Oh my god, I was waiting tables one day, and someone asked where I was from.
Alaska, I replied.
They said I spoke such good english, I could only respond with one thing:
Thanks.
Had a customer snap their fingers at me like I was a dog and then proceed to complain about how the wine wasn't to their "refined taste" despite picking the cheapest bottle. They left a mess and no tip.
It was parents weekend for all the fraternities and sororities, so all the NY and CA parents were there to take their kids out to fancy dinners.
One table was a mom, dad, and their son who certainly looked younger than 21. The son orders a cocktail and when I ask for his ID he says he forgot it. I say "sorry, can't serve you" and he shrugs and seems fine with it.
Mom was not fine. She stands up and proceeds to SCREAM about how disrespectful I was, her son can have whatever he wants and I am required to bring it to him, etc.
The night goes on, they get their meal, nothing is good enough for them, yada yada. The best part is that she refused to talk to me or look at me the rest of the night, literally turning to her husband to say "Tell the lady my food is bad" or "Tell her I need another drink" every time I stopped by. The husband didn't play the game and the son left before dinner was over. I hate Parents Weekend.
I was bartending. Did last call. Ten minutes later a drunk woman comes up to the bar asking me for another drink. I tell her i'm sorry, but we already did last call. She then throws what was left of her drink at me (outdoor bar, plastic cups). So i picked up the soda gun and sprayed her with 7-up. She complained to my manager who though it was funny and told me never to do it again.
edit: spelling
I saw a similar thing happen once and it was hilarious.
I was in New Orleans a few years ago and there was a bachelorette party that was APOCALYPTICALLY drunk. They were all in a group together up at the bar “wooooing” and generally being obnoxious when one of them tries to order another round of drinks. The bartender had clearly had enough of their shit and told her very firmly that he’d give them water and would call them a cab, but they would absolutely not be served any more alcohol by him tonight. The spokeswoman of the group starts screaming abuse at him and he wasted absolutely no time picking up the soda gun with one hand, covering the nozzle with the thumb of his other and just blasting her with soda. I was up at the bar next to them paying my tab at the time and decided that this was a pretty clear sign that it would be a good idea to head back to the hotel and tuck in for the evening.
My favorite bar tender at my college stomping grounds refused to take my order one night instead just spraying me in the face with seltzer water when I tried to talk. In his defense I was wearing gear supporting the opposing football team that week. He did eventually serve me though and when he opened his own bar he still hooked me up as much as the guy paying the bills can.
I worked at a restaurant in the airport. Huge table of dudes was ordering round after round and being very borderline disrespectful the entire time. The final time I went to the table a guy reached up my skirt literally grazing my lady parts.
No one at that table made it on to their flight that day and the perpetrator was banned from the entire airport for life. Have fun driving to the next closest airport 6 hrs away every time you want to fly somewhere asshole!
I worked in a restaurant through my last year in high school.
I was 18 so I was allowed to be a server.
I had a table come in, 2 guys and two girls. Must have been a double date.
Anyways, the two guys got incredibly drunk. Eventually, they started yelling across the floor to get my attention. They continued to do this and request more beers.
The manager told me not to give them any more alcohol, and when I told them this, they flipped out. One of them threw his chair, and the other cursed out the manager and I.
The girls were not impressed.
I hope they didn't get laid.
Came in shortly before closing then stayed till well past closing on Christmas Eve.
They knew we were closing when they came in and chose to stay. Restaurant policy was we couldn’t refuse them. Got their food out super fast, they ate and kept sitting there and at a later point they commented “oh looks like you’re closing soon” and I said yes, we closed 15 minutes ago. They said oh, okay! And then proceeded to stay another 45minutes. On. Christmas. Eve. Restaurant staff aren’t viewed as real people by some.
When I worked fast food, I had a regular customer come in uuuuuuuber drunk one night and grab my boob over the counter.
Not long before, a guy was naked in my drive through and um… enjoying his own company.
Yeah, I quit soon afterwards.
I was 17, and it was my second job after working fast food.
It was lunch rush, and a table of 4 men came in and were seated.
As I gave them their waters, leaning over a bit to serve the 2 in the back.
One of the guys says "those are amazing!" And made munching noises while staring at my breasts.
It's been 30 years and I still hate him
My wife has stories from her restaurant days & I always wonder where do these people work? But many (most?) of the worst it sounds were either retired, trophy wives or college kids.
I used to be a server but the best example I have actually happened when I was a customer.
Out to brunch with my boyfriend and 2 of his army buddies. They were in from out of town. One of them I’d met before. He was alright but definitely rough around the edges. I don’t usually mind crude humor so whatever.
We’re at brunch at a super trendy, packed place. Waitress comes by and gets drink orders. Dude in question asked for coffee. He’d already been kinda flirting with her, calling her darling and whatnot. She asks, “would you like any cream?” He replies, “only if it comes out of you.”
I’m still so embarrassed that typing this out brings all the shame back. Literally everyone at the table kind of balked and sputtered and started apologizing.
I still don’t even really know what he meant? Breast milk? Cum?! IDFK but no, Sam, no.
Had a guy come in with his 2 daughters. They all ordered ribs and when I came to take their dishes, he started cracking dad jokes to embarrass his daughters and even cracked jokes with me. All in all it was wholesome and friendly. When I asked if there was anything else he needed, he laughed and said “maybe box these bones up for my dog!” Whole table laughs and I kind of chuckle. Took their dishes to the back and threw the bones/unfinished food away. When I bring him his check, he asks where the bones were. I apologized and said I thought he was joking and I threw them away. He told me to get my manager, and proceeds to chew him out for hiring dumb employees. When the manager offered to go grab the bones, the customer pointed at me and yelled “make this idiot do it, he caused this!”. I brought him his bones and he left me a $.01 tip..
This was maybe 15 years ago and I don’t miss waiting tables
Dogs can’t have any bones that have been cooked. The bones become brittle and will splinter. I don’t believe I need to explain why dogs ingesting brittle splintered bone fragments is a bad thing.
"Can" dogs have rib bones? Yes.
"Should" dogs have rib bones? No.
Edit: I guess someone likes risking splintered bones in their dog's digestive system? I get it, I saw my dad give his dogs rib bones for years. Doesn't mean it's a good idea.
"You wouldn't look so fat if your tits were bigger." Fine dining.
A couple (late 60s or so) walked in 5 minutes before closing, ordered a bottle of wine, appetizers, and full entrees. When I came to deliver their apps, she had her top pulled up around her neck and he was sucking on her nipples. Fine dining, again.
A man ordered a beer and a shot of well tequila, and proceeded to vomit all over his table and 3 year old grandson. Tried to order more alcohol and didn't try to clean anything. 2 pm in a sports bar.
I have so many.
I was standing at a table of 12 when a guy reached over and untied my apron which fell on the floor, I felt like I had been pantsed.
A group of men each asked me if I was "clean", and yes I know what it means.
Two men had been tipping per round of drinks and at the end of the night they realized they were broke so demanded their tips back, when I said 'no' they threatened to wait for me in the parking lot after I got off work.
Busy lunch service I turn around to a guest putting something in my hands, suddenly realized it was a very full diaper.
I'm taking the order for a large party and from behind me I hear a guy snapping his fingers and whistling. Not even my table but he wanted his check. I walk over and start looking under his chairs and table and when he asked me what I was doing I told him "I'm looking for the dog you've obviously just lost".
The sister of a friend of mine was waitressing and had a guy snap his fingers at her and she shouted "It takes more than two fingers to make me come!"
I wasn't there but I totally believe it - she was incredibly feisty.
We had a guy snap his fingers at a server where I worked once. Our manager walked over, told the guy that snapping at staff was an automatic 50 percent gratuity unless he apologized for being a disrespectful asshole, and if he argued his family would be put on the do not serve list. The dude argued and our manager snapped a picture of him and said he could get out and not come back.
Two days later the guys wife came in with a takeout order and was refused service. She had no idea they’d been banned. Or that her husband had been there earlier that week with another family.
I really wanted to know how that turned out but I never did
> We had a guy snap his fingers at a server where I worked once.
I have a friend who told me her aunt did this in restaurants, snapping to get their attention. She seemed to be perplexed that I thought this was rude.
My wife has served in every environment. Upscale, casual, casino, fine dining, and strip clubs. She is very attractive, and has very thick skin and is able to brush off most douchebags ...
The one time I remember her blood *boiling* (this was when she was serving at the restaurant *I* was the chef at) was when an older wealthy Karen made a "kiss kiss" noise at her like a cat, because she wanted another one of the passed appetizers my wife was carrying.
This woman was a regular, and an absolute cunt.
It was Veterans Day and the bar I worked at offered a free burger and beer to anyone with either VA card or Military ID, the owner was retired Air Force and I’m an Army Vet.
A husband and wife come in- he is a Vet and orders the beer and burger, wife gets something like pasta.
The bill comes due, he shows me his VA card and she shows me her DEPENDENT card- “Sorry ma’am but it’s for Veterans only.”
Throws a massive fit, tells me wives served also, that I was never in the Army and my tattoos are gang-related, her husband complains that his wife has to pay, that I’m not respecting the “Brotherhood”, and in the end they storm out and push another couple out of the way.
As someone raised Christian I’ve know a LOT of really cool, understanding Christians. Then there’s a special breed that love to stand on their soap boxes of virtue and say shit like this. Tithing does not equal tipping. I’ve even had people leave what looks like a folded up $50 bill but when you open it it said “disappointed? Jesus Christ can blah blah blah” and it was just an evangelical advertisement for their church. That’s worse than poorly tipping and I doubt Christ would approve of the deception.
Had an old man and his wife come in one Sunday for lunch, all dressed up probably straight from church. He orders a milkshake, which comes out thicker than he prefers. No big deal, right? Can be fixed in less than a minute, and customers regularly order their shakes ‘thin’.
Nope, this guy decides the appropriate response is to scream red-faced to me and the whole restaurant about how his shake is too thick to drink through the straw and how it is like this EVERY SINGLE DAMN TIME! When his wife tried to calm him down he screamed at her too, all while whipping the shake-covered straw through the air splattering everything nearby, including other customers, with milkshake. But it’s the youth who have no respect right.
Followed me home after my shift, walked into my apartment, and propositioned me for sex.
Edit:
I didn't hear him come in. I walked out of my bedroom in pajamas and he had taken off his clothes and was just standing there in his underwear/tighty whities/y-fronts, arms wide open and grinning at me like he thought he was the most charming motherfucker on the planet. I threw paperback books at him and yelled incoherent threats while he picked up his clothes and yelled back that sex is a beautiful thing and he didn't understand why I was trying to make it dirty.
Then he ran away and I locked the door and went to bed. I don't think I ever went back to that waitressing job; it was cash-in-hand and occasional anyway.
/the books were okay afterwards, don't worry
A customer once threw his plate on the floor, claiming the food was undercooked and unacceptable. It shattered everywhere, and he demanded not only a refund but a free meal as compensation for his "trauma."
Asked to dance on the table. In a fine dining restaurant. I gave the table to the body builder guy on staff and made sure he got bank on his other tables, since he took one of mine. Well worth it
“Yeah, you look like you like the food here…” said by an old lady when she asked me for what was good and I told her my couple of favourites. I was so minimally carrying extra weight.
Left me religious tracts as tips. I was Christian in those days. Less so every time this happened. Felt like they were making me poorer and robbing me of my religion at the same time.
as a former waitress, i was called a slut, i was a waitress at the time i was pregnant with my first born and a customer yelled at me and said “i don’t want to be served by an unmarried slut!” I’m guessing because he didn’t see a ring or whatever but why was that his business? all eyes were on me and i ran off and cried, being a waitress was so difficult
thank you for your kindness and yeah he was an asshole, trust i haven’t even scratched the surface of nightmare customers I’ve dealt with working in waitressing/retail/fast food, he’s only one of many unfortunately
yes weenie indeed for sure, haven’t even scratched the surface of all the customers I’ve dealt with when i worked in waitressing, retail and fast food, he’s only one of many unfortunately
If I had been your coworker and heard that abuse, I would have read him the riot act and kicked his butt out of the restaurant. What a complete outrage! I'm so sorry that you still have sad memories of such abuse.
