The host stand is the front line of any restaurant, and on a bad night it is also the first place a customer’s mood lands. A birthday party is supposed to make that less likely, since everyone shows up in a celebratory spirit.
One former Las Vegas hostess, however, says her night ended with a birthday party being shown the door.
‘I Don’t Tolerate Disrespect’
Las Vegas content creator Kristabelle (@itsbelleslife) shares a story about the night a customer insulted her while she worked as a restaurant hostess. Her video has since accumulated more than 78,000 views.
“Story time about working at a restaurant here in Vegas,” Kristabelle says. “This woman calls me a [expletive]. I call her a [expletive] back because I don’t tolerate disrespect. And then the owner had to kick her out.”
Kristabelle says it all began with a reservation for a party of six at 7 p.m. on a Friday. When she called a few days later to confirm, she says she asked someone in the group whether they would need high chairs or booster seats.
Kristabelle says the customer told her she needed two high chairs. “So I’m like, ‘Four adults, two babies equaling six.’ She says, ‘Yes,'” the content creator recalls.
The customer also said the party would bring its own birthday cake, so Kristabelle told her about the restaurant’s $25 cake-cutting fee. The customer wasn’t happy.
“She’s like, ‘I’m not doing that,’” Kristabelle says. “I said, ‘Well, if you bring your cake, that’s what’s gonna [happen]. But if you don’t want to do that, don’t bring the cake. We’ll still give you free dessert because it’s someone’s birthday.’ She says, ‘Okay, that’s what we’ll do.’”
On Friday, two people from the party arrived at 6:45 p.m. and sat at the bar. The rest of the party arrived around 7:20 p.m.
Customer Nightmares: ‘You Don’t Even Have Our Table Ready’
Kristabelle says the customer who made the reservation came in “frantic,” while blaming her lateness on having to stop for the cake. Then Kristabelle realized there was another major problem. The content creator says she counted eight people in her party, not six. There were six adults and two children.
The customer insisted she had told Kristabelle the correct number, and Kristabelle played along even though she “[knew she] didn’t [mess] up.” She asked for a few minutes to put together a longer table.
The customer then accused her of being unprepared, saying, “We were 20 minutes late, and you don’t even have our table ready.”
She handed over a box of cake and asked that it be refrigerated and served at the end of the night.
“I’m like, okay, well, guess what?” Kristabelle recalls saying. “You’re going to pay the cake-cutting fee.”
The customer complained about the restaurant, so Kristabelle got the restaurant’s owner involved. The customer told him, “Your hostess has been a [expletive].”
Kristabelle fired back, “I’m a [expletive], you’re a [expletive].” The owner then told the customer, “You’re not welcome here … You will not disrespect my staff like that.”
The customer reportedly left a one-star review, which the restaurant eventually had removed.
Does Cursing at Waitstaff Qualify As Harassment?
Under Nevada criminal law, cursing alone does not usually count as harassment. WomensLaw.org outlines the state’s actual harassment statute.
“A person is guilty of harassment if, without lawful authority, the person knowingly threatens [the following],” the statute reads. “(1) To cause bodily injury in the future to the person threatened or to any other person; (2) To cause physical damage to the property of another person; (3) To subject the person threatened or any other person to physical confinement or restraint; or (4) To do any act which is intended to substantially harm [any] person.”
LV Criminal Defense echoes this, and adds that “in order for a threat to constitute harassment, the alleged harasser’s words or conduct must cause the person who is being threatened to be in reasonable fear that the harasser’s threat will actually be carried out.” Insults and profanity on their own do not necessarily fit these parameters.
The First Amendment also limits what the government can punish. Cornell Law School says “fighting words” are a narrow category of unprotected speech, but profanity doesn’t qualify by itself.
@itsbelleslife
Subplot News reached out to Kristabelle via TikTok comment.
