Hey y'all, here is a story from when I was a baby PowderFresh86. I was 18 and had just gotten my first paid job at a fast food restaurant known for square shaped burger meat. I was usually placed on front cash register to deal with customers in person. There were a decent amount of highschool students working there along with a few older folk. Most of the high schoolers attended the same school and therefore knew one another. One of the young men was immense for a child. He stood over 6 ft or 182.88 cm tall and was very large. The other teens were afraid of him as they said that he was a known bully at their school.

We all received an employee discount on food, which we all paid except him. If no manager was around he would grab his food and just walk past the registers and into the dining room. The teens allowed it as they were seriously afraid of him. This started becoming an issue because food was not being accounted for and the managers started asking questions. He never did that when I was on register because we worked at different times and didn't interact much at first. One day, we worked the same shift and he grabbed his food and tried to walk off without paying while I was on register. I rung up his stuff and called out the price to him.

He immediately became angry and asked what I was doing. I replied that I was ringing up his food and repeated the amount due. He angrily paid it by throwing it on the counter. Later that week when I left the bathroom he stood in the hallway with a spray bottle of cleaner and tried to spray it at me. I stepped back and just looked at him. He started laughing and walked away. All that week I rung his food up and he was rude and aggressive towards me. One day, as I was grabbing fries from the walk-in freezer he closed the door and locked me in. I started beating on the door and an older worker who was open about having served time let me out. He warned the boy not so politely that if he continued bothering me they would have a problem.

The boy stopped for a while because the man was there watching. However, one week the man called out sick. I continued ringing the boy's food up. Later, the place was empty and I went on my break. He walked down into the dining area where I was. There is a lower area with a few steps and a half wall. He blocked me as I tried to get by and clock back in. I told him to move and he said that he was sick of me. He picked up a dining chair and threatened to hit me with it. The other teens just watched quietly. He jumped at me as if to swing the chair. Some words were exchanged and I pulled out my phone and called the police on him.

He put the chair down and ran to the back. The police came and I was in tears explaining the situation. The cops said I did the right thing and asked if I wanted to press charges. One cop took me to the side and said that the boy was immature and stupid. He asked if I wanted to ruin his future since nothing actually happened. I cried harder and said just give him a warning but I wouldn't press charges. Y'all we both got fired. Him for obvious reasons and me because I CALLED 911 ON SOMEONE THREATENING TO HURT ME!

I was hurt about that for a while. I was told that I should've told a manager before escalating with police. I explained he was blocking me. It didn't matter as the general manager wanted us both gone. I became really depressed after and it took months before I was hired as a waitress at a diner. Looking back, knowing what I know now, I would have pressed charges and sued that restaurant for firing me over defending myself. Oh well, I was fresh out of highschool, a bit timid and ignorant of my rights.

So ironically, I'm kinda bad at keeping a conversation going; like I'm a good server, I think, in like taking care of them, getting their order in, answering their questions, etc.

So they're not being mean or anything; they're trying to be nice and get to know me. But anytime a customer asks about my day or makes a joke, I'm like, "Oh shit, a conversation, oh boy..."

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I started my first serving job at the beginning of the week. I made the mistake of not asking about pay during the interview with them (I'm used to longer interview processes of 2-3 interviews).

I found out on my second day that the company pools tips from the day and distributes them weekly based on your hours, and I won't earn any tips for the first week or so (seemed odd). There are no designated sections so there are 3 servers operating in chaos.

The job consists of serving, doing take-outs, washing/drying/putting away dishes, tea preparation, cleaning and stocking restrooms, and some other stuff.

It seems like a lot and to be more than being a server. Most of the other people working there are high school girls and I am a guy in his 30s who's used to white collar work.

Are the tasks normal for a server to do? Is it normal to not get paid tips for an obscure trial period? I'm strongly considering leaving this job today.

Thanks in advance

I’m selling shots this weekend for a motorcycle rally. I know this is different than in a club etc. Any tips for approaching people, making small talk & getting people to buy from me?

I feel like walking up and saying/asking shots isn’t really working to get them to buy. What are different ways I can make this fun and encourage them to buy?

