Houston Mexican restaurant goes viral after sharing customers attempt to get a free meal: ‘They didn’t appreciate him not believing them’

The owner of a Mexican restaurant in Houston says a couple went to unusual length to get a free meal - literally pulling their hair out.

Leslie Ramirez shared a video on social media calling the pair out after the January 12 incident at Fajitas Mexican Grill. Ramirez says the couple called one of the restaurant's waiters over toward the end of their meal, claiming there was a hair in their food.

The server then looked at the hair – a long, lightly colored strand – and determined that it couldn't have belonged to anyone in the kitchen.

When the waiter indicated he didn’t believe them, the owner says the couple soon turned angry.

“They were yelling at him and saying things that I would say were not very nice – very cruel words to our waiter,” Ramirez said. “They didn't appreciate him not believing them.”

Ramirez posted the video of the incident, along with the caption “please don’t do this to a small family business, we’re trying so hard to stay open.” As of Thursday afternoon it had been viewed over 15 million times on TikTok.

The video shows the couple eating when the woman appears to reach up and pluck hairs from her own head, and put them on the table in front of her male companion.

He then appears to pick up the hair and arrange it on his fork before repeatedly dipping it into the remains of what is on his plate. The woman continues eating while the man then waves repeatedly to attract the attention of the waiting staff.

When the server arrives, the man shows him what’s on his fork, before pushing the almost completely finished plate towards him.

Ramirez told The Houston Chronicle, that despite the doubts the staff had about the couple’s story and where the hair had come from, they let them out of the bill – as they didn’t want them to pay for something they weren’t happy with – and so they left without paying.

However, it was only when they later checked the cameras, they saw what had happened, and suspected it had been a tactic to obtain a free meal all along.

“Afterwards, we talked to our waiter and said sorry for what happened. It wasn't anybody's fault but them for not wanting to pay for their meal,” Ramirez said.

Ramirez said she bought the business, which first opened in 1987, just two years ago, but that it had been difficult to turn round the prospects of the restaurant, which had suffered from lack of investment and maintenance under the previous owners.

“We're trying to get people back in,” Ramirez told The Chronicle. “It just hurts when people are intentionally trying to hurt us. Trying to provide for our families and our workers.”