20+ restaurant secrets from overworked and underpaid servers: 'You should not drink fountain drinks'

Author image for Ben Weiss
Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jan 15, 2025 4:00 PM EST

Working in any industry for an extended period of time means that you learn some tricks of the trade. It also means that you learn the secrets no one wants anyone outside of the industry to know. 

This, of course, applies to all fields of work, but there is perhaps no industry where the secrets have the potential to raise more eyebrows than the restaurant industry. Once you learn how messy and unsanitary certain establishments can be, it can definitely shift your perspective on eating out. On the other hand, you might just embrace an "ignorance is bliss" mentality and continue to frequent the same questionable places over and over again. 

Keep scrolling below for this collection of industry secrets from servers and kitchen workers!

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10454470912
    via Cater Yang

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Here is a friendly reminder to always be kind when ordering regularly over the phone… otherwise, people most certainly will leave a note about disgruntled, Karen customers and you won't be able to come back regularly. 

  • 02
    shartnado3 17 hr. ago If you order from pizza delivery places regularly, you will be treated different depending on how you treat the staff. A lot of systems have sections to leave notes on customers.
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  • 03
    Personally, if I knew the person was cool I would hook them up with discounts, or as much cheese and peppers and napkins as I could stuff in their bags. If they were jerks, it was always "Whoops, sorry buddy, just ran out!".
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  • 04
    sevensantana7 11 hr. ago As a server, we had this one guy who would come in and order the same thing multiple times a week. His bill was always 18.59. He liked to talk and he was a very big guy and not attractive I guess. None of the waiters ever wanted him cuz he
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  • 05
    talked so much. I started taking his table and I always let him talk a bit. If things were busy I'd let him talk and say, hey it's busy tonight I gotta go to my other tables but I'll be back! And I would. He always tipped me a 20. When Christmas came along, he brought me a microwave because he remembered
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  • 06
    one time I said I didn't have one. So normally this sounds weird right. But this guy was so nice and genuine and never hit on me. He just wanted to talk to someone. I was sad when I moved and obviously we didn't have each other's contact info but I still think about him and hope another waitress has got his back.
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  • This ex-server clearly has a bit of a toxic relationship with their former profession,

  • 07
    Appropriate-End 714 .13 hr. ago Most restaurants are lawless, godless by shows staffed and run and idiots. You'll never have more fun at work or meet more awesome people though. I miss it terribly
    via PocketGoblix

  • This next hot take seems to contradict what other servers and former servers had to say about health inspections. Some folks claim that the standards are strict and that your average kitchen would not pass a baseline health inspection, while other people seem to think health inspectors are easily swayed and don't really care at all. 

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    stuloch 17 hr. ago Where I worked, we knew most of the time when the health inspector was turning up. We also tried to delay letting them into the kitchen. Also, some health inspectors don't really give a
    via PocketGoblix

  • It definitely defeats the purpose of going out to dinner when you find out that half of what you ordered was frozen food that was thrown into the microwave. We can all do that from home, people!

  • 09
    jetlee7 - 15 hr. ago The amount of food that comes frozen, from a plastic bag and straight into the microwave is shocking.
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  • 10
    HarveyMushman72. 14 hr. ago Don't come in 10 minutes to close. Everyone will hate you.
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  • 11
    anglopants 16 hr. ago The dishwashers I worked with would eat whatever the customer didn't finish
    via PocketGoblix

  • This isn't exactly the most sanitary thing in the world, but it's also an upsetting reminder of how little our dishwashers and kitchen workers are compensated.

  • 12
    . FeebysPaperBoat 14 hr. ago You should not drink fountain drinks. If you knew what the hoses inside looked like and how rarely they were cleaned you'd never touch one again.
    via PocketGoblix

  • We'll all have to keep this in mind next time we order a soda at the movie theater!

  • 13
    UltimaGabe 16 hr. ago Pasta is one of the highest-mark-up items on the menu (with soft drinks being #1 by a country mile). A plate of pasta that costs $15 to order probably cost $1 to make.
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  • 14
    anunhappyending 17 hr. ago Soda fountains are all disgusting. Truffle oil is fake in most restaurants, do your own research on what it's actually made with. Specials are usually . We absolutely
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  • 15
    judge you not just for what you ordered, but how you talk to us. Yes, we gossip and laugh at you. Learn how to act in public if you don't like it.
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  • 16
    HumpieDouglas 15 hr. ago I worked for a pizza place in college. The hot wing sauce was just straight Frank's (I think it was Durkee brand back then and later changed to Frank's). The mild and
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  • 17
    medium were Frank's diluted with liquid butter... ungodly amounts of liquid butter.
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    Cheezburger Image 10454471168
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 19
    Kyadagum_Dulgadee. 17 hr. ago The special is just some meat or fish that is a day away from going bad.
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  • 20
    Lazy-Thanks8244 17 hr. ago Salt and butter. Lots.
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  • 21
    codacoda74 14 hr. ago All comments are on point. Also adding: the reason it's such a crazy, intense, complex personality attractor is
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  • 22
    that food biz (ok not fast food, but others) is incredibly hard work for low margins. Even the good successful ones are rarely above 5%, so
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  • 23
    they need to make that gross as big as possible. to make the 5% worthwhile. I won't say it's a passion project or labor of love, but honestly this is one of those fields where from
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  • 24
    owner to dishwasher you're not really in it for the hefty payout
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  • 25
    topTopqualitea 13 hr. ago A lot of good info here and a lot of weird responses. 20+ years in kitchens and not every place is secretly filthy and I've only ever used a microwave in one restaurant.
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    Cheezburger Image 10454470656
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 27
    All of your home kitchens would fail a health inspection.
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  • 28
    Appropriate-End714 15 hr. ago Everyone is sleeping together and everyone is hungover
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  • 29
    AnotherDayHits Deep 17 hr. ago The ice cream/milkshake machine is never broken...
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  • 30
    FormerLifeFreak 14 hr. ago You would be REALLY surprised with what restaurants can legally get away with as it pertains to cleanliness.
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  • 31
    Stuff that you think would absolutely get a restaurant shut down is just a simple warning from a health inspector.
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  • 32
    You think the restaurant you eat in is pest free? Think again. Even the nicest, outwardly cleanest-looking restaurants have roaches and rats. You can't eliminate them - you can only manage them.
    via PocketGoblix
  • 33
    FrequentAdz. 14 hr. ago A family friend owns an Italian restaurant that is famous for its sauce. It is jarred Barilla sauce they buy in bulk from the food supply store
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  • 34
    donn_jolly. 13 hr. ago Our ranch was just the Hidden Valley seasoning packets, following the recipe on the back. The only deference, our 'secret' ingredient if you
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  • 35
    will, was just using buttermilk instead of regular milk. People would come in regularly just to buy our ranch, still blows my mind.
    via PocketGoblix

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work stories server work restaurant kitchen Horrible Bosses restaurant work funny work stories tales from your server restaurant server
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