Diners Labeled ‘Thugs’ by South Carolina Restaurant Staff After Complaining About ‘Mushy’ Chicken Wings: ‘Had Not Stolen Anything’

A woman and her partner just wanted to take home some chicken wings. Instead, they were allegedly called “thugs” by restaurant staff after voicing concerns about their order. Miyah Miyah (@miyahmiyahbraidsllc) shared the incident on TikTok, capturing their tense dispute with two staff members at Mario’s Pizzeria in Edgefield, South Carolina.

“BEWARE OF MARIO’S PIZZERIA,” Miyah said in her caption. According to the content creator, she and her partner had visited the establishment and ordered buffalo wings, chili wings, and a salad. They later removed their salad order after an ingredient was unavailable, which Miyah claimed a server had “no problem” doing.

The issue came when their order of chicken wings arrived, only for them to allegedly find the wings “unusually large” and “mushy,” to the point that they supposedly felt uncomfortable eating them. “We calmly explained that we were dissatisfied with the quality, offered to return the untouched wings, and said we would still pay for our drinks,” Miyah said.

Miyah and her partner were allegedly threatened with a police call

While this isn’t the first case of someone sending back their order, the staff members’ response to their request seemingly triggered a confrontation. According to Miyah, they were allegedly threatened with a police report if they failed to pay for their orders. “Instead of addressing the issue professionally, Shelby and another male employee immediately approached us and said we either had to pay for the food or they would call the police,” Miyah said.

@miyahmiyahbraidsllc

BEWARE OF MARIO’S PIZZERIA. My girlfriend and I visited Mario’s Pizzeria for the first time and had an extremely disturbing experience. We ordered six buffalo wings, six sweet chili wings, and a salad with cheddar cheese. Our waitress later told us they did not have cheddar and offered mozzarella instead. I declined and asked her to remove the salad from the order, which she said was no problem. When the wings arrived, they were unusually large, mushy, and not something we felt comfortable eating. We calmly explained that we were dissatisfied with the quality, offered to return the untouched wings, and said we would still pay for our drinks. Instead of addressing the issue professionally, Shelby and another male employee immediately approached us and said we either had to pay for the food or they would call the police. We were calm throughout the entire interaction, yet we were called “thugs,” accused of being thieves, and told that we “always come in there and do this”—even though it was our first time ever visiting the restaurant. Other customers began recording us as though we were committing a crime. We felt humiliated, stereotyped, and racially profiled simply because we refused to pay for food we had not eaten and immediately said we did not want. As a salon owner of seven years, I understand that businesses experience product loss and customer complaints. However, I would never respond to a dissatisfied customer by becoming aggressive, insulting them, making false accusations, and threatening police involvement before attempting to resolve the issue respectfully. We told them to call the police because we knew we had not stolen anything. We were willing to pay for everything we consumed. The issue was never about avoiding payment—it was about the poor quality of the food and the discriminatory way the situation was handled. Based on our experience, I would not recommend this restaurant.

♬ original sound – Miyah Miyah

Typically, customers aren’t immediately granted a refund or allowed to refuse payment simply because they didn’t like the food despite ordering it. However, they may have justification when there is legitimate concern over the quality of the food served, such as contamination, undercooked food, does not match what was advertised, or is in any way unsafe to consume. It remains unclear whether the chicken wings Miyah and her partner ordered fall under these concerns.

“We were calm throughout the entire interaction, yet we were called ‘thugs,’ accused of being thieves,” Miyah said. Along with being accused of being thieves, Miyah claimed that they were told they “always come in here and do this” despite it being their first time at the restaurant.

In the video Miyah shared, one of the staff members, who identified themselves as Shelby, told the TikToker that the “customer’s not always right.” The server later gave them two options: To either pay for their food and leave or call the authorities.

Another staff member can be heard shouting at the couple as they exited the restaurant following the dispute. “Don’t ever come back here,” the staff member said before calling them a “robber,” “thief,” and “thug.”

Miyah felt racially profiled by South Carolina restaurant staff

Miyah said the incident left them feeling humiliated, stereotyped, and allegedly racially profiled. “Simply because we refused to pay for food we had not eaten and immediately said we did not want,” she said.

@miyahmiyahbraidsllc

Replying to @Zoepassion So it’s a crime to say hey this isn’t up to par . The quality of the food isn’t satisfactory as a customer and offer to pay for the 2 drinks a sprite $2.49 & sweet tea $2.49 & not touch the food. Just to be told Pay or the police will be called? Hmmmm too smart … then to top it call us THEIVES & THUGS ? & lie saying we come there doing this all the time when in fact this was my very first time ever visiting ? Ehhh

♬ Saxophones getting louder – Sped Up – AntonioVivald

Viewers agreed with Miyah that the chicken wings she received seemingly looked unappetizing, with one saying, “That chicken does look nasty tho….” Some defended the couple and said food can be sent back. “Yall saying yall can’t send food back once you order … YES YOU CAN !” one viewer wrote. However, some disagreed and said that they should pay for what they ordered.

A viewer who claimed to be a waitress also gave their opinion, saying, “I’ve served tables most of my life. Y’all didn’t even eat it! No you shouldn’t have to pay for something you don’t like and did not eat.” Another viewer added, “If your restaurant is that desperate over one order, you are failing pretty bad.”

Others alleged that the South Carolina restaurant staff was being racist toward the couple and calling them “thugs,” supposedly racially profiling Miyah and her partner. “When they say every time YOU come in, they’re speaking on BLACK PEOPLE as a whole… not an individual,” one viewer claimed.

In a separate post, Miyah shared a screenshot of what was allegedly the server Shelby’s response to the accusation. In the photo, Shelby denied that the staff called them “thugs” and a “thief,” despite a video showing otherwise.

“We told them to call the police because we knew we had not stolen anything. We were willing to pay for everything we consumed,” Miyah said. “The issue was never about avoiding payment—it was about the poor quality of the food and the discriminatory way the situation was handled.” As of writing, Mario’s Pizzeria has not issued a statement.

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