'I never charge for soda or tea if people are nice': 20+ Server confessions that they'd never tell their bosses

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Oct 6, 2024 3:00 PM EDT

We don't want to think about our waiters and waitresses messing up our meals, but it absolutely happens! Just think about how often you make mistakes-- -probably at least a few per day. Of course, some of these mistakes are worse than others…just ask the servers and hosts who replied to u/princessmeemee's question: "What's something you did that would make your manager clutch their pearls if they found out?" 

One person accidentally put balsamic vinegar on vanilla ice cream instead of chocolate syrup. According to them, the customer ate the ice cream and didn't say anything about it! Maybe it gave the dessert a nice tang? Speaking of ice cream, another person ran out of chocolate syrup and tried to melt chocolate sprinkles in the microwave. We're facepalming hard over that one! No way a customer could ever eat that… At least the balsamic ice cream mistake seems like the kind of thing a pretentious fancy restaurant might serve. 

Keep scrolling to read the original poster's mistake, as well as a bunch of other great stories from the waiters and waitresses of the world. 

Up next, read about the people who painted their house "the wrong color," according to their picky homeowner's association. 

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    Cheezburger Image 10412776960
    via Curated Lifestyle on Unsplash+

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    Server Confessions: what's something you did that would make your manager clutch their pearls if they found out? This was years ago, back when I first started serving. I was on my second week of lunch service by myself and I had these two lovely women come in and order salads and single tall caesars.
    via u/princessmeemee
  • 03
    I was still getting used to making drinks, but I had become quite confident in the caesars, everyone thought we had the best in town. The ladies at the table loved them SO much they asked for another round, and halfway through making them I stopped, wide-eyed. I forgot the alcohol. I was thinking quick and decided not to put alcohol in the second round because...they would
    via u/princessmeemee
  • 04
    definitely taste the difference. I did give them a dessert on me though, because I felt bad. But they never knew, or didn't care to say anything. I just sigh and cringe every now and then when I think about it. I'm just hoping some people have some funny anecdotes to share from their server career! What have you gotten away with?
    via u/princessmeemee
  • 05
    Portlander We served Pepsi Guest jokingly said that he would give me $100 for a Coke. I walked across the highway without telling anyone while I had a full section and bought a couple of Cokes. Went straight back to the table and handed them over. Dude left me $150 that night.
    via u/Portlander
  • 06
    pleasantly-dumb Not me, but a new server at a job many years ago confused squeeze bottles and put balsamic on vanilla ice cream instead of chocolate sauce. The guest she served it to ate both scoops, didn't say anything, and left happy.
    via u/pleasantly-dumb
  • 07
    I was garnishing a dessert and I remember the new server saying, "Oh...that one is the chocolate sauce... "I Then the story came out.
    via u/pleasantly-dumb
  • 08
    Conscious_Acti... Chocolate syrup instead of worschestire sauce in a mary
    via u/Conscious_Active_492
  • 09
    YoWoody27 When I worked at my first restaurant (left the service industry), a group of college kids had kept one of my coworkers past closed (showed up 30mins before close for a hibachi dinner party of 10). At the very end, as in right when she was handing them the checks, one guy snarkly said, "No free food for my
    via u/YoWoody27
  • 10
    birthday?" Mind you, they were not opening gifts, nor any decorations or talk of a birthday. So, my coworker being the sweetheart she is, did the birthday song/dance for them & brought them out ice cream. After it was all said and done, they left an hour after close, left a mess everywhere, and $0 in tip. She was justifiably upset, so I asked to see her receipt and looked up the guys
    via u/YoWoody27
  • 11
    name in our school's email data base and saw he was an active student (and freshman football player). I copied his email address and went to as many spam websites as I could and signed him up for any thing. that would spam his inbox. We never heard back from him, but I'm hoping it caused him a little bit of a headache for being such an
    via u/YoWoody27
  • 12
    shredit417 I don't charge my husband or daughter for their tea and apple juice when they come in which is on top of my 30% discount. Take that, managers!
    via u/shredit417
  • 13
    The_Night_Bad... An 8 top (party of 8) treated me like the whole time. They left birthday cake all over the table. And a brand new iPhone. So I took a butter knife full of frosting and buttered that phone with frosting like a piece of toast. Into the charge port and speaker holes. We didn't have cameras then.
    via u/The_Night_Badger
  • 14
    She came back and picked it up like a biohazard and walked out. Never told a manager.
    via u/The_Night_Badger
  • 15
    thecitrusmamba Called the health department on my job after our water heater broke, they didn't close and kept "washing" dishes with cold. water. This was also during 2020. Only thing that is that the health department dragged their feet and my buddy took over as manager the day they showed up.
    via u/thecitrusmamba
  • 16
    WesleySmusher I paid an unhoused person to bother an outdoor table until they left. 3 and a half hours after we closed and almost 6 hours after they had been seated. Best $301 ever spent.
    via u/WesleySmusher
  • 17
    batebounds I made a lot of stupid mistakes when I first started bar tending. My two favorite are accidently putting whorstisire sauce in an old fashion instead of bitters (the guy still ordered another round) and not
    via u/batebounds
  • 18
