Teen Leaves Restaurant And Later Notices The Server Posted About Him Online

It’s fair to say that no one saw this coming — least of all Cohen! The guy was just looking to enjoy a nice meal alongside a couple of pals. But before he knew it, huge swathes of the online world were talking about him. How could anyone prepare for that, especially a teenager?

A resident of Lynchburg, Virginia, Cohen was no stranger to the restaurant business. You see, he had around 18 months-worth of serving experience himself, at a local establishment called Country Cookin. If anyone could relate to waiting staff, it was him.

Anyway, as a server, Cohen made lots of his money via tips. And much of that came in the form of coins. Now, we know that’s not always ideal: after all, counting out individual coppers and silver takes longer than doing the same with bank notes! But cash is cash, right? That’s how the Virginian saw it.

So, Cohen carried his tips around with him just as you would a wallet full of dollar bills. Yet his attitude towards coins wasn’t shared by everyone. In fact, it proved to be the spark behind the upcoming controversy that so inflamed the online community.

Cohen visited the Beer 88 establishment in July 2018 with his pals Noah and James. Together, they racked up a bill totaling $45, but the waiter insisted that he’d cover it all. So, he pulled out his satchel of coins and got counting when they were preparing to leave.

Overall, Cohen placed $35-worth of quarters on the table, rounding it off with a $20 note. That also covered the $10 tip he wanted to leave. As you can imagine, that was a lot of coins! The teenager didn’t think anything of it, though, and he, Noah, and James made their way home.

But here’s where things took a turn. After Beer 88 staff caught sight of Cohen’s unusual payment method, one of them grabbed their phone and snapped a picture. From there, the image was eventually uploaded to the establishment’s Facebook page, alongside a less-than-flattering message. 

The Facebook post read, “We’ll just caption this… How not to pay at a restaurant. Cause that’s the nicest thing we can think to say about this ridiculousness.” In addition to that, the caption also included hashtags such as “no home training” and “we are Beer 88 not Coinstar.” Ouch!

It’s one thing for an employee to write up a post like that, but the restaurant itself? It’s very unusual. And that no doubt helped to fuel the response that followed on social media. Yes, Beer 88’s message quickly went viral, leading to a debate about Cohen’s decision to pay with so many coins. Was he right, or wrong?

It even got to the stage where the Facebook post inspired an episode of the television show What Would You Do? “[The program] reveals how people behave when they think no one is watching by using hidden cameras to record real reactions to thought-provoking scenarios created by actors,” read a description on the series’ social media page.

The episode aired in August 2019 with a pair of actors taking center stage. Yep, a woman played the role of a check-out worker at a grocery store, while an older gentleman took on the part of her “customer.” The goal was simple enough — how would fellow patrons respond to him paying for everything with coins?

Plus, to add further fuel to the fire, the cashier would pressurize the guy to pay through some other means, too. It was a slight twist on Cohen’s story, but the fundamentals remained the same. Anyway, the reaction from the “real” customers at the store proves to be quite a sight.

As captured by the hidden cameras, the first customer behind the actor reassures him that the time he’s taking isn’t an issue. Then, as the elderly gentleman continues to struggle with his coins, he steps up to help. “Why are you helping him?” asks the cashier, maintaining her hostile demeanor.

The customer flat-out ignores the question, as well as the follow up — “Really, don’t you have better things to do sir?” And that leads to a further twist. After the actress notes that they’re still $2 short, a lady at the back of the queue intervenes. Yes, she covers that final part of the total.

From here, things get a little heated, as the lady defends her decision to help. But the stunt is quickly made clear soon after. Other people in the episode have a similar mindset as well, showing that they aren’t bothered by coin-payment methods. It’s the complete opposite of Beer 88’s reaction to Cohen!

And when that particular segment was shared on the show’s Facebook page, online users also mirrored those thoughts. One person wrote, “I loved working with change! I always felt like I was taking the weight of the world off the customer’s pocket or purse and offered to help [them] count it.”

Another user said, “I graciously take whatever payment [a] person has and enjoy when kids are counting to pay for their treasure.” And one other comment also stood out in response to the episode on social media. This contributor wrote, “Money is money. Never shame someone for how they are paying.”

“I’ve been there,” the Facebook user added. “Maybe it’s all they have. I gladly accepted and even helped count the coins that some customers brought to my counter. Everyone deserves dignity and respect. Show some kindness, make someone smile and everyone will have a better day.” 

So that brings us back to the Beer 88 Facebook post. How did users respond? Well, some of them defended the establishment’s reaction, standing up to criticism. Because boy, there was quite a bit of that! Yes, plenty of people rallied around Cohen, as he went on to share his own thoughts to the media.

