Husband tips extra to apologize for wife's rude behavior to servers

Dining out can be a wonderful experience for many couples. However, it can be ruined if one partner constantly fusses over the food. Reddit user u/Mental_Manager_4814 shared a post about how he and his wife, both in their 30s, seldom dine out due to her annoying habit. The post has garnered 16K upvotes and 3.1K comments.

The husband revealed that his wife inherited this habit from her family. He wrote, "She always complains, sends food back if it's not absolutely perfect, and makes needless requests/substitutions (she doesn't have allergies or sensitivities)." The woman's habit made it take exactly 5 minutes for her to order something and her husband would sometimes finish his meal by the time she got hers. The man was well aware of how his partner's behavior made it difficult for restaurant staff.

He even tried to talk to her about the issue, but she didn't see how it was a problem. The man shared, "Anyway, we make decent money and we use our combined fun funds for dates/dinners. I recently started writing what my wife does on the receipt and then calculating a tip (in addition to the normal gratuity) to compensate." So, he would essentially add $5 for the various things that his wife did, such as sending a meal back, despite it being exactly what she ordered.

The woman didn't notice it the first few times he did it. However, she caught on when her husband took a long time writing the tip. When she inquired, he showed her what he wrote, and she got mad, accusing him of embarrassing her in front of the staff. He insisted that her behavior was embarrassing for both of them. He turned to the internet for advice, wondering if he was in the wrong.

People supported the man's decision to compensate for his wife's behavior and shared their thoughts in the comments section. u/HeirOfRavenclaw said, "This is great. Maybe seeing it written down will give her some perspective. These types of patrons are the worst and it's such second-degree embarrassment when they are at your table." u/PlethoraOfDogs suggested, "Challenge her to go out to dinner once without a single complaint. I wouldn't go out with her again if she acted like that. You're a gem."

The husband updated the post, revealing that his wife is generally a very caring and generous person. He shared that his wife read the post and comments and decided to change her behavior. The man wrote, "She would like to add that she didn't think it was a big deal before because, as she puts it, she doesn't think twice about meeting expectations in her line of work, even if they are above and beyond the norm, she's just happy to meet demand, but she recognizes that not everyone feels that way. She's going to try to be a better customer."