I recently started working the register at a fast-paced local café and just finished my week of training. I've already noticed myself getting more competent at the job, and I'm becoming comfortable ringing things up in Toast and helping customers. I've worked a handful of morning shifts, but most of my experience so far has been in the evenings.

I'm nervous about my next shift because I won't have someone standing over me to help if I can't find a button in the system. Even more than that, I struggle with keeping up when customers rattle off their entire order at once. It's a morning shift, so there's bound to be a line out the door and tons of complex coffee orders.

I have pretty bad inattentive ADHD, and when I feel pressured to work quickly or juggle multiple things at once, my brain will go completely blank. This has already happened a few times, and some customers get impatient, condescending, or down-right nasty even when I explain that I'm new. I try not to take it personally, but it definitely adds to the stress.

I've found that writing down orders and modifications before entering them into the system helps, especially with phone orders, but it slows me down when there's a customer standing right in front of me waiting.

This isn't my first service job, and I feel confident in my customer service skills. I'm just still learning this particular restaurant's menu and system, and I'm worried about keeping up without my trainer there to help.

Does anyone have any tips for remembering orders, navigating Toast more efficiently, or handling time pressure when you have ADHD? I'd love to find a way to practice before my next shift. Thanks!

Mike Ditka passed away today at 86. Talking with my first wife about this, since she is a huge Chicago Bears fan, and it reminded me of this story.

Years ago in one of my first server jobs, I rounded the corner and saw 'Henry Fonda' written on the 86 board. I was still fairly new to the restaurant, and figured I would ask my friend Scott what a 'Henry Fonda' was.

'Scott, what's a 'Henry Fonda'?

'Huh?'

'What's a 'Henry Fonda?'

'What are you talking about?'

'Henry Fonda' is written on the 86 board, so what is it?'

'Dude, Henry Fonda died today.'

I laughed for days about that, and still smiled today remembering.

Hey there! I recently completed my first training shift as a busser, and am about 3 hours away from my next.

I should preface this by saying I asked a ton of questions to my servers and kitchen manager and am still pretty confused.

At my restaurant, bussers are only supposed to clean glasses and reset tables (as well as take out trash before clocking out). Thing is, I kinda don’t..get it? My servers kept being told by our manager to “clean your plates or your table won’t get reset!”

Logically, I shouldn’t complain, it’s less work on my part. However, I kinda feel like this sets up the servers to automatically dislike me? Even if I’m being told to do less, and was even told off by a manager at one point when trying to take plates, it just kinda feels like by default the servers will not respect me. As someone with social anxiety and a definite people pleaser, that is deeply troubling lol.

We have dish bins too, but all I am told to do is take a drink bin, pour the drinks in, grab the cups and any trash, wipe the table down and move on to the next? Just feels like I am doing much less and the servers are doing much more than at most restaurants.

Hi, here's another story about my years working as a waitress at a local 24hr diner in my city. The diner had a lot of regular customers. I'll say roughly 70% of our customers were people that came multiple times a week or at least a few times a month. One customer was an older gentleman in his early 50s. He always dressed well and eventually he started showing up with a younger woman on his arm. She dressed nicely as well and always had a face full of makeup. They would show up together, never one without the other. They sat in the same two places and ordered the same things most weeks. They were polite and tipped well enough. The man was very nice to me.

They were very intimate without being too inappropriate in public. This went on for a couple of years until the man started coming alone again. After a couple of solo visits I asked what happened to his companion? He said they were getting a divorce because she was talking to other men. He then proceeded to look me up and down and say,

Man: You're very pretty. What do think about having a relationship with me?

20 year old Me: What?...Are you serious?!

Man: Yes, I have a lot of money and will take care of you really well. Buy you whatever you want...

Me in shock:😐

Man: You just have to stay faithful...no talking to other men at all. I know how you young women can be.

Me: Um, no thank you...What can I get for you today?

Man: Are you sure?

Me: Yep, so what can I get you?

Y'all I was incredulous.

Hi, in my late teens and early 20s I worked as a waitress/server at some local 24hr diners native to my city. Unfortunately, the last two closed their doors permanently during the pandemic. This situation was honestly stupid but here we go. One morning, a group of young adults came in. Two of them were a couple and the young woman held her man's arm very tightly while glaring at me. I thought it was weird but working there I had become accustomed to weird. I dropped off their water and menu's and returned back after a few minutes with my little writing pad. The young woman smirked and said to her boyfriend and friends, "Watch this."

