A New York sushi customer said staff were staring and laughing at her. So she refused to pay and started recording: ‘He’s literally laughing’

A customer at a New York sushi restaurant said she felt staff were staring and laughing at her, then told a server she would not pay and recorded the exchange. The clip was posted on X by Nosie_All_Things, who uses the handle @MissJoyfulLife, and has gained 3.8 million views. 

In the caption, the poster described the customer as a trans person who said she felt uncomfortable with the atmosphere and would not pay because she believed the chef was rude and laughed at her.

The video opens inside Nobi Sushi, a Japanese restaurant in New York, according to The Nerd Stash. The customer films herself with a plate of sushi hand rolls in front of her. She said, “I feel like so uncomfortable sitting in here.” She then told an off-screen server, “Excuse me, I actually don’t want to pay. I feel like uncomfortable.”

The customer filmed kitchen staff she said were laughing and left without paying

She repeated that she did not feel comfortable. When the server asked, “Not comfortable?” she replied, “No, I feel really uncomfortable. I feel like I’m being laughed at by two people there, people over there.” She gestured toward the back of the restaurant, where a male chef in a white hat and a female staff member in a black t-shirt could be seen behind the counter.

She removed her plate from the table and said, “I mean, I’m being stared at behind the f–king counter by these two people who are sitting there laughing their f–king asses off. I feel really uncomfortable.” She pointed the camera at the chef and the other staff member, then back at herself, and said, “Him, he’s literally laughing, literally sitting there, makes me feel so uncomfortable. I feel really uncomfortable.”

The server said, “Sorry, I remember you last time.” The customer answered, “Oh, you remember me? Yeah, I’ve been here. I’m sorry, I’m so uncomfortable.” The server said, “It’s okay.” The customer then asked, “Do you want to call police or no?” The server replied, “No.” The customer said, “Because I’m not paying for the food.” The server answered, “Okay, great.”

The customer added that the server had done nothing wrong. She said, “Yeah, this is, I feel very uncomfortable. Not by you, you did nothing. You’re great. The people behind the counter are very rude. I feel very uncomfortable. You should teach your staff not to laugh at people and stare at them while they’re sitting at a table. Thanks.”

She put on a black backpack, stood up, and walked out while still recording. She said, “I feel so uncomfortable.” Outside, the video showed a sign for Nobi Sushi listing open hours for Monday through Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. She said, “I have to go. No, I’m not doing the most.” Disputes over service and payment can escalate, as in a recent case where a server refused a tip from a customer complaining about mojitos. 

In the caption, the poster said the clip can be viewed in two ways. One way, the poster wrote, is that the customer’s account is real. The other way, the poster wrote, is that the staff were talking among themselves and laughing about something else. The poster added that when the camera turned toward them, they seemed not to know what was going on.

Viewers reacted strongly in the comments. One commenter questioned whether people with that attitude should go out if they cause trouble for others. They wrote, “People with this kind of self-centered attitude shouldn’t go out and live in the world, causing trouble for others, right?”

Another commenter said filming inside restaurants should be banned in cases like this because it could harm a business. They wrote, “Recording in restaurants should be banned, for instances like this, this could ruin people’s livelihood and a business they have built.” 

The tension of perceived slights in service settings can escalate, as when a server waited as a customer stared at his phone at checkout before she realized he wasn’t even using Apple Pay.  Others argued that restaurant owners should tell staff not to chat or laugh in ways that bother customers. 

One commenter wrote, “well. as a restoran owner u should told ur employee to not chat, laugh, or do something else that would bother the costumer. ur job is to take order, serve & take their money.”

Some questioned whether a customer who has already eaten can refuse to pay over a suspected look or laugh rather than a problem with the food. One commenter wrote, “After eating, do you have the right not to pay? If the problem is with the food, maybe yes when it comes to paying, but this issue stems from suspicion.”

Another commenter asked whether police were called over the unpaid bill. They wrote, “Did they turn them over to the police for dine-and-dash? Foreigners who refuse to pay for meals by nitpicking and using trans as an excuse should be subject to a law allowing forced labor.”