Chefs and the leg pain and the long hours etc. But it is really hard to be nice when someone is a prick and they are not actually your boss. There were that few who were great but it was so rare that I couldn’t do it anymore. I still work in customer service at my 2nd job but it’s over the phone. And yes I have to work two jobs to make what I did as a server.

    One review actually brought up the owner’s wife and son having mental issues. He listed their personal struggles. I can’t believe people behave like that over a bad restaurant experience. How do they deal with death?

  6. G

    Am I the only one here that sees a problem with the stomping out of the “little penis man”?

    Happy Hour is not an offer, it’s not a coupon. It’s not a Mc Pick 2. It’s a time in which things are lower priced, am I correct about this? Or should “hour” be dropped from the title? Coupons should be honored for any time stated, and if Happy Hour is not included, it must be stated, because if I were under the impression I could use a groupon for Happy Hour, I’d be spending a lot more money on food, more food, personally.

    I would suggest not going to the Restaurant in question.

    I have an above average sized dick by the way. Am I right when I think this post was made by a woman? It talks about little penis sizes. To be extremely conservative for your information, dick size has absolutely nothing to do with going onto a website to write a review. I wonder what men say about woman with respect to size, oh, nothing at all. I believe the term bitch is the only option. Funny how additional steps are needed to boost ego.

    What’s even more funny with a completely straight face is that YOU are writing about it. I happened to cross this retarded post after searching for a way to bypass having to install the Yelp app, because I’m tired of being stonewalled by it because of not having it. I’m still never going to install Yelp, it’s completely useless.

    1. Lilith

      @G the author of this blog is a guy. Hence the title, The Bitchy WAITER. If you read through the comments plenty of guys talk about small penises. In fact I just watched Dirty Grandpa and Robert De Niro mentioned small penises throughout the entire movie.

  7. The Salty Yelper

    The owner doesn’t know how to run a business, which is why she had to shut down. Your attempt to attack yelpers by suggesting that their opinion doesn’t matter is severely undermined by the fact that the business shut down not long after the yelper in question gave the business a 1 star review.

    She offers Groupon deals then shames buyers for using them or trying to get a bargain? SHE IS THE ONE WHO PUT HER BUSINESS ON GROUPON!

    It’s easy to see why her business failed.

    1. The Salty Yelper

      LOL and I just read some more reviews and apparently she called someone else who left a bad review and threatened her and told her she knew where she worked. Yeah, good job on faulting the yelper instead of the psychotic business owner.

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  9. Vannessa

    Thank you omg this is great THERE ARE SO MANY BARNACLE Customers This month has been the worst with election and cold weather and entitled bitches I want to scream please someone make a app for biz owners to vent and to announce who has ripped them off and will rip off the next biz off

    We are not going to put up with this anymore ,, thank you

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  11. The1%SucksAss

    I worked in restaurants all the way through college and graduate school. I now earn a great living as a small business owner.

    I also spent 13 summers working in the country clubs of some of the most elitist dipshits America has ever seen.

    The old adage is 100% true: the way someone treats someone who is serving them is an EXACT reflection of their innermost character.

    And most of the innermost characters of the people I met along my 20-year journey to prosperity working as as cook, a janitor, a waiter, a busboy, a dishwasher – things that the elite would NEVER condescend to do – most of those people were… just…. dogshit. Inside and out.

    Especially the fat c–t who threw an order of fried chicken at me in 2003 because she did not think they were cooked enough… after handing them back FIVE times. When I told her to take what she was given or get lost, she freaked. The club threatened to revoke her membership because what she did legally counted as an assault.. I hope her kids get AIDS.

  12. Thaddeus Buttmunch MD

    …and if TRUMP wins, I say we boycott ALL restaurants, bars and Barristas for three months, and THEN, after a ten day “Honeymoon” period, ANOTHER three months!!


    Because, with the “Service Economy” they employ about 25 million people, Most of whom don’t want to BE there. By closing the places down, we create a Great Depression, and THEN the government has to train the waitstaff to do something useful, send them to college, and/or give them Welfare.


  13. Thaddeus Buttmunch MD

    LISTEN-I don’t like Yelp! because, the owner, Koppelman, runs it like a Protection Racket (wants restaurants to pay hundreds/month on his banner ads.) But I DO post restaurant reviews on it. I also use Tripadvisor and Google. It’s important for the public to have a “Whip” to keep the owners in line. I don’t personally rat out waitstaff but I Will say if the food and service were good or poor. I’ve had reviews censored because they didn’t “reflect personal experience” which is usually Bull, but I DID call out a Dearborn, MI Irish Pub owner because I dared to use his bathroom to do #1 and walked out because the waitstaff was not at the bar or didn’t pay attention to me. He actually chased me down in the parking lot and said the bathroom was “for customers only.” I shall never BE said customer!

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  18. Dxavic

    Who pissed in your corn flakes??? It hard to take you seriously when you spew such venom. I love that this owner called this reviewer out. What he did was TOTALLY wrong. However, this is not the norm. I’m both a Groupon’er and a Yelp’er and have NEVER misused either as I believe is the case with most users of either site. As it was unfair for Johnny W. to leave this review, I believe it’s equally unfair for you to lump all users together. Check yourself. I love a good Groupon deal but I’ve learned that Groupon takes up to 50% of the already deeply discount price we see on the site. I think that’s excessive. Before buying a Groupon, I contact the business and ask if they will honor the advertised price if I purchase directly from them. In most cases they will…I get a discount, they get 100% of the advertised price and likely a repeat customer. If they decline, no problem. Yelp is freaking AWESOME! Of my 227 reviews, over 80% of them have 3+ out of 5 stars, as is the case for most of my 155 Yelp friends. We actually enjoy giving good reviews and bringing good businesses into the spotlight. I, and many others, equally appreciate the bad reviews. Some business owners simply don’t know how to treat customers. If that makes me an asshole, then so be it.

  19. Bert

    1. Yelpers are losers. Plain and simple.
    2. People who write negative reviews are negative people and have problems. (If you can’t say anything nice…)
    3. I’ve written a few reviews, but never a negative one. I don’t feel like a business owes me a certain experience, deal or quality. If I don’t like the establishment, I simply do not shop there again.

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  27. Sheogorath

    Everybody, ignore Fran. She’s clearly Stefanie pretending to be someone else as she commits libel against one of her (alleged) former employees. Yeah, I can google, Stefanie. The name you gave fetches up Facebook and MySpace, the name you gave in conjunction with the word ‘theft’ fetches up Facebook and an unrelated article about copyright infringement, and the name you gave in conjunction with the name of the rival restaurant and its location fetches up this article. So you have been caught lying, slandering, and doxing people whom you don’t like. Wait, doxing… now where have I seen an example of that recently. Oh yeah, when you doxed the person with the guy who quite rightly said that happy hour isn’t a special offer and you didn’t like that. Now quit throwing your toys out of the pram and start treating people with some basic respect!

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  34. ANDRE

    Had the same. one bitch out of blue left an esse on my yelp account. I am filing business loss with small claims court, as my attorney recommended. Boycott Yelp. Don’t buy any add from them. Why would I pay for some garbage about myself.

  35. Soo True

    Bitchy Waiter- You rock! Thanks for calling out Yelp for what it truly is- a mask for cowards to hide behind and post fallacies as well as out and out lies like all the posts that have been removed from the Yelp reviews of Memories Pizza in Walkerton, IN because the owner said she would not cater a same sex marriage reception! Yelp should be sued. That poor woman had to close her business!

  36. Steve

    I am a commercial real estate agent in San diego. I don’t know the owner of this restaurant, but I saw that she sold it for over $250,000 which is twice what she purchased it for. She must have done something right. Most commercial escrow sales are public records if anyone is interested.

  37. James

    An owner cannot rely upon the small print at the bottom of a Groupon to claim that the discount does not apply. That is actually against federal regulations. Exceptions need to be made crystal clear.

    Second, it would be my understanding anyway that the phrase, “not valid with any other offer” does NOT mean “cannot be applied on already discounted foods.” What it does mean is you cannot combine it with another coupon. A happy hour is not using a coupon, but is something that in most restaurants is actually listed on the restaurant menu.

    The purpose of Groupon for a business owner is to entice new customers to try out the place–to see the decor, try the food, experience the vibe, etc., when those people might not otherwise go because it is too expensive for them to do so. For all this owner knows, this couple would not normally go during happy hour because it is still too pricey for them.

    If you don’t want “cheap” customers, then don’t participate in Groupon. It’s as simple as that. If you don’t want them to take advantage of happy hour when using a Groupon, make sure it clearly states up front as part of your unique Groupon title that it is for food, and in the main content state clearly a second time that the Groupon only includes the value of entrees and not drinks or appetizers. Or something like that.

    This owner is as petty as this couple was cheap, and the way she phrased her complaint, I actually DO NOT BELIEVE that the waiter used $6 of his/her own money to cover their bill. (In fact, if tht is what happened, why say they tipped him 16 cents? This story is, at best, embellished, and at worst a bald-faced lie.I would never set foot in a restaurant where the owner treated a customer, even a bad one, in this manner.

    You are wrong to cheer her on. Gordon Ramsey, who enjoys belittling people, would not approve.