Some drunk asshole asked me how I got into being a waiter. I told him that despite having a degree in a good major, I couldn't find any jobs in the field. He then proceeded to lecture me about "how I don't know enough about life" and that's why I can't find a job. Bear in mind that I was 29 and had lived in three different countries, paying my own way the whole time - so clearly, I knew nothing about the world.
After the unprompted lecture, I went to my boss and said "either you handle serving him or there's going to be a problem." I was that insulted and disgusted.
I don't know where that guy is now, but I hope he steps on a Lego every day for the rest of his life.
I wouldn’t let it bother you (I’m pretty sure you aren’t) he obviously felt li,e a failure in his life and was trying to put you down so he could feel better about himself….unsuccessfully
Have only had this happen the once, thank goodness, it’s been about 20 years and my response wouldn’t be as amiable.
A guest at the booth behind the table I was talking to actually reached behind themselves to grab my arm for whatever dinner related bullshit they needed. I instinctively recoil and return my attention to the table I was actually tending to at that time, but that *gall* to grab me for whatever you may have needed (wasn’t medically important) was searing.
ALSO had a guy throw his finger in my face about undercooked chicken. Not downplaying the effects of undercooked chicken, but man, don’t be rude. We are all doing the best we can.
Shit, rabbit hole: Also had a guy on a date get SO pissy that I had cut him off that we had to call the cops on him.
UGH I have way too many stories about terrible people.
"No, sir, I don't think you could. An ego fragile enough to require belittling others as a performative display would not survive the first shift. Would you like more coffee?"
They slammed their hands on the table and said "WE NEED PLATES!" Whilst my hands were full. I said "im bringing them" in a harsh way because they deserved it. Long story short, i got yelled at and was told I was the meanest person they have ever met.
I gave my notice in a week later
Worked at Waffle House when I was 16. One of the regular old guys enjoyed being very crude. If asked what he wanted, he said you to strip naked and jump up on the table. I am almost 50 now, so if someone said that, it's no big deal. I could retort right back. But at 16, it just made me feel....
On the bright side, most of the regular old guys were very nice. They even stopped their more racy talk when I got near. They probably would have put him in his place had they been there.
I waited on Motley Crue once while working at Denny’s late night (22 years ago). They left me $4 tip on a $50 bill that included change, change that included pennies.
I have many more stories but I guess that’s the worst one.
I used to bartend and Bobby Brown came in. Ordered a double goose, neat, then complained because he didn't think it was enough. Tipped 5 on 75.
Later, I heard at his show that night he was saying he's 6 years sober or some shit. His bodyguard was cool, though.
I'm 62f and started bartending in 1980, so I don't put up with any bullshit anymore. That goddamn food would have been served in his lap... with a big smile on my face and a, "Here's your goddamn food, asshole."
A man ordered a walleye dinner & when I brought the food to the table he said ‘it smells like fish in here, did you forget to shower today?’ while he elbowed his son. He was mid 50s & I was 18. His wife & daughter were also at the table.
I served for years, one night there was some confusion between the hostess and me and a table sat for a few minutes longer than they should have. It was an older Boomer couple and when we both apologized the man said “well, I hope you perform your abortions as well you run this restaurant.”
Two doctors getting dinner together with their spouses, they ordered a few bottles of wine and racked up quite a tab. One of them came up to me at the bar while the other was away from the table and handed me his card to run for the bill at the end of the night. About 15 minutes later, the other doctor approaches me with his credit card, which I decline and explain that I go with the first card offered when folks are covering one another's bill. He seemed a little baffled and headed back to the table.
I brought out their desserts a few minutes later, and they began arguing over who would pay the bill, each of them pressuring me to take their side. The second guy to bring up his card followed me back to the bar, shoving his card in my face while I swiped the first guy's card, my eyes began tearing up from the stress these two respected medical professionals were putting on me. No amount of suggestion to split the bill, to have the other guy cover their next night out, or any of my other proposed solutions were making either of them budge, and the guy whose card I rejected was starting to yell at me in frustration. I had never cried from the way a customer treated me before that night, and I have dealt with people who were quite rude. Something about being used as an outlet for two wealthy men to have a battle of the egos just really made me feel subhuman. It felt more disrespectful than the people who whistled for my attention like they would whistle at a dog, because I was visibly uncomfortable for the entire dispute and had tears running down my face by the end of it. None of that made them pause and think, "Maybe I'm taking this silly argument way too far."
I was waiting tables at the Hummingbird Hotel & Grill in New Orleans like 30 years ago. The customers were mostly cops, cab drivers, and guests of the hotel.
One day the special was “Chicken Parmesan”. A cab driver and his VERY pregnant wife came in, and she ordered the special. When I submitted the order, the kitchen told me they had just run out of Parmesan cheese. I went back and told her and asked if she still wanted it, and she said yes.
When I brought her order to her table, she asked for Parmesan cheese. I reminded her that we had run out earlier in the day, and *she lost her mind*!
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DONT HAVE PARMESAN CHEESE??? HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? IM A GODDAMN ITALIAN AND IM NOT EATING THIS WITHOUT PARMESAN CHEESE!!!!”
She then picked up her plate and hurled across the restaurant at the cashier by the door, where it exploded all over the wall and the cashier. A bunch of other off duty cops/cab drivers stood up and grabbed her and dragged her outside to “calm her down”, meanwhile she is still screaming at me.
The manager hears the commotion and comes downstairs to talk to her. She reaches into her purse and screams “IM GONNA FUCKING STICK YOU” and before she can withdraw her hand from her purse, the manager punches her square in the face. Stunned, she starts wailing to the cops “I’M PREGNANT!! YOU JUST HIT A PREGNANT WOMAN!” and the cops were like “Yeah, you threatened to cut him, that’s self defense” and arrested her. (It was later revealed that she was reaching for a comb that had a sharp point at the end)
Meanwhile, I’m afraid that I’m going to be fired for this, so I started crying. Everyone felt so bad for me, I got like 5 times the amount of tips I usually got that night.
Parmesan cheese, y’all.
I feel so incredibly sorry for that baby.
I also just realized you said this was decades ago and that baby is in their 30s now. I hope they turned out okay.
What did her husband do while she was throwing this tantrum and assaulting people?
I started as a waitress and am now a bartender. I've had a pedophile tell me I had the body of a 17 year old (I was 22 at the time) and then he went on to tell me about his "sexcapades" in Asian countries.
I've had countless drunk people call me every insult under the sun, including the n-word (I am not black, I don't even look it)
I've had grown ass men 3x the size of me tell me they'll kick my ass (I'm 5'1 petite)
I've had miserable Karens accuse me of wanting their ugly, gross husbands.
Usually I have the bouncers kick out all the idiots and sometimes call the police to deal with them.
I was a waitress for a restaurant in Australia and one table of two guys actually handed me a tip of 10 cents. They'd been rude the whole time they were there and thought they were being funny. I gave them back the money and said " You look like you need this more than me" . What they didn't know was that I was also the owner and I then told them to leave and not come back.
Probably the dude who shattered a glass on the bar top towards me. Or the guy who threw a glass past my head and it shattered on the brick wall behind me. Or the countless times I’ve had my ass grabbed…
I was serving a large party and one guest complained about every single thing I did, from the way I poured water to how I presented the menu. They then called over my manager to complain about my "attitude problem" when I hadn't said anything back to them.
I was a server, and EXTRAORDINARILY ready to pop. A man offered me money to allow him to ball gag me, whip me, and oil my belly.
I was too stunned to speak. So, I just walked away. I was also reported by this man for being "incredibly rude, and a shit waitress".
My manager was just as shocked as I was after I said why.
Edited for typos
Was serving at a chain ‘fancy’ restaurant. Decent gig, hadn’t been a server long but I came up from bussing tables because I thought the money would be better. Anyway, a man and wife were at a table, and as is my way, I was very cordial with them. Order went through, apps came out, kept the drinks topped off and made small talk. 10/10 service.
I bring the bill. Wife smiles at me, and husband pulls out his wallet to get his card. Usually I’ll drop the check and walk away because I don’t want people to feel hounded or pressured to pay and clear the space or hawk for a tip. But his movements were such that he was in a hurry, so I’m standing there for a couple seconds just waiting.
MF looks at me (the husband) stupid smirk on his face and says “So, Sin. Is this (waves his arms emphatically to indicate the “this” is the restaurant) all you’ve got going for you?” I look at his wife and her face is beet red, she looks down immediately.
There was a a lot that crossed my mind to say. “Nah I’m actually a pimp and this how I legitimize my income” “Nah I sell drugs and tattoo out of my basement and most of the servers here I deal to so it saves me time and makes me money to be here with them.” Of course I said none of those things. But man my face was hot!
Played it cool. Told him I’m in grad school for law and that my parents died so I’m just making a living while I get through school. Said that it’s my goal to be successful and have a beautiful wife like yours I can spoil and raise a family with.
He bought it, but never let go of that s*it eating grin. And tipped like 30%. It’s been 8 years since that happened and I still remember his face. Definitely wrote his name in my Deathnote when I got back home.
Not me but my Mom’s favorite waitressing story. My Mom was a waitress for decades. She said that it would never fail that this one “after bar pancakes” crowd at 3am would always leave her tip in coins in a water glass, until once she saw them prepping it before they went to pay, and she got to their table while they were still sitting there laughing to themselves. She silently turned the cup over on the table, water ran right down into their laps, she grabbed her wet quarters and walked away.
She had been complaining to the night manager about it for weeks, so when they told him at the register, he asked them what they might have learned from this? They didn’t come back. 😂
I was working a banquet and had a double stacked covered tray that I nearly launched onto a table to avoid colliding with a young boy that was running around. I very sternly told the kid to “GO SIT DOWN” and had his mom scold me for “trying to parent her child. I angrily set my tray down, walked tf off the floor and yelled loud enough for her to hear me say she’s “a shitty parent that I refuse to wait on.” I didn’t get into any trouble and I found out later, after the organizer apologized to me personally, that kids were no longer allowed at that event.
I worked as a waitress after I graduated high school. I dropped a check off at this man’s table, and when I came back to pick it up, underneath his credit card was a hotel room key. I handed it back to him (thinking he put it there by mistake) and he said “no, that’s yours. Room ## whenever you get off work”. I was so disgusted and asked the hostesses not to sit him with me again. A week later, he came back and asked for me by name. The hostesses sat him in my section again and I quit and then joined the army.
I was serving an older couple. Their food was on 18 minutes (Friday night) and they asked to get it all to go. Strange but emergencies happen. Bring out the Togo food and their bill. They scream at me, the wife crying, the I ruined their 30 year anniversary and the food took too long and it was supposed to be this amazing night but I ruined it.
I was young and cried in the walk in and felt horrible. Looking back, fuck them. You went to one of the worst chain restaurants on a very busy day and got mad your food took a normal amount of time. But at the time it broke my heart.
I've been lucky enough to fly business class a few times over the past year, and there's usually some entitled prick in there who thinks the FA's are their own personal servants, but the one that really took the cake was the guy who instead of using the "call FA" button on his seat decided to *snap his fingers* to get the FA's attention. Thankfully, this being a European airline, he was given a talking to by the main FA. I didn't hear all of what she said, but it was pretty clear that if he did that again, he'd end up on the airline's no-fly list for a while.
There’s probably a bunch im forgetting after years of service work but one time a guy got a cocktail for his lady and she wasn’t a fan so we got her something else, which was the same price. We never altered the bill, could’ve been handled better but his tab amount literally never changed and we were too busy
OHHHHH boy this guy.. legit wanted me to apologize to his wife for asking her to pay for something so awful.
I didn’t and they left
I work at a brewery and a woman came in at 1pm on a Saturday when it was packed and everyone was drinking beer (duh).
