Bossy customer makes waitress cry over a plate of sunny side up eggs, leaves $0 tip: 'She starts picking me apart like I'm a character flaw'

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Aug 5, 2025 10:00 PM EDT

If you've ever worked in the service industry, you know how difficult certain customers can be. No matter how much you try to please them, some folks just want to watch the world burn. They don't care how hard you're working, they just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and on the wrong side of the bed they will stay. It's difficult to tell whether these people were just born that way or life made a series of bad turns for them, and now they're making everyone else suffer. These types of horror shows exist, and the best you can do is just try not to let them affect you. 

But we're only human and we have emotions that are going to seep in no matter how hardened we are. We're all allowed to have little breakdowns every now and again, especially when they're justified. 

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  • 01

    She Made Me Cry Over Eggs. Then Left a $0 Tip.

    I (19F) am a full-time nursing student and part-time waitress. It's not glamorous, but it's how I afford tuition, rent, gas, and cheap coffee to keep from passing out between classes and shifts. I'm tired, always broke, and trying my best.
    via u/qtieemikaylaa
  • 02
    A
    via Vitaly Gariev

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

  • That's what happened to one server who encountered a miserable customer who decided to pass along some of her misery. And when she did the best she could to handle her outrageous requests, it still wasn't enough. Read on for the story of this server and her entitled customer and see how she handled it. 

  • 03
    This morning I had a Sunday brunch shift aka, the Hunger Games in apron form. I'm already running on four hours of sleep and half a granola bar. Then she walks in. Mid-50s, Chanel bag, energy that could freeze boiling water. I greet her with my usual, "Hi! Welcome in! How are you today?" She cuts me off with: "Coffee. Black. Don't talk to me like we're friends." Okay. Got it. She's one of those.
    via u/qtieemikaylaa
  • 04
    I bring the coffee, and she starts picking me apart like I'm a character flaw. "This table's crooked." "My toast is too hard." "Why are your shoes dirty?" (Because I walk 10,000 steps a shift, ma'am.)
    via u/qtieemikaylaa
  • 05
    Then came the line that broke me. After I brought her eggs (for the third time, because the first two weren't "sunny" enough), she looks me de d in the eyes and says: "Is this really the best you can do? No wonder you're just a waitress."
    via u/qtieemikaylaa
  • 06
    My hands were literally shaking. I didn't even know what to say. I just stood there, frozen, blinking fast to keep the tears in. And then she smiled. Not kindly like she was satisfied. Like she'd won. When she was done, she scribbled $0.00 on the tip line, stared at me one last time, and walked out like she hadn't just kicked someone while they were down.
    via u/qtieemikaylaa
  • 07
    My manager? Just shrugged and said, "Some customers are difficult. Let it go." But I couldn't. Not really. I went into the walk in freezer and cried like someone had flipped a switch. Quiet, ugly sobs while frozen peas dug into my back. What she doesn't know is that I worked until 2 a.m. last night. That I studied during my 10 minute break. That I'm trying. That this isn't just a job it's survival.
    via u/qtieemikaylaa
  • 08
    And the worst part? I still had to smile and take the next table like nothing happened. So to that woman: You didn't break me, but you made today a whole lot harder than it needed to be. And to the older man at Table 9 who saw my red eyes and left a $10 tip with the words "Hang in there" you'll never know how much that meant.
    via u/qtieemikaylaa
  • 09
    This job isn't easy. Life isn't easy. But I'm still here, still trying. Even if no one tips. Thanks for reading. I just needed to let this out.
    via u/qtieemikaylaa
  • 10
    A woman takes orders from a customer.
    via Vitaly Gariev

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

  • 11

    Commenters shared their sympathies with this service worker.