    I do, however, think it is both expected and considerate to tip based on what the original value of the meal was. The waiter has to spend the same amount of time delivering that amount of food to you, and it was not THEIR decision to offer Groupons.

    1. Vivek

      Um you are a moron. eVERY groupon does not let you take advantage of other offers at the same time. It is standard

  38. Caine Spiwak

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  42. Sylvia

    Good for her! We business owners have to fight back. Calling out yelpers is a start! We educated our customers to complain to us directly. We use a feedback service for it and handle problems 1 on 1 (using texting/email) like adults. Now we only see great reviews on Yelp. Oh and two assholes who write fake reviews. Humpty and Dumpty are our competitors from across the street. They can’t compete so they don’t play fair. I’d return the favor but I’m too classy for that.

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  44. Heather

    I will say this though. Customers- DONT screw your servers out of a tip because you don’t like a policy. The server didn’t make the policy they just have no choice but to enforce it. Servers- dont be pissed at someone the minute they say they have a groupon. They didn’t offer the groupon. They just took advantage of what the owner offered. You still need to treat them like any other customer. We’ve all been screwed more than once by people paying full price.

  45. Heather

    I don’t understand. Drinks aren’t included in groupons so why wouldn’t they be able to purchase drinks at the same price every other customer was? If the drink special is based on a purchase of a full meal, then I understand but if they just want to buy something to drink and it happens to be on special why shouldn’t they get the special price? If you don’t want people In Your restaurant who use groupons , why do you offer them? If she cared so much about her servers she would know a majority of groups users suck at tipping and she wouldn’t even offer groupons. I’ve been a server in the groupon error so I know. But this is silly. I’ve never put a drink purchase restriction on a groupon user. They are a patron and if they come in at happy hour they deserve to be able to PURCHASE their drinks at happy hour prices.

  46. Bill Porter

    Totally agree there’s too much ranting going on. Yelp is a great place to get lots of info, but it does seem to draw in the extremes.

    How about this idea — an app/website that lets friends share positive recommendations for the places they love. No reviews or points, just Raves about the places you have to go to. Since it’s your friends, you can get the context on the value of their opinions. And since it’s just positive, you don’t have to waste time reading about places NOT to visit. Just cut through the clutter and get to the good stuff: the places your friends and influencers are RAVING about.

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  47. Joseph

    I found Yelp very helpful. I use it all the time to make decisions about where to buy goods and services. I’m smart enough to give little credence to an isolated extremely bad review.

    And I love it when an owner responds. A reader can tell a lot by how an owner responds. I find a well-reasoned and polite responses to a bad review to be a big plus.

    As for Groupon–I love it when Groupon users posts reviews and say they used Groupon. I’ve noticed a couple of establishments where everyone who said they used Groupon gave the place a bad review, but those who did not use Groupon gave the places great reviews. I don’t use Groupon, so I went to the places and had great experiences and posted positive reviews on Yelp.

    As for Bitchy Waiter: I hope I am never served by anyone with your attitude and your view of the world.

    Guess what? Contrary to what you seem to convey in writing, when I go into a restaurant and I’m going to spend $100 to $200 and tip you as much as I used to make in a day when I was a poor and struggling young person (My first job, I made $2 an hour)–In my mind, and I hope in the server’s mind–I AM F&&KING IMPORTANT. Just the same way that my clients in my business are the most f&&king important people in the world while I am providing them with the services I sell.

    By the way, I read Yelp reviews and I write them. That doesn’t make me important, it makes me a member of a community that helps its members make good decisions about how to spend our money.

    Hopefully, it helps me avoid you, Bitchy Waiter. I try to minimize my exposure to people who have attitudes like you appear to have, if your writing is any indication of who you really are.

    1. MrsMac

      Just out of interest – why are you even reading a blog called ‘The Bitchy Waiter’ if you don’t like reading about a waiter bitching?

    2. Tipsykit

      Also….have you ever complained about your job? Ever? For example, to others who have a similar job to yours? Because that’s kind of what this blog is for. Based on your having had a $2 an hour job, I am going to assume that perhaps you belong to an earlier generation which is not accustomed to sharing such complaints on the internet, perhaps you prefer to just do it among a small group of your friends instead? Also, you sound like a real peach. I’m willing to bet if you act half as entitled and self-important as the tone your comment has, every server who has ever waited on you has probably gone someplace and vented about you after you left. Blowing off steam about annoying parts of your job is what makes it possible to continue doing said job without going insane.

  48. Cole

    This is Cole the waiter… Lol…
    To all the unhaters out there and servers/bartenders, we should all get together and hang out… Go out for a drink or something… And it’s getting warmer and summer is coming up so we should hit the beach and have a BBQ or something, lol… Maybe do a bad ass hike to Devils Punchbowl and hang out and party and drink at the water hole and waterfall at the end of the hike…
    Anyways.. Thanks for all your support and hope to meet you all sometime..

  49. Ruben

    Get rid of YELP!??? Hahahahaha. That’s funny. While you’re at it, get rid of Angie’s List, eBay, TripAdvisor and every other website where the CONSUMER has the ability to rate your service. Realizing that some people post poor service reviews regardless of the quality of service, most consumers can wade through the BS and get a feel for a place. …”cowardice site plaguing our nation…” hahahahaha thanks for the laugh at least. Ok I’m done with this site. It’s been fun and uneducating, but who knows maybe I’ll go back to give the AG another shot. Then I can review it on YELP! 🙂

  50. Pat Fox

    I do use discount coupons to be able to afford great food that my restricted income as a disabled retiree otherwise would disallow. But I do understand that a server deserves at least the tip they would normally get from the actual value of the meal. If I can’t afford a decent tip, I reason that I can’t afford the visit, period. Please don’t assume all coupon users are scrooges. For those who simply use coupons to try out new restaurants and who can afford full price on future visits, let that scorn for coupon users show isn’t very wise.

  51. Hannah

    Are you people who are slabberin a bunch of morons? Do u know what this website is called? BITCHY WAITER. COM!!!!!!!! Why do you come here if you don’t want to read the views of a bitchy waiter? What is wrong with you?!?? Dumb Americans.

  52. Anonymous


    A restaurant getting this much chatter really intrigued me so I decided to go experience it for myself. I have no complaints about service or food. It’s just a normal restaurant. The fact that you see the kitchen is a little different but that’s part of it’s character. I wonder if the people who really don’t like this place have no cultural knowledge of Australia so they might not be able to identify it’s charm. Secondly, it seems a little odd that all this negative talk has really picked up in the last couple months. I’ve talked to other business owners who have experienced the same thing. It usually comes from some sort of internal conflict but I didn’t want to be rude so I didn’t bother to ask. Lastly, the Australian Grill is only around a year old. It has some things it can improve upon, but who doesn’t. I will be going back as often as I get a chance. I think what this place really needs is better customers. If you are someone who enjoys a grass roots, independent, and charming little hidden gem then I hope to see you there. If you are overly concerned and it is hard for you to be happy or see that people aren’t purposefully trying to ruin your life please go to a fast food joint since it is probably hard for you to be around people.

  53. Chef Tom

    So I’m not going to comment on all the previous stories I’m only posting hoping that others will read. When tipping a server the % is up to you but I’m a firm believer great service 20% or more average service 15% and bad service 12% and if your curious why 12% well that’s what they have to claim on taxes even if you too less they have to claim at least 12% of cash tips so it is very unfair to tip even 1cent less then that but more importantly you should always tip based on the none discounted amount ie; groupons, coupons ; discounts or happy hour also if something is wrong with your food and the server takes care of your issue then the server has done there job and you shouldn’t punish them when the kitchen makes the error some coming from someone that has a wife that works Friday night Saturdays and Sundays as a server and a chef for 20years I though that this would be helpfull to all hospitality employees

    And if your courious why she only serves on the weekend beacuase that’s the only way she can afford to spend her entire week 12 plus hours a day teaching our children she is a science teacher for 11th and 12th graders she teaches science biology and forensic science so the next time you are out enjoying a great meal and wonderfull service remember we are all humans and remember the sacrifices people make to educate our you
    Think of my wonderful wife and tips until it hurts!

    1. #ONTHEFLY

      Chef Tom! thank you for your post! I agree that even if someone receives bad service, thay should at least tip out the 12% (not untill it hurts though, if it hurts, one should not be eating out, in my opinion) I live in SF which is insanely expensive these days, and i teach and serve just to pay rent. I actually left teaching because the money used to be sufficient enough to cover my expenses. With all the people eating out, barely able to even pay their bill, and the removal of gratuity on parties of 6 or more, i had to resume your wifes 2job strategy. its super exhausting and just respect to yourself and your amazing wife.

  54. sally

    This sounds like a case for Gordon Ramsey and Kitchen Nightmares. Maybe we can get another Amy’s Baking Company scandal going!

  55. What

    Actually the owner sounds like a vindictive, exploitative asshole.

    1) Calls out reviewer by first/last name?? Why? Telling others to watch out for them probably sounds good to people in a justiceporn way but it’s not like anyone will know what they look like with only a first and last.

    2) Allows her server to run out and refund the customers rather than refund them herself. It’s HER restaurant, but apparently she could care less about how customers feel regardless of how “cheap” or “rude” they are and is willing to pass the buck to her SERVERS?