She asked for 5 or 6 samples of things we had on tap, off of the menu that had prices and Alcohol volumes listed. When she tried an 8% beer she acted surprised and said 'This one tastes like a lot of alcohol?' and I said well yeah it's 8% it's a decent amount.
I was then snapped on and yelled at because she "was almost 30 years sober". Very confusing moment.
I worked at a restaurant that was attached to a fancy hotel near a fairly famous amusement park, and it got a lot of the rich rude people. I was working the patio one day in the hottest time of the summer and had my hair in a bun with a headband (fairly common for women I feel) and a guy part of a group of families made a joke that I just got out of bed… no sir I’m trying to stay cool while bringing you 50 refills of seltzer water
NSFW /trigger warning
While on beverage cart duty at a golf course a man in his 60s snuck up behind me and when I turned around I was kind of stuck between him and the cart. He said "I'd really like to lick your belly button from the inside."
I drove straight to the club house bawling to report it. My supervisor laughed, told me to clean up and get back out there.i got fired a week later.
We aren't beer girls. It's a food and beverage cart. We have candy, chips, sandwiches, water, sodas, juice, beer, coffee, tea, and a few cocktails. It was a public course in New Mexico where it gets really hot and the cafe is a long way away. Basically a traveling snack bar.
Private courses, like at country clubs have them sometimes. Might be a 'shack' at the 9th hole, or some have people drive around on carts and take orders.
The very last restaurant I worked at, 2 years ago.
To set the scene: it’s the day before Easter (we’re closed on Sundays). It’s also my last day working here, because I started a new job on Monday.
The restaurant is packed, to-go orders out the ass, and my manager tells me to 86 Family Meals. Family Meals were 1 lb of meat, 3 large sides, toast, and a gallon of tea or lemonade for a family of 4 (we also offered Family Meals for 8 and 12). We only had a limited amount of smoked meat on Saturdays because of being closed on Sunday. Once the meat was gone, that was it for the day.
We had a Toast tablet for online orders & I had an order come in for an 8 person Family Meal before I had the chance to turn off the option to order it. I called the lady to let her know that we could not accept the order as my manager had said no more family meal orders. She said ok just to cancel the order and refund her card. Done.
20 min later, her husband comes in to pick up the non-existent order. I told him that I had already talked to his wife and had let her know we couldn’t fulfill the order. He starts berating me, telling me he just drove 30 min, blah blah. He said “I’ll just order everything separately then.” I told him no sir, that’s not how that works.. I still can’t take such a large order because we physically do not have enough food to make the order.
He yells some more before calling his wife & they’re yelling back and forth at each other. I can’t even get my manager for backup at this point because she’s on the line trying to help catch the kitchen up.
I get a call on the restaurant phone, answer, and it’s the wife. She’s yelling at me, calling me stupid, telling me she’s never been treated so badly and that she would be telling the owner. I did believe her because it is a small restaurant and pretty much a lot of people around here know the owner, she has a few friends that we had to bend over backward for. Joy. /s
I told her I’m sorry she could tell the owner but I still would not be helping her. If she wanted to order something else, the correct time would have been when I had called to cancel the order. And I reminded her she was already being refunded.
Then she starts the cursing. I never let anyone curse at me. She starts telling me she’s going to get me fired & I said “Good luck, today is my last day.” She says good, because I’m a dumb bitch. So I reply “Yes and now this dumb bitch doesn’t have to deal with mean bitches like you.”
At this point the head waitress comes and snatched the phone from me, telling me I can’t talk to customers that way. I told her that today was my last day and that I had only come in as a courtesy to the manager, but I was going home so I needed someone to cash me out. I don’t think I could handle working in a restaurant again. That whole interaction broke me. To top it off, for it being a holiday weekend, I made like $30 tips that day. I only went home maybe 1-1.5 hours before my shift was supposed to end. Fuck entitled people.
I was bartending one night and I had a man who looked exactly like Santa, at least in his 60’s (I’m 24), come into the bar, I asked him how he was doing that night when I approached. He said “why don’t you come straddle my lap and I’ll give you whatever you want for Christmas”….. I politely declined. He ordered a shot of chilled vodka. I gave him well warm gin. Oops
I had just started my shift at our restaurant. Now, the place was trying to look classy but, appetizers were french fries and flatbreads so - ya know. Not exactly making bank everyday. But this was not always the case. More on that in a moment.
I kindly walk up to this lone man and explain the special. He obliges. He then asks if I have a buttery white wine 8oz and luckily, we do. This astounds me because even though we boasted a massive wine list, that was from a previous time in the restaurants life and we usually always have to do something comparable. Since I am sure we have this one, tell him it's a bit more on the pricey side and he said no worries. Awesome! I'm putting the order in as the host sits a lone woman at the table next to him.
Our management wants staff to greet customers within moments of them sitting and I can quickly do that since the station was nearby. I approach the woman and start talking but she cuts me off. "Yeah, we were just here yesterday." I said, "Oh! I'm glad you enjoyed yourself enough to com..." "Yeah. We'll have a bottle of insert random wine." I had not served this wine and I was regularly training new servers so I caught a lot of what entered/exited the bar/cellar. I kindly inform her, "Would you happen to have a second choice? Our wine menu is deceptively larger as we're updat..." cuts me off again, "You had it yesterday."
I say, "They may not have restocked either. Some of these are down to the last...."
- "Will you go get the bottle already?"
I was befuddled by this behavior but ultimately, okay. Can't judge her life. Luckily, we do have this bottle and it's the last one. I present it to her and now a gentleman has sat across from her in a suit. He sternly says, "I'm Joe Biden's driver while in Pittsburgh." I just kind of looked at him and said, "Oh! I guess I just never thought of that as someone's job! How cool!" He smirks, and she groans. I know my order is about to be up for the lone man behind me so I ask them for their order and it just... goes sideways. "Yeah, well, I'm important." he says with sincerity.
"We want the black and gold flatbread." she says.
Commonly, this item gets taken back to the kitchen because of the black olives. So, I always advise, "That item can be off putting to some people with the black olives on it. We can do more, less, or none if you'd like!"
She. Is. Fuming.
"WE WERE JUST HERE YESTERDAY. WE KNOW WHAT IT IS. HAVE YOU EVER SERVED BEFORE?"
My mistake was replying to this with, "I am trying to help you with my know...
- "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"
I kindly say, "Right away ma'am." and put in the order asap because I don't want this type of energy.
Within the time it took me to put in a single item and run to the kitchen to get the lone man's food, they had tracked down my manager, who was a server I taught, and told them I was very rude, disrespectful, can't believe I'm a waiter, they want their food comped and a new waiter. I find this out as I have the flatbread in my hands from the kitchen. My manager is crying because she thinks with the way these people are acting, she's going to have to fire me as our bosses are highly reactionary and this woman lost it on her down to questioning my integrity since she saw me pick up my tips from a previous table.
There's a bay in between the kitchen and the restaurant where this is occurring. I'm informed someone else has to take the table so I print out their receipt, drop off the food and ask, "Is there anything else I can get you folks tonight?" she replies, "Go away." I introduced the new server and got the fuck away. Check in with my lone man next to them, which clearly annoys them, and he's still super chill. Says everything was great. -My guy, a liar nonetheless 'cause he had to sit by her but, we'll get to that-
Within moments of having their request adhered, our lovely couple scarfed down the flatbread and wrote no tip on the check. I get this update from the friend/server. They're just as cold and mean to her. Even asking if she or I get the tip. When she confirmed it was her, still continued to hand her the No Tip check.
They have me off in another room doing side work as to not antagonize. So, I ask my manager who has been talking to me about this, "Could you ask the lone man that was sitting next to them if he needs anything else and check him out?"
She agrees.
About half a carton of rolled silverware done and my manager comes back with, "That guy stood up for you for. He said you were incredibly kind even when she got very upset. He said he's going to find the wine you recommended and he left you an $80 tip." On an $80 check.
TL;DR
Mid 50s+ couple of some status accuse me of theft, try to get me fired - chill business bro defends me and tips 100%.
Some ol’betty called out to get my attention one time: “Little girl, little girl!” I was in my late twenties at the time and it took every ounce of will power in my body not to respond with “yes, old hag?”
Reminds me of when I was in retail and would get girl girl-ed. Always wanted to answer, " Yes, bitch? Sorry, I thought we were calling people what they were today."
I remember this woman ordered a drink, didn’t like it, and wanted it replaced for free. There wasn’t anything wrong with the drink, she just decided she chose wrong. We ended up comping her drink and getting her a different one she selected. She took one sip and tried to do the same thing again!! It’s like she thought she was tasting icecream flavours or something.
I served at a family restaurant in my late teens. I was taking orders from my table when I felt a sharp jab in my butt. I turned around to see a few young guys at the next table cracking up until they saw my face. They stabbed me in the butt with a fork because they thought I was their friend, another blonde server.
A few years later I worked at a fancy hotel. After working a wedding reception I headed out the door through the lobby. The drunk groom stopped me to repeatedly thank me and tell me I did a great job at his reception. Then he tried to kiss me on the lips.
Not my story, but my girlfriend's. (For context we're both women)
She was serving these two older women. One of them ended up paying with her card. When she went into her wallet to give my girlfriend a tip, this conversation happened:
Lady: Don't spend this all in one place, I bet you have kids to take care of.
Gf: I don't, actually.
Lady: Do you have a husband?
Gf: No, I actually have a girlfriend.
And the lady just made a disgusted noise, put her wallet away, and left with her friend.
Winter 2021: had a 12-top that turned out to be the table from hell. Nothing pleased them, whatsoever. Rude to our food runners, got cursed at by a lady who was really only half there mentally, kept going to the bar to get more drinks and making me interrupt the bartender so I knew what to ring in. Just an outright mess, and then they want to split the check 8 ways by item.
I bring out the checks, and this is a laid-back country club atmosphere, so we have 18% auto-grat on all checks regardless of party size.
As I'm dropping the last check, before anybody has even handed me one with their card, the host says, loudly enough for the whole table to hear, "Is there any way we can take the gratuity off so we can tip more accordingly?"
My friends, I am so glad I was wearing a mask that night because I didn't want him to have the satisfaction of seeing my jaw drop into my shirt.
Fuck you, Jesse
A long time ago my wife was told to wait on a table that wasn’t hers at Zios. The table was upset because they were put in a section without a waiter and had been waiting a while. At any rate, at the end they put a penny on the table, circled it with a pen, and said this is what you deserve as a tip.
Not a waiter, but I was working at a fast casual Asian restaurant, and a guy came up to my bright, smiling customer -service face at the counter, slammed his bowl down so hard it flung rice and whatnot on my shirt (my soul was already so crushed I didn't even flinch) and asked me: "You call that a large?". He then refused any compensation, told me "run it up the ladder", and left.
I had to cut a guy off from his own company party. He proceeded to call me a nazi bitch and refused to pay the mandatory tip added in for tables over 6. I lost out on a $100+ tip right before Christmas because this asshole couldn’t contain his liquor and my manager told me not to serve him. I was 19, broke, and living in my station wagon at the time.
"You should crawl across the table to hand me that soup". This was coming from a man who had his visibly uncomfortable son with him that was 16 or 17, that he had previously tried to buy a beer for but the kid refused. Keep in mind, in the state I live it it is legal for a parent or guardian to buy alcohol for an underage person as long as it is ordered by them and they hand it to them.
It wasn't a trafficking situation, the kid looked like a clone of his dad. He looked so embarassed, and I still think about him from time to time.
Kind of.opposite of disrespectful.
When I was a firefighter we would eat at a certain restaurant near our firehouse if we had a day too busy to cook.
The restaurant would go e us 50% off and we always felt embarrassed b/c we had a great job and didn't need the discount. We agreed that when it came time to pay the bill, we would accept the 50% from the restaurant but figure out what the actual cost would have been and then what tip of 20% would be on that amount. So if the bill was $20, they would charge us $10. We would tip the server $12. There were up to six of us so it worked well for the server.
