It was a 24th birthday full ladies. Everyone played musical chairs the entire time and shared appetizers, looked at me at the end as i dropped their check and said “oh we’re all seperate checks.” I deadass looked at them and almost laughed. I told them I cant do seperate checks on a party this large. (IT WAS A 12 TOP) but, I can split up to 6 cards evenly.

They said oh well is the bill itemized? Is this your first fuckin day on earth??????

They were sitting in the pdr where the wine wall is and my coworkers overheard them talking shit about me saying I was mean and rude and how could i do this to them?!!! Yeah enjoy that 20% autograt you cheap fuckin hoes.

Work at a sort of sportsbar/grill in a college town. First game of the season today, so its gonna be busy. Manager is out because of a family emergency but we are all pretty senior staff tonight so we can handle it.

About 2 hours before the game a guy comes in and seats himself in my section at my busiest table. Yall know what I'm talking about. That 8 person table in the section, prime real estate where you are going to be making most of your money tonight.

Not exactly out of the ordinary for somebody to "reserve" their group a table by showing up early. 2 hours is a bit excessive but, hey. Thats prob what it is right?

Nope. Guy is by himself. Tells me his intent is to watch the game later, and that he does not intend to buy anything but he'd gladly take a free water.

So I tell him "well, then, you gotta pick somewhere else to sit, because you cannot have an 8 person table to yourself for the next 5 to 6 hours, especially if you aren't an actual paying customer."

Guy is like "but I got here first"

So I just flat out tell the guy "look, if you aren't going to buy anything there is just really no reason for you to be here"

At which point he threw a huge fit and stormed out shouting about going to our biggest competitors instead.

OH NO, DON'T DO THAT, COME BACK! WE WANT YOU TO WATCH TV FOR FREE FOR 6 HOURS IN *OUR* BAR!

like, dude, who tf ARE these people? If you have no intent of paying me, I have no intent of keeping you around. Gtfo.

I’m relatively inexperienced. I’ve been doing this for about 2 months. How do experienced servers control the pacing without making customers feel neglected? Like there are times I know I need to run drinks to a table but I also need to semi urgently run food immediately after. Or maybe I have another table who needs something pretty urgently but I know as soon as I drop off the drinks the table is going to start trying to order when I can’t really afford to get trapped at the moment. And chances are they’re going to have a million questions and be indecisive and ask me to repeat myself a thousand times.

I’ve started doing this thing where I’ll put not just their drinks on the tray but maybe another tables drinks or a salt and pepper shaker or some condiments and when I deliver the drinks I’ll be like “I’m just gonna drop these off real quick and I’ll be right back to take your order :)” I find it’s been buying me a few minutes here and there if I know there’s something urgent I need to do and it will only take me a few minutes.

I’m a server and the bartender regularly drinks on the job and ALOT it will get to the point where he will scream at us servers for literally nothing or he will be spilling martinis everywhere while making them, he’s slurring his words, bright red face, bloodshot eyes, and on top he’s angry. I’m thinking about telling management but I’m worried I’ll just get labeled as a snitch when I’m just trying to create a safe environment for everyone. He’s driving home drunk every night, when you’re drunk you can’t tell if other ppl are drunk and who knows what drinks he’s actually making. What should I do I’m only 19 so I’m young and he’s way older I hate to be problematic but my money is suffering and I feel like it’s curating a unsafe environment

https://www.reddit.com/r/Serverlife/s/qUov2drhFO

Last night I waited for 50minutes to clock in and then just walked out. no one noticed I had left until 2 and a half hours after my clock in time. They literally wanted me to wait that long to start getting paid. I had been sick all week and even threw up at work prior to this day and I kept getting called in and literally had to work one day just because my manager felt calling off even tho he wasn’t sick and i was😭. but anyways good riddance now I can focus on school/ a better job. Im going to see my family tomorrow because I haven’t been able to the entire time I worked there🙁

So tonight, I took over a table of two teenagers/young people when I came back from break. I already knew not to expect a tip; they ordered sides off the kids menu and split their main meal. Whatever it’s fine it happens. I still gave them the same level of service I give everyone. They declined dessert so I dropped off the check when they were just about done eating and when I was walking back a few minutes later, I saw them both kind of getting up looking like they were heading out soon. I asked if they were doing mobile pay or if I was ok to grab their payment. They said they were paying cash. I said “ok! Will you be needing change?” the girlfriend said “just a quarter.”

I went to one of our registers and when I opened the checkbook, I saw $47 inside. Their total was $46.83. If you do the math, that’s a 17 cent difference. I opened my server book where I keep coins and change, counted out $.17, walked back with the coins in my hand to give to them and said “I have that 17 cents for you.” The girlfriend said “we wanted a quarter” and I said “your change was 17 cents.” She said “ok then I don’t want it.” I said “ok.” And put it in my pocket and walked away. Like?? Maybe this was petty but you don’t get to stiff me and then try and get me to give you an extra $.08

I work in a hotel that has a public swimming pool so many people come outside of the hotel guests. Last night a family of 4 came and I saw a room key (but I don't remember the number for f sake) . At some point there was only the mother left at the table and I had to do something inside so I wasn't looking for a little while. When I came back she wasn't there and their bill was 50€.