    3) Somehow asserts that the $5 tip is OWED to her server. Um, why? Is she not paying them a living wage? They’re HER employees, not the customers’. I personally always tip but last time I checked, tips, while obligatory by custom, have always been “suggested”, rather than “mandatory”, as her language would suggest. The customers, probably not aware of the deeper implications of the tipping system, were simply making an attempt to express their gross dissatisfaction without (illegally) skipping a bill. Hence the tip using pocket change and pennies. It was a message, not an act of cheapness. Why couldn’t they just use their words and TELL someone about their dissatisfaction? Well, obviously because the owner is a selfish asshole who does not care, they felt forced to convey their message via Yelp and tip. And apparently the server, at least, (someone who has a heart), got the message and sympathized with them enough to offer them some form of refund out of his own pocket. Which is just all kinds of wrong on the owner’s part. I’m sure the customers didn’t even know that they were taking the server’s tips and merely felt vindicated by this action, since they ostensibly successfully communicated their dissatisfaction with an $0.18 tip.

    (This is one of the biggest reasons the tipping system is so broken – it essentially allows asshole owners like this to take advantage of customers and servers alike by passing the responsibility of paying employees to customers who may or may not be aware of this practice, breeding resentment of customers and prejudice/profiling on the server part and the potential for deserving servers to be stiffed the pay they should be receiving for their work. All the while making the pay system into what is essentially a commission based, customer paid wage (wage because it is mandatory in the eyes of most) that enables them to encourage servers to push upsales at no cost to themselves. How deeply wrong is that??!)

    3) People keep jumping on the “cheap” customer, but from the context, it seems more like they simply weren’t aware that the happy hour drink prices, which are typically listed on a separate menu, constituted “a separate offer”. It’s not necessarily an obvious “offer” in the way a “20% off deal if you buy 5 drinks or more” might be; if the owner had maybe simply explained this rather than telling them no and then profiling them as cheap scum of the earth, maybe they wouldn’t have been upset enough to leave an $0.18 tip in the first place.

    4) How does using a Groupon make them “seasoned coupon-clippers”? I’ve never gotten a Groupon or the like but it seems like it could have just as easily been their first restaurant Groupon as their 10th. Either way who cares? If you hate your Groupon customers that much, just don’t offer a Groupon. It’s that simple. Of course it’s gonna bring in people who are trying to save a buck; it’s a Groupon.

    5) Lets be real here, restaurateurs make massive margins on drinks, especially alcoholic ones. There’s a reason happy hour prices exist, and it’s not because owners just want to give away booze at-cost. They’re still making a significant profit. In this case, the owner most likely just didn’t want a precious boozy $$$-bleeding bar seat taken by one of those cheap Groupon users who might order at a steeper discount (oh no less profit) and then nurse it for god knows how long. It was the opportunity cost, in the owner’s mind, that drove her to try to drive them away.

    I personally would never use a restaurant Groupon simply because if it’s great enough to be getting regular and returning customers, it wouldn’t need to be issuing Groupons, which are intended to generate revenue by attracting new customers. To me, an established restaurant with a Groupon is the sign of something wrong.

    I agree that Yelp is full of ignorant and annoying sheeple who think they are Very Important, and this reviewer may very well be one of them, but in this case, the owner is ridiculously out of line and unnecessarily belligerent. What she lacks in graciousness she more than makes up for in psychotic aggression, I suppose.

    (Wrote this entire comment on a friend’s fb page prior to seeing other people’s comments or the actual reviews on Yelp, which only confirmed what I gathered from the original blog post)

    1. tom

      actually if you had bothered to read it, the couple asked multiple times if they could get happy hour drink prices and were refused. they ended up not drinking at all. and the waiter rushed out on his own accord, the owner didnt tell him to do it. get ur facts rite

  56. Ruben

    Understanding that this article or blog post is written from the point of view of either a server or someone in the industry I totally get the appeal of the vindicating moment when the owner fights back on Yelp. As the owner it’s totally Stephanie’s prerogative to do as she wants.

    Couple of things:

    1. I’ve lived in Carlsbad Village now for 17 years and my friends include restauranteurs, bar owners, and many servers and bartenders that work here in Cbad Village. It’s a small community and everyone knows everyone.

    2. I’m totally aware that there are people that are cheap asses, bad customers, liars on YELP, etc. But there are also restaurants that kinda suck and the same goes for servers etc. Plenty of places have come and gone over the years.

    3. I have a YELP account, and mostly use it to praise places I like. You can see I use it to post “positive” stuff. That kinda blows the theory that everyone just gets negative. But if I had a bad really experience I feel it’s totally fine to post a review, just the same as if I told everyone I know, “Stay away from that place because…..” I think YELP is a good thing and while there are bogus reviews, many consumers are smart enough to navigate those. YELP is so popular because people don’t want to waste there time going to a place that gives bad service, or a crappy atmosphere, etc. Consumers like YELP. I feel like If you can’t handle YELP reviews you’re in the wrong industry because I’m afraid YELP is here to stay for a while at least.

    4. I’ve used a Groupon before, you bet. Probably half a dozen times when it first came out. If you don’t want to attract group on clients, don’t offer a coupon. Seems to make sense right? People that don’t tip on a group on or spend the minimum are probably cheap asses in the first place. The lowest I’ve EVER tipped is 20% and that’s when the service was non-existent.

    Is it right for the owner to call out people by name? Sure why not. I feel like it goes both ways… of course I feel like it’s in bad taste throwing the last name out there but whatever. The cool thing about owning your own business is you can do whatever you want. That includes making poor choices that might actually hurt your business.

    I’ve been to the Australian grill a couple times, once for dinner and once for lunch with a friend that wanted to go there. It wasn’t bad. I don’t know the owners or the servers there at all. I do walk down state street often even on nights when every other local restaurant (even on state) is busy and they are empty or with maybe one table. There is something going on there that isn’t getting clients in the door. I’ve sat outside across the street and see people walk up, look at the menu and then walk down the street to Vigs or across the street to Garcias. Is it the prices? I don’t know. Maybe people actually read the YELP reviews BEFORE they go to a restaurant they want to try out? Novel idea.

    All I know is if I were to read an online lambasting from the owner of a restaurant and then see the owner naming the patrons by last name I would probably pick somewhere else. I don’t doubt that it feels good to see one of your own stand up to a cheap ass, lying customer. I get it. In the end though I bet it does more harm than good to an already struggling business. We will see if the AG is still there 12 months from now. Sadly, I kinda doubt it.

  57. Shawna

    Ok so I am probably the only person on here who knows Stefanie personally. She is an honest hardworking small business owner who finally got sick of tolerating other peoples sh*t and finally decided to defend her employee. She took a leap and openly defaced her own business just to defend her employee. She is a novel example of a human and a wonderful inspiration. I knew her when she first moved here and she spent all her time in that restaurant and gave her heart and soul for it. It is TOUGH owning a small business! There is a reason that 99% fail in the first year. And she is a 30 year old female running it ALONE! I support her 100%. And all of you assholes who think its funny to spread lies and rumours, take a look in the mirror. I bet you have not even achieved anything even CLOSE to owning a restaurant. Stefanie is someone who pays taxes, gives jobs to Americans, supports our lcoal growers and farmers and our economy. If the restaurant didnt exist there would be people without jobs and suppliers without accounts, not to mention she has given so much to charity and held so many fundraisers and donations.

    To all you losers out there with nothing better to do than trash someone elses name, shame on you! If you put your energy into something constructive maybe you will get further than sitting on a computer having an angry rant all day about someone who doesnt even care about you.

    I support you Stefanie 100%. You have had my back many times and now I have yours.

    And kudos for defending your employee. He is hard working, like you.

    1. Angela

      It is clear by your post that you really do NOT know Stephanie. If you did there is no possible way you could classify her as honest and hard working. I, on the other hand actually DO know Stephanie and she is a LAZY, PATHOLOGICAL LIAR and a SOCIOPATH! Running it alone? HA! She has had a faithful crew of employees running her restaurant for the last year which is the ONLY reason it hasn’t failed yet. Now that everyone has quit and she is running it alone it is FAILING miserably. In her desperation she has resorted to attacking and bullying her unhappy customers, instead of attempting to right her wrongs through ACTUAL customer service. She is a pathetic disgrace to the restaurant industry and Im glad to see her getting exactly what she deserves (in case you didn’t know, she is homeless, sleeping in her car because she has screwed over every person kind and foolish enough to take mer in) KARMA IS A BITCH!

      1. Mythena

        Actually Angela I do know Stefanie. And alot better than you because I can actually spell her name.

        1. What is your problem? Do you have nothing better to do than to attempt to trash other people? You REALLY need to get a life. You are on this blog all the time. The posts are timestamped. Do you check this blog every hour? DO you sit at home waiting for a reply so you can get all snappy and sassy? Looks like it!!! Get a life, Angela

        2. Stefanie is a fucking LEGEND. She moved here from a small town in Australia and saved all her money alone to come here and try her hardest and give 100% and thats what she has been doing. She is honest, hardworking and has been giving jobs and employment to so many people. The community owes her a thanks.