She then proceeded to order her breakfast meal in rapid succession. I mean auctioneer style while smirking. She said very quickly, "I want a two egg special. I want my eggs scrambled with cheese. I don't want bacon but turkey sausage. Cook it well on both sides. I want my toast lightly toasted on both sides. I also want my hash browns light with onions but just like five pieces of onions." She said this in basically one breath and stared at me satisfied as I quickly wrote everything down. I want to preface this by saying my brain files away words in the order my ears receive them.

Though I was still writing after she finished talking, I didn't need to ask her to repeat herself because her order sat in my brain like a list. After writing each thing down it disappeared from the list. In psychology we would call it working memory, however, if it makes an impression on me I won't forget it but file it away. I hope this makes sense lol? Anyways, after ordering she looked at me satisfied as if she had won some kind of battle or I had failed some form of waitress speed test. To her surprise I repeated the order back just as she said it down to the, "onions but just like five pieces." Her smile faltered for just a moment before she said, "Oh, you're good." Out of four people with customized orders they left a $5 tip. I still don't know what her point was?

Hi! In my late teens and early 20s I worked as a waitress/server at some local 24hr diners native to my city. Unfortunately, the last two closed during the pandemic but they had been around for about 35 years before that. We were paid about $2 an hour because we received tips. I want to preface this by saying that I live in the south. I'm also proudly black 🤎. One day, an older white woman came in. She was polite enough and I seated her and started the ordering process. As she was older and I've been taught high respect for elders, I was super nice and respectful.

The woman wasn't openly rude but she ordered like a drunk snail and referred to me as "girl" when calling me over. Now, most who have worked as a server know that despite introducing yourself by name and wearing a visible name tag you're often reduced to, "HEY!", "YOU!", or my personal favorite, "AYE!" with a head nod or hand wave. Due to this, I didn't think too much about it. As the service went on, she had a few demands that required my immediate attention such as refilling her coffee cup before others. Again, I tried not to think too much about it but it was starting to be clear that she was one of those, "Back in my day, your kind..." kind of people.

Again, she wasn't openly rude or anything else, just demanding. As she finished I cleared her dishes and brought her ticket. Customers walked up to the register to pay after eating. She wanted to remain seated so I did the transaction for her as again, she was older. After she got up, she winked at me and said, "get yourself something nice" and placed A QUARTER, 25 cents on the table! 25 USA cents... Y'all I just left it there. I didn't bother to pick it up and cleaned around it. She was clearly stuck in, "back in her day..." 😭.

I’ve been a server for a few years. Today was pretty busy all at once and I accidentally rung all of one tables mains under another table.

I gave them the bill without checking it and when I brought them the machine they had also checked the bill and were completely fine. Didn’t say anything. By the time I realized they were already gone and paid.

I told my manager and he wasn’t happy but said they would try to contact those guys or wait till they called us to sort it out and it would be ok but I’m so scared. I’ve never messed up this bad. I won’t find out what we are doing about the situation for a few days when I work next.

Im so embarrassed.

I've been seeing this happen more and more frequently.

Example 1 (Specific scenario happened today, but similar situations have taken place):

I went to a table and asked if they were ready to order. The first guy immediately gives me his order so then I ask the second guy what he'd like. Second guy says he's not ready yet and needs more time. So I ask the first guy if he'd like me to wait so I can put both orders in at the same time. First guy says no, put it in now. When second guy decides and orders, first guy's food is already being plated. Obviously, the two meals come out to the table several minutes apart.

Example 2 (Happened two days ago):

Man and woman at table. Woman goes to the washroom. I was going to wait for the woman to return before going to the table but the man waves me over. He tells me he's ready to order and tells me what he wants. Then, I ask "and for the lady?" To which he replies "I don't know. Ask her when she gets back."

Maybe it's just me, but I think it's rude to order when the rest of the table isn't ready. If someone leaves the table, we wait for them to come back or ask if they want us to give the server their order. Like, you made the effort to spend time and enjoy a meal together, so why not order together?