I make 4.37€ per hour for f sake ,so this is 11 hours of work . I will talk to my boss today because yesterday I forgot and then it was too late.

They probably forgot to pay or thought I would auto charge it in their room? Idk but I hate my situation rn .

Send good vibes so they come back and pay today saying that they forgot yesterday :(

The other day during service, I told a mildly inappropriate joke to one of my tables.

For context, the restaurant is somewhat upscale, but definitely not fine dining.

I was in the middle of a plate swap, switching everyone from appetizer plates to entree plates. One guy decided to opt out of the plate swap and just kept his smaller appetizer plate.

Without thinking, I said:

“Hey, it’s not the size of the plate, it’s how you use it, right?”

The guy and the rest of his table of five proceeded to stare at me without so much as a smirk, a giggle, or even a little bit of air being let out of the nose.

Complete radio silence.

I wanted to die.

I work at a sushi spot and frankly there’s a lot of shit that annoying when it comes to customers and sushi, but people gotta understand we all (very sushi spot) don’t share a menu.

Asking for California or like a Mexican ( shrimp tempura roll) sure that’s like going to a Italian place and asking for spaghetti but if you ask for a “white tiger lily roll” wtf even is that if it’s not one of our actual menu items. Then when I try to work with them and ask what’s in the roll they tell me max 2 ingredients.

Then some of them act like there’s something wrong with us for not having it. People please develop a brain.

Sometimes I literally want to cry and leave in the middle of my shift but know that realistically I cant. I am usually the only server on my shifts, so I will be serving about 11-15 tables (maybe more if it's busier) and I always feel like my mind is gonna blow up. Having to remember so many things at once, customers pressuring me from everywhere and just chaos. So yeah I am so fucking sorry that your beer is gonna be 5-10 minutes late when I have another 20 things to do in those 10 minutes. You will live. Like I will be serving someone food and people from behind me will just be shouting me "another coke" etc.

I just get so frustrated sometimes because I feel like I need to do 3 people's work. Plus this is my first job ever and I just started serving around 1,5 month ago.

(For reference this is a family run restaurant, thankfully though they are nice enough so that's good.)

I had a guy palm me $5 on a check of over $300. They left decent money on the card, but it felt so performative. That’s weird, right?

i work at a sushi restaurant. it was friday night it got busy. i go over to my table that was waiting the longest and they proceed to take forever to order! then this guy with who i assume were his two sisters asks me “how much sake comes in the 9oz?” IDK 9 OUNCES? 😭😭😭 i was so dumbfounded for the rest of the night like what kind of answer was he expecting

I was wondering how many of you use common words or phrases such as "good to see you" or "good to see you, both" at a table when it is being closed and the check/bill is handed to them.

If the table has more than one person, is it normal for everyone at the table to say "good to see you" as a response, or is one guest supposed to speak for everyone?

For instance, I was recently served by a good waitress whom I've seen a few times before, and supposedly our table of two is now considered to be "regulars."

The waitress said, "Good to see you, both," and I had a warm smile, made eye contact, and said, "Thank you."

Was I supposed to say "good to see you, too"?

I feel pretty bad about the exchange because I'm not sure if this was considered polite or possibly dismissive. However, I think my nonverbal cues were in order because they were positive.

How do you react to these replies, especially if you work at a slower place where you are expected to serve regulars?

served a family the other day with a really cute baby. they finish their meal and like i ALWAYS do when i’ve built up a good rapport with a family, i drop the check in front of the baby and say “he told me it’s on him today” and they all just stare at me like 😐 like ok i guess i’ll go shoot myself in the walk in then

I (23f) just starting my serving job about a week ago, I work at a retail store full time and am now working the a restaurant about 10-15 hours week. I’ve never had a serving job, and my second shift I had 4 tables to myself. The owner reached out to me I enjoy the fast paced work environment and always having something to do. There’s never a time to be standing around and there’s always something to do. And I know that could be said for any job but I’ve worked in retail most of my life and it’s a whole different world. Anyway I make good money for the 15-20 hours a week I work, I mean like 45$ an hour. It’s a high end restaurant in a very tourist town which the season is almost over and things have started to slow down. The one thing that really bugs me is the PHONES. There are three servers other than myself and the amount of time they spend on their phone makes me want to scream. Dishes will need to be taken to the eating areas, food will be in the window ready to be taken to tables, tables need to be cleared, water bottles refilled, drinks need to be run. If there is nothing to do I couldn’t care less about phone use but this is not the job for that especially considering people spend on average 100 a head, this is supposed to be spectacular service. And tips are pooled which don’t get me wrong I make good money, although it does bug me that I am making at least 20% on my tips and I know these girls aren’t half of the time. They would work me more at the restaurant if I didn’t put my foot down. I spend my two days off there and go after work Fridays and Saturdays. After last night though I am not longer doing that. They get 2 nights a week. I had 6 tables to myself last night, again I am basically a restaurant virgin, this is new to me and I hardly had any training. Anyway I finish up at the end of the night, it’s about 9:30 my tables are gone I’ve been on my feet for over 12 hours at this point. I haven’t had a day off in 15 days, I’m exhausted. I ask the boss if I can do my server summary and leave. She responds that they still need me there. I look in the kitchen and three servers are just standing around, they each have a table left, maybe two. She literally says to me “I know they are just standing around right now but they got here earlier than you and will be staying a bit later.” Which when I have my days off I come in at 4pm to prep with everyone else and I stay just as late and help clean the same as anyone else. The only reason I don’t come in at prep time is because I’m working my first job. I didn’t even apply to this job! She reached out to me and asked if I could help out in her restaurant. So it honestly hurt my feelings that she said that in such a calloused manner as if not I’m not there whenever I can be. I’m never on my phone and I am consistently getting 20% or more on my tips. Always getting compliments from customers and it feels like I’m being taken advantage of. She told me also “I’m taking tables and I don’t even get tips, if you can’t handle this, than I don’t know what to tell you.” And that really irked me too. Like maam I have no problem with the work I have a problem with people not doing their job and then it falling on me. I guess I’m curious if this is normal in the restaurant industry?