        3. Look at what she has done which is REMARKABLE and AMAZING. She has sacrificed herself and her business reputation for the sake of her waiter. She cares about her employees SO MUCH she is prepared to back them up all the way. You will never see that anywhere else, I guarantee! That is why this is such a big deal, because usually bosses dont give a crap and just apologise instead of defending themselves. Stefanie is different. She is an INSPIRATION.

        4. ALEXIS GALIC used to be the former manager of the Australian Grill. I know Alexis well. All I can say is she is a terrible HORRIBLE person. What she did to stefanie was inexcusable. For someone that believes in Karma, and acts like such a Hippy then she really needs a reality check. Alexis was hooking up with the old head chef of the restaurant for over a year in secret. She was also hooking up with his best friend Steve AT THE SAME TIME. Stefanie has told me everything. She slept wit so many people from that place it is gross. She is so filthy. She slept with Jordan Grace from their house band Skypilot, she slept with an Aussie waitress and her boyfriend in a 3some, she slept with MULTIPLE customers. She even slept with a wine vendor in Stefanies bed while she WAS ASLEEP IN IT! And i have heard this from another friend of mine who lives up north who was out with them when it happened. Oh yeah, and she slept with him too. Alexis likes to fuck people (literally) to get them on her side. She is obviously a VERY VERY insecure person. Alexis needs to be loved. Alexis needs to be loved SO MUCH that she used to play good cop bad cop with Stefanie in that restaurant and Alexis convinced all the staff to hate Stefanie and to love Alexis because she is needy. Now tht Alexis has gone, it is a great place. I have been in twice and all the staff are happy and love each other, and Stef will stick up for any of them any day and that is shown here. I am so glad this has gone viral online, because publicity is awesome for a new restaurant and a small business like hers.

        5. Oh yeah and ALEXIS GALIC – shame on you for ATTEMPTING to trash stefanies name. You wanna trash her name? I will trash yours. She fucking told me everything. Alexis you are a total tramp. I hear you work at wine steals now, and you got that job because you fucked someone there, one of the bosses named Clayton. Dont tell Ryan smith because youre fucking him too.

        6. Please everyone ignore the drama. It is ALexis galic and her sad army of lemmings and haters who do whatever she says. Stefanie is a fucking awesome small business owner. We need more of these people in the world, coming here to pursue their dreams and giving people a chance and hope. The Aussie grill is a wonderful place and so many menories created there. Alexias should be grate ful – after all she got laid about 1000 times from people in there.

        7. Oh yeah – and Alexis galic used to be manager of a cafe in Pacific beach called 976 and she got fired for STEALING MONEY. True story. LOOK IT UP !!!! sHE IS A TERRIBLE HUMAN BEING. She is anonymously trying to steal Stefs thunder and ruin her business but good luck. The only thing Alexis is ever gonna achieve is a negative STD test and hopefully a high school diploma. Boo to you haters!

        And Stef – we are all rooting for ya!!!


        1. Mythena

          Oh yeah and Angela – if you actually knew her you would know that she lives with her boyfriend in Cardiff. And she is not running the place alone, she has many employees. If you knew anything about her or the place you would know that. You are obviously one of Alexis friends who she has asked you to start trash talking. You really need to get a life

          1. Lourdes

            This just got so much more interesting. Now a promiscuous Alexis enters the arena! She sounds like a party girl

          2. Angela

            Oh Stefanie. I love how you keep jumping on here and pretending to be your own friends. It’s hilarious. You have no friends and everyone knows it. You are just desperate to blame someone else for your own failure. It’s quite satisfying to watch your downward spiral.
            And bringing Alexis into it? Classy.

          3. MrsMac

            I LOVE all of you guys! This is the most blown-out-of-proportion load of crap I have ever read and you are all just so entertaining. Please keep baiting each other. You guys are hilarious!

        2. Lucas

          You definitely sound like the type of person dyed would call a “friend”. All the replies on here putting this owner on the spot seem valid input as the blog post is ABOUT HER and how she runs a restaurant. Your rant about their past gm seems childish and really insecure. As an outsider on this whole situation, it seems the owner needs to worry less about people’s sex lives and worry more about how to run a restaurant properly. It sounds like she’s had rather a hard time becoming successful but ya know some people are meant for success…it doesn’t sound like its in the cards for her or her “friends”

          1. FRAN

            The Australian Grill restaurant in Carlsbad is AWESOME! It is run by a single woman and is the only restaurant on the block that is not a chain or corporate. It is hard to start a business alone and it takes guts and courage.It is important to support small business.
            When the Australian Grill opened, the menu was almost totally organic. The restaurant spend thousands of dollars supporting local organic farms and small farms. This is great for the economy and great for the small farmers, as well as for the customers and the community. The restaurant has NEVER ordered food through big chains such as sysco, US foods, and makes as much as possible from scratch, even the ketchup!
            The only mistake that the restaurant ever made was hiring ALEXIS GALIC as the general manager for a short period. Alexis was a thief who stole money from her last job, at cafe 976 in Pacific beach, and she got fired for doing this. Then she started working at Australian Grill and started having sex with anyone she could, including the head chef and Sous chef AT THE SAME TIME. I still wonder if Steven and Justin even know about each other. She also banged wine salesman, the band skypilot, various customers, and a waitress and her boyfriend. She is a very insecure person. Insecure people need constant reassurance and need to keep telling themselves that they are doing the right thing.
            Alexis Galic is a terrible person. She banged most of the restaurant and managed to play good cop bad cop and turn the employees onto the owner, thinking that it will make her look like a good person. Stefanie was a good friend to Alexis, and Alexis is a horrible person.
            Now that Alexis has left the restaurant, the place is Fantastic. EVERYONE gets along, waiters and waitresses are positive and happy, nobody is sleeping with anyone, it is a professional positive environment.
            Stefanie loves her waitstaff so much she will stick up for them until the end of the earth, which is why this whole blog happened, because she stuck up for Cole.
            ALEXIS GALIC has nothing better to do than to trash the name of an innocent restaurant. She is a slut and a thief and not to be trusted.
            The Australian Grill is a much better restaurant without her there. Come on in, youll see 🙂

      2. FRAN


        1. mythena

          Alexis Galic you should be ashamed of yourself. You believe in karma? Well you have a LOT of shit coming to you. You have no job and no education and think its fun to waste your days trashing someone elses name. Best of luck to you
          You are a horrible person

        2. Laughing

          Ok can you guys at least wait a reasonable amount of time before hopping onto another fake name to back up your points? The damage is done. A lot of people would never set foot into the restaurant because of Stefani’s actions. This has nothing to do with the other trainwreck of a manager.

          I mean, just take a look at Yelp. All of the negative reviews within the last few days have been REMOVED and one of them even reposted their review with the notice from Yelp! Based on that alone it seems like everything everyone is saying about Stefani is true.

          The sad thing is, you can lie, bully, and try to intimidate your way to success, but in the end, it will be the food and service (or lack thereof) that sinks her ship.

      1. Angela

        You’re fighting for the wrong team buddy. Stephanie is hated because she is a terrible human being. Not because people are out to get her.

  58. Justine

    I am so HAPPY that someone is taking one for the team! This is one for the hard workign servers and bartenders out there! Stefanie, you rock! I will come work for you any day. You are my hero.

    I want Cole to be my waiter so I can give him a big fat tip and a high 5 !

    All the haters out there, go get a life! You are obsessive and that is not healthy! Go meditate lol

  59. Ynez

    Yelp sucks! It is so one sided! It is not like facebook where you can post back and forth.
    I work at a tavern and so many people complain on yelp about stupid things that we cant fix, like parking, and what time the fight starts on TV, and silly stuff. It is ridiculous. Sometimes customers mention my name and say something untrue and its usually because they get free stuff or they know they can get something free next time. Or they feel empowered, like they are some kind of restaurant critic or something. Yelp sucks. Real men dont yelp, they complain in person like a civilized person, giving us the opportunity to rectify before naming and shaming. We should boycott yelp!
    Elite yelpers need to Get a real hobby!!

    1. Awesome

      Some managers/owners are intimidating, unapproachable, unavailable, etc. And sometimes people who are GMs or owners think that they have dealt with a situation appropriately simply by virtue of being in the position to deny or grant a request. You think Yelpers are power trippers? How about you? Are you the fairest of them all? Every so patient, helpful and professional? What you consider silly things may make or break someone’s experience, turn the night from ok into a great one and have them become a long term loyal patron, which means more money to you. But you dismissing their preferences and thus them in general and thereafter moaning about their right to speak freely about what they feel they have experienced at your establishment is ridiculous and unilateral.

      Further, Yelp is the perfect place for people to express their opinion. If you care so much about the opinion of your patrons, mayhaps you can suggest your servers asking “Is everything ok?” thus giving the opportunity for a candid feedback so you can correct the “silly things” those pesky customers demand in a timely manner. In case you are wondering, no, I am not an Elite Yelper. Nope, I am not even a frequent Yelper. I wrote ONE review and it was a great one, describing a positive experience. However, I do read reviews on there and remember to take them with a pinch of salt. And if you are of average intelligence and above, you can always tell who is being childish, who sounds like they have a personal vendetta against the establishment and who has genuinely had a bad experience they took the time to share in order to help someone avoid having same in the future. Sounds like you are more of a “my way or the highway” type of owner. Hitler much?

