Top Tales From Your Server This Week (April 16, 2023)

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Apr 16, 2023 8:00 AM EDT

It's hard out here for a restaurant worker! Especially when you have to deal with unnecessarily toxic managers, evil Karen customers, entitled children of said Karen customers, and more! At this point, it's about time we flip the script on the saying "the customer is always right," because of the truth of the matter is, 9 times out of 10, the reverse is actually the case.

 

Keep scrolling below for this fresh collection of horror stories about working in the service industry. For more top trending lists, check out this week's most mildly infuriating moments!

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  • 01
    Furniture - STESS Top Tales From Your Server!
    via Nick Karvounis
  • 02

    #1: This Karen's entire night was ruined because of the butter?!

    Font - Got berated by a Karen for the first time last night and don't feel well now Medium I've been a server for over 6 years on and off. I only work a few times a month now as I have a full time 9-5. I expected my worst serving experiences were behind me, but last night proved me wrong.
    via u/ravioliwizard
  • 03
    Font - I was very busy juggling 8 tables at once. I was literally running and sweating because of how busy it was. It all started when a woman asked for a side of butter, I told her I would get it for her.
    via u/ravioliwizard
  • 04
    Font - I had to go to the bar and dropped off some drinks, she then yelled at me about the butter (it had been maybe 45 seconds) I said I haven't even been to the kitchen since but I was getting it right away. I ran to the kitchen ran out her butter dropped it and ran back. Apparently I "threw" the butter on the table. It's possible I didn't do it super gentle but it wasn't meant to be aggressive or anything.
    via u/ravioliwizard
  • 05
    Font - She complained to the manager and told him what an evil person I am. He didn't care but assured her it wasn't malicious. He told me just continue to be nice. I kept checking up "how's it going? Everything good over here? Let me know if I can get you anything." And they stayed mostly silent.
    via u/ravioliwizard
  • 06
    Font - At the end I gave them the check and after 5 minutes of her intently reading the check I asked if everything was okay. This is where she got so out of hand. She said I ruined their entire night. How terrible and malicious I was and my attitude ruined her birthday. She kept being hateful, to a point where I just had to walk away and have my manager take care of it.
    via u/ravioliwizard
  • 07
    Font - My manager took care of their bill and told her to leave. She then went to the front to berate me more. I finally couldn't hold it in and outburst with "STOP! Please leave me alone! I have been nothing but nice to you. Just leave!" And she continued throwing her nasty words at me and told my manager I couldn't speak to her like that.
    via u/ravioliwizard
  • 08
    Font - My manager repeated exactly what I said, and told her to leave as well. My coworkers also demanded for her to leave. Some customers joined in too after witnessing her behavior. As she tried to yell at me more I was unprofessional and looked her in the eyes said "some people are just miserable."
    via u/ravioliwizard
  • 09
    Font - All the tables around her assured me I couldn't have done anything different, but I still feel at fault for some reason. I know this was an overreaction on her part but I kind of feel unsafe and scared now. I have never experienced anything like this as a server.
    via u/ravioliwizard
  • 10
    Font - Edit: thank you all for your reassuring words! Now that I've been able to sleep on it 2x I feel so much better. I think it was just shocking initially. I appreciate every single one of you. may your microwaved food always heat evenly, your back never ache, and your days be fulfilling!
    via u/ravioliwizard
  • 11

    #2: The ultimately revenge on your restaurant manager!

    Font - Contacted the DOL and health inspectors about my current restaurant. 'em, let 'em burn. Short The restaurant where I work currently is incredibly misogynistic and overall has garbage management. Despite the fact that I have great sales and great service they've been me over, giving me smaller sections than all the other men I work with. They've been treating me like recently, so tonight I made complaints to both the department of labor and the local health department.
    via u/lizzayyyy96
  • 12
    Font - There's a law that states that being paid below minimum wage (so in Texas $2.13/hr) for more than 30 minutes before and after close/open is illegal. So I reported that. Additionally they've kept their par cooked pork 2in off the floor of the kitchen, uncovered. I took a picture when I saw it.
    via u/lizzayyyy96
  • 13
    Font - And one time they were prepping burgers next to clean glass racks, and raw beef was smeared on the side of the clean glass racks. Basically this is how you get an E. coli outbreak. So I'm done with my loyalty to them. 'em.
    via u/lizzayyyy96
  • 14

    #3: Being a server does NOT mean being your kid's babysitter!

    Font - If you can't be responsible and watch your own kids, don't go out to eat. Medium For info I work at a pizza joint in my city. The pizzas (and most prep work actually) are all made in a wood fired oven which is unfortunately located in the dining room for show.
    via u/nanbananaa
  • 15
    Font - Let's set the scene, shall we: a Friday night around 6-7, peak dinner hours, restaurant is packed full of guests and people lining up waiting to be seated. There's a 7 top containing I think maybe 3 adults and the rest are toddlers and children. Everything was running smooth until about halfway into their meal. Then I started noticing how many runaway toddlers were wandering about the restaurant with no supervision. At this point there are multiple families eating (and I frankly don't hav
    via u/nanbananaa
  • 16
    Font - And then It happens. I walk across the restaurant to check on my to- go server, and find one of my line cooks trying nicely to nudge this little girl off the line and away from the ovens. I grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the kitchen as quickly as a could. Just angry saying "no, no, no" over and over while I search for her parents. Mom quickly runs over after that, scoops her daughter up, says "I'm so sorry" and carries her away. I will tell you I was livid. The party ended up s
    via u/nanbananaa
  • 17
    Font - Just because it's pizza, doesn't make it any less of a hazard. We store knives, dump hot ashes into metal buckets, and we have chopped up wood all around that area. Your kid could seriously get hurt. PLEASE F WATCH YOUR KIDS.
    via u/nanbananaa
  • 18

