Waitress gets assigned the infamous customer-less section at her restaurant, then takes it out on the hostess: ‘She kept nagging me about not getting her money’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Oct 2, 2025 3:00 PM EDT

If you've ever worked in a front-facing restaurant role, you know how important it is to stick to a server rotation. The hostess usually commandeers this process, but the general manager typically decides which employee is assigned to what section. Servers aren't always satisfied with the less popular sections in their restaurant, whether they are less desired because of a cold draft or the smells lurking from the bathroom. The beauty of a rotation? You will not always be working in that section.

The server in this next story fails to understand that the hostess she is harassing cannot change anything about the unpopular zone that she is assigned to. A tipped worker's worst nightmare is coming home with a conservative amount of dough after a long night, and I don't disagree with the waitress's sentiment regarding the unpopular zone of the restaurant—the interior of the restaurant should be reconsidered if an entire portion of the establishment is undesirable.

However, it's wrong for the waitress to take out her frustrations on another front-facing employee, such as the hostess. They don't make the schedule; they only abide by customer requests. Scroll to read the full story.

Advertisement
  • “She is getting meaner and meaner."
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • "waitress asked me (host) what im going to do for her to ‘make up for’ people not wanting to sit in her section!"

    i started hosting at a chain Restaraunt about two months ago. I'll admit it's my first time hosting, but i feel I've gotten the hang of it pretty well.
    via PeanutPast6490
  • There is 1 section of our Restaraunt in particular that customers never wanna sit in. It only has 1 booth and the rest of the tables are just kind of funky, so the servers who get stuck with it are always bummed.
    via PeanutPast6490
  • There isn't much I can do when everybody wants a booth, or when i take them up to a table and get the "can we actually sit over there?" so yes they usually get skipped in the rotation.
    via PeanutPast6490
  • this happens tonight when an elderly couple asks for a booth near the bathroom - which did not align with what was available in this section despite it being the next turn, i am literally not allowed to tell them no unless it's impossible to seat them where they ask.
    via PeanutPast6490
  • half of my training was about meeting customers needs and not saying no. waitress of the day of this cursed section storms up to me asking why she keeps getting skipped.
    via PeanutPast6490
  • cause they wanted to sit in a booth near the bathroom. "well it's not the first time I've gotten skipped" you have no booths open.
    via PeanutPast6490
  • cafe restaurant with empty tables and chairs
    via Getty Images for Unsplash+
  • everybody has asks for booths. just like literally every other day. "Okay well what are you going to do to make up for me not getting tables?" Um ?!
    via PeanutPast6490
  • How about i venmo you 20$ to leave me alone. I understand that it's frustrating but I don't want to be dealing with these picky people either!
    via PeanutPast6490
  • telling someone no to a booth is like asking to be throat punched. she kept nagging at me about not getting money and her losing out.
    via PeanutPast6490
  • yes and I am sorry but it's not up to me girlfriend. this is not the first time I've had this conversation with her and she is getting meaner and meaner.
    via PeanutPast6490
  • she is the only one who can't seem to comprehend that customer preference does come before the rotation and that comes from management, not me!
    via PeanutPast6490
  • EDIT: I want to clarify that this server does not have this section every single shift, since some people seem confused about this.
    via PeanutPast6490
  • I don't know how exactly the charts are made, management does it, but servers are moved around the Restaraunt each day to make it fair.
    via PeanutPast6490
  • No other server ever gives me an issue about this when they have that section. So no, she is not screwed with a bad section permanently.
    via PeanutPast6490
  • Everyone gets a turn with it.
    via PeanutPast6490
  • WritPositWrit Gerrymander the sections. Each waitress can cover one or two "cursed" tables plus another section.
    via WritPositWrit
  • J-littletree Tell your manager she's harassing you about tables
    via J-littletree
  • hospicedoc Customer preference comes before rotation and that just comes from common sense hospitality. If the people who you are sitting don't want to sit in that section, that's fine, but you should try to sit the next people in that same section, until someone sits there.
    via hospicedoc
  • Really though, this is more on your manager and splitting the floor up differently, and if that waitress has a problem with anyone, it should be with the manager.
    via hospicedoc
  • AJ_Scorpio As a server (primarily) AND host or 3 shifts a week out of 8-10 shifts, because I work a lot of doubles and hosting keeps me from owing a ton of money to the IRS every year), I'm going to make this clear: YOU DON'T OWE HER SH !
    via AJ_Scorpio
  • That's her assigned section for the shift, everyone takes turns with it, so she has to accept that it's part of her job. Servers will try all kinds of fuckery with hosts, so please tell me you didn't fall for her BS and actually Venmo her money to shut up & leave you alone! Her only
    via AJ_Scorpio
  • goals were to get under your skin and to potentially get something from you. Don't let those types of people win! Tell her to take it up with her server manager, and you talk to your host manager (we have different managers for FOH sections at my job, maybe yours is the same?).
    via AJ_Scorpio

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

customer service entitlement server servers working in a restaurant customers reddit story restaurant server life entitled people karma hostess restaurants reddit thread waitress Reddit restaurant work restaurant server entitled people
Scroll Down For The Next Article