    2. Random Reader

      “Elite yelpers need to Get a real hobby!!” – I agree. However, I like Yelp and I believe that most of us with common sense can weed out the stupid comments some yelpers write. I’m not a yelper, but I see a lot of good reviews (and tips like where to park and coming early due to long waits or lines) that make me want to visit other establishments. Hopefully, your regulars will yelp back and stand up for you. This is something I’ve seen happen before on Yelp btw.

  60. Paul

    Reading this shit is like watching maury.
    I wish there was a like button for these comments. Good luck tonight guys. I hope yall kill it.

  61. Ramirez

    I wonder if Alexa returned to the restaurant with the tip. Does anybody know? I hope this poor server gets his money back!

    1. Reginald van der Slythe III

      I think she and Johnny are too busy posting all over this comments page under multiple names to return the money.

    2. Cole

      This is the server and I never wanted the tip back or anything else in that matter.. I just felt disrespected when given .18 cents… I gave him his money back, but not because I thought he was poor..

    1. Random Reader

      I’m a Groupon customer. I use it to convince myself to try new restaurants and compare menus. I almost always order over the Groupon price and I always tip. If they have good food, I always return. Hello? This is what Groupon is for, so please don’t judge me by the other shitty customers you get. If they are cheap with the Groupon, they’ll be cheap without it. If you hate Groupon so much maybe you should speak with the owner and management team because they are the ones who decided to advertise a Groupon in the first place.

  62. Angela

    Go to Yelp and read the most recent review from a man that was ASSULTED by Stefanie last night. This is the person you are PRAISING for the way she deals with unhappy customers. A clear psychotic sociopath. I wonder how she will respond on Yelp. Hopefully he presses charges.

        1. Angela

          The only one lying here is you on your fake accounts. Cant wait to see your sorry ass in jail when the poor customer you assaulted presses charges.

  63. Wendy

    I really hope that all of you bad mouthing Yelpers and Groupon users don’t actually think we’re ALL like that. Some of these commentators are no better than the jerks badmouthing their service behind the protection of the internet. Yes, I yelp and most of my reviews are positive, so unless it was a horrible experience I hardly ever write anything negative. Yes, there are people who abuse the purpose of Yelp, but does their existence mean the rest of us don’t deserve a place to find out what other patrons think? Additionally, I’m not a frequent Groupon user, but when I do buy one I make sure to order more than what it covers, and tip based on the full price. I also keep an ear out for what waiters think are appropriate percentages, and try to tip based on that. But I’ve found that some restaurants write me off as a cheapskate right off the bat, and these are restaurants I’ve repeatedly visited before without any sort of coupons. So, yea, don’t really appreciate that kind of treatment. If your owners had done their research properly beforehand, they would know that Groupon and the like are hardly ever going to be beneficial, and it’s always going to wear them and their staff out…unless you negotiate your terms right.

    Last thing I want to say is that as a fellow small business owner, her response is incredibly unprofessional. It doesn’t matter that this guy is a jerk and deserved a tongue lashing. Publicly writing this is bound to cost her business opportunities. I know it feels good (been there, done that), but there are better ways to put him in his place.

  64. Gail

    Please everyone look at the yelp review where someone said the owner actually striked him!!!! What a horrible business owner. I hope you commenters are really look at what is being said about this woman. I don’t think these people would just make up all this stuff about her. SHE SOUNDS SO
    AWFUL IT MAKES ME SICK. It’s funny how this article was supposed to support a business owner but instead it showed how horrible of a person she actually is.

    1. Justine

      Just so you are aware, Gail, a restaurant owner cant have an assualt charge or she will lose her liquor licence. So that yelp review is complete lies. People are trying to hate on her. She is an honest hardworking small business owner. This whole thing is about how anyone can go on yelp and write whatever. Read the facts before you go spreading lies

        1. Justine

          Um…”the assault happened last night”? Dont you mean to say : “Some random person wrote something on yelp last night.” You dont know there was an assault. That is the point. Anyone can post anything without consequence. You dont know if any of it is real

          1. Awesome

            Including whether what the owner said is real. Or is it simply by virtue of her having the business that she is immediately proven to be honest and reliable?

  65. MrsMac

    I have to say, this comments section is flipping GOLD! What with Truth and Honestly and Cole and You Have No Idea and the girlfriend of Truth…. I think this comments section definitely deserves to be turned into a drinking game!!

  66. Angie

    I have no idea if these “employees” commenting are real or not, but come on. I’m all for calling out rude customers if it’s an extreme situation (and complaining about them behind their backs in all other situations!) but posting someone’s full name like that? Clearly, the 18-cent tip is a dick move, but it also sounds like there wasn’t much of a problem before then – they wanted to combine the happy hour and Groupon, manager said no, and then who was the one to get upset and rude? We don’t know, could be both parties. And the waiter racing out of the restaurant to give them $6? Because he thought they were poor? That makes zero sense.

    (Another note – because I love drama, I checked out the other yelp reviews for the restaurant, and I don’t see the owner commenting on all the negative reviews as some people are saying.)

  67. Armando Cruz

    Soooo. I’ve been in the service industry for 18 yrs and I know first hand that when someone warns you about shady owners you listen. If this customer didn’t previously worked at the grill would the owner put their name on blast like that? Also it’s a known fact that owners steal money. They do. It’s how they make more money. It’s how they pay BOH and MANAGEMENT or top out the hostess. That should never happen. Right! If you really want to find out if the owner is setting up fake accounts to bolster her image you just have to look at the IP address of the poster. Service industry is filled with emotional people who are taken advantage of and neurologically abused. The managers know that bussers, runners, and servers get shorted by the Owner. The owner cash’s in all your money and the LLC implodes. It’s standard industrial restaurant methodology. To chase someone with money out of spite is very asinine and should not be praised. Truth be told everyone likes money..Of course they took it… Cab fare…..If there are any tech savvy individuals here who wish to discover whether the owner has multiple false accounts here’s a hint…..IP ADDRESS…The most important thing that should be noted is the concern for public health due to unsanitary business practices. If it is untrue than the individual who scandalously brought forth such accusations should face consequences or be forgiven. If the accusations are true the owner and staff need to face the consequences, correct all unsanitary issues, and be forgiven. Simple and effective. Relishing in drama is counter productive to community growth.

  68. I don't get it

    What I don’t understand is if the owner doesn’t like the groupons, then why did she voluntarily sign up for them? Obviously her restaurant is tanking and she needs ask the help she can get, but then complains about it? That in itself is enough for me. Idiots come into restaurants all the time, you just have to learn to deal with it because unfortunately it’s part of the business because there’s a lot of people it there with no class. Owner should not be praised, not matter how big of a jackass that guy was

  69. Lourdes

    My husband showed me this just now. I think it’s hilarious!! Good for you guys at this little restaurant!

  70. Constantine

    Kudos to this restaurant owner for sticking up for her employees!!! We get groupons all the time and they never tip. They use any excuse. Often they leave the paper on the table and just walk out thinking they don’t owe anything!!
    Groupons suck. And so does yelp!! Yelp is not an even forum of exchanged ideas. It is biased against who pays advertising fees and who doesn’t. I wish Stephanie was my boss!

  71. tim

    Thanks again BW for posting props for an owner who sticks up for the server/bartender. Have to thank you. When I see such things I must give thanks!!!

  72. Amy

    Guys, I think you are all missing the point about Yelp and about customer feedback in general.
    Do you know the story of Domino’s pizza? Used to taste like crap, and for the longest time they denied, argued and ignored the customer feedback that was telling them so. The business stagnated and they began losing market share.
    Until they decided to take the feedback head-on and act on it. The moment they did that, they went from a $3 per share company to an $80 per share company. How you respond to negative customer feedback will define your success, or lack thereof. It takes courage to listen to feedback we don’t agree with and don’t want to hear. Success takes courage too.
    Watch the video before responding to this post, it’s only 4 minutes long and it’s worth it.

  73. Tania

    Not to mention, Happy Hour + Groupon is not combining two offers. Before I’m called out as “poor”, I worked as a server for 6 years, and I still don’t agree with the response from the owner, nor the attitude of the server to go after the patron for being “poor” and give him money.

    This is just classless. I’ve had my share of bad patrons I’ve wanted to call out, but I don’t think the couple came in and did anything wrong. It sounds like they were really treated rudely.

    1. You People Have No Idea

      They most assuredly were treated badly. The instant the owner realizes you have a “special receipt” your service is immediately dropped to the level of basically ignored. Read some of the filtered Yelp reviews. There’s a guy who was told he must wait 30 minutes to order because he presented her with a coupon. This absolutely happened. When you assume someone will tip poorly, so you give them poor service, are you honestly going to be shocked when they don’t tip?? That’s what we call a self-fulfilling prophecy. I have been stiffed on tips, shit happens. A professional restaurant owner would NEVER respond in that way.

  74. Tania

    I’m all for calling out terrible patrons.
    But not all of us that use Groupon are scum. Some of us are in it for the new experience. And we know how to tip based on the original total. We can be nice, civil, decent patrons. Pretty shitty to call out ALL Groupon users as equals.

    1. You People Have No Idea

      In her mind, every Groupon or LivingSocial customer is scum. She calls them “special receipts” and whispers about it so as not to let you know she is talking shit on you in the back. I have literally heard the words out of her mouth. She is also racist and assumes if you are African American of Asian that you will not tip. So if you are wondering why your service is subpar, look at your skin color and that might be your answer.