    #4: This server had to explain to a customer that this Mexican restaurant doesn't serve Eastern brunch

    Font - So there i was. Eating at the bar of a Mexican restaurant, and answering their customer's phone call. Medium Next door to our restaurant is a Mexican restaurant that's super good. I'm not a regular but we share a couple of employees and if they need to go boxes or we need gloves-we borrow and know each other.
    via u/Kentencat
  • 19
    Font - I'm sitting at the bar having some queso and the manager is on the phone behind the bar and he's Super confused. The customer calling must be asking weird stuff because the manager isn't understanding and I can start to hear the customer raising their voice. The manager and I lock eyes and he gives me the WTF look.
    via u/Kentencat
  • 20
    Font - I can hear the guy on the phone by this point and so I hold out my hand for the phone. Manager is like, thank God. Get me outta here. And hands me the cordless. So I ask the guy what he's looking for. He wants to know if this Mexican restaurant is going to have Ham, biscuits and gravy, waffles, and turkey for Easter.
    via u/Kentencat
  • 21
    Font - I asked him, "Are you wondering if El Rosa is going to have Easter Brunch?" He says, "yeah! I'm trying to make reservations for Easter Brunch" I tried letting him down gently and told him this was just a regular old Mexican restaurant and it's still going to be nachos and burritos and that I was pretty sure they didn't take reservations
    via u/Kentencat
  • 22
    Font - But he doubles down and asks, "Why not?" And the only thing I could think of, I said out loud. Did you mean to call Cracker Barrel? And I hung up.
    via u/Kentencat
  • 23

    #5: Karen throws fit because she was charged for the coffee she ordered...

    Font - "How dare you charge me for the coffee I ordered?!?" Long This is from a long while ago when I was still serving, but this story of mine came up yesterday so I thought I'd share. This particular tale took place while I worked at a casual fine-dining chain restaurant.
    via u/Miyako91
  • 24
    Font - I came in for the dinner shift and inherited a camper. She had had lunch with a few of her lady friends around 12:30pm, but they had all left and she stayed to have a couple more glasses of wine. My shift started at 4:30pm, so she had already been there for 4 hours. When I took her table over, the day server said she had already paid up, so I was essentially just waiting for her to leave.
    via u/Miyako91
  • 25
    Font - It's now 5pm. The dinner rush is starting, and her glass of wine is empty. She orders another and asks for the bill with it. No problem, it's not crazy busy yet. I get her the glass of wine and she pays.
    via u/Miyako91
  • 26
    Font - Fast forward to almost 6pm. We're packed now, and she's still there. I'm asking her if she needs anything, and she asks for a cup of coffee and the bill yet again. So I get the cup of coffee and the bill and drop it off at her table. Note that up until this point she hadn't shown any signs of intoxication, just quietly sipping wine and being on her phone. This is when hits the fan.
    via u/Miyako91
  • 27
    Font - She starts by telling me to get her EXACT change because there's no way she's tipping me. Then her rage starts building, until she's screaming about how DARE I charge her for that cup of coffee??! Don't I know who she is?!? I should have comped it, considering she's been there 6 hours and I should have KNOWN she needed a coffee, she shouldn't have had to ask me in the first place! She needs the coffee to drive home!!!
    via u/Miyako91
  • 28
    Font - I take this for a minute or two, then say "Ma'am, I'm sorry you feel this way, but if you think you need a coffee to drive, then maybe you shouldn't be driving." It escalates; her voice reaches nails-on- chalkboard level with the standard "I WANT TO TALK TO YOUR MANAGER!!!" Sure lady, I don't get paid enough to deal with this I'll get the manager.
    via u/Miyako91
  • 29
    Font - My poor manager now stands there getting utterly berated by this woman, who's showing her all the websites and SM accounts she's going to rate us poorly on. Says that she'll put us out of business, no one will ever eat here again! Keeps throwing in that she's some important person who "knows people," works in hospitality in some big-shot hotel. During this time, I'm calling a cab.
    via u/Miyako91
  • 30
    Font - My manager isn't even trying to calm her down at this point; nothing we say will heal the mortal wound we have dealt her by charging $2 for a coffee, which obviously at this point we didn't whether she paid give two for or not. The whole restaurant is watching the show and we just want her gone.
    via u/Miyako91
  • 31
    Font - She finally finishes her red-faced scream fest and heads for the door, where I'm waiting. "Ma'am, we've ordered a cab for you." Her rages falters a moment. "We understand you're upset and you've had a lot to drink. We cannot in good conscience allow you to drive, for concern of your safety." My face is perfectly concerned and serene. Hers is red and splotchy.
    via u/Miyako91
  • 32
    Font - She storms over to the cab without a last word. Maybe she knew in the moment that she actually shouldn't be driving. Maybe she was too angry (or drunk) to realize she chose the cab. Either way, I never saw when she came back for her car, and never saw the copious amounts of bad reviews she loudly promised us. And no, the restaurant never went out of business for charging for coffee.
    via u/Miyako91
  • 33
    Font - TLDR; table camper quietly gets drunk on wine, then explodes into rage when charged for a coffee SHE ordered, threatens bad reviews, then leaves in the cab we ordered her so her raging, drunk ass wouldn't drive home.
    via u/Miyako91

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