A Sugar Factory customer claims that she was wrongfully charged $40 on her bill—but when she pointed the mistake out, the restaurant workers “verbally abused” her.
Reyna Crystal Portillo (@hermosita_latina) posted about the incident to TikTok, where she uploaded footage of two servers flipping her off, along with screenshots of several negative reviews for the restaurant.
Over an image of a server giving her the bird, Portillo writes in the post’s caption, “@SugarFactory This the type of service you give? We paid $595 to be verbally abused, threatened, and followed out of the restaurant!”
The customer explains that she went to a Sugar Factory restaurant in Detroit on Nov. 16, where she was met with rude customer service.
“We were literally followed out by these two waitresses here,” she says. “They verbally abused us, they stuck up the middle finger, they threatened us—all because we seen $40 on our bill that was not supposed to be there.”
Portillo claims she never received the food. She also adds that when she pointed out the wrongful charge, the servers “had a problem, and they got upset when their general manager took it off.”
At the end of her post, Portillo shares the TikTok profiles of both the servers seen giving her the finger earlier in the video.
Viewers were unsurprised by the unprofessional behavior at Sugar Factory
Portillo received 111,000 views on her post, but none of her viewers seemed surprised at the unprofessional behavior of the Sugar Factory employees. Numerous commenters shared their own negative experiences of dining at the restaurant.
“Sugar factory is garbage anyway. Stop patronizing these places,” one person said.
“Sugar factory is way over priced and [expletive] drinks! I lived in Vegas and went to one but knew what we were getting into ordering a drink, and it was the worst tasting drink,” claimed another.
“Sugar factory is trash in every state,” someone else said.
A few viewers urged Portillo to take her complaint further up official channels.
“I would call their corporate office,” one person suggested.
“I would have called my credit card company immediately. Reverse the charges. Also contact your state boards of consumer affairs and restaurant licensing,” another said.
@hermosita_latina @Sugar Factory this is the type of service you give? We paid $595 to be verbally abused, threatened, and followed out of the restaurant! What a joke!!!! #SugarFactory #SugarFactoryDetroit #SugarFactoryWaitresses #FYP #DONOTRECOMMEND #SugarFactory #DetroitLife #Detroit #bullyingawareness #viralvideo #abcnews #detroitbusiness #detroitfoodie #bullyingisnotcool #waitresslife #givemewhatipaidfor #servicesucksbigtime #waitressessuck #dineoutwithme #lgbtq🏳️🌈 #discriminationawareness ♬ original sound – Reyna Crystal Portillo
What to do if you have a rude server
Bon Appétit has a few suggestions for customers who have the misfortune of dining with a rude server, like Portillo at Sugar Factory.
First, the publication urges customers to treat their servers with respect. “They’re servers not servants,” after all. It also encourages diners to keep in mind that every mistake is not the server’s fault.
However, it says that if a customer has a truly bad server, they have two options. They may grin and bear it and let their displeasure be known with a measly tip. Or, they can ask a manager for another server. Most restaurants would happily accommodate this. However, if they don’t, the publication suggests you simply leave and tell everyone you know about the experience.
The Daily Dot reached out to Portillo via TikTok direct message and to Sugar Factory via online contact form.
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