  75. Josh

    Just a random Canadian whose never had the pleasure of dining at the restaurant in question, though now I certainly want to!!
    In hopes of dinner and a show 😉 kidding!

    Anyway, it’s clear to anyone with half a brain, that it’s the same disgruntled customer creating multiple accounts.
    The names for one, “truth and honestly”?
    Need I say duhhh.
    These people, though more likely person, had a bad day, didn’t get exactly what they thought they deserved and went to the Internet to vent. Using slander and defamation of character (which is illegal up in the good old north 😉 to abuse what little power they have.

    It’s very simple people.

    Treat others as you would be treated.
    You get farther with a smile then a frown.
    What goes around come around….

    Get where I’m going with this? We forget sometimes that those severs aren’t in fact servants, and are just people trying to make a living. The customer is not always right, in fact their most often wrong, or at least looking at the situation from a very one sided point of veiw.

    I applaud the staff, for standing up for each other and for what’s right!!

    Any who *steps off soap box* that’s my 2 cents. 🙂

    GJ GUYS!!!!

    1. You People Have No Idea

      The funny thing is, these negative comments are not actually from the same person, nor are they from customers! They are from employees who actually got to see what went on behind the scenes. We have nothing to gain from telling the truth. In actuality, we are the good guys trying to save potential customers from wasting their money or worse, getting food poisoning.

      The owner of this restaurant does not appreciate you. You are a walking dollar sign. If you order water to start, she is in the back using her hands to get your ice and has already decided you will not tip and will treat you as such. She just wants your money and could care less if you return.

      That smile on her face is the result of sociopathic tendencies. She sees that’s what other people do and she has assimilated into being fake nice because she knows if she shows her true colors she might be committed. But none of you will ever figure this out, it takes more than a visit to figure her out for what she is, that’s why long-term employees feel compelled to enlighten you.

    2. Mel

      So right.

      I wish everyone had to work at least one year in customer service so that they’d know what it is like to apologize to a customer for their own mistake. You can’t be a jerk to a jerk and expect a better outcome so there’s nothing you can really do to fight back. Servers have got to look out for each other.

  76. Milady

    Elite yelpers need to find a hobby. Way to go Stefanie! Way to go Australian Grill! YOu have no balls if you cant complain in person and its so easy to go home and vernt to a computer who cant fight back, but so hard to fight in person. Shame on yelpers! Everyone hates yelp! lol

    1. Angela

      This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever read. The words “Stefanie” and “Hero” do not belong in the same sentence together EVER. You are either being paid by Stefanie to write this or you have absolutely no goddam clue what you are talking about. So allow me to enlighten you.

      I worked at the Australian Grill for over a year, and I can tell you first hand what it is all about. The food is sub-par but its written on the menu that it is all fresh and organic (LIES!!) It is beyond unsanitary. I would go into all of the disgusting things that happen there but it would take too long and I have a point to make. The owner, Stefanie is LITERALLY the worst human I have ever met. She is a pathological liar, a thief and a SCAM ARTIST.

      I am a veteran to the restaurant industry so I understand the negative and sometimes unfair effect that yelp can have. Regardless, it does have a purpose. It is a forum for people to inform their communities about the experiences they have with businesses, good or bad. I am not saying that this “Jonny W.” isn’t a douche because he clearly is. But what I can tell you is that Stefanie’s comment is a complete LIE!! She knows that this person cannot comment back to defend himself so she made up some ridiculous story that her waiter followed him outside and gave him money. No waiter in his right mind would do that. That absolutely NEVER happened. And calling out someone by name like that only attests to how low Stefanie will go. ZERO CLASS! Stefanie is simply bullying this guy so know one will know what a piece of shit operation she’s running.

      In fact, Stefanie is very good at doing this. If you were to look on The Australian Grill’s Yelp page, you will notice nothing but 4, 5 and an occasional 3 star review. Thats because anytime someone posts something Stefanie doesn’t like she threatens, bullies and intimidates them until they take it down. THEN she will use one of her many FAKE Yelp accounts to give her restaurant 5 star reviews while also TRASHING all the restaurants in the area. Its despicable. In fact, I remember an occasion when a woman had a bad experience and told of it on Yelp and Stefanie commented and made up some ridiculous bullshit about how the woman ran out on her bill. THEN she used her fake Yelp account (Saskia S. LOOK IT UP!) to write a terrible review on the woman’s husband’s Yelp page. He was an electrician that she had never met. She threatened the woman with more bad reviews of her husbands business and the woman removed the post. And with this same FAKE Yelp account she gave a terrible review to her neighboring restaurant (Vigiluccis’s- a very nice restaurant next door that steals all her business) saying that she saw rat shit on the floor. A total lie that she had the gaul to brag and laugh about with her staff.

      She did the same thing to me when I tried to inform the public of the disgusting and unethical practices going on at The Australian Grill. She threatened me, tried to intimidate me, commented to the review with complete lies, flagged my review to Yelp and ultimately had it removed. As she has done with many other bad yelp reviews.
      Stefanie is nobody’s hero. She is a terrible human being that runs a disgusting, FAILING restaurant. And these people defending her, claiming to have worked at the Australian Grill (COLE and ATHENA) are nothing more than pathetic attempts from Stefanie to deceive the public into believing she doesn’t run a shit show. That’s right! They are FAKE profiles from none other than STEFANIE ISAKIDIS. I know LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE PERSON to ever work for the Australian Grill. These people are FAKE. No one that has worked for Stefanie would ever defend her. EVER. And MIKE, I suppose it is possible that you ARE the new executive chef and not some made up character. I understand why you would defend this place, you’re too new to realize that your boss is a sociopath. You will. I promise

      So “Bitchy Waiter”, as Im sure your intentions were good in writing this, you are fighting for the wrong team! Stefanie Isakidis is a disgrace to the restaurant industry and to small business owners everywhere.

      1. You People Have No Idea

        To add to your point, Stefanie is not the “Good Guy Boss” you all for some reason believe her to be. Ask the head chef how much money he makes. It comes out to be less than $11 an hour. Does that sound reasonable? Or how about $9 an hour for a GM? Also, let’s see how many people there are working under the table. They think it’s to their benefit but Stefanie is actually saving hundreds a paycheck by paying them cash only and the second she closes the restaurant (the end of the busy summer season – I promise you) none of you poor employees will be able to collect unemployment. She is not looking out for you, she is only looking out for herself.

      2. Paul C

        I’ve had this misfortune of dealing with this woman on the opposite side of the world, where she supposedly gets her ‘recipes’ from and while I can’t verify any of the above, I can say it would not surprise me.

        Please don’t think all Australians are like this, we’re a heck of a lot nicer and fairer too for the most part. And just so you know, in Australia she calls herself Greek. So not a true person at all.

  77. Melissa

    So “truth” and “honesty” aren’t the same person? Writing the SAME SHIT and commenting 6 minutes apart? What, did you get fired and now you wanna act like a little bitch too? Grow up! I hate Yelp with a passion. A bunch of assholes who aren’t man or woman enough to complain (IF IT IS EVEN LEGIT) in person right after whatever happened. Nope-let’s go to FUCKING YELP and ruin reputations! Fucking losers who have no life.

    1. You People Have No Idea

      I know this is shocking to people who live in god knows where and are commending a restaurant owner they’ve never met for berating a customer online, when they have no idea what really happened. Even if this groupon customer was in the wrong, it does not negate the fact that this “hero” you are all praising is in fact a manipulative and terrible person. This is just the tip of the iceberg. So please, go to the restaurant and look for the disheveled woman with dark greasy hair and teal eyeliner from two nights ago and there is your hero. Ask her about her cancer she told all her friends and employees she had. Ask her about the front window that was broken out because of her terrible reputation in the community. Ask her about the sewer smell in the dining room that she refuses to remedy. Ask her to show you the keg she pours your beer from and note all of the fruit flies enjoying that same beer. Also ask her how it is legal that customers walk through the kitchen to get to the patio and the restroom. Here’s a clue, it’s not.

    2. Awesome

      Incobloodyrect…. Apparently they do have a life. One where you serve the dinner and smile so that once they are done they can tip you. The fact that you are a loser who hates their job and everyone connected to it should be kept separate from the issue at hand. Oh, and stick to serving food and drinks, rather than playing detective. By the same token one can assume that you are Stefanie 😉

  78. Francis

    I use groupons all the time. I always tip the server/bartender the amount that I saved. It’s a good way to try out new places and save a little money. If I get good food, good service, I’ll go back. Which, I think, is the purpose of a business presenting coupons in the first place.

    There’s no reason for people ever to be rude. So many people feel that because they are a customer, they can be rude to the people they are doing business with. I do not accept that. I worked in food service from the time I was 16 until I was 44. I went back to school at 42 to get a degree in physical therapy. I am 50 now and clients are still rude to me sometimes. I calmly explain to them that if they have concerns, they need to address me in a courteous manner, just as I do to them. And if they balk at that, I state that there is actually a waiting list for PT services and I will gladly move on to the next patient.

    Now, I understand that I have to be a little more patient with people who have been sick and are trying to recover than I did with jackasses looking for a free drink, but there’s a limit here, too.

