Sometimes patrons will leave a nice note at the end of their receipt if they had an extra nice dinner or were feeling extra caring. But Khalil Cavil, a waiter at Saltgrass Steak House in Odessa, Texas received the opposite last Saturday night when a table left a bigoted message at the bottom of their receipt.
The patrons circled Cavil’s name on the top of their $108.73 bill and wrote: “we don’t tip terrorists.”
Cavil, a 20-year-old restaurant server, said his heart dropped when he read the note.
“My heart just dropped, I didn’t know what to says or what to think in the moment but there’s hurt there,” Cavil said.
Cavil isn’t a terrorist, and in fact, he is not Muslim like the patrons assumed because of his Middle Eastern roots. Cavil is a Christian.
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Cavil said this wasn’t the first time someone assumed he was from the Middle East, that people have made this assumption based on his name many times before.
Cavil told KPEJ-TV the story of how his name came about, which was actually after his dad’s best friend from the military.
“My dad was in the military and a buddy that he was very close to, served with him … Khalil was killed in an accident and so my dad just named me after him, one of his best friends,” he said.
On Sunday night Cavil shared the receipt to his Facebook page, where it has garnered over 3,000 likes and almost 2,000 shares.
Cavil wrote that he shared the receipt because “I want people to understand that this racism and this hatred still exists.”
Yet instead of getting angry like most people would Cavril made an example of his faith.
“Although this is nothing new, it is still something that will test your faith. All day I’ve had to remind myself that Jesus died for these people too. I have decided to let this encourage me, and fuel me to change the world the only way I know how. So to all the haters out there, keep talkin, your only helping me step into my destiny!”
https://www.facebook.com/khalil.cavil/posts/2546737428694080
Cavril also told KPEJ-TV that he wasn’t upset because of the lack of money, but more the hatred and racism that came from those he was serving.
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“It was not about the money. It was never about the money, it’s about shedding the light on an issue I feel very passionate about, ” Cavril said.
Even though he could have easily gotten angry over the note, Cavril chose to take the higher ground in the experience, using it to live out his faith.
“I just had to think…what would Jesus do in this situation,” he said.
According to Odessa American, the company COO of Saltgrass Steak House, Terry Turney, the customers who left the note are no longer allowed at the restaurant.
“We stand by and support our employee. Racism of any form is unacceptable and we have banned this customer from returning to our establishment,” Turney stated.
(H/T: KPEJ-TV)