TikToker saw a woman order $50 of ice cream, asked it for free, and throw it away after employees refused to waive the bill

A TikTok video that shows a woman ordering around $50 worth of ice cream and then asking for it for free has gone viral on social media. The clip was posted by a user who goes by @foehammer3.0 on TikTok, where it accumulated over 196,000 views. 

According to the TikToker, the incident took place at a Mexican ice cream and taco shop that appeared to be run by two Hispanic women. The TikToker said he witnessed the entire situation firsthand, from before the woman even entered the store.

He said the woman was seen hesitating outside the shop before coming in. Once inside, she allegedly kept changing her mind about what she wanted, placing an order that came to around $50 before claiming she did not have the money to pay.

Woman tried to return the cone before discarding it and walking out

The TikToker said he started recording after the woman indicated she could not pay. The footage shows the woman in what appeared to be a back-and-forth exchange with two employees, one of whom was apparently on a phone call while the other stood nearby. At one point, the woman was heard asking whether the police were being called.

The TikToker stepped in during the exchange. “If she calls the cops, I’m going to be a witness for them because I watched you come in here and walk back and forth…” he told the woman, as seen in the video. The woman denied his account of events and asked him not to speak to her.

The woman later said the situation was the result of a miscommunication and continued speaking with the store employees in an attempt to work it out. She then apparently tried to return the ice cream cone she had settled on, telling the employees she no longer wanted it. Unpleasant food surprises have also gone viral recently, such as when a man found something unexpected inside his Uncrustable.

The employees appeared to decline to take the cone back, even after the woman attempted to leave it on the store counter. Following this, the woman discarded the cone in a dustbin and left the store without paying.

The video drew a wide range of reactions in the TikTok comments section. Some viewers were critical of the woman’s behavior. “Whyyyyy?! Why WOULD somebody walk into an ice cream, nail salon, restaurant with no money to pay?! Entitlement. Thank you for standing up sir,” one commenter wrote. Another pointed to the legal angle, stating, “Its called theft of services regardless of what she does with the ice cream.” 

Others drew comparisons to similar situations they said they had personally experienced. “This happens at my bar ppl will order a drink it will be made and then they have no money, they think we will give it to them for free since it’s already made, NOPE I’m giving it to one of my regulars that actually pays for their drinks,” one user said. Dissatisfying food experiences have drawn strong reactions online before, including when a Canadian woman discovered mold on her Whopper, sparking similar outrage across social media. 

Not all commenters were unsympathetic toward the woman, however. “I would of bought her the ice cream I don’t understand what’s wrong with people you don’t know what she’s struggling with not saying it’s right but it’s not wrong to help someone out either,” one viewer wrote. Another echoed a similar sentiment, commenting, “Good Lord, just pay for her ice cream. Life is short. God is good. It’s not that serious.”