Hi! So I need some advice on whether I should quit my job or not?

Last night I had a table and it was a 7 top, everything was going great, I had to split the check bc it was 2 separate families, one paid with card the other family paid with cash. The family with the card I charged them just fine, then when I get to the family paying with cash they gave me a $100 bill and a $20 bill. I put the $20 in my “serving book” bc we keep all our cash. So the guy was supposed to get like $26 back in change and I would keep the rest in my “book”. After my manager broke the $100 bill, I made a huge mistake and accidentally gave him all the money from the broken $100 bill and the $26 he was supposed to get back. So at tip out she tells me she’s taking my tips bc it has to go to cover the table and today give them $24 extra, I feel like this is sketchy and illegal tbh.

So I’m sitting outside rn typing this wondering if I should just quit 🤷‍♂️ I don’t want to give them $24 extra and I feel disrespected. 😕

This happened a while ago, but I remembered it today. I honestly felt a little badly for them at first, because I think they just got embarrassed, but then it became a confusing interaction.

I was carrying a ton of plates and a customer tried to reach from BEHIND ME to stack another plate on top of my pile while I was facing away and talking to another customer.

So the plate slid off and took a couple other smaller dishes with it, so it clattered pretty loudly, and of course some other customers did the thing where they clap and cheer when something gets dropped (WHY do people do this, it's so awkward).

I think the combination of public attention and knowing they caused this to happen just really embarrassed them. They just started floundering and finally sputtered out "WHY did YOU do that?"

I said "It's okay! No worries! Sorry about that folks, I'll be right back!" as I did the little awkward scuttle to the back.

I set everything down in the dish pit and ran back out with a broom and the customer that dropped the dish pulls me to the side and starts chastising me for "not paying attention" and "not doing my job" and how if I was "looking where I was supposed to this wouldn't have happened".

I know I could have probably just said, "Yes I'm so sorry", but since they were doubling down I said, "look, dishes get dropped sometimes, it's really not a big deal, but next time, please wait for your server's full attention before giving them more dishes."

And they looked at me flabbergasted. I smiled and said, "I'll be right back with you as soon as I get this cleaned up!"

I cleaned everything up and went to check on them. The rest of the table said everything was good and asked for the check, but the customer was clearly still flustered. I went to get their check, dropped it off, and ran to the well to grab some drinks for another table. While I'm dropping those drinks I saw my manager by the bathrooms talking with the customer.

Yep, I was "rude" and "inattentive" and "ruined their meal". My manager saw the camera footage and heard me out so I didn't get in trouble or anything.

I really don't think I came off rude or condescending while I was explaining that they should wait to add more dishes to a pile that someone is carrying. I tried to say it nicely because they were obviously upset. Everything had been really normal and easy going with that table otherwise, so I didn't even think it'd be a big deal until that customer pulled me to the side to scold me.

I've had a similar thing happen a few times now where a customer takes a drink off my tray and it tips, but those customers apologized and I just got the drinks remade that spilled. No big deal. If anything I usually make a joke about how it was going to happen anyways because I'm clumsy or something like that, but I didn't get a chance to do that this time.

Next time I'll just try to catch the plates like the (Tobey Maguire) Spider-Man cafeteria scene, I guess. That only took them over 150 takes, right?

Had a lady come in the other day to the cocktail bar I work at. Asked for my recommendation for something “strong, spirit forward, not sweet, and smokey”

So I walked her through 2 options that matched that description on the menu and she hit me with “I was looking for something more like a Moscow mule” 😂😂😂

What are y’all stories where what the customer wanted and what came out of their mouth were completely different?

This just happened and I need to vent so….

I work at a ramen house. It’s very aesthetic and we have Japanese toys and memorabilia all throughout. Similarly we have a street fighter arcade cabinet people occasionally use. The space is cozy and can get busy around dinner.

Today was a busy day however that increased dramatically when a mother with her four kids arrived. The kids must have all been under ten and from the start were into everything. They were slamming their hands on the arcade cabinet buttons, grabbing memorabilia off the shelves and fighting each other with it (prop swords). The mother only seemed to check on them every ten minutes or so leaving them to us as staff. At one point I had to stop a child from entering the kitchen. At another my co worker was about to sit a table when one of the kids knocked over that tables soy sauce container, shattering it.