    Lucky-Effective-1564 • 1d ago . Know this - you won't always be a waitress, but she will always be a c*nt.
    via u/Lucky-Effective-1564
  • 12
    Ok_Fig7692 · 1d ago • Your manager is a coward.
    via u/Ok_Fig7692
  • 13
    Bitter_Trees · 1d ago • I'd love to tell you that you won't have those types of folks when you become a nurse, but sadly they exist there too You are doing great and so much to keep yourself afloat. I always have mad respect for waitresses because I could never do y'all's job. That lady and types like her thrive off of being miserable people and sharing their misery
    via u/Bitter_Trees
  • 14
    I know easier said than done, but next time just smile at them and let them stew in the fact they didn't get the reaction they wanted. And if you have to - go have that cry after.
    via u/Bitter_Trees
  • 15
    SuzannesSaltySeas 1d ago • I am so sorry. 40 plus years ago I was you. It does get better, I promise. I know it's hard to hang on during absolutely evil crop like that.
    via u/SuzannesSaltySeas
  • 16
    Melodic_Turnover_877. 1d ago No, it's not the best I can do. It's the best the cook can do. Shall I bring the cook out to speak to you.
    via u/Melodic_Turnover_877
  • 17
    Chundolll 1d ago . Some people are just so beyond $hitty. If anyone ever greets you again like that let them hang. Indeed, keep your head up
    via u/Chundolll
  • 18
    OwslyOwl 1d ago When people are awful like that to me, I remind myself how. awful and miserable their life must be if such small inconveniences upset them to that extent. By the way - your position isn't why she spoke to you that way. I'm a lawyer and have had people speak to me this way as well. There are just genuinely miserable people.
    via u/OwslyOwl
  • 19
    Be grateful that your life is better than hers. She may have more money, but she is miserable on the inside and outside.
    via u/OwslyOwl
  • 20
    I_like_kittycats 1d ago • I was a cocktail waitress before I earned my masters degree and got a 6 figure job. Everyone in this country should be forced to work retail or restaurant work for 3 months to learn some manners and respect.
    via u/I_like_kittycats
  • 21
    SupermarketSad7504 1d ago . Someday when youre a nurse this woman will be your patient. On that day she will be in severe pain and agony. She will beg you for pain meds. You will bring them as that is what you were trained to do. You will hold her hand. You will be her best
    via u/SupermarketSad7504
  • 22
    friend. And then you will tell her a story about the woman who made you cry. And you will tell her you never forget a face. And you will tell her that even though she tri3r to kick you when you were down you were already near the finish line. And you will tell her that youre the better person because another nurse would have taken the slow long 10,000 steps from the d g cabinet to her bedside.
    via u/SupermarketSad7504
  • 23
    huntjoy 1d ago My mom went to nursing school when I was 11 years old. She worked part time and went to school full time. She used to tell herself that she could do anything for 2 years. And at the end of that 2 years she would have her degree. My sister and I used to repeat those words to her when things would start getting her down. So stay strong and keep your eye on your goal. You can do this and in the end you will have your degree and good career!
    via u/huntjoy
  • 24
    • dyou897 1d ago If she ever comes back you can just say I'll let you talk to the manager when she starts with the demands. Let him deal with her because it's likely she'll treat him the same way because it wasn't personal to you she's like this with everybody
    via u/dyou897
  • 25
    • Baguetele 1d ago Honey pie, sending you warm hugs and gratitude for your chosen professions. Both of them, the present and future. Thank you for your hard work now that brings nourishment to people's tables, and thank you for the upcoming challenges of keeping people alive and well in your nursing career.
    via u/Baguetele
  • 26
    Please feel free next time to tell the lady wintour that her wrinkled scrunched up angry face is bl_ding through all the fillers and botox, her neck age doesn't match her face, and ask how old is she to have that liver spot already forming on her hand.
    via u/Baguetele
  • 27
    MerelyWhelmed1 • 1d ago You brought the eggs. You didn't cook them. There are people in the world who think they are royalty. Sadly, you will also encounter them as a nurse. (I have two SILs who are nurses, and they have stories.) And, frankly, as a woman you will encounter them no matter what your career is. Yes, other women will still do this to you.
    via u/MerelyWhelmed1
  • 28
    I'm sorry she made your day that much harder. There was a poster a long time ago that said, "don't let the get you down." You're life will get better, but she'll always be a bitter, cold, unhappy b
    via u/MerelyWhelmed1

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