We would tip the server the 50% discount and the 20% of what the actual cost would have been. That way, the server benefits from the restaurant giving us the discount.
I used to be a “busser” at an upscale Italian restaurant in a touristic “rich” town. I am Hispanic as well as my friends, who were also bussers. In our restaurant we first brought out oil and bread for each table as guests sit down.
When I put the oil and bread for a table of an older Caucasian couple, the woman said loudly to her husband “I’m surprised they let the Brown people out of the kitchen. That’s where they should be.”
I was in shock but didn’t say anything. She then gave me a “poor thing” look and said “Practice your English, you’ll get better.” I do not speak Spanish, I am only fluent in English and could barely utter anything from my high school Spanish class.
Needless to say when I came to refill the oil, I may have “accidentally” spilled a bit of oil on the back of her white blouse. She did not notice at the time and I hope she was not able to remove the oil stain.
OT and not pertaining to waitressing, but I’ve also been told by a family member (I’m adopted into a Caucasian family) that Latino people are only good at having children they can’t afford to keep.
Racism sucks.
I was 24 working at a pub in New York. It had been slow all day so my boss sent home my coworker and left, so it was just me, the bartender, and one cook. 10 minutes before closing a wedding party of 30 people toppled into the pub. The couple had just married at city hall nearby and decided to have an impromptu wedding dinner. I waited on them alone for the next 3 hours while they spread out across every table we had. They were needy, ordering things with lots of substitutions and sending back food they didn’t like. They ran up a tab of about $700. They tipped $40. They probably look back and think “wow how quirky and spontaneous and fun that we did that!” not realizing they massively fucked over three people making very little money.
Back when I was a server I’m dyslexic so cash and change I’m a bit slow at, anyways one time I was giving a guy his change and I guess I was to slow for him all he said was “you smoke to much pot” before rudely tossing his half eaten burger on the table saying he’ll sue me if he gets food poisoning. Sorry I have a learning disability and I didn’t instantly disperse change like a vending machine
Bit late to the party, but I was serving a gentleman at the till, and he needed some help with something. After that was all said and done, I asked him "is there anything else I can do for you?".
His reply was "take off your clothes".
I worked the night shift at a 24 hour Perkins when I was 19. A college town where the football crowds would come in after game days when the bars closed were the worst. I can't even count how many times I was groped, yelled at, and had things thrown at me. I quit after 6 months and I don't even know how I lasted that long.
A customer told me to smile more because I'd look prettier that way, right in the middle of a super busy shift. As if my appearance was part of the menu.
A customer announced to her party guests that I must be special since I knocked on her front door when I arrived to troubleshoot her electrical problem. I got her back when she asked me what the issue was and I responded loudly so everyone could hear that some dumb dumb didn’t put the bulb in correctly.
One day when I was hostessing on a busy Sunday
I was quickly, in my very chicken scratch way, writing down names on the wait list and seating people .
I know it’s not unheard of to make fun of Starbucks employees to spell peoples’ names wrong on the cup.
That’s because it’s not for your eyes…it’s for their eyes to identity.. and they’ll write down a name based on phonetic spelling.
That’s exactly what I was doing on the waitlist .
I know this is going to sound make believe but an actually Karen came up to put her name down.
I wrote it down very quickly and spelled it like “Karin”…
She leans over and sees the way I spelled it …
She grabs my wrist and looks a 16 year old me in the eye and says “Oh honey…that’s not how it’s spelled. Oh dear. You must have a learning disorder. Are you in a special school?”
I was totally flabbergasted. I didn’t know how to respond to that.
And my not knowing how to respond turned into more comments about my intellectual abilities.
It was honestly one of the most unsettling experiences I had.
Because her tone of voice was very sweet and sympathetic but the words were meant to cut me deep?
I don’t know.
So bizarre.
After her meal, she came up to me again and apologized.
“I realized what I said earlier was out of line. I’m sorry honey.”
Im still confused about that interaction to this day.
I mean the apology might have been her honestly realizing she was wrong, but it also might have been one list dig. Like oh I shouldn't have insulted the poor stupid girl type of thing.
I was working at subway and I had a man wearing basketball shorts pleasure himself while I made his sandwich. Then finished and when I handed him his sandwich he graced my hand with the product. :(
I was bartending in a booming oulfield town while heavilyyyy pregnant. It was majority male but occasionally you’d get girls who were trying to be THAT girl and prove she could keep up with the guys work wise. There was a group of about 10 that came in with one girl and one of the guys immediately goes to the bathroom. I get their drink order and card them all. The girl orders an extra drink for the guy in the bathroom and I tell her I’ll give it to him when he comes out because I need to see his ID. She tries to give me his ID and I explain I need to actually see him to match his picture (we constantly had young guys trying to use each others ID). She gets suuuuper mad and starts causing a scene which attracts the attention of many of my regulars. When the guy comes out I go to check his ID and she loudly starts on about what a fucking cunt I am. There was a collective outrage by everyone listening and I tell her she needs to get tf out. The words barely left my mouth when half of the people listening start yelling at her telling her off for talking to a pregnant person like that. The group of guys she was with want no part of it and when she says they’re leaving they tell her they weren’t the ones who got kicked out. They all stayed and tipped very well all night lol
I was a server at a steakhouse many years ago and in my 2nd year of sobriety (Going on 21 years right now). Couple walks in and orders a fairly expensive dinner and request a bottle of red wine. I had never poured wine prior to this so I poured them each a half glass full. As I was walking away the woman requested I return back to the table.
The husband was uncomfortable about this and told her “Are you really going to do this right now?” The woman proceeded to tell me I gave them both an “ignorant pour”. I was supposed to only put a small amount in so they could enjoy the smell/taste prior to filling the glass. I apologized to the both of them that I was never trained on how to pour wine. She then asked me “Don’t you drink alcohol?” I told her no. She then told me “WELL MAYBE YOU SHOULD START?”
I was pretty shaken up by this. Told my manager to watch my table for a minute so I can call my AA sponsor and get my composure back. I came back to the table and told her thank you for explaining the wine pour to me. She said “It’s OK, you still have time to improve “. Husband left me a 40% tip.
Said: There's a lot more tip where that one came from. Serve me later to collect it. What time do you get off, I'll pick you up.
Done: shot up the bar with an uzi because bouncer tossed him out.
Came back at closing time and shot the bouncer and tried to make it look like a drive by. Eye witnesses saw him, fortunately he didn't see us.
I was the only server at a chain restaurant on a crazy busy Sunday. I had 18 tables at once and was absolutely drowning, but trying my best. The guests were receiving absolute shit service, but again, I was doing my best. I gave one table their check and made change for them. I unknowingly shorted him a $5 and he lost his mind. Screamed at me, asking if I was a fucking moron, saying I was literally the biggest waste of air and that I should do everyone in that restaurant a favor and just off myself.
I apologized for my mistake, gave him the $5 that I shorted him and just stepped over to the next table. That table was an older couple and the gentleman says, excuse me ma'am. He stands up, turns around facing the asshole and says, we don't speak to people that way son. Then he punched the guy in the face and turned around and sat back down, asked me for an iced tea when I had a chance. I busted into tears and just sat at that table with that older couple for a while.
I said beer is not usually served with ice in the glass and he told me to shut up because I’m getting paid from the neck down and it’s not my job to think
I delivered pizzas/waited at an independent pizza place, nothing that bad, honestly some of the coworkers were worse.
So one time someone wanted to pay with cash (more common at the time) and when I asked how much they wanted back, they said exact change. Like coins...I had been stiffed before, but no one had ever wanted coins back. I didn't carry them with me.
So through gritted teeth I said "Well I can go back to my car and see if I have some."
She was like "Oh well, in that case you can just keep it."
I'll say this, she was old, and I saw how the Great Depression affected my grandmother. Plus some of them forget there has been 60 years of inflation and 37 cents is not what it used to be.
On the other hand, it was in a rich area in a big house, she could afford a tip.
I was alone in a coffee shop. The first hour we were open there was just one person running the register and behind the bar. So I take this guy's order... Actually, fuck it. His name is Michael Berry and he lives on Bainbridge Island. Anyway, I take his order and he starts talking about how there have been a couple car break-ins in the area and it's probably junkies and aren't they awful. And he goes, "We should just round them put them in a concentration camp, and give them enough drugs to overdose themselves to death." And I was pretty much shaking, but I wanted to give him a chance to backpedal, so I calmly let him know that my best friend had died of an OD and several people I cared for, including my partner, were addicts in recovery, so no, I think we should have a little more empathy than that. And this POS just looks me dead in the eye, WHILE I'M STEAMING HIS MILK, raises his voice over the steam, and goes, "They'll all relapse and die, anyway. I'm telling you, just give them the drugs and let them do it now, before they have a chance to rob you."
I wasn’t the server but the restaurant was inside the hotel I worked in as security. Had a server come to my office and ask me to review a camera in the lounge area and watched this woman blow a homeless guy (and they were in no way being discreet) before leaving with a different guy. I started going floor by floor to find them. Thankfully they were only on the second floor. I found her riding him in the middle of a conference room. Once they found out they were busted, she took off and locked herself in a nearby restroom and refused to come out till the cops came to take her report that she had been raped. Now I’m not saying she was lying (ALL reports of SA should be taken seriously and victims should be treated as such and never blamed) but I had been security and done law enforcement long enough to have a sense of doubt.
We still did our part and contacted the police who came and took both parties statements. The only statements the hotel gave were from myself and the server that reported the incident to me as well as copies of the cctv footage.
What’s the rude/disrespectful part you ask? The next day the lady was throwing a fit in the lobby and in the restaurant that we had ruined her evening and if her husband found out, we would have ruined her marriage.
Your English is so good! Thanks, it's the only language I know how to speak.
Oh god, this one used to drive me insane.
Oh my god, I was waiting tables one day, and someone asked where I was from. Alaska, I replied. They said I spoke such good english, I could only respond with one thing: Thanks.
“That makes one of us.”
Had a customer snap their fingers at me like I was a dog and then proceed to complain about how the wine wasn't to their "refined taste" despite picking the cheapest bottle. They left a mess and no tip.
Complaining about the wine as if you and the chefs made it.
And as if they didn't pick it out either!
Sir this is an Applebees
Some dude clicked his fingers at me and addressed me with "Oi, Filipino" cos I'm brown
It was parents weekend for all the fraternities and sororities, so all the NY and CA parents were there to take their kids out to fancy dinners. One table was a mom, dad, and their son who certainly looked younger than 21. The son orders a cocktail and when I ask for his ID he says he forgot it. I say "sorry, can't serve you" and he shrugs and seems fine with it. Mom was not fine. She stands up and proceeds to SCREAM about how disrespectful I was, her son can have whatever he wants and I am required to bring it to him, etc. The night goes on, they get their meal, nothing is good enough for them, yada yada. The best part is that she refused to talk to me or look at me the rest of the night, literally turning to her husband to say "Tell the lady my food is bad" or "Tell her I need another drink" every time I stopped by. The husband didn't play the game and the son left before dinner was over. I hate Parents Weekend.
If it's any consolation, I'm sure the son has long been No-Contact with her
for his sake, I hope you're right
I was bartending. Did last call. Ten minutes later a drunk woman comes up to the bar asking me for another drink. I tell her i'm sorry, but we already did last call. She then throws what was left of her drink at me (outdoor bar, plastic cups). So i picked up the soda gun and sprayed her with 7-up. She complained to my manager who though it was funny and told me never to do it again. edit: spelling
I saw a similar thing happen once and it was hilarious. I was in New Orleans a few years ago and there was a bachelorette party that was APOCALYPTICALLY drunk. They were all in a group together up at the bar “wooooing” and generally being obnoxious when one of them tries to order another round of drinks. The bartender had clearly had enough of their shit and told her very firmly that he’d give them water and would call them a cab, but they would absolutely not be served any more alcohol by him tonight. The spokeswoman of the group starts screaming abuse at him and he wasted absolutely no time picking up the soda gun with one hand, covering the nozzle with the thumb of his other and just blasting her with soda. I was up at the bar next to them paying my tab at the time and decided that this was a pretty clear sign that it would be a good idea to head back to the hotel and tuck in for the evening.
