'I literally dropped the tray of drinks': Defiant server maliciously complies to manager's demand

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Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Oct 28, 2023 9:00 AM EDT

Service industry workers live hard and die by the same credence, having long ago had their garden of farks scorched by an onslaught of unruly customers, temperamental chefs, and unreliable restaurant managers. They're a hard, complex, and colorful bunch, often seeking reprieve from their demanding careers in all the wrong sorts of places. But it's one of those lifestyles that feels good until it isn't, and when the bottom card gets pulled out of the house, and the entire thing comes crashing down. Of course, when things get messy, with all these colorful personalities and complex relationships in a single tight space, things tend to get really messy.

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  • Now, it's worth noting here that the colloquialism "drop everything and help me" is usually used to express urgency to the party you're seeking help from. You typically don't literally mean that they should drop whatever they're holding at the time, but rather to impart the impression that time is of the essence and one should hurry over as fast as they can. Of course, you'll usually say this to your partner, family, or closest friends, and not to the member of your team that you're trying to bully out of a job….

  • 01
    Font - Posted by u/Square_Guard_830 46 minutes ago Drop everything and help you out? Sure, I got you. LOC I want to start this post by saying yes, I know I should have gotten fired for this, and I do not recommend doing this in any service industry job.
    via u/Square_Guard_830
  • 02
    Font - This happened several years ago while I was working as a waitress at a chain restaurant. There was this INSANE manager whom I had to work with on several occasions. She was young and thought she knew everything, was quite trashy, and was sleeping with one of the higher-ups, who was married, whose wife also worked at the same restaurant - but that's a different story.
    via u/Square_Guard_830
  • 03
    Font - This manager (let's call her Mindy) was always on my aabout everything. I was one of the few shift lead servers who knew what they were doing, knew how to make the restaurant money, and had many customers write great reviews and say wonderful things about me. I knew how to do my job and I knew how to do it well.
    via u/Square_Guard_830
  • 04
    Font - Mindy always singled me out for things when things weren't even my fault. I would always just take it because it wasn't worth my energy fighting about it. She was the only person in the whole restaurant that I did not get along with - I had a great rapport with the bartenders, servers, cooks, back-of-house staff, and other managers.
    via u/Square_Guard_830
  • 05
    Font - One day I came in to start my shift but was quickly pulled into the manager's office by a different manager. He wanted to bring it to my attention that Mindy had stated on my past shift that I was on my phone and not working hard. This was not true. I NEVER carried my phone on me because it was a distraction, I didn't have room in my apron, my jeans did not have
    via u/Square_Guard_830
  • 06
    Font - pockets, and, honestly, I didn't want to have it on me. I mentioned this to the manager, and he gave me the benefit of the doubt but said he was going to keep an eye on me, as cell phone use had been becoming a major problem with several of the servers and bartenders in the past few months.
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  • 07
    Font - One shift a few days after that was busy. I had a full section and was sat with a party of 12 who all ordered beverages from the bar with water. I grab a tray, fill up the water, and hand the glassware to the service bar in the kitchen area. Once all the drinks were on the tray, I slowly started to lift it to get it situated, as it was heavy. Mindy decided this was the best time to yell at me and tell me she needed
    via u/Square_Guard_830
  • 08
    Font - me to run the food that was up at the expo line (where she was standing and expediting the food). I took a second to look over at two other servers who were leaning against the wall, much closer to her, on their phones. I said, "I'm a little busy, can someone else help?" she snapped back at me and said, "I told you to do it, so you need to do it now."
    via u/Square_Guard_830
  • 09
    Font - At that moment, I honestly didn't even care anymore. So, I looked her dead in the eyes, smiled, said "Okay!" and literally dropped the tray of drinks I was holding on the ground, walked over the broken glass, crushing the cups under my feet, grabbed the plates of food, and asked her where they were going while keeping the
    via u/Square_Guard_830
  • 10
    Font - smile on. The look of horror on her face, the phone-dwelling servers' faces, and the cooks' faces were quite priceless. Once I delivered the food, I went to my party of 12 and apologized to them and told them I dropped the tray of their drinks and I'd be right back with a new one - still with that smile on my face.
    via u/Square_Guard_830
  • 11
    Font - Once my shift was over, Mindy pulled me into the office and explained what I did was not okay, and she was going to write me up for it, so I had to sign a document stating I understood why I was being written up and I refused to sign it before speaking with other management. There was much more discussed in this conversation, but I can narrow it all down:
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  • 12
    Font - she said I would be fired if I didn't sign the write-up document at that exact moment, I still refused and said I would speak with the GM about it tomorrow morning, on my next shift. The next morning I explained to the GM what had happened and stated that I was working, while others were on their phones, but Mindy singled me out. I also asked him to check the cameras to see the incident take place, and might I say, it was so satisfying to physically see myself drop everything.
    via u/Square_Guard_830
  • 13
    Font - After lots of discussion, the GM said there's no problem here, ripped up the write-up, and told me to continue being the hard worker I am, and I never had to work with Mindy again. The End.
    via u/Square_Guard_830
  • 14
    Font - grumblyoldman 15 min. ago So... did Mindy get transferred or something? Did she just stop talking to you after that? • Mindy doesn't sound like the kind of person who would stop singling you out just like that. Great story though! Vote Vote Reply Share WeeklyConversation8 · 2 min. ago I bet she was chewed out by the GM. Reply Share
    via u/Square_Guard_830
  • 15
    Font - just_nobodys_opinion 20 min. ago I'm living in an empty room With all the windows smashed And I've got so little left to lose That it feels just like I'm walking on broken glass Vote Reply Share
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  • 16
    Font - lunatikdeity 5 min. ago . Something tells me your GM wanted her gone and your compliance gave them just the right amount of leverage to oust her. Vote Reply Share ●●●
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  • 17
    Font - Great_Relief_4847 · 4 min. ago Lol, sometimes you just have to do the dramatic thing. Way back when I was a server, a crazy/high chef started screaming at me to pick up my orders from the window. But I didn't have any orders coming, and the prime rib dinners he was holding were not mine. I
    via u/Square_Guard_830
  • 18
    Font - told him so, and he shouted that I could just get the f*** out of his kitchen and literally threw the 2 plates across the kitchen at me, barely missing my head. They shattered on the wall behind me, covering me with au jus. Shaking, I took my tray which had a couple of desserts
    via u/Square_Guard_830
  • 19
    Font - on it along with my check book and checks for a few tables, walked over to the trash bin and pitched the whole tray inside. Grabbed my purse and coat and walked out and drove home. Next day the chef called to apologize and begged me to come back. I did, since I liked the place and the money was good. Worked a few more months until I got accepted into grad school and left the state. Reply Share Vote
    via u/Square_Guard_830

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