    Good job, Australian Grill!

    1. You People Have No Idea

      The purpose of the groupons at this place is just to have warm bodies in an otherwise nearly empty restaurant. The owner assumes you are a cheap restaurant hopping coupon clipper who will never return and treats you as such.

  79. Joy

    I am so happy that this happened! Restore my faith in humanity. This ones for all the servers and bartenders out there. We love this. We hate yelp. And we Loooove the bitchy waiter!!! xoxoxo

  80. Mike

    Ok everyone. I am Mike, and I work at the Australian grill in the kitchen, and I was there last night and saw the whole incident. It was terrible.
    All day long the restaurant has been getting calls, emails of love and faith and hope, from servers all across America who can sympethise with Cole or call to congratulate Stefanie.
    We are all so grateful and excited that our small restaurant has gotten so much positive attention and love in the wake of a nasty grouponer.
    And for the record, all of the haters on here: please dont trash someone elses name. If you want to stick up for Alexa Kliebenstein (or maybe you are Alexa and Johnny) then just come out and admit it, without hiding under a fake name or making up lies.
    And just to prove that I really work here and I am legit, the number to the Australian grill is (760 514 9607. Call and ask for Mike from the kitchen (me). I will tell you the real deal. This is an awesome restaurant with awesome servers and a great boss. Come in and mistreat the staff at your peril, because the boss has your back 🙂

    1. You People Have No Idea

      You’ve worked there for 1 week? Maybe 2? Yeah…give it a few months and then see how defensive you are. Look around you and realize that every employee there is brand new. The person who has worked there the longest (the executive chef) started less than 3 months ago. All of the other staff has been hired within the last month. All the people who helped keep that restaurant open for the past year and a half are now gone. There is a reason for that.

    2. Awesome

      Nasty Groupon-er??? You people act as if someone forced your shitty restaurant to offer a Groupon “deal”. If your boss was so great she would not sell you out by offering a Groupon. It is plain logic and common knowledge that people love a great deal. You included. And not everyone is a trust fund baby with unlimited funds. Safe to say people on a budget also like to eat out – shock horror!! And Groupon allows them to do just that – eat out on a budget. Does not make them shit people or cheap. Not always. If you want to be mad that bargain hunters flock to your establishment, blame the owner for offering a Groupon. Simple as.

      1. Anthony

        If you can’t afford to tip, then don’t fucking eat out, you fucking sorry sons of bitches, it’s that simple. I once was a server, but no longer, and I know both sides of the equation. I repeat: if you can’t afford to tip then you can’t fucking afford to eat out. You can make a nice dinner in your own fucking home without any issue. Also, servers remember, so you will never ever ever get good service at place you screw with a bad tip, businesses I your neighborhood. When I go to my favorite Mexican place in my hood, I always get treated like a king, even on Cinco de Mayo when the place is full, I never have to wait long for a table for myself and my wife; why? Because I tip my sever and I treat them with respect, serving humans food is a godly thing and it should be aknowledged as such. You cheap ass fucktard yelpers disgust me, you’re the vilest most self entitled pieces of shit that have ever existed. Fuck you for not realizing that every day is not perfect at every moment-were only human!

  81. Mari

    There was so much more I was going to say, but… I’ll KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)

    Whoop Whoop!

    p.s. it’s just a thing I learned in design school, that acronym – I mean no derogatory comment towards you. I adore you.

  82. Athena

    I used to work at the Australian Grill. The restaurant industry is CUT throat and it is amazing how many people try and tear you down. Stefanie is an amazing boss and an inspiration. She moved to America to start this small business and she will protect it with her life, as well as all her employees which is demonstrated here. To all her competitiors and haters put there: peace and love. Kudos to this little restaurant, I have nothing but love for you guys!

    1. You People Have No Idea

      You never worked there, you’re a friend of the owner. Way to lie though. 5 internet points for you!

  83. honestly

    Stefanie Isakidis, is by far one of the cheapest beings alive. She is so cheap that she has stolen silverware, glasses, creamer, and sugar ect., from other places for her restaurant for others to use. She treats people as if they are worthless. She owes several people money I’m talking Thousands. She serves people moldy “fresh brewed tea” thats been sitting out for days, the orange juice in her mimosas is way past expiration . She has even committed insurance fraud several times for the restaurant. She stopped paying waste management for awhile thats why the trash is overflowing and disgusting. When she serves people which is often she grabs the ice out to put into cups with her hands, mind you she never washes them. She also thinks its okay to pick food off the line with dirty hands. She serves flat over pour beer that has been sitting in the fridge. She also saves wine from customers and puts it back in the bottle. She is so tacky that she would come in drunk or extremely hungover and make a fool of herself. She catered a wedding not too long ago and took it upon herself to enjoy the customers alcohol they provided and decided she wanted cake. She also managed to catch her shirt on fire(lol). She sleeps in her car or the restaurant because she has refused to pay rent to the person she has been staying with after she got evicted from her apartment. GET this she had the audacity to tell friends, employees and customers that she had cancer! She should not be praised for this one thing when the list goes on and on how pathetic she is as a person.

    1. Truth

      Thank you! It really reflects poorly on this blog when they blindly put someone on a “hero of the day” pedestal without any knowledge of what she is actually like.

        1. 3j

          I really don’t know how I came upon this website, or why I’m wasting my time reading all of this crap, but I couldn’t stop reading. If you never worked at this restaurant why would you be on here commenting about it.. In major detail? If your girlfriend quit her job then that means she’s moved on, so maybe you should do the same…or go on yelp like a douche.

    2. Jacob Arnett

      What’s up with Greek restaurant owners and insurance fraud? When I was a kid I worked for some Greek owners who intentionally tried to burn their restaurant down 3 times. The 3rd time was the charm and I’m not sure what happened with that but I hope they got sussed out. It was in Mentor Ohio….place called the Brown Derby “Roadhouse”

  84. LuckieMaounds

    Bravo – this shit is fantastic. Lots of people as customers are cheap fucks and it’s lame.
    I agree with the restaurant rep’s rebuttal – especially since the “Johnny” profile is a total fraud. One review, no profile – he’s obviously hiding behind a fake name. Poor Alexa got called out even though it’s was One-Review Johnny’s complaint. She’s on Facebook, btw… but she does not have any FB friends named John-anything.

  85. Truth

    For the record, I know many people who have worked at the Australian Grill (my girlfriend included)…this place is a shit hole. Sure the groupon customers can be trouble but lets get some insight in the owner Stefanie before we start praising her. This woman never washes her hands while handling food and if you ask for a drink from her, she always scoops the ice with her hands (yum!). If you decide to have a glass of wine with your meal, I would be cautious. She pours back into the bottle any wine left in a glass from a previous customer. Wonder why none of the utensils match? Oh, just because she goes to restaurants in the area and will steal theirs. Want cream with your coffee? Let her sneak out the back to run to 7-11 to take some from them. Praising her for “fighting back” is ridiculous. How about we praise her for getting drunk nightly while working? Or praise her for what is advertised as the “kangaroo burger” which is 95% beef…But don’t worry, she’ll charge you $15+ for that burger because kangaroo meat is so exquisite! The owner is sloppy at best and the restaurant won’t last.

    1. Cole

      You have a lot of nerve buddy.. And it’s funny because we all know who you are. And I feel really bad for your girlfriend that she has a guy that hides behind a fake name and also makes her quit her job… I hope when she finally leaves you you will realize how much of a loser and douchbag you are.

      Have a good one…

      1. Jessalyn

        Cole you have no fucking idea what you’re talking about, sorry. Do not disrespect me or my boyfriend.

        I gave you my tables, I treated you well. Way to show your true colors, bud.

    2. Code 7

      In California, it’s illegal to serve Kangaroo meat, so if she’s advertising a burger as “Kangaroo meat” she’s breaking one law or another.

  86. Jessica

    Carlsbad is located in North County of San Diego. I live in downtown San Diego, as a bartender/server. Better believe I’m driving up to Stefanie’s restaurant just to request that server, tip Fat, and give Stefanie and high 5!

    1. Cole

      I am that server Jessica and we would love to have you in.. Lol
      And you don’t have to leave me a huge tip.. But you can def give Stefanie a high five…

        1. Reginald van der Slythe III

          “I give you 2 weeks working for that cunt before you are eating your worlds Cole.”

          Holy shit, Cole is Galactus?!? You people need to be careful fucking with that guy before his titanic, purple-clad ass devours us all.

  87. Kenny Ray

    we should all open up different profiles on Yelp so we can refute these Pussies who think their opinions are so important that we have to see them. most complaining yelp reviews start with a personal notw about why they were in the place and that’s the first sign that they are unhappy with their life or situation of the time. “My mom was in the hospital so we took everyone out…” “Our in-laws were visiting for the week so we went…” “I had just gotten out of Hospital to replace my balls so we went down to…” just unhappy Fucktards

    1. Lilith

      “why they were in the place and that’s the first sign that they are unhappy with their life or situation of the time. “My mom was in the hospital so we took everyone out…” “Our in-laws were visiting for the week so we went…” “I had just gotten out of Hospital to replace my balls so we went down to…” just unhappy Fucktards” Kenny Ray that would be called life. Many positive reviews start out the same way. Your 12 year old use of words is touching.

