Waitress blasted for secretly serving alcohol-free drinks to woman she thought was pregnant

26 July 2019, 14:49 | Updated: 26 July 2019, 14:52

The server switched her drinks for virgin cocktails when she heard the customer tell pals she was "14 weeks along"

A waitress has been blasted for serving alcohol-free drinks to a woman she believed was pregnant and now fears she could face discrimination charges.

The server was taking orders from a group of friends in their late 20s but decided to swap one of the women's drinks for virgin cocktails when she overhead her telling pals she was "14 weeks along".

Despite never confirming whether or not her customer was actually pregnant, she admitted to coaxing the bartender into changing the order as she didn't want "to be responsible for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome".

Read more: Pregnant mums can apply for a free cash grant to help with the costs of a new baby

Sharing her story on Reddit, the waitress – only known by username YouGottaStopThat – told readers: "I have waited tables for the last three years.

"During my shift last night, a group of four women in their late 20s came in.

"They were a pleasure to have as customers.

"They ordered four of our house cocktails to start with and then went over the menu for their entrees.

“When I was on my way back to their booth with the drinks on a tray, I walked by the backside and overheard one of them talking about how she was 14 weeks along.

“When I rounded back, they were talking about the same topic and it was clear to me that she was pregnant.

“About five minutes later, they called me over again and asked for another round.

“At this point, I started getting concerned, but I took the order and cheerfully said I'd be right back.

"This time, I went to the bartender and asked him to make one of them a virgin cocktail.

"He was confused but since he's a good friend of mine, I told him to just trust me.”

The server then explained how the group continued to order drinks, but she kept bringing back alcohol-free mixes for the alleged pregnant customer.

She continued: “A few cocktails later (hers strictly virgin) they started getting rowdy, and Mrs. Pregnant Woman was also getting into it.

“I figured that since she didn't notice, things were OK.

"The problem came when I took them their check, and they asked to split the bill at the register.

"When Mrs. Pregnant Woman got to the counter, I saw her cocktails were marked with (virgin).

"My bartender had edited each in the system for inventory.

“It was too late for me to edit them back, so I just had her pay, hoping that she wouldn't look at the receipt.”

But the potentially pregnant woman did notice what she initially thought was a mistake, asking bar workers at the restaurant why the word "virgin" appeared next to her orders.

The waitress added: "I fessed up that it meant non-alcoholic.

"She 'blank stared' me for a few seconds and then asked if she had ordered a non-alcoholic cocktail.

"I said no, but told her that I assumed she wanted one seeing as she was pregnant.

"My manager took me into her office and literally shrieked at me until hoarse.”

“I stood my ground and told her that I'm not going to be responsible for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome."

After a backlash online, which saw readers criticise the way in which she handled the situation, the waitress is reportedly considering quitting her job and fears she may be called out on discrimination charges.

One disgruntled reader wrote: "The response is to tell her that you are not comfortable serving alcohol to someone that is pregnant and go ask your manager to take over the situation."

“Right to refuse service and all that but they handled it very poorly," added another.