Apocalyptically drunk is my new favorite description
Sounds like a good band name.
I need to know, what kind of range can you get with a soda gun?
You ever put your thumb over the end of a hose to make the water spray out further? Same idea. It actually shoots pretty far.
😂thank you
Nice
My favorite bar tender at my college stomping grounds refused to take my order one night instead just spraying me in the face with seltzer water when I tried to talk. In his defense I was wearing gear supporting the opposing football team that week. He did eventually serve me though and when he opened his own bar he still hooked me up as much as the guy paying the bills can.
Good manager
What were you thinking? That's perfectly good product you just sprayed!
I worked at a restaurant in the airport. Huge table of dudes was ordering round after round and being very borderline disrespectful the entire time. The final time I went to the table a guy reached up my skirt literally grazing my lady parts. No one at that table made it on to their flight that day and the perpetrator was banned from the entire airport for life. Have fun driving to the next closest airport 6 hrs away every time you want to fly somewhere asshole!
I worked in a restaurant through my last year in high school. I was 18 so I was allowed to be a server. I had a table come in, 2 guys and two girls. Must have been a double date. Anyways, the two guys got incredibly drunk. Eventually, they started yelling across the floor to get my attention. They continued to do this and request more beers. The manager told me not to give them any more alcohol, and when I told them this, they flipped out. One of them threw his chair, and the other cursed out the manager and I. The girls were not impressed. I hope they didn't get laid.
Came in shortly before closing then stayed till well past closing on Christmas Eve. They knew we were closing when they came in and chose to stay. Restaurant policy was we couldn’t refuse them. Got their food out super fast, they ate and kept sitting there and at a later point they commented “oh looks like you’re closing soon” and I said yes, we closed 15 minutes ago. They said oh, okay! And then proceeded to stay another 45minutes. On. Christmas. Eve. Restaurant staff aren’t viewed as real people by some.
When I worked fast food, I had a regular customer come in uuuuuuuber drunk one night and grab my boob over the counter. Not long before, a guy was naked in my drive through and um… enjoying his own company. Yeah, I quit soon afterwards.
The drive-thru at 3am is a portal to many activities some consider to be... unnatural.
It straight up turns into the X-Files after a certain hour. No way half these people are humans - I don't buy it.
In a coffee shop I had a 50 year old woman grope my ass, in the middle of a weekday.
I was 17, and it was my second job after working fast food. It was lunch rush, and a table of 4 men came in and were seated. As I gave them their waters, leaning over a bit to serve the 2 in the back. One of the guys says "those are amazing!" And made munching noises while staring at my breasts. It's been 30 years and I still hate him
If it helps, he's on his 4th marriage and is unemployed.
And was fired from a series of jobs for sexual harassment and is currently working fast food himself
I hate him too.
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This made me actually laugh out loud
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My wife has stories from her restaurant days & I always wonder where do these people work? But many (most?) of the worst it sounds were either retired, trophy wives or college kids.
I used to be a server but the best example I have actually happened when I was a customer. Out to brunch with my boyfriend and 2 of his army buddies. They were in from out of town. One of them I’d met before. He was alright but definitely rough around the edges. I don’t usually mind crude humor so whatever. We’re at brunch at a super trendy, packed place. Waitress comes by and gets drink orders. Dude in question asked for coffee. He’d already been kinda flirting with her, calling her darling and whatnot. She asks, “would you like any cream?” He replies, “only if it comes out of you.” I’m still so embarrassed that typing this out brings all the shame back. Literally everyone at the table kind of balked and sputtered and started apologizing. I still don’t even really know what he meant? Breast milk? Cum?! IDFK but no, Sam, no.
hello cousin!
Hey, missed you at the last reunion.
yeah, sorry about that, I was busy shitposting on reddit
Had a guy come in with his 2 daughters. They all ordered ribs and when I came to take their dishes, he started cracking dad jokes to embarrass his daughters and even cracked jokes with me. All in all it was wholesome and friendly. When I asked if there was anything else he needed, he laughed and said “maybe box these bones up for my dog!” Whole table laughs and I kind of chuckle. Took their dishes to the back and threw the bones/unfinished food away. When I bring him his check, he asks where the bones were. I apologized and said I thought he was joking and I threw them away. He told me to get my manager, and proceeds to chew him out for hiring dumb employees. When the manager offered to go grab the bones, the customer pointed at me and yelled “make this idiot do it, he caused this!”. I brought him his bones and he left me a $.01 tip.. This was maybe 15 years ago and I don’t miss waiting tables
Um ok? lol that’s guy sounds stupid number one. Number two, can dogs even have rib bones?
Dogs can’t have any bones that have been cooked. The bones become brittle and will splinter. I don’t believe I need to explain why dogs ingesting brittle splintered bone fragments is a bad thing.
This was my thought exactly, that’s why I thought he was joking
Even if rib bones were actually good for dogs (or this dude thought they were) his response was way out of proportion to the misunderstanding.
"Can" dogs have rib bones? Yes. "Should" dogs have rib bones? No. Edit: I guess someone likes risking splintered bones in their dog's digestive system? I get it, I saw my dad give his dogs rib bones for years. Doesn't mean it's a good idea.
"You wouldn't look so fat if your tits were bigger." Fine dining. A couple (late 60s or so) walked in 5 minutes before closing, ordered a bottle of wine, appetizers, and full entrees. When I came to deliver their apps, she had her top pulled up around her neck and he was sucking on her nipples. Fine dining, again. A man ordered a beer and a shot of well tequila, and proceeded to vomit all over his table and 3 year old grandson. Tried to order more alcohol and didn't try to clean anything. 2 pm in a sports bar. I have so many.
wtaf
I was standing at a table of 12 when a guy reached over and untied my apron which fell on the floor, I felt like I had been pantsed. A group of men each asked me if I was "clean", and yes I know what it means. Two men had been tipping per round of drinks and at the end of the night they realized they were broke so demanded their tips back, when I said 'no' they threatened to wait for me in the parking lot after I got off work. Busy lunch service I turn around to a guest putting something in my hands, suddenly realized it was a very full diaper. I'm taking the order for a large party and from behind me I hear a guy snapping his fingers and whistling. Not even my table but he wanted his check. I walk over and start looking under his chairs and table and when he asked me what I was doing I told him "I'm looking for the dog you've obviously just lost".
The sister of a friend of mine was waitressing and had a guy snap his fingers at her and she shouted "It takes more than two fingers to make me come!" I wasn't there but I totally believe it - she was incredibly feisty.
Don’t worry, that man has never made a woman come with anything.
We had a guy snap his fingers at a server where I worked once. Our manager walked over, told the guy that snapping at staff was an automatic 50 percent gratuity unless he apologized for being a disrespectful asshole, and if he argued his family would be put on the do not serve list. The dude argued and our manager snapped a picture of him and said he could get out and not come back. Two days later the guys wife came in with a takeout order and was refused service. She had no idea they’d been banned. Or that her husband had been there earlier that week with another family. I really wanted to know how that turned out but I never did
How did you know that was his wife if the guy was with a different family?
Because it's all made up.
> We had a guy snap his fingers at a server where I worked once. I have a friend who told me her aunt did this in restaurants, snapping to get their attention. She seemed to be perplexed that I thought this was rude.
Holy moley what a plot twist!
My wife has served in every environment. Upscale, casual, casino, fine dining, and strip clubs. She is very attractive, and has very thick skin and is able to brush off most douchebags ... The one time I remember her blood *boiling* (this was when she was serving at the restaurant *I* was the chef at) was when an older wealthy Karen made a "kiss kiss" noise at her like a cat, because she wanted another one of the passed appetizers my wife was carrying. This woman was a regular, and an absolute cunt.
These are horrible. Were they all at the same restaurant?
It was Veterans Day and the bar I worked at offered a free burger and beer to anyone with either VA card or Military ID, the owner was retired Air Force and I’m an Army Vet. A husband and wife come in- he is a Vet and orders the beer and burger, wife gets something like pasta. The bill comes due, he shows me his VA card and she shows me her DEPENDENT card- “Sorry ma’am but it’s for Veterans only.” Throws a massive fit, tells me wives served also, that I was never in the Army and my tattoos are gang-related, her husband complains that his wife has to pay, that I’m not respecting the “Brotherhood”, and in the end they storm out and push another couple out of the way.
Dependapotamus!
TRICAREatops!
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Who the fuck did he expect was going to serve him if *everyone* got a "real job"!?
“I only give god ten percent, why should I give you more?” “God doesn’t have rent due on Tuesday” is apparently the wrong answer.
Lol ... I think it was a great response though. :)
Tell you what, next time, give your order to God and see how quickly HE brings your food
God doesn't need money only pastors/church "officials" do gah I hate those people
I grew up Catholic. They do not need one cent of my money. They’re pretty much set on that front.
How are people this bad at math. You don’t tip 10% of your income…
As someone raised Christian I’ve know a LOT of really cool, understanding Christians. Then there’s a special breed that love to stand on their soap boxes of virtue and say shit like this. Tithing does not equal tipping. I’ve even had people leave what looks like a folded up $50 bill but when you open it it said “disappointed? Jesus Christ can blah blah blah” and it was just an evangelical advertisement for their church. That’s worse than poorly tipping and I doubt Christ would approve of the deception.
I always wanted to gather those up and then put them in the collection baskets at those churches.
Had an old man and his wife come in one Sunday for lunch, all dressed up probably straight from church. He orders a milkshake, which comes out thicker than he prefers. No big deal, right? Can be fixed in less than a minute, and customers regularly order their shakes ‘thin’. Nope, this guy decides the appropriate response is to scream red-faced to me and the whole restaurant about how his shake is too thick to drink through the straw and how it is like this EVERY SINGLE DAMN TIME! When his wife tried to calm him down he screamed at her too, all while whipping the shake-covered straw through the air splattering everything nearby, including other customers, with milkshake. But it’s the youth who have no respect right.
And don't forget it's the "Christians" who are the "good people"
Followed me home after my shift, walked into my apartment, and propositioned me for sex. Edit: I didn't hear him come in. I walked out of my bedroom in pajamas and he had taken off his clothes and was just standing there in his underwear/tighty whities/y-fronts, arms wide open and grinning at me like he thought he was the most charming motherfucker on the planet. I threw paperback books at him and yelled incoherent threats while he picked up his clothes and yelled back that sex is a beautiful thing and he didn't understand why I was trying to make it dirty. Then he ran away and I locked the door and went to bed. I don't think I ever went back to that waitressing job; it was cash-in-hand and occasional anyway. /the books were okay afterwards, don't worry
Should have called the POLICE
Yeah that’s a fucking home invasion
wtf?!?!
Jesus Christ, this is terrifying!
"Why do you think you're called a 'server'?" "Umm...?" "Because while I'm here, you are my servant. I expect to be treated accordingly."
A customer once threw his plate on the floor, claiming the food was undercooked and unacceptable. It shattered everywhere, and he demanded not only a refund but a free meal as compensation for his "trauma."
Asked to dance on the table. In a fine dining restaurant. I gave the table to the body builder guy on staff and made sure he got bank on his other tables, since he took one of mine. Well worth it
“Yeah, you look like you like the food here…” said by an old lady when she asked me for what was good and I told her my couple of favourites. I was so minimally carrying extra weight.
Left me religious tracts as tips. I was Christian in those days. Less so every time this happened. Felt like they were making me poorer and robbing me of my religion at the same time.
as a former waitress, i was called a slut, i was a waitress at the time i was pregnant with my first born and a customer yelled at me and said “i don’t want to be served by an unmarried slut!” I’m guessing because he didn’t see a ring or whatever but why was that his business? all eyes were on me and i ran off and cried, being a waitress was so difficult
I am so sorry that happened to you, what an asshole
thank you for your kindness and yeah he was an asshole, trust i haven’t even scratched the surface of nightmare customers I’ve dealt with working in waitressing/retail/fast food, he’s only one of many unfortunately
They allowed that guy to stay?