  88. Anon

    I think this is just as embarrassing for the manager. Fighting back with mean words isn’t classy or heroic. It’s cowardly. I would respect Stephanie a lot more if she kept it classy like many other Yelp managers do when they respond to unhappy customers.

    Based off of her response, I wouldn’t want to go into the Australian Grill. One mistake and she takes the full name from your credit card bill and blasts it on the internet. Shame on both the patrons and the management.

    1. Erin

      I mostly agree with this comment. I was looking at a restaurant where I live on either Urbanspoon or Yelp (forget which) and I noticed that a lot of people complained that the owners were rude. I also noticed that any time someone wrote a review that was at all negative (not a nasty review, just saying something was wrong) the owner wrote a (nasty, rambling) reply full of poor grammar, bad spelling, and typos. By contrast, there’s another restaurant in town that replies to negative reviews asking for more info, apologizing, etc., in a very professional way and it definitely gives me more confidence as a customer.

      I’m sure it felt really good for this woman to respond in kind BUT it may have been short-sighted.

      1. You People Have No Idea

        She does this with every negative review. Leaves a response calling them out by first and last name which she gets from their credit card receipts (is that legal?) and insults them in her response “seasoned coupon clipper” to the point where they remove their review. If that doesn’t work, then she reports them and hassles Yelp until they move it for her. What a professional. And isn’t the restaurant industry all about customer service? Well this one doesn’t give an ounce of care about their customers. It’s all about the $ with this one.

          1. Thomas

            If you re-read this persons post, they mention that these tactics are used until the review is removed by either the original poster or yelp themselves. So of course you wouldn’t see it now.

          1. Jazz

            Yelp does not remove reviews. Negative or positive it is up to the person leaving the review as to whether or not they remove it. I’ve worked in the food industry and have seen negative reviews for some of the places I’ve worked for. Yelp will not remove it no matter how many times you call.

          2. Jacob Arnett

            Yelp sure does remove reviews. They review reviews for legitimacy. If they didn’t, small businesses would have 30 positive reviews from friends and family. My Carpet Cleaning business is #1 in Vegas for customer satisfaction according to Yelp thanks to the reviews alone. I think it’s a great website and helps loads of small businesses out by exposing the carelessness and poor custiomer service of our national competitors. It helps us because no one wants to have rude or careless people coming into their home to clean their carpets. Before Yelp, it was “find out the hard way” or word of mouth.

    2. Danielle

      One little mistake? He tried to hurt their business! because he basically couldn’t get everything for whatever price he wanted! The customer IS NOT always right, however traditionally they are treated as so. if this man thought he had a right to slander the owner of a small restaurant, then he should have been prepared for the backlash! Stefanie isn’t some corporate robot, she’s a small business owner, or employee, and I support her 100%. Too many people abuse servers and bartenders. this isn’t the wild west, where you tell them to shut up and serve you, these are people putting themselves through college, or working 3 jobs to support their families. You do not walk into an establishment and think you get to name your own price. the whole world doesn’t own Michael something!!! And as far as her blasting them, uhhh, he started it? And by the way, Michael took $6.00 from his waiter. The waiter payed to serve him. And then he tried to ruin business for them. I hope he chokes on food someone rubbed on their butt, and that I never have to serve him, or you Anon.

      1. Truth

        This woman is a pathological liar. The event of the waiter giving the customer $6 never happened. The customer being not happy about the groupon is true, but she’s plainly lying. And you hope he “chokes on food someone rubbed on their butt”? Well if you eat at the Australian grill, you’re doing just that.

        1. Cole

          Cal, down there guy.. I’m the server that dealt with what had happened by this cheap guy and I thought it would be better to give him his money back and pay for his meal for him and his lady because obviously he could not.
          He disrespected me and the restaurant in every way… lol

          1. Gail

            I think the owner is just as awful. Yes the customer was way out of line but for me it doesn’t make the place look better because they bashed someone on yelp. It’s actually awful. Do you know nothing about the customer service industry? If what the comments that are said about her being like this with every negative yelp review, than I wouldn’t want to eat at her restrauant. She needs more class. I work in La Jolla and have to deal with wealthy people that treat you like you’re not even a human being. They don’t want to spend much money either. But do I react negatively to that? No. I smile and figure out a way to have them leave happy. If they write a negative yelp review. I am not going to bash them so everyone can see how we handle our business.. It’s not the proper way to deal with things.

      2. Awesome

        Can you try and keep up with the plot? What Michael are you on about exactly??? It is Johnny ^^^… Love it when people speak out of turn. Further, Yelp is a place where people come to express their OPINION, right or wrong according your silly self.. it is THEIR opinion and freedom of speech is still protected under the constitution last time I checked. Next time you feel compelled to write a comment, mayhaps you can count to 10…. or better yet, dont post at all. Save yourself the embarrassment. Lastly, “payed”?? It is PAID… you’re welcome!

    3. Paul S

      I get what you’re saying, but disagree to a certain extent.

      The manager’s response was fair and reasonable. I have seen FAR worse responses. This one explains the restaurant’s side of the situation, which most Yelp readers don’t get to view, and gives the details of the events that happened when the customers were leaving. On top of that, we get the warning, if we were restaurant employees, to be aware of the subhuman morals that these two individuals possess.

      Could the manager worded the response differently? Oh sure, and I’m sure she was careful to reread it a few times before hitting the button. Everything can be worded differently.
      Is this a cowardly response? Heck no! Having worked in a restaurant this Johnny and Alexa are lucky that it was so tame.

      I would visit this place because it’s obvious that the manager cares about the business as well as their employees. 18 cents for a tip is an insult.

  89. Thomas

    I’m a seasoned groupon user. I always tip on what would have been the true total amount spent. I figure I just save on the cost of the food, now I can really afford to tip and tip really well. Passing on the savings to the hard working server.

    1. Jennifer

      You, Thomas, are. my. hero! Coming from a town that thinks tipping is a city in China, I can honestly say that I love you and would like to see you cloned! 😉

    2. The Bitter Bistro

      THOMAS!!! I cannot thank you enough for your tipping policy when using Groupon. I wish you could spread your Gospel on to the “others” who don’t know how to do what you do. KUDOS!

      1. Reginald van der Slythe III

        Wow, is this so uncommon that those who do it are heroes? That is so sad, that there are that many cheap-ass dickheads out there.

        Of course, this makes me a hero, too, since we would never dream of tipping on what we actually paid when we use a Groupon (which we’ve done all of 4 times to date), but instead on what the value would have been. We also get something we normally may not have (appetizer, fancy drinks, etc.) since we’re saving on the meal itself. Why wouldn’t you?

        Bless those in the service industry, because I don’t believe I could ever deal with all the bullshit you ladies and gents regularly get tossed at you.

    3. Joe

      I do the same as Thomas here. It bottles the mind thinking of how many miscreants there are running around that would tip based on the discounted price or worse!

    1. Timothy

      Apparently she literally does, but not in a good way. One of the latest reviews is from someone who ordered delivery from her restaurant. Turns out Stephanie delivered it, was super late, and then proceeded to assault her at her door by throwing the food at her and leaving. Reviewer claims to be filing a police report against Stephanie.

      The review I’m talking about:

      Quickly skimming some of the other bad reviews shows that immature and inappropriate behavior seems rather common from Stephanie. This, in turn, makes me question the legitimacy of her response in this article as well.

      1. Paul S

        Perhaps you should skim closer.

        I went through all 3 pages of reviews and only found your linked post, as well as the one focused on in the article, to speak of such terrible actions. There are some that mention not great service, but no others mention the manager, let alone assaulting someone.

        Please don’t spread misinformation.

    2. Caseygarris on Yelp

      I sent this to Johnny w. Because he has many demoralizing reviews including groupons if you search for them…anyways here it is:
      Casey J: You and you’re cheap groupon ass needs to stop. Please you’re reviews suck and its evident you’re just a very cheap individual. What makes you so superior to the wait staff that is busting their asses to serve someone who will most Likely not tip them.

      You obviously cannot read or agreed with the groupon purchases you buy…so I suggest you do this…1. Stop buying groupons or at least call for instructions on how to use them! 2. Suck a dick you pathetic loser.

      1. John W

        You need to learn some grammar. “You’re reviews” should be corrected to “your reviews”. Same goes for “you’re cheap Groupon” should be “your cheap Groupon.” I wonder if Johnny was laughing at your terrible grammar? Maybe a trip back to school should help you out if you are having trouble with it.

    3. wa

      Yea the amazing yelp filter. I have 104 reviews, 82 are blocked/hidden by yelps “filter”.Out of that 82 filtered 76 are 4/5 stars review.Now lets point that same filter at yelppie.They have 15033 reviews with 7193 filtered.Out of those almost 7200 reviews,I viewed over 1,000 reviews and did not find a 4/5 star filtered out,not even a 3 star.Add to that another 2060 reviews yelp claims violated terms and after checking 12 pages not one review with over 2 stars was removed,all the so called violation reviews were 1 star.I also noticed that there was reviewers with over 500 friends and 315 reviews who had their reviews blocked,of course these were 1 star reviews. So if you want see the amazing unbiased yelp filter in action just go to and check the reviews for yourself.


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