Now, Cohen had a choice to make. Would he apologize to the local restaurant to avoid further controversy? Or stand his ground? Speaking to WSET-TV, the teenager said, “It’s just U.S. currency. I’m allowed to use it. It’s not illegal. I’m not doing anything wrong.” There’s your answer, then!

Cohen’s pals were also caught off guard by Beer 88’s reaction, and didn’t take it particularly well. One even labeled their “no home training” jibe as “dirty.” Meanwhile, the teen’s mom waded in as the story continued to gather pace, too. Kim Naulty said of the barb, “If anybody met Cohen, they… [would] know it couldn’t be… the truth.”

How did Beer 88 reply to the growing controversy? Something tells us that the restaurant wasn’t prepared for this kind of outrage! The original post got deleted as things heated up, ahead of the eatery sharing a different message on Facebook. Within that, an explanation was offered.

The social media message read, “In response to our earlier post, it was posted as a joke, intended as a joke and should be taken as a joke. It was posted as a light-hearted way of saying that something like this can be annoying to people that work in the restaurant/retail industry.”

“In no way did we publicly shame ANYONE for paying OR tipping,” the Facebook message added. “We try to keep our page funny and relatable. And had no idea that this would be offensive to anyone.”

In fact, things got to the stage where Beer 88 needed to delete its entire Facebook page off the back of the furor. Anyway, while the drama was going on across social media, Cohen made an interesting decision. With all the attention he had now, the Virginian wanted to do something useful.

So, Cohen started his own charity page on Facebook. It’s known as “The Quarter Boy.” To go into more detail about it, the founder posted a lengthy message on the platform, which included a screenshot of the original Beer 88 post. He outlined what happened, before unveiling his “great idea.”

Cohen wrote, “I love paying for people’s meals, even if I have to scrape together my last quarters to do so. This whole thing made me realize how much I love doing this and why. Even if I get made fun of for it!” The teen then provided some further thoughts on that front.

“Everyone has bad days now and then,” Cohen continued. “A bad day can make you see the world in a very dark and depressing way. But, one little act of kindness can change a person’s entire perspective about their life. I love picking up the tab for others and seeing what it does for them.”

From there, Cohen revealed how it’d all work. According to the teenager, he was looking for establishments that wouldn’t turn away coin payments, or react like Beer 88 did. He also stressed that this would happen weekly to at least one person, providing updates along the way.

After that, Cohen seemed to aim another barb at Beer 88 as the post came to a close. He added, “If you’re a restaurant that wouldn’t mind a register filled with quarters at the end of the night and a special treat for one of your patrons now and then, please post so I know who I won’t offend by coming by.” He then spoke about donations.

Cohen’s initial aim in that regard was to reach $5,000. And it didn’t take long for the money to roll in. Yep, just two days after The Quarter Boy’s Facebook post was shared, close to $4,000 had been accumulated. People were clearly willing to support his generous cause.

The fundraising page wasn’t just making waves in America, though. You see, Cohen’s cause was attracting attention across the globe, too. But unsurprisingly, given his age and the logistics, expanding beyond a domestic setting wouldn’t fly! The teenager highlighted some of his early success stories when interviewed by the website of TV show Today in July 2018.

“I got invited to Scotland!” Cohen beamed. “We plan on going to a few restaurants that we were invited to each week in the Lynchburg area, for now, and treating one of their patrons as a surprise. We did this already at two local restaurants and an ice-cream shop.”

Cohen continued, “We were able to buy an ice cream for a mom and her son, a meal for a medical student and his wife, and a meal for a U.S. [Army] veteran. All of the meals were paid in quarters, as well as a good tip for the waitstaff!”

Judging by The Quarter Boy’s social media page, Cohen helped a lot more people going forward, too. The photos speak for themselves! As it stands, the Virginia teen’s venture has earned nearly 8,000 likes from Facebook users, while also attracting over 8,100 followers. 

Mind you, Cohen wasn’t doing all this himself. He did have some helpful aides to call upon, as he explained to Today. The selfless youngster said, “My mom and my friend Mason Dudley and his mom, Angela Dudley, have been helping with all the social media and photos and videos.”

Away from that, though, we can’t help but think of Beer 88 again. After shutting down its Facebook page, did the restaurant get in touch with Cohen to offer some apologetic words? Well, the teenager claimed that he had heard nothing from the higher-ups following all the drama on social media.

Yet Beer 88’s proprietor did come forward to WSET-TV after the original Facebook post was shared. Yep, Yao Liu admitted that she’d gotten a lot of blowback for it, prompting her to respond. She simply said, “On that part, yes, I do apologize.” We wonder if Cohen was eventually made aware of that?

Anyway, as Cohen continued his hard work with The Quarter Boy charity, his mother offered a few final words to Today. Kim said of her children, “They’re just really great kids with huge hearts and kind spirits. Cohen is an example of how blessed we are as parents.”