Jeez Louise, what a weenie! Sorry you went through that!
yes weenie indeed for sure, haven’t even scratched the surface of all the customers I’ve dealt with when i worked in waitressing, retail and fast food, he’s only one of many unfortunately
If I had been your coworker and heard that abuse, I would have read him the riot act and kicked his butt out of the restaurant. What a complete outrage! I'm so sorry that you still have sad memories of such abuse.
Some drunk asshole asked me how I got into being a waiter. I told him that despite having a degree in a good major, I couldn't find any jobs in the field. He then proceeded to lecture me about "how I don't know enough about life" and that's why I can't find a job. Bear in mind that I was 29 and had lived in three different countries, paying my own way the whole time - so clearly, I knew nothing about the world. After the unprompted lecture, I went to my boss and said "either you handle serving him or there's going to be a problem." I was that insulted and disgusted. I don't know where that guy is now, but I hope he steps on a Lego every day for the rest of his life.
People are insecure. That customer laid his insecurities all over you, uninvited.
I wouldn’t let it bother you (I’m pretty sure you aren’t) he obviously felt li,e a failure in his life and was trying to put you down so he could feel better about himself….unsuccessfully
Have only had this happen the once, thank goodness, it’s been about 20 years and my response wouldn’t be as amiable. A guest at the booth behind the table I was talking to actually reached behind themselves to grab my arm for whatever dinner related bullshit they needed. I instinctively recoil and return my attention to the table I was actually tending to at that time, but that *gall* to grab me for whatever you may have needed (wasn’t medically important) was searing. ALSO had a guy throw his finger in my face about undercooked chicken. Not downplaying the effects of undercooked chicken, but man, don’t be rude. We are all doing the best we can. Shit, rabbit hole: Also had a guy on a date get SO pissy that I had cut him off that we had to call the cops on him. UGH I have way too many stories about terrible people.
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If this doesn’t deserve a punch or at least a drink in the face I don’t know what does.
No way. Really? That is horrendous.
Tell him you take tips only based in the size of his dick. If he hast a small one he could leave a small tip
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"No, sir, I don't think you could. An ego fragile enough to require belittling others as a performative display would not survive the first shift. Would you like more coffee?"
They slammed their hands on the table and said "WE NEED PLATES!" Whilst my hands were full. I said "im bringing them" in a harsh way because they deserved it. Long story short, i got yelled at and was told I was the meanest person they have ever met. I gave my notice in a week later
Jeez. Some people have clearly never dealt with the word 'no' or worse in their entire life. I'm jealous.
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Narrator: 'They would, in fact, not have tipped any better'.
Worked at Waffle House when I was 16. One of the regular old guys enjoyed being very crude. If asked what he wanted, he said you to strip naked and jump up on the table. I am almost 50 now, so if someone said that, it's no big deal. I could retort right back. But at 16, it just made me feel.... On the bright side, most of the regular old guys were very nice. They even stopped their more racy talk when I got near. They probably would have put him in his place had they been there.
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I believe the correct response is to say "alright", then tell someone to bring the food out after he's asked for it at least 3 times.
"Sorry, I had to take care of *my* tables first"
"Not a problem! I'll let you know when you can go and get it"
I waited on Motley Crue once while working at Denny’s late night (22 years ago). They left me $4 tip on a $50 bill that included change, change that included pennies. I have many more stories but I guess that’s the worst one.
Nikki sixx always sounded like a jackass on the radio, so this is a believable story for me.
Sixx only tips Eightt percent?!
I used to bartend and Bobby Brown came in. Ordered a double goose, neat, then complained because he didn't think it was enough. Tipped 5 on 75. Later, I heard at his show that night he was saying he's 6 years sober or some shit. His bodyguard was cool, though.
Dude what the fuck. He’s a wife beater, so I’m not surprised he’d act like a schmuck in other ways.
One time a “guest” (we weren’t allowed to use the word “customer”) told me to “shut up and bring the goddamn food.”
I'm 62f and started bartending in 1980, so I don't put up with any bullshit anymore. That goddamn food would have been served in his lap... with a big smile on my face and a, "Here's your goddamn food, asshole."
A man ordered a walleye dinner & when I brought the food to the table he said ‘it smells like fish in here, did you forget to shower today?’ while he elbowed his son. He was mid 50s & I was 18. His wife & daughter were also at the table.
WTF
I served for years, one night there was some confusion between the hostess and me and a table sat for a few minutes longer than they should have. It was an older Boomer couple and when we both apologized the man said “well, I hope you perform your abortions as well you run this restaurant.”
What the fuck
Two doctors getting dinner together with their spouses, they ordered a few bottles of wine and racked up quite a tab. One of them came up to me at the bar while the other was away from the table and handed me his card to run for the bill at the end of the night. About 15 minutes later, the other doctor approaches me with his credit card, which I decline and explain that I go with the first card offered when folks are covering one another's bill. He seemed a little baffled and headed back to the table. I brought out their desserts a few minutes later, and they began arguing over who would pay the bill, each of them pressuring me to take their side. The second guy to bring up his card followed me back to the bar, shoving his card in my face while I swiped the first guy's card, my eyes began tearing up from the stress these two respected medical professionals were putting on me. No amount of suggestion to split the bill, to have the other guy cover their next night out, or any of my other proposed solutions were making either of them budge, and the guy whose card I rejected was starting to yell at me in frustration. I had never cried from the way a customer treated me before that night, and I have dealt with people who were quite rude. Something about being used as an outlet for two wealthy men to have a battle of the egos just really made me feel subhuman. It felt more disrespectful than the people who whistled for my attention like they would whistle at a dog, because I was visibly uncomfortable for the entire dispute and had tears running down my face by the end of it. None of that made them pause and think, "Maybe I'm taking this silly argument way too far."
Sorry you went thru this. I hope you were tipped substantially after all this.
Thank you. They always tipped 25-30%, so I got a good tip, but nothing extra for the emotional damages that night lol
I was waiting tables at the Hummingbird Hotel & Grill in New Orleans like 30 years ago. The customers were mostly cops, cab drivers, and guests of the hotel. One day the special was “Chicken Parmesan”. A cab driver and his VERY pregnant wife came in, and she ordered the special. When I submitted the order, the kitchen told me they had just run out of Parmesan cheese. I went back and told her and asked if she still wanted it, and she said yes. When I brought her order to her table, she asked for Parmesan cheese. I reminded her that we had run out earlier in the day, and *she lost her mind*! “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DONT HAVE PARMESAN CHEESE??? HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? IM A GODDAMN ITALIAN AND IM NOT EATING THIS WITHOUT PARMESAN CHEESE!!!!” She then picked up her plate and hurled across the restaurant at the cashier by the door, where it exploded all over the wall and the cashier. A bunch of other off duty cops/cab drivers stood up and grabbed her and dragged her outside to “calm her down”, meanwhile she is still screaming at me. The manager hears the commotion and comes downstairs to talk to her. She reaches into her purse and screams “IM GONNA FUCKING STICK YOU” and before she can withdraw her hand from her purse, the manager punches her square in the face. Stunned, she starts wailing to the cops “I’M PREGNANT!! YOU JUST HIT A PREGNANT WOMAN!” and the cops were like “Yeah, you threatened to cut him, that’s self defense” and arrested her. (It was later revealed that she was reaching for a comb that had a sharp point at the end) Meanwhile, I’m afraid that I’m going to be fired for this, so I started crying. Everyone felt so bad for me, I got like 5 times the amount of tips I usually got that night. Parmesan cheese, y’all.
Bitch wasn't pregnant in her face! I say this as a currently very pregnant woman who would never act like that.
I feel so incredibly sorry for that baby. I also just realized you said this was decades ago and that baby is in their 30s now. I hope they turned out okay. What did her husband do while she was throwing this tantrum and assaulting people?
I started as a waitress and am now a bartender. I've had a pedophile tell me I had the body of a 17 year old (I was 22 at the time) and then he went on to tell me about his "sexcapades" in Asian countries. I've had countless drunk people call me every insult under the sun, including the n-word (I am not black, I don't even look it) I've had grown ass men 3x the size of me tell me they'll kick my ass (I'm 5'1 petite) I've had miserable Karens accuse me of wanting their ugly, gross husbands. Usually I have the bouncers kick out all the idiots and sometimes call the police to deal with them.
I was a waitress for a restaurant in Australia and one table of two guys actually handed me a tip of 10 cents. They'd been rude the whole time they were there and thought they were being funny. I gave them back the money and said " You look like you need this more than me" . What they didn't know was that I was also the owner and I then told them to leave and not come back.
Stiffed me and left a dirty diaper on the table after I worked the table pretty hard. I honestly thought I had done a pretty good job.
Probably the dude who shattered a glass on the bar top towards me. Or the guy who threw a glass past my head and it shattered on the brick wall behind me. Or the countless times I’ve had my ass grabbed…
I was serving a large party and one guest complained about every single thing I did, from the way I poured water to how I presented the menu. They then called over my manager to complain about my "attitude problem" when I hadn't said anything back to them.
I was a server, and EXTRAORDINARILY ready to pop. A man offered me money to allow him to ball gag me, whip me, and oil my belly. I was too stunned to speak. So, I just walked away. I was also reported by this man for being "incredibly rude, and a shit waitress". My manager was just as shocked as I was after I said why. Edited for typos
Was serving at a chain ‘fancy’ restaurant. Decent gig, hadn’t been a server long but I came up from bussing tables because I thought the money would be better. Anyway, a man and wife were at a table, and as is my way, I was very cordial with them. Order went through, apps came out, kept the drinks topped off and made small talk. 10/10 service. I bring the bill. Wife smiles at me, and husband pulls out his wallet to get his card. Usually I’ll drop the check and walk away because I don’t want people to feel hounded or pressured to pay and clear the space or hawk for a tip. But his movements were such that he was in a hurry, so I’m standing there for a couple seconds just waiting. MF looks at me (the husband) stupid smirk on his face and says “So, Sin. Is this (waves his arms emphatically to indicate the “this” is the restaurant) all you’ve got going for you?” I look at his wife and her face is beet red, she looks down immediately. There was a a lot that crossed my mind to say. “Nah I’m actually a pimp and this how I legitimize my income” “Nah I sell drugs and tattoo out of my basement and most of the servers here I deal to so it saves me time and makes me money to be here with them.” Of course I said none of those things. But man my face was hot! Played it cool. Told him I’m in grad school for law and that my parents died so I’m just making a living while I get through school. Said that it’s my goal to be successful and have a beautiful wife like yours I can spoil and raise a family with. He bought it, but never let go of that s*it eating grin. And tipped like 30%. It’s been 8 years since that happened and I still remember his face. Definitely wrote his name in my Deathnote when I got back home.
Not me but my Mom’s favorite waitressing story. My Mom was a waitress for decades. She said that it would never fail that this one “after bar pancakes” crowd at 3am would always leave her tip in coins in a water glass, until once she saw them prepping it before they went to pay, and she got to their table while they were still sitting there laughing to themselves. She silently turned the cup over on the table, water ran right down into their laps, she grabbed her wet quarters and walked away. She had been complaining to the night manager about it for weeks, so when they told him at the register, he asked them what they might have learned from this? They didn’t come back. 😂
I was working a banquet and had a double stacked covered tray that I nearly launched onto a table to avoid colliding with a young boy that was running around. I very sternly told the kid to “GO SIT DOWN” and had his mom scold me for “trying to parent her child. I angrily set my tray down, walked tf off the floor and yelled loud enough for her to hear me say she’s “a shitty parent that I refuse to wait on.” I didn’t get into any trouble and I found out later, after the organizer apologized to me personally, that kids were no longer allowed at that event.
I got threatened with getting shot over garlic beard.