    knowing the soda gun so making a screwdriver with orange soda (worst part was the guy wanted a double of grey goose so dumping that was sad)
    via u/batebounds
  • 19
    Jrnation8988 Crop dust camping tables.
    via u/Jrnation8988
  • 20
    T….. I served these two guys, one added meat to his pasta and I told him it would be an extra charge. When the bill came he asked about the extra charge, which I reminded him, but I offered to just have it taken off and he said no it's fine. He stiffed me. Zero tip. When cleaning the table I
    via u/Technical-Dentist-84
  • 21
    saw BMW car keys at the booth where he was sitting....and I gladly threw them in the trash. Maybe ten minutes later he came back inside asking if I had seen his keys.....I played dumb but also in a way let him know that I indeed knew and he wasn't getting them. back. "Car keys? Sitting right there? Hmmmm what kind of
    via u/Technical-Dentist-84
  • 22
    car? BMW? Hmmmm.....never saw them!"
    via u/Technical-Dentist-84
  • 23
    mr-macaronis If someone leaves their card after leaving a tip, straight to the trash it goes. I do not care
    via u/mr-macaronis
  • 24
    FMLitsAJ Cook here. Wasn't me, but someone put chicken au jus concentrate instead of Carmel sauce in the squeeze bottle and sold desserts like that most the night till someone figured it out... took way longer than it should have.
    via u/FMLitsAJ
  • 25
    nan1995 Put a box of white vinegar on the hot sake machine because I was busy and didn't read the labels. Served hot vinegar shots for sake bombs for over an hour before someone told me the "sake" tasted like feet lol. Switched it out quickly
    via u/nan1995
  • 26
    alivenessisstra... Pickle juice in an old fashioned the simple syrup and pickle juice were in the same squeeze bottles that no one labeled lol. Realized when I went to make a pickle martini what had happened.
    via u/alivenessisstrange
  • 27
    lunabug37 I never charge for soda or tea if people are nice
    via u/lunabug37
  • 28
    urwerstnitemayr I had a customer order a burger and they wanted to sub impossible meat, I forgot to ring in that they wanted the impossible meat... I still feel bad about it to this day
    via u/urwerstnitemayr
  • 29
    NakedShamrock GM hired this girl because he wanted to her. Somehow I became her crush and we dated for a few months, made out in the walk in, throw fries at each other and so. Also, GM had a gf and I was on salary so the worst he could do when found out was made me clopen everyday.
    via u/NakedShamrock
  • 30
    Karnezar I ordered a cheesecake and bowl of fruit for my table. I go to the kitchen to check on it because it's taking so long. Finally, I obtain it and arrive to the table and they're eating a cheesecake (no bowl of fruit though). And I audibly say, "What the They all got a good laugh out of it, thankfully.
    via u/Karnezar
  • 31
    Milk_Mindless We ran out of chocolate sauce for the dame blanche, so I tried microwaving some chocolate sprinkles instead Turns out that doesn't work! Learning moment
    via u/Milk_Mindless
  • 32
    But then I had a sudden burst of inspiration, I poured in some whole milk into the cup I'd put in the microwave (with said sprinkles) VOILA PRESTO CHOCOLATE SAUCE I served the last dame blanche of the evening cause gosh darn it we ran out of chocolate sauce
    via u/Milk_Mindless
  • 33
    MrsMelody Pond If kids were absolutely slamming their Shirley temples and I kept having to make refills I would make them with a ton of grenadine to make it so sweet it would be undrinkable. It wouldn't look that different in the cup and
    via u/MrsMelody Pond
  • 34
    no kid ever said anything to their parents. I'd argue it saved money by putting all the syrup in one cup rather than 10 extra refills but I would never tell my manager that.
    via u/MrsMelody Pond
  • 35
    lasion2 When people are over dramatic about needing caffeine, they get decaf.
    via u/lasion2
  • 36
    normanbeets Everyone gets decaf after 8pm
    via u/normanbeets
  • 37
    theburbankian Glanced at my phone
    via u/theburbankian
  • 38
    Dalaunaiarse Coworker and I had a large party for pretty rowdy guests that stayed past close. Managers let them have their way because they had a big tab, but the host was most of the time and made a scene when we took last call, so on top of
    via u/Dalaunaiarse
  • 39
    taking away their unfinished bottle of wine, he threw in 4 extra drinks on their tab and hid them in a buss bin. We had a good time closing.
    via u/Dalaunaiarse
  • 40
    VogonSlam Poet... I put tempura flour instead of AP in a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies once, lots of baking soda and salt taste. But I was already there for 12 hours so I said ☐ and dumped a bunch of cocoa powder in to cover the taste. No one
    via u/VogonSlamPoet24
  • 41
    complained so I guess I got away with it, and still no salmonella from taste testing all the cookie dough so double win.
    via u/VogonSlamPoet24
  • 42
    hunter2mello My wife's first bartending job was at macaroni grill. She was making everyone double Long Island iced teas instead of singles until someone weeks later asked for a double. Not many complaints from guests i imagine
    via u/hunter2mello
  • 43
    Freely_Unwilling I take our big 128 oz bottle dressings home so I don't have to buy dressing. It's silly and stupid but I do sometimes feel evil for doing this.
    via u/Freely_Unwilling
  • 44
    neonkiwi111 I mixed up a tables bill with the one beside it, and didn't notice until after the first table paid. The bills were off each other by like 20 bucks. Instead of trying to fix it properly, I just gave the first tables bill to the second table and was VERY entertaining while they were paying and took the receipts with me.
    via u/neonkiwi111
  • 45
    metalmudwool... Had a customer call my manager a f@*#%t which he definitely wasn't but I'm gay and it made me very uncomfortable. Impulsively I dunked his dessert spoon in to the dirty dish water before I took it to him.
    via u/metalmudwoolwood

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