It was a mess and we were all properly stressed when she finally left with the kids. Another parent entered with her two daughters and the difference was shocking. They were around the same age and while pointing stuff out they weren’t nearly as chaotic as the first family.

On one hand I get wanting to take your kids out for a nice dinner but on the other hand if you can’t control them then is it fair to make it a ‘group problem’?

Anyways rant over let me know your thoughts!

I work at a Chinese restaurant and had an interaction with a customer where they asked me if I was a ladyboy. They followed it up with saying, “My friend over here loves ladyboys.”

No one laughed and his friend didn’t deny either, they both looked serious when asking this

I am East Asian and they were both middle aged men. I didn’t really know how to feel about it and luckily they didn’t say anything else.

I don’t really understand what they meant by it, are they trying to be transphobic or racist?? Or is it just saying that because I look more like a man? But seriously people are so weird and that was my first time running into this question and I’ve worked here for 3 years

For reference, I work at a very small restaurant in upstate New York. Last night I worked a four hour shift by myself. For the first time I closed out the register and I had to do the tipping pool by myself. After removing the deposit from the register there was cash left for tipping. The owner of the restaurant calculated the hourly rate of tips was $8.50. I worked 4 hours for dinner and walked away with $34 and she works 6 hours for lunch got 51. They were talking about how slow it was in the morning and there were not many tables yet I had six tables in one hour and definitely had more than $34 in cash tips. Is this right? because now our credit card tips are also split by the hours that we worked but we did not work together so she’s getting my money? Is pool tipping supposed to be done by the whole day or by shifts? I am very confused and would have never known if I didn’t work by myself.

I am a lifer in the industry. The only thing I’ve learned from working as a server, we are all just actors. Yes we might care about a table or two here and there, but ultimately we are preform a script to make money.

Okay, throw away account for reasons that will become obvious.

Last year - not my first time working in a restaurant, the national chain restaurant was having a national promotion over a holiday. Sewage flooded the kitchen on Monday and Tuesday. The restaurant management refused to close and continued serving diners. The national promotion brought in a huge amount of diners those two days - likely 2-3,000 (Just my estimate). Management also refused to let servers (me) to take our state ordered breaks.

They also refused to contact the local health department. Servers and cooks were having to wade through sewage - because management had failed to properly maintain cleaning schedules for the grease traps. Tuesday they brought in a different sewage company than the one they usually used, obviously they didn't do a proper cleaning. After the Tuesday flooding they brought in their regular sewage company, but again failed to notify the local health department or have proper cleaning of the restaurant before reopening Wednesday morning.

The GM asked me to come in Wednesday because "I had an attitude." I told him in writing and orally about the sewage and failure to provide breaks. Half an hour after talking to him I was removed from the next week's schedule.

Another employee asked me to cover her shift Friday and management refused to let me. I developed lung problems Friday night and spent the night in the ER. I was scheduled to work that Saturday, but decided it was bad circumstances and with me continuing to cough and get dizzy I had the doctor write me a note off from work.

I went in that afternoon again with a written complaint about the sewage and lack of breaks and also mentioned the medical bills I incurred. Have not been scheduled to work since (since that happened I realized how bad the managers were and realized that going back would be bad). GM refused to give me name of WC carrier, and I asked how to get in touch with Corporate HR ethics department. Again, he just blew me off.

So after that I field a complaint with the local health department and OSHA. (Later, the GM would admit in a separate situation that I was fired when I asked for reimbursement for my hospital stay).

I have hired an employment lawyer and he has filed a whistleblower/wrongful termination lawsuit in federal court under State laws - it is an out of state corporation and a big operator of restaurants nationwide and even internationally.

They haven't yet responded to the lawsuit - they have until the middle of the month. I can see only two other lawsuits about workers being fired about working in sewage while the restaurant refuses to close. One was another big national chain restaurant the other was in LA by a reality star. Both cases settled out of court. Just looking for input from others and potentially some reassurance.