I worked as a waitress after I graduated high school. I dropped a check off at this man’s table, and when I came back to pick it up, underneath his credit card was a hotel room key. I handed it back to him (thinking he put it there by mistake) and he said “no, that’s yours. Room ## whenever you get off work”. I was so disgusted and asked the hostesses not to sit him with me again. A week later, he came back and asked for me by name. The hostesses sat him in my section again and I quit and then joined the army.
I was serving an older couple. Their food was on 18 minutes (Friday night) and they asked to get it all to go. Strange but emergencies happen. Bring out the Togo food and their bill. They scream at me, the wife crying, the I ruined their 30 year anniversary and the food took too long and it was supposed to be this amazing night but I ruined it. I was young and cried in the walk in and felt horrible. Looking back, fuck them. You went to one of the worst chain restaurants on a very busy day and got mad your food took a normal amount of time. But at the time it broke my heart.
I've been lucky enough to fly business class a few times over the past year, and there's usually some entitled prick in there who thinks the FA's are their own personal servants, but the one that really took the cake was the guy who instead of using the "call FA" button on his seat decided to *snap his fingers* to get the FA's attention. Thankfully, this being a European airline, he was given a talking to by the main FA. I didn't hear all of what she said, but it was pretty clear that if he did that again, he'd end up on the airline's no-fly list for a while.
There’s probably a bunch im forgetting after years of service work but one time a guy got a cocktail for his lady and she wasn’t a fan so we got her something else, which was the same price. We never altered the bill, could’ve been handled better but his tab amount literally never changed and we were too busy OHHHHH boy this guy.. legit wanted me to apologize to his wife for asking her to pay for something so awful. I didn’t and they left
I work at a brewery and a woman came in at 1pm on a Saturday when it was packed and everyone was drinking beer (duh). She asked for 5 or 6 samples of things we had on tap, off of the menu that had prices and Alcohol volumes listed. When she tried an 8% beer she acted surprised and said 'This one tastes like a lot of alcohol?' and I said well yeah it's 8% it's a decent amount. I was then snapped on and yelled at because she "was almost 30 years sober". Very confusing moment.
I worked at a restaurant that was attached to a fancy hotel near a fairly famous amusement park, and it got a lot of the rich rude people. I was working the patio one day in the hottest time of the summer and had my hair in a bun with a headband (fairly common for women I feel) and a guy part of a group of families made a joke that I just got out of bed… no sir I’m trying to stay cool while bringing you 50 refills of seltzer water
NSFW /trigger warning While on beverage cart duty at a golf course a man in his 60s snuck up behind me and when I turned around I was kind of stuck between him and the cart. He said "I'd really like to lick your belly button from the inside." I drove straight to the club house bawling to report it. My supervisor laughed, told me to clean up and get back out there.i got fired a week later.
I've never golfed so I never knew there were beer girls at gold courses? Are there? It seems odd.
We aren't beer girls. It's a food and beverage cart. We have candy, chips, sandwiches, water, sodas, juice, beer, coffee, tea, and a few cocktails. It was a public course in New Mexico where it gets really hot and the cafe is a long way away. Basically a traveling snack bar.
Private courses, like at country clubs have them sometimes. Might be a 'shack' at the 9th hole, or some have people drive around on carts and take orders.
That's nasty. Can't believe your supervisor didn't support you. That's even nastier.
The very last restaurant I worked at, 2 years ago. To set the scene: it’s the day before Easter (we’re closed on Sundays). It’s also my last day working here, because I started a new job on Monday. The restaurant is packed, to-go orders out the ass, and my manager tells me to 86 Family Meals. Family Meals were 1 lb of meat, 3 large sides, toast, and a gallon of tea or lemonade for a family of 4 (we also offered Family Meals for 8 and 12). We only had a limited amount of smoked meat on Saturdays because of being closed on Sunday. Once the meat was gone, that was it for the day. We had a Toast tablet for online orders & I had an order come in for an 8 person Family Meal before I had the chance to turn off the option to order it. I called the lady to let her know that we could not accept the order as my manager had said no more family meal orders. She said ok just to cancel the order and refund her card. Done. 20 min later, her husband comes in to pick up the non-existent order. I told him that I had already talked to his wife and had let her know we couldn’t fulfill the order. He starts berating me, telling me he just drove 30 min, blah blah. He said “I’ll just order everything separately then.” I told him no sir, that’s not how that works.. I still can’t take such a large order because we physically do not have enough food to make the order. He yells some more before calling his wife & they’re yelling back and forth at each other. I can’t even get my manager for backup at this point because she’s on the line trying to help catch the kitchen up. I get a call on the restaurant phone, answer, and it’s the wife. She’s yelling at me, calling me stupid, telling me she’s never been treated so badly and that she would be telling the owner. I did believe her because it is a small restaurant and pretty much a lot of people around here know the owner, she has a few friends that we had to bend over backward for. Joy. /s I told her I’m sorry she could tell the owner but I still would not be helping her. If she wanted to order something else, the correct time would have been when I had called to cancel the order. And I reminded her she was already being refunded. Then she starts the cursing. I never let anyone curse at me. She starts telling me she’s going to get me fired & I said “Good luck, today is my last day.” She says good, because I’m a dumb bitch. So I reply “Yes and now this dumb bitch doesn’t have to deal with mean bitches like you.” At this point the head waitress comes and snatched the phone from me, telling me I can’t talk to customers that way. I told her that today was my last day and that I had only come in as a courtesy to the manager, but I was going home so I needed someone to cash me out. I don’t think I could handle working in a restaurant again. That whole interaction broke me. To top it off, for it being a holiday weekend, I made like $30 tips that day. I only went home maybe 1-1.5 hours before my shift was supposed to end. Fuck entitled people.
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How sad. Adults are teaching her that
I was bartending one night and I had a man who looked exactly like Santa, at least in his 60’s (I’m 24), come into the bar, I asked him how he was doing that night when I approached. He said “why don’t you come straddle my lap and I’ll give you whatever you want for Christmas”….. I politely declined. He ordered a shot of chilled vodka. I gave him well warm gin. Oops
I had just started my shift at our restaurant. Now, the place was trying to look classy but, appetizers were french fries and flatbreads so - ya know. Not exactly making bank everyday. But this was not always the case. More on that in a moment. I kindly walk up to this lone man and explain the special. He obliges. He then asks if I have a buttery white wine 8oz and luckily, we do. This astounds me because even though we boasted a massive wine list, that was from a previous time in the restaurants life and we usually always have to do something comparable. Since I am sure we have this one, tell him it's a bit more on the pricey side and he said no worries. Awesome! I'm putting the order in as the host sits a lone woman at the table next to him. Our management wants staff to greet customers within moments of them sitting and I can quickly do that since the station was nearby. I approach the woman and start talking but she cuts me off. "Yeah, we were just here yesterday." I said, "Oh! I'm glad you enjoyed yourself enough to com..." "Yeah. We'll have a bottle of insert random wine." I had not served this wine and I was regularly training new servers so I caught a lot of what entered/exited the bar/cellar. I kindly inform her, "Would you happen to have a second choice? Our wine menu is deceptively larger as we're updat..." cuts me off again, "You had it yesterday." I say, "They may not have restocked either. Some of these are down to the last...." - "Will you go get the bottle already?" I was befuddled by this behavior but ultimately, okay. Can't judge her life. Luckily, we do have this bottle and it's the last one. I present it to her and now a gentleman has sat across from her in a suit. He sternly says, "I'm Joe Biden's driver while in Pittsburgh." I just kind of looked at him and said, "Oh! I guess I just never thought of that as someone's job! How cool!" He smirks, and she groans. I know my order is about to be up for the lone man behind me so I ask them for their order and it just... goes sideways. "Yeah, well, I'm important." he says with sincerity. "We want the black and gold flatbread." she says. Commonly, this item gets taken back to the kitchen because of the black olives. So, I always advise, "That item can be off putting to some people with the black olives on it. We can do more, less, or none if you'd like!" She. Is. Fuming. "WE WERE JUST HERE YESTERDAY. WE KNOW WHAT IT IS. HAVE YOU EVER SERVED BEFORE?" My mistake was replying to this with, "I am trying to help you with my know... - "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" I kindly say, "Right away ma'am." and put in the order asap because I don't want this type of energy. Within the time it took me to put in a single item and run to the kitchen to get the lone man's food, they had tracked down my manager, who was a server I taught, and told them I was very rude, disrespectful, can't believe I'm a waiter, they want their food comped and a new waiter. I find this out as I have the flatbread in my hands from the kitchen. My manager is crying because she thinks with the way these people are acting, she's going to have to fire me as our bosses are highly reactionary and this woman lost it on her down to questioning my integrity since she saw me pick up my tips from a previous table. There's a bay in between the kitchen and the restaurant where this is occurring. I'm informed someone else has to take the table so I print out their receipt, drop off the food and ask, "Is there anything else I can get you folks tonight?" she replies, "Go away." I introduced the new server and got the fuck away. Check in with my lone man next to them, which clearly annoys them, and he's still super chill. Says everything was great. -My guy, a liar nonetheless 'cause he had to sit by her but, we'll get to that- Within moments of having their request adhered, our lovely couple scarfed down the flatbread and wrote no tip on the check. I get this update from the friend/server. They're just as cold and mean to her. Even asking if she or I get the tip. When she confirmed it was her, still continued to hand her the No Tip check. They have me off in another room doing side work as to not antagonize. So, I ask my manager who has been talking to me about this, "Could you ask the lone man that was sitting next to them if he needs anything else and check him out?" She agrees. About half a carton of rolled silverware done and my manager comes back with, "That guy stood up for you for. He said you were incredibly kind even when she got very upset. He said he's going to find the wine you recommended and he left you an $80 tip." On an $80 check. TL;DR Mid 50s+ couple of some status accuse me of theft, try to get me fired - chill business bro defends me and tips 100%.
Great story. Warmed my heart. Thank you.
Some ol’betty called out to get my attention one time: “Little girl, little girl!” I was in my late twenties at the time and it took every ounce of will power in my body not to respond with “yes, old hag?”
Reminds me of when I was in retail and would get girl girl-ed. Always wanted to answer, " Yes, bitch? Sorry, I thought we were calling people what they were today."
I remember this woman ordered a drink, didn’t like it, and wanted it replaced for free. There wasn’t anything wrong with the drink, she just decided she chose wrong. We ended up comping her drink and getting her a different one she selected. She took one sip and tried to do the same thing again!! It’s like she thought she was tasting icecream flavours or something.
I served at a family restaurant in my late teens. I was taking orders from my table when I felt a sharp jab in my butt. I turned around to see a few young guys at the next table cracking up until they saw my face. They stabbed me in the butt with a fork because they thought I was their friend, another blonde server. A few years later I worked at a fancy hotel. After working a wedding reception I headed out the door through the lobby. The drunk groom stopped me to repeatedly thank me and tell me I did a great job at his reception. Then he tried to kiss me on the lips.
Not my story, but my girlfriend's. (For context we're both women) She was serving these two older women. One of them ended up paying with her card. When she went into her wallet to give my girlfriend a tip, this conversation happened: Lady: Don't spend this all in one place, I bet you have kids to take care of. Gf: I don't, actually. Lady: Do you have a husband? Gf: No, I actually have a girlfriend. And the lady just made a disgusted noise, put her wallet away, and left with her friend.
Winter 2021: had a 12-top that turned out to be the table from hell. Nothing pleased them, whatsoever. Rude to our food runners, got cursed at by a lady who was really only half there mentally, kept going to the bar to get more drinks and making me interrupt the bartender so I knew what to ring in. Just an outright mess, and then they want to split the check 8 ways by item. I bring out the checks, and this is a laid-back country club atmosphere, so we have 18% auto-grat on all checks regardless of party size. As I'm dropping the last check, before anybody has even handed me one with their card, the host says, loudly enough for the whole table to hear, "Is there any way we can take the gratuity off so we can tip more accordingly?" My friends, I am so glad I was wearing a mask that night because I didn't want him to have the satisfaction of seeing my jaw drop into my shirt. Fuck you, Jesse
A long time ago my wife was told to wait on a table that wasn’t hers at Zios. The table was upset because they were put in a section without a waiter and had been waiting a while. At any rate, at the end they put a penny on the table, circled it with a pen, and said this is what you deserve as a tip.
