Waiter Sparks Debate After Refusing To Get Woman A Birthday Candle

In the footage, we see two friends sitting side-by-side as a waiter approaches and places a bowl of food onto the table. 

One of the friends then turns to him and asks for a candle, explaining that it’s her pal’s birthday. 

Looking up from her seat, she says to him: “It’s also her birthday, so we were wondering if you have any candles?” 

After a brief moment, the waiter replies: “No, I don’t really have time for that right now, sorry.” 

Shooting him a sad look, the first woman says: “Makes sense.” 

She adds: “Yeah, we’re good.” 

The video has racked up more than 180,000 views and 25,000 likes on TikTok, having also attracted hundreds of comments as other users debated the clip. 

Some people couldn’t understand why the server couldn’t have just grabbed the woman a candle, with one writing: “Come on bro it’s her birthday.” 

Someone else said: “Should have left him a note saying ‘Sorry, don’t really have any money for tips’.” 

A third wrote: “I would never say that to a guest!” 

Another added: “It’s quite literally his job to get her what she wants how does he not have time.” 

Others argued that the man had been ‘rude for no reason’, but many others sided with the waiter, saying they didn’t feel he had been rude at all. 

One said: “He wasn't rude, he gave an honest answer, it's literally not his job to provide that.” 

Another pointed out that ‘most places don’t have candles’, while someone else suggested that they could have asked for candles when they ordered dessert so that he ‘didn’t have to make two trips’. 

One other agreed: “Always let the sever know at the beginning. If I’m slammed serving tables and drop off dessert I probably have to run to another table right after.” 

Another TikTok user added: “Nah I understand the waiter sometimes the place is too busy to give special attention to people who will leave a mess and won't tip either way.”