I wonder if this manager lost their job because of the way they acted, or because they acted this way with a person the owner had a relationship with. Timothy has pushed hard on this, but I will add to it: We need to think about our actions and think about ourselves in a similar situation - TAB. This wasn't a life and death situation, and while a question about being able to afford the bill may have been border line rude, it takes a certain attitude to take it this far without calling the person out on it first.
We have all slipped under stress or pressure. I have, you have, TAB has, EVERYONE has. I don't know what kind of day it had been for this manager, and how did this large group of construction workers look on his seating and staffing chart? I have had cold storage managers call our logistics and even CEO on me for comments I have made on the docks. What saves my butt? The response has always been that they are out of line in the way they are treating drivers, and one time was a butt chewing, because what they did to me made it illegal for me to get the load to the customer. We even get supported for pushing some of our customers, because their actions affect every other customer and their orders.
Think before you complain or whine!