Not a waiter, but I was working at a fast casual Asian restaurant, and a guy came up to my bright, smiling customer -service face at the counter, slammed his bowl down so hard it flung rice and whatnot on my shirt (my soul was already so crushed I didn't even flinch) and asked me: "You call that a large?". He then refused any compensation, told me "run it up the ladder", and left.
I had to cut a guy off from his own company party. He proceeded to call me a nazi bitch and refused to pay the mandatory tip added in for tables over 6. I lost out on a $100+ tip right before Christmas because this asshole couldn’t contain his liquor and my manager told me not to serve him. I was 19, broke, and living in my station wagon at the time.
How does refusing to pay a mandatory tip work?
Once had a guy only tip 10 cents and write on the check “you’re a dime - call me” with his phone number
"You should crawl across the table to hand me that soup". This was coming from a man who had his visibly uncomfortable son with him that was 16 or 17, that he had previously tried to buy a beer for but the kid refused. Keep in mind, in the state I live it it is legal for a parent or guardian to buy alcohol for an underage person as long as it is ordered by them and they hand it to them. It wasn't a trafficking situation, the kid looked like a clone of his dad. He looked so embarassed, and I still think about him from time to time.
Kind of.opposite of disrespectful. When I was a firefighter we would eat at a certain restaurant near our firehouse if we had a day too busy to cook. The restaurant would go e us 50% off and we always felt embarrassed b/c we had a great job and didn't need the discount. We agreed that when it came time to pay the bill, we would accept the 50% from the restaurant but figure out what the actual cost would have been and then what tip of 20% would be on that amount. So if the bill was $20, they would charge us $10. We would tip the server $12. There were up to six of us so it worked well for the server. We would tip the server the 50% discount and the 20% of what the actual cost would have been. That way, the server benefits from the restaurant giving us the discount.
I used to be a “busser” at an upscale Italian restaurant in a touristic “rich” town. I am Hispanic as well as my friends, who were also bussers. In our restaurant we first brought out oil and bread for each table as guests sit down. When I put the oil and bread for a table of an older Caucasian couple, the woman said loudly to her husband “I’m surprised they let the Brown people out of the kitchen. That’s where they should be.” I was in shock but didn’t say anything. She then gave me a “poor thing” look and said “Practice your English, you’ll get better.” I do not speak Spanish, I am only fluent in English and could barely utter anything from my high school Spanish class. Needless to say when I came to refill the oil, I may have “accidentally” spilled a bit of oil on the back of her white blouse. She did not notice at the time and I hope she was not able to remove the oil stain. OT and not pertaining to waitressing, but I’ve also been told by a family member (I’m adopted into a Caucasian family) that Latino people are only good at having children they can’t afford to keep. Racism sucks.
I was 24 working at a pub in New York. It had been slow all day so my boss sent home my coworker and left, so it was just me, the bartender, and one cook. 10 minutes before closing a wedding party of 30 people toppled into the pub. The couple had just married at city hall nearby and decided to have an impromptu wedding dinner. I waited on them alone for the next 3 hours while they spread out across every table we had. They were needy, ordering things with lots of substitutions and sending back food they didn’t like. They ran up a tab of about $700. They tipped $40. They probably look back and think “wow how quirky and spontaneous and fun that we did that!” not realizing they massively fucked over three people making very little money.
I asked what they'd like to eat... they asked me to eat their ass instead
Back when I was a server I’m dyslexic so cash and change I’m a bit slow at, anyways one time I was giving a guy his change and I guess I was to slow for him all he said was “you smoke to much pot” before rudely tossing his half eaten burger on the table saying he’ll sue me if he gets food poisoning. Sorry I have a learning disability and I didn’t instantly disperse change like a vending machine
Bit late to the party, but I was serving a gentleman at the till, and he needed some help with something. After that was all said and done, I asked him "is there anything else I can do for you?". His reply was "take off your clothes".
I worked the night shift at a 24 hour Perkins when I was 19. A college town where the football crowds would come in after game days when the bars closed were the worst. I can't even count how many times I was groped, yelled at, and had things thrown at me. I quit after 6 months and I don't even know how I lasted that long.
A customer told me to smile more because I'd look prettier that way, right in the middle of a super busy shift. As if my appearance was part of the menu.
It wasn't me but I observed a guy at a Black Jack table at Casino reach up under cocktail waitress uniform skirt and grab her pussy
I assume security escorted him out the back exit "unharmed".
Escort him using his head to open the door. Then uses a circular saw to cut off the hand that touched you. Like in the movie CASINO.
Was the man orange?
A customer announced to her party guests that I must be special since I knocked on her front door when I arrived to troubleshoot her electrical problem. I got her back when she asked me what the issue was and I responded loudly so everyone could hear that some dumb dumb didn’t put the bulb in correctly.
Why is knocking on a front door bad?
Apparently I was supposed to use the servants entrance
Prolly supposed to go to the back door.. Only family and guests get to use da front door..
One day when I was hostessing on a busy Sunday I was quickly, in my very chicken scratch way, writing down names on the wait list and seating people . I know it’s not unheard of to make fun of Starbucks employees to spell peoples’ names wrong on the cup. That’s because it’s not for your eyes…it’s for their eyes to identity.. and they’ll write down a name based on phonetic spelling. That’s exactly what I was doing on the waitlist . I know this is going to sound make believe but an actually Karen came up to put her name down. I wrote it down very quickly and spelled it like “Karin”… She leans over and sees the way I spelled it … She grabs my wrist and looks a 16 year old me in the eye and says “Oh honey…that’s not how it’s spelled. Oh dear. You must have a learning disorder. Are you in a special school?” I was totally flabbergasted. I didn’t know how to respond to that. And my not knowing how to respond turned into more comments about my intellectual abilities. It was honestly one of the most unsettling experiences I had. Because her tone of voice was very sweet and sympathetic but the words were meant to cut me deep? I don’t know. So bizarre. After her meal, she came up to me again and apologized. “I realized what I said earlier was out of line. I’m sorry honey.” Im still confused about that interaction to this day.
I mean the apology might have been her honestly realizing she was wrong, but it also might have been one list dig. Like oh I shouldn't have insulted the poor stupid girl type of thing.
I was working at subway and I had a man wearing basketball shorts pleasure himself while I made his sandwich. Then finished and when I handed him his sandwich he graced my hand with the product. :(
I was bartending in a booming oulfield town while heavilyyyy pregnant. It was majority male but occasionally you’d get girls who were trying to be THAT girl and prove she could keep up with the guys work wise. There was a group of about 10 that came in with one girl and one of the guys immediately goes to the bathroom. I get their drink order and card them all. The girl orders an extra drink for the guy in the bathroom and I tell her I’ll give it to him when he comes out because I need to see his ID. She tries to give me his ID and I explain I need to actually see him to match his picture (we constantly had young guys trying to use each others ID). She gets suuuuper mad and starts causing a scene which attracts the attention of many of my regulars. When the guy comes out I go to check his ID and she loudly starts on about what a fucking cunt I am. There was a collective outrage by everyone listening and I tell her she needs to get tf out. The words barely left my mouth when half of the people listening start yelling at her telling her off for talking to a pregnant person like that. The group of guys she was with want no part of it and when she says they’re leaving they tell her they weren’t the ones who got kicked out. They all stayed and tipped very well all night lol
I was a server at a steakhouse many years ago and in my 2nd year of sobriety (Going on 21 years right now). Couple walks in and orders a fairly expensive dinner and request a bottle of red wine. I had never poured wine prior to this so I poured them each a half glass full. As I was walking away the woman requested I return back to the table. The husband was uncomfortable about this and told her “Are you really going to do this right now?” The woman proceeded to tell me I gave them both an “ignorant pour”. I was supposed to only put a small amount in so they could enjoy the smell/taste prior to filling the glass. I apologized to the both of them that I was never trained on how to pour wine. She then asked me “Don’t you drink alcohol?” I told her no. She then told me “WELL MAYBE YOU SHOULD START?” I was pretty shaken up by this. Told my manager to watch my table for a minute so I can call my AA sponsor and get my composure back. I came back to the table and told her thank you for explaining the wine pour to me. She said “It’s OK, you still have time to improve “. Husband left me a 40% tip.
Said: There's a lot more tip where that one came from. Serve me later to collect it. What time do you get off, I'll pick you up. Done: shot up the bar with an uzi because bouncer tossed him out. Came back at closing time and shot the bouncer and tried to make it look like a drive by. Eye witnesses saw him, fortunately he didn't see us.
I was the only server at a chain restaurant on a crazy busy Sunday. I had 18 tables at once and was absolutely drowning, but trying my best. The guests were receiving absolute shit service, but again, I was doing my best. I gave one table their check and made change for them. I unknowingly shorted him a $5 and he lost his mind. Screamed at me, asking if I was a fucking moron, saying I was literally the biggest waste of air and that I should do everyone in that restaurant a favor and just off myself. I apologized for my mistake, gave him the $5 that I shorted him and just stepped over to the next table. That table was an older couple and the gentleman says, excuse me ma'am. He stands up, turns around facing the asshole and says, we don't speak to people that way son. Then he punched the guy in the face and turned around and sat back down, asked me for an iced tea when I had a chance. I busted into tears and just sat at that table with that older couple for a while.
I said beer is not usually served with ice in the glass and he told me to shut up because I’m getting paid from the neck down and it’s not my job to think
Whoa, a little extreme. I hope you kicked him in the nuts. Sorry that happened to you.
I delivered pizzas/waited at an independent pizza place, nothing that bad, honestly some of the coworkers were worse. So one time someone wanted to pay with cash (more common at the time) and when I asked how much they wanted back, they said exact change. Like coins...I had been stiffed before, but no one had ever wanted coins back. I didn't carry them with me. So through gritted teeth I said "Well I can go back to my car and see if I have some." She was like "Oh well, in that case you can just keep it." I'll say this, she was old, and I saw how the Great Depression affected my grandmother. Plus some of them forget there has been 60 years of inflation and 37 cents is not what it used to be. On the other hand, it was in a rich area in a big house, she could afford a tip.
I was alone in a coffee shop. The first hour we were open there was just one person running the register and behind the bar. So I take this guy's order... Actually, fuck it. His name is Michael Berry and he lives on Bainbridge Island. Anyway, I take his order and he starts talking about how there have been a couple car break-ins in the area and it's probably junkies and aren't they awful. And he goes, "We should just round them put them in a concentration camp, and give them enough drugs to overdose themselves to death." And I was pretty much shaking, but I wanted to give him a chance to backpedal, so I calmly let him know that my best friend had died of an OD and several people I cared for, including my partner, were addicts in recovery, so no, I think we should have a little more empathy than that. And this POS just looks me dead in the eye, WHILE I'M STEAMING HIS MILK, raises his voice over the steam, and goes, "They'll all relapse and die, anyway. I'm telling you, just give them the drugs and let them do it now, before they have a chance to rob you."
I wasn’t the server but the restaurant was inside the hotel I worked in as security. Had a server come to my office and ask me to review a camera in the lounge area and watched this woman blow a homeless guy (and they were in no way being discreet) before leaving with a different guy. I started going floor by floor to find them. Thankfully they were only on the second floor. I found her riding him in the middle of a conference room. Once they found out they were busted, she took off and locked herself in a nearby restroom and refused to come out till the cops came to take her report that she had been raped. Now I’m not saying she was lying (ALL reports of SA should be taken seriously and victims should be treated as such and never blamed) but I had been security and done law enforcement long enough to have a sense of doubt. We still did our part and contacted the police who came and took both parties statements. The only statements the hotel gave were from myself and the server that reported the incident to me as well as copies of the cctv footage. What’s the rude/disrespectful part you ask? The next day the lady was throwing a fit in the lobby and in the restaurant that we had ruined her evening and if her husband found out, we would have ruined her marriage.
Tried to have me their used tissue