EDIT: I did contact the Public Health Department, but they didn't respond until Saturday (3 days after the sewage flooding).

EDIT: I did report it to Corporate Ethics Hotline. They responded it was part of the National Veteran's Day promotion and that the promotion was very important to the company.

EDIT: OSHA has filed a whistleblower complaint under the Food Safety Modernization Act.

EDIT: The restaurant hasn't even responded to the Federal lawsuit. They have until the 16th. The last offer (today) was $1,000 and I am bound by a NDA.

Any comments would be welcome.

10/10 do not recommend. I had a couple come in 3 hours before close. They ordered waters and margaritas and then ordered their food. After about an hour, they were completely done. I cleared their table and offered dessert, they declined but when I offered their check, they declined that too. After about 10 minutes, I went back and offered their check again. They declined. About 15 more minutes later, I went back one more time and before I could even get the words out of my mouth, the man said “Look buddy, we’re going to be here a while so you can stop worrying about it.”

I responded, “Okay. Flag me down whenever you’re ready then.” and completely ignore them for the rest of the night. 30 minutes after we close, I walked back over and say “Alright guys, it’s time to pay your check.” and the man says, “But we’re not ready to leave yet.” And I said “Considering we closed half an hour ago, I don’t really see what choice you have.” They finally paid and left but I can’t comprehend the level of oblivious you have to be to see that you’ve been somewhere WAY TOO LONG and you’re the ONLY ONE LEFT in the whole restaurant and still feel like you can keep hanging out. 😅

Earlier at work, it was very busy and we were understaffed. This guy was waiting for his takeaway order and I gave it to him once I finished packing it but I didn't know that he hasn't paid yet (since most of the time they pay once they arrive if their food is not ready yet). I assumed that he'll go to the counter to pay since the manager was there. I do acknowledge that it was my fault because I should have asked if he has paid but I didn't. When the manager asked where the guy went, I said that I already gave him his order and he just looked at me with the nastiest look on his face ever 😭

I remained calm since we have the person's phone number (and we can give him a call once it's not so busy). The manager started stomping his feet and throwing his hand around and his behaviour just irked me 🫩 I apologised but I also couldn't really do anything since I was just told to focus on the never ending stream of customers. He just then proceeded to be passive-aggressive towards me the entire shift. idek if im valid for hating on him over this, i know how stressful it is during peak hours but the way he was acting annoyed me and besides it was also my fault but IDKKK

Update: I think I'm fired because the manager removed me from the work group chat 🫩 I just hope I get my salary from my shift 2 weeks ago

When I was a server on the Vegas Strip, I had a 20 top walk-in for a birthday. Usually a party that size would have to make reservations and a card would be put on file. However, since it was a high volume weekend we already had the events room open for overflow so we decided to seat them there among the 2 and 4 tops added to accommodate the influx of people coming in.

Everything went smoothly, until I went to put their dessert order in. The group started screaming, SPRINTED OUT, and one yelled "A f**king roach fell on my arm!" My manager runs in hearing the commotion, the group is gone and immediately manager starts doing damage control. My fellow servers were all reeling because chances were every table in that room was about to get comped. It's a desert, sometimes bugs happen especially in the hotter seasons, and that's procedure.

But here's where things get interesting: the lovely gentleman sitting next to the table that fled got on his hands and knees under the table and pulled out the BIGGEST roach I've ever seen. The gentleman immediately started laughing and said "Either Vegas has become a magical tropical oasis, or someone left their pet roach behind".

Turns out, that gentleman was a former exterminator and an amateur entomologist. The roach in question was a MADAGASCAR HISSING ROACH. Exotic pet shops sell them for $1-$10. Sure enough, when we checked the cameras, after I took the dessert order, they gathered their things. One of the ladies grabbed a Tupperware out of her purse and released the roach on the table.

I have to say, that was very creative. But it has a happy ending. The gentleman, an absolute legend, ended up asking for a to go box to take the roach home AND the remaining tables were so disgusted and appalled by the dashers behavior that a few of them left tips for me even though I wasn't their server. Apparently, they felt bad that I had to deal with that lol.

So again I asked you.. what is the most ridiculous thing a customer did to avoid paying for a meal?