Bengaluru customer finds ‘little fat black shirt’ printed on Subko Coffee bill instead of his name; cafe issues apology

A customer at popular Bengaluru coffee chain Subko was reportedly shocked after finding “Little fat black shirt” printed on his bill instead of his name. The incident, which allegedly occurred at Subko The Craftery in Koramangala, later prompted the cafe to issue a public apology.

The customer shared his experience on Reddit, along with photographs of the cafe and the receipt, explaining why he felt the description amounted to body-shaming.

Customer Says His Body Was Used Instead of His Name

Posting under the title, “Subko didn’t use my name. They used my body to describe me,” the customer described what happened after his visit.

“I went to Subko The Craftery, ordered my food, paid my bill, and later looked at the receipt. Under Customer Detail, instead of my name, I found: ‘Little fat black shirt.’ Yes. That was apparently enough to identify me,” he wrote.

He said the issue was particularly upsetting because the description appeared to have been deliberately entered into the cafe's system.

“Not my name. Not ‘the gentleman at table 12.’ Not even a simple order number,” he wrote. “What makes this worse is that someone had to consciously type that into their system. Someone looked at a customer and reduced him to ‘fat’ because apparently basic dignity wasn’t part of the service.”

Customer Calls Out Body-Shaming

The customer also argued that body-shaming should not be dismissed simply because the person targeted was a man.

“If this were a woman and the receipt described her body instead of using her name, I doubt anyone would call it a harmless joke. Body-shaming isn’t funny just because the person on the receiving end is a man,” he wrote.

His post later drew attention online, eventually prompting a response from Subko.

Subko Issues Public Apology

Subko addressed the incident through a detailed statement on Instagram. The cafe said its decision to respond was not simply driven by the post gaining widespread attention. According to the brand, it had not yet gone viral when the company decided to speak about it.

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A post shared by Subko Coffee Roasters (@subkocoffee)

“Today, we're not addressing this because it's gone viral. It hasn't, yet,” Subko said. “We know that publishing this could give it more attention than it currently has. But we're posting this because it genuinely bothered us.”

‘Fat Shaming Is Wrong’: Cafe

Subko strongly condemned the incident and accepted responsibility for what happened at its outlet.

“Fat shaming is wrong. Every form. Every time. No exceptions,” the company said. “There's no clever way to say this. It was cruel, and it happened under our roof.”

The cafe added that it had attempted to contact the customer directly to apologise and had taken “the strongest disciplinary action possible” against the employee involved.

It also said it would review its process for recording customer details at its counters and discuss the incident as part of staff induction.

‘We're Sorry. Not for How It Looked. For What It Was’

In its closing message to the customer, Subko offered a direct apology.

“To the guest who experienced this: we're sorry. Not for how it looked. For what it was,” the company said.

The incident also drew reactions from other social media users.

“Omg this is horrible! Sorry you had to go through this,” one person wrote.

Another commented, “This is totally not acceptable.”

Disclaimer: This article is based on a user-generated post on Reddit. ET.com has not independently verified the claims made in the post and does not vouch for their accuracy. The views expressed are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of ET.com. Reader discretion is advised.