'He was a server once too, so he knows how it is': Top Wholesome 'Tales From Your Server' This Week (September 4, 2023)

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Sep 4, 2023 4:00 PM EDT

On the most monotonous days as a server, sometimes a wholesome act of kindness can make one's entire shift infinitely better. People don't tend to extend those kindnesses enough in the cutthroat world of customer service. Instead, servers and bartenders often have to deal with a slew of Karen customers, loud children, and entitled parents.

 

Some of these more wholesome moments were compiled from the top posts this week on Reddit's r/TalesFromYourServer subreddit. These anecdotes included an annoying regular's amusing and embarrassing story, the tale of how a server made a table of loud children quiet, a customer's generous tip despite his party's otherwise entitled behavior, and an eccentric server who made a shadowing experience much more entertaining.

 

Keep scrolling below for the full stories in the words of their respective servers, and let these tales serve as a friendly reminder to tip your servers well (see what I did there?). For more compilations like this, check out this list of top terrible neighbor stories!

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  • 01
    Font - Top Wholesome 'Tales From Your Server' "To the girls who were hyping me up today... you made my night."
    via Nick Karvounis
  • 02
    Font - Our crazy bar regular Deb told us a shocking story... Medium I've mentioned our crazy bar regular Deb in here before. She was a menace. At least four times a week she would come in and sit at the very end of the bar, get absolutely blitzed off of pomegranate martinis, and talk the ear off whichever unfortunate soul was in her vicinity.
    via u/Alternative_Run_6116
  • 03
    Font - She worked as a nurse, and she often went into gruesome detail about various injuries she witnessed, her thick Boston accent weaving dangerously through words like catheter and diverticulitis.
    via u/Alternative_Run_6116
  • 04
    Font - One day, we realized we hadn't seen her for like two weeks. The other bartender, Owen looked at me and said, "maybe she's...," but he didn't finish his sentence. We looked at each other appraisingly, hoping to find the appropriate emotion in the other's face...
    via u/Alternative_Run_6116
  • 05
    Font - But Deb showed up a few days later, tan and promising "so many stories." Owen ducked into his favorite hiding place behind the top-shelf whiskeys. I groaned and started making her stupid martini; it looked like I was stuck with her.
    via u/Alternative_Run_6116
  • 06
    Font - She went on and on about how she had spent two weeks at a very fancy resort in Hawaii, sitting by the pool, drinking mai tais, dipping her toes in the pool, and being very luxurious... "...and I met the most passionate man out on the beach," she purred, "Hmm, ok Deb," I said distracted.
    via u/Alternative_Run_6116
  • 07
    Font - "He was so romantic... he didn't need any possessions, he didn't need any...material things," she spluttered, and then glugged half her martini down. "He just lived off the land, and slept under the stars every night..." Deb looked off into the distance, absent-mindedly twisting her finger around one of the curls of her grey mullet. I heard someone snickering behind the whiskey bottles.
    via u/Alternative_Run_6116
  • 08
    Font - "He had everything he needed, in his tent, under the pier..." Deb said, while groping the top button of her shirt, "and on my last night there, I stayed in the tent and had the most wonderful evening with him..." Owen came whipping out of his hiding place and shouted, "Deb, a homeless guy!!" you
    via u/Alternative_Run_6116
  • 09
    Font - I had to hide my face under the ice machine for a full two minutes, and I came this close to actually myself with laughter. I felt bad for laughing at Deb, but she didn't seem to care. She sat there, smiling wide, thinking on her Hawaiian lover...
    via u/Alternative_Run_6116
  • 10
    Font - Guy from big group comes back to tip Medium Long story short, this 8/9 top I had wasn't the best. Good at first until things that were out of my control happened, which I understand is something to be upset about, but not at me for. There's literally nothing I can do about our drafts not working and us being out of a certain soda, about our small kids menu - which, sorry for not having a three tier menu for your ~3 year old?!? - and about not getting somebody their side of chicken for the
