A New York City bartender says she may have accidentally fallen for a grifter trap while serving a customer. Now, she’s warning other people about exactly what she says happened to her and how ridiculous the situation she got into was. 

TikTok content creator Hannahline (@miss__line) said that she normally doesn’t make posts calling out customers, but after telling her friends about her experience, they were horrified. That led her to make a seven-minute video describing exactly what she says happened during one of her shifts that led to her completely refunding a woman who came and sat at her bar for four hours. Her video, which now has over 7,800 views, emphasized how bad grifting can be for servers and bartenders, with her adding, “It’s kind of—it’s just hilarious if I’m being honest, and it just proves that Karens are real.” 

New York City Bartender Serves Customer Sparkling Wine

Hannahline says that during the start of a Monday lunch shift, she noticed a woman who came in almost as soon as the bar’s doors opened. She immediately got her a menu and some water and asked her a few questions. 

The woman wasn’t going to have any food and instead wanted a glass of wine. She ended up ordering some sparkling rosé, which she didn’t care for. She then asked Hannahline what her favorite sparkling wine was. 

Hannahline says she was honest, giving her an expensive option on the menu that she preferred. “It’s a little—it’s a little pricey. She asked me what I like. I have expensive taste,” Hannahline said. She says she directly pointed to the wine on the menu, which had the price listed next to it, and the woman decided to have a sip. 

According to Hannahline, the woman ended up loving it, ordering it, and drinking it. The TikToker says the woman sat at the bar sipping on the wine for the next four or so hours. She ended up ordering another glass, which Hannahline provided, during her visit. 

Hannahline says that when the check finally came, the woman placed her card down for one of Hannahline’s co-workers to run without looking at the bill. Then, after he ran the card, she finally looked at what she was paying and pointed out an issue with it.

Customer Complains to Get Comped Check

Hannahline says the woman told her co-worker that she ordered a sparkling rosé and a cheaper sparkling white wine, not the blanc that Hannahline brought out, which she says costs $32 in her comments section. According to Hannahline, that’s when the co-worker went to her asking what was wrong, and she went to talk to the customer to clear up any confusion. 

Hannahline says this led to a heated exchange between herself and the customer.

“I was like, ‘Well, you asked me … what my favorite glass of sparkling wine was, and I told you, and that’s the one that you ordered. And I also pointed to it on the menu, which has the price listed.’ And she was like, ‘Are you serious? You’re just trying to, like, get money outta me, and I tipped you 25%,’” Hannahline says.

The claim that Hannahline was after her money frustrated her. At that point, she just wanted the woman out of the establishment. So, Hannahline says she discussed the issue with her manager and asked if they could just refund the card. 

She says that when she went back to speak to the woman, she let her know that she had refunded the entire order and wouldn’t be taking a charge from her. The woman tried to ask if she could tip Hannahline on the order, but the bartender simply refused to take the money. 

That’s when the customer said something that made her blood boil, Hannahline reports. “Then, she proceeds to tell me that next time I should let people know how much I’m charging them. … I literally pointed to the menu to the glass of wine that has the price listed right next to it,” Hannahline added. 

Red Flags That May Signal a Chargeback Scheme

To Hannahline, the entire situation spelled out that the woman was grifting. Signs, like her getting the charges back and then putting her card down anyway, only to refute the charges once she paid, seemed like obvious cues for a chargeback scheme later on. 

The customer could have been complaining in the restaurant as a way of clearly saying she didn’t authorize the transaction. That way, she could’ve gotten a lower price for the same wine or simply said that she was mischarged later when reporting the bill. 

That’s one of the reasons why Hannahline’s decision to refund immediately could have worked out in the long run. The moment the woman started complaining about the bill, she created problems for the restaurant, as she could have been trying to set up a chargeback scheme. Restaurants tend to have a lower chargeback rate, but they can be hard to fight once they happen.

Even though Hannahline stated that she clearly pointed at what she ordered and the woman should have known the price, it’s hard to make that argument. Either way, it could have led to more complications. But the situation proved extremely frustrating for her. Those who have had similar encounters in the service industry agreed, saying it was wrong of the woman to assume she had been mischarged for her wine. 

“This is another example of privilege because I promise I NEVER order something without asking the price first,” one commenter said. 

“You’re better than me bc I would’ve SNAPPED,” another added.

AllHipHop reached out to Hannahline via TikTok direct message and comment for more information. We’ll let you know if they respond.

@miss__line If you think behavior like this is okay please never speak to me again. #bartenderlife #serverlife ♬ original sound – hannahline:/