Credit: Facebook & GoFundMe
Woman Fired From Her Job After Leaving Brutal Note For Server Instead Of Tip
An Ohio realtor has become the subject of intense online criticism after allegedly leaving a brutal note instead of a tip for a server at a Columbus restaurant.
The incident, which took place at Cazuelas Mexican Restaurant & Cantina, gained widespread attention when a photo of the receipt was shared on social media by a restaurant employee.
The online community quickly identified the customer as Stephanie Lovins, a 49-year-old former realtor from Blacklick, Ohio.
Lovins had previously been associated with Century 21, but her profile has since been removed from the company’s website.
Additionally, her voicemail no longer mentions her affiliation with the company, and her cell phone was reportedly disconnected following the backlash.
Attempts to contact Lovins and her husband, who co-owns an electrical business, have gone unanswered.
A spokesperson for Century 21 responded to inquiries, stating: “We are aware of the situation with the agent in question. Hate has no place within the CENTURY 21 brand, and we are taking this very seriously.
“After investigating the situation and connecting with the respective broker, as all companies affiliated with the CENTURY 21 brand are independently owned and operated, we can confirm that this agent is no longer affiliated with the brand.”
The company also clarified that Lovins had not been associated with the brokerage since earlier in the year, prior to this incident.
Lovins has since deleted her social media accounts, but alleged comments attributed to her continue to circulate online.
In one Facebook post, she reportedly claimed: “My credit card was lost/stolen, and someone attempted to use it. Thanks for the notifications! This has been reported through my bank.”
A similar message appeared on LinkedIn, where she allegedly stated: “Thank you for all the recent notifications of scammers and profile hackers! I recently discovered a lost/missing credit card and an attempted use/purchase. I appreciate your patience while I manage the situation.”
Despite her claims, restaurant employees maintain that witnesses identified Lovins as the woman who wrote the offensive note.
The receipt, dated Sunday, showed that the woman wrote: “ZERO, YOU SUCK” in the tip section and added: “I HOPE TRUMP DEPORTS YOU!!!”
Cazuelas’ head of marketing, Fabio Oribo, told local news outlet WCMH: “Apparently this lady came in and Ricardo, who is a great person, was taking care of her. He only works one day a week, which is Sunday. He has two jobs. From what I hear, she wasn’t happy about a coupon or something like that.”
Oribo added: “It’s just not right, just not right. He’s a really good person, and like I said, we all … come here every day to do our job, which is to serve people and have a good time.”
Following the incident, a GoFundMe was set up to support Ricardo, the server involved.
The campaign, originally aiming to raise $1,000, has now surpassed $39,000.
The fundraiser’s organizer, Anna Overman, described Ricardo as a hardworking employee who was simply doing his job when he was subjected to the hateful message.
She urged the community to ‘drown out hate with love’ by contributing to the campaign and showing their support.
Meanwhile, Lovins’ husband, Donnie Lovins, also faced online scrutiny.
His Facebook account, which previously displayed a photo of him and his wife, was locked down by Wednesday morning.
His listed business, Rite Way Electric in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, mistakenly became associated with another company of the same name in South Carolina.
This resulted in confusion and backlash for the South Carolina business owner, Jeff Costa.
Costa addressed the mix-up in a social media post, writing: “If you are coming to this site to express your distaste for a person in Ohio, it is not me. This company is located in South Carolina and I am the owner and only employee. The person you are looking for has linked my page to his. I will be working on resolving the issue.”
He later updated his post, thanking those who corrected the misinformation and removed their comments once they realized his business was not connected to the Ohio controversy.
Costa also told DailyMail.com that he had been attempting to contact Donnie Lovins and Facebook to clarify the issue.
Reflecting on the unexpected attention, Costa stated: “It used to be a side business of mine, and I’ve just kept the site up, just in case I ever go back into it. So I haven’t posted anything … since 2013, and then all of a sudden, I see all this activity.”
While he found the situation ‘kind of humorous,’ he acknowledged that if his business were fully operational, the mistaken identity could have caused significant disruption.
You can donate to the GoFundMe here.
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