'Wanted extra mayo so I maliciously complied by drenching it': 15+ servers share the pranks they pulled on Karen customers

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Nov 19, 2023 8:00 AM EST

Being a customer-facing worker means having to put on a smile even when you are about to spontaneously combust underneath the surface. This is a grim and unfortunate part of the reality of what it is to be a server or to work in customer service in general. However, every so often, you get the opportunity to serve a little malicious compliance and/or some petty revenge along with an entitled customer's meal. Sure, you're still serving your customers with a smile, but little do they know, you have something else up your sleeve. 

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    THOS ANDON "[She poured] the whole tray of drinks over a guest"
    via Toa Heftiba

  • These restaurant workers shared the pranks they pulled on their worst Karen customers via this r/AskReddit thread. Some of these pranks ranged from overcooking eggs to spitting in their food to "accidentally" dumping a tray of liquids onto the customer. We may not have witnessed the full encounters ourselves, but for the purposes of second-hand entertainment, we're on the sides of these server avengers. Keep scrolling below for the full list. When you're done, check out this list of so-called "facts" we all learned in grade school that have since been disproven.

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    r/AskReddit. Posted by u/RegulatoryCaptured Me Restaurant workers of Reddit, what is the worst thing you have seen done to a customer's order?
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    Disobedient_Bathing. At my last restaurant job, my coworker would make very ugly sundaes for customers who were . For particularly nice customers, she would painstakingly recreate the sundaes in the menu pictures and give them extra cream and sprinkles. 28.7k Share
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    [deleted] Tampering with food is not that common. I've been in the business a long time and only worked with one girl who spat in someone's food. Another server saw her and she got reported and fired immediately.
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    The only other thing that sometimes happens is when people get cocky and ask for extremely spicy food the kitchen staff turns into evil geniuses. A guy once asked me for wings so spicy that they would give a woman a . I relayed those lovely instructions to the kitchen and I don't know what they did but the sauce was burning my nose and making my eyes water as I carried it out. He was not able to finish his wings. 25.6k Share
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    mattmoney31716 I had a buddy at mcdonalds, a real chaotic type, who every once and a while would say "oh hey, guess what time it is... PICKLE SURPRISE!" and put a whole handful of pickles on a random cheeseburger. 22.8k Share
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    skaffen37. Pour the whole tray of drinks over a guest - twice. International trade fair with students as waiters. First time was an accident, second time she was so nervous she was practically shaking and spilled the drinks again on the same guy. 16.8k Share
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    StellaLuna914. I worked at a popular fast food chain in my younger years, it was my first time with closing shift and we were all doing our part to clean and prep the store.
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    I see this lady with a mop and bucket come out of the back, slop it on to the griddle and START MOPPING IT. I was appalled. I went and told the manager and she tells me well that's the quickest way to clean it then scolded me for worrying about things that didn't concern me.
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    I quit that job next day and then called the district office and told them what happened. That location closed down not long after. But the franchise still exists. ↑ 15.6k Share
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    Equal-Independence-1. I haven't worked in a restaurant in over 15 years. I never messed with anyone's food because that is assault. What I used to do to snotty Karen types is give them a senior discount and announce to the table when I dropped the check that I remembered to add the senior discount. 10.9k Share
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    SnooChipmunks9932. Worked in a deli for a few years, I never tampered with anyone's food but if you were a I guaranteed your bread was over toasted, the lettuce on your sandwich was wilted, the tomato was the end with the hole from us removing the core, your onions were little pieces, the meat was the smallest of the portions, and on and on. I wouldn't tamper with someones food but i ......... well wasn't making them a good sandwich. And all of that goes the exact opposite way with the customers
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    Abyssal_Groot. Worked in a fastfood pizza joint. Nothing without consent of the customer happened, but customers ask some wierd stuff. One time a customer asked for extra chili and emphasised "a lot", so ofcourse we put like a lot on it.
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    Another person wanted chickenlegs and wanted it extra crisp. He kept sending it back until it was pretty much burned, which is when he found it perfect. The worst one was a woman asked to put her pasta in a blender, because she had just gotten prostetics and couldn't properly eat. It looked disgusting. E: How do I turn of the notifications for this thread? 6.5k Share
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    Dumfk. Wanted extra mayo so I maliciously complied by drenching it. Lady thought I would forget her fake $10 prayer tip the last time she was there. ↑ 6.4k Share
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    Pete05D I worked in a very well known fast food chain for a while. My favourite example of this actually involved nothing. The person who bought food had been to staff on multiple occasions. The person serving went to get their food, popped round the corner in a noticeable way, then returned having done nothing. He gave the food to him with a huge grin on his face and said "enjoy". He then watched the person throw it in the bin when he went outside. 5.2k Share
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    RegulatoryCaptured Me OP. I saw a waiter pour an orange juice, take a big swig with his lips on the rim, top it up then take it to the table. 3.8k Share
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    dOrf47. Worked at a 50's style diner. Was prepping the chicken for our burgers and dropped a tray of 50 and they slid right under the grill, easily the dirtiest place in the whole restaurant. My boss saw and had me pick them all up rinse them with water and reseason then and stick them back in the fridge... 3.6k Share
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    Sophie-xoxo This isn't really bad, but a lot of the times when people send food back and there's clearly nothing wrong with it, the chefs will just rearrange the food on the plate, wait a minute or two and then send it out to the table. The funniest part is when the customer says that its better. 2.8k Share
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    Diet Coke When I was a pizza delivery driver, when habitual non- tippers ordered I wouldn't cut their pizza all the way through. 2.7k Share
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    FarmerExternal. Not a restaurant but sometimes if a customer at my grocery store is being an I'll put their bananas or bread on the bottom of the cart so they get squished 2.6k Share
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe
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    LoneRhino1019. The worst thing i did was to this one guy that I already didn't like and he was being kind of , I overcooked his an eggs. 1.6k Share
    via u/RegulatoryCapturedMe

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workplace-stories work stories toxic-workplace server work askreddit restaurant server life reddit thread Reddit tales from your server toxic-work-environment
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