    via u/athenaover
  • 11
    Font - Anyways, they left me a $20 on a $170/180? tab, but pretty much gave me attitude the whole time so it didn't feel good at all, but whatever, $20 is $20. One of the guys came back from the group after they all left and asked me to charge him for something so he could leave a tip, that he didn't like how they were with their tips. Charge him for something that's like $0.70, and he leaves me another $20.
    via u/athenaover
  • 12
    Font - Made my night and, not sure if he saw, but i teared up. It was really busy and the kitchen was just not on par that day. He told me he was a server once too, so he knows how it is.
    via u/athenaover
  • 13
    Font - To the girls who were hyping me up today... Short You made my night. We were so busy. Our kitchen had 40+ minute ticket times. We kept running out of plates, glasses, rolled silver, and folded boxes. However, I had a good night because of you. My hair was a mess, but you complimented it anyway. My tattoo was looking awesome as always, and you noticed (I'm know- I'm humble). And when you overheard that I was cut, you paid, got out of there, and tipped well. Thank you :)
    via u/heyits_meg
  • 14
    Automotive lighting - potatomami 5 days ago These types of people can really make a terrible night tolerable and sometimes great!
    via u/heyits_meg
  • 15
    Font - EJDsfRichmond415. 4 days ago I was in a terrible mood tonight and my section was kicking my but there were two gals who complimented my "maroon vibes" (my top and headband were dark red). Made my night.
    via u/heyits_meg
  • 16
    Font - Shadowing an eccentric waiter during training. Short When I first started waiting tables like 15 years ago, they had me shadow a really hippy-dippy waiter named Greg. Greg would constanly go on and on about his various Ayahuasca experences. He believed in "energies," and would not hesitate to inform you of what type of energy you had.
    via u/Alternative_Run_6116
  • 17
    Font - Once, there was rainbow outside, and he forced me and a couple of dishwashers to go out and stare at it for as long as possible, because "you actually only spend a tiny fraction of your life looking at rainbows." On the night I trained with Greg, I watched him take a dinner order off a six-top. For whatever reason, all six people ordered a meatball as a side with their entree. (This was an Italian place, and they were pretty well-known for their big, 5- ounce meatballs.)
    via u/Alternative_Run_6116
  • 18
    Font - Greg snapped his server book shut, cleared his throat slowly, and looked down at the table. "Not a good day to be a meatball," he sighed, and then walked away somberly. I'm still not sure if he was kidding or not...
    via u/Alternative_Run_6116
  • 19
    Font - Help me remember the chocolate chip children distraction! Short I need to pick your server brains, if you don't mind. Once my husband and I went to a Denny's and then a table full of children was sat near us. We both shared a look, of course, but then the server brought out a carafe of some clear liquid and dropped chocolate chips in it, which somehow made the chocolate chips float up and down, like a lava lamp would, and the kids were mesmerized, and spoke at a normal volume the whole me
    via u/Susuze2000
  • 20
    Font - I am spending time with my niece and nephew and we do not know each other very well, so in case things go wrong at lunch, I wanted to use this trick. Help me out, most excellent servers! My husband was a server for years but he did not know this trick and couldn't remember it even happening.
    via u/Susuze2000
  • 21
    Font - aguyjustaguy 2 days ago I know you can do this with clear soda and raisins. It's a classic grade school science experiment. Drop the raisins in clear soda, they sink, collect bubbles in the wrinkles, rise up, the bubbles pop, sink again. Rinse and repeat. 371 Reply Share
    via u/Susuze2000
  • 22
    Font - Spongebob1234 2 days ago I think you can also do it with champagne. Although I'd recommend that for distracting adults rather than children... 141 Reply Share
    via u/Susuze2000

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customer service karens server waiter karen-customer customers restaurant karens in the wild bartender entitled reddit thread Reddit tales from your server karen entitled people
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