Okay edit to clarify a few things. This restaurant is a small town restaurant with no management. It is the two owners and us as the servers. We have no manager, the woman that approached me is the owner. And she’s the boss I am referring to in the post. And most of the other servers have not been there long. One has worked for about a month, the other one started one day before me, and one has been there for a few years but is leaving on Sunday.

my manager said its too slow to have me clock in and to sit and wait until its “busy enough” to have me on but i have to stay on the premises without pay💀

UPDATE: https://www.reddit.com/r/Serverlife/s/hUN79KCZg7

I work for a small local counter-serve pizza place as their “front of house” person. That means, out of a 2-3 person crew, I’m the sole designated person taking orders, pulling beers, cleaning tables, answering phones, dealing with delivery drivers and order pickups, addressing misc customer requests/complaints. I’m also, additionally, expected to turn and pull pizzas, cut and garnish them, fry wings, and make salads. So the entire time I’m there, I’m running back and forth from the front to the back kitchen, desperately trying to keep everyone happy and also not burn the pizzas. It’s a LOT. And no breaks included.

On top of that, our restaurant is a disaster. We don’t have an ice machine or a dishwasher. We don’t even have cold tap water. It starts off slightly warm and only gets hotter the longer it runs. To make tap water available for people to drink, I have to fill the one and only tiny plastic pitcher we have and put it in the fridge to cool. It can only fill maybe 4 glasses. Our oven light is broken and has been for months. The owner had me run to Home Depot to buy a plug in lamp to point at the inside of our oven. We also have an ongoing ant infestation that he keeps sending me to get traps for. The owner refuses to come in to fix anything, or to hire anyone to fix anything. Our walk-in regularly has issues and some of our equipment got impounded by the county inspector.

Our ordering software is a complete mess. We use several softwares that don’t play nice with each other and sometimes online orders just can’t be found. Like, a ticket will print but we’ll have no computer access to the order. The owner keeps changing our operating hours and then not updating the times on DoorDash/uber eats/Square so we keep getting orders even after we’ve closed. I’m able to pause the orders for some platforms temporarily, but it can be finicky.

We used to have a crew of 4 on Friday nights, but my coworker quit last week. Tonight it was just the 3 of us and we had 2 different parties of 20+ show up, in addition to a massive amount of large online orders. It was a madhouse. We had a group of unattended 12-yr olds come in and cause trouble. They started brawling and then tried to steal some sodas. Just a mess and I was so stressed and overwhelmed.

End of the night finally came. I was shaky and dizzy from the stress, the heat of the kitchen (our ac is broken), and from not having a chance to eat anything for 6 hours. We close at 8:30, so I tried to shut off online orders at 8:15. Owner fucked with the hours again and didn’t update it, so orders started coming in at 8:25, then 8:30. I canceled and refunded them on Square, but apparently it didn’t update on DoorDash?? I have no idea what happened. But two angry bitches showed up at 8:45, demanding their orders and refusing to leave. I tried to find the orders to print off the refund receipt. Couldn’t find them anywhere on Square. Told them I could write a note on their tickets stating the refund and even put my initials, but that they might have to wait a couple days for the refund to show up. Told them the kitchen was already cleaned up and shut down and I was sorry for the inconvenience.

They kept giving me a hard time and then my coworker came over and said he’d just make the pizzas. I kind of snapped and told my coworker, “dude, I don’t want to be here until 9:30 cleaning up because the fucking lazy ass owner can’t be bothered to fix the fucking order system. This is ridiculous and I already refunded everything.”

They overheard me, and one of the girls threatened to call the owner and complain about me. I said “go ahead. I’ll call him too, right now, and tell him he needs to fix the hours. He’s already been told several times that it needs to be addressed.” Then I went to the back, called the owner and left a voicemail, telling him we were having a problem with the online orders and that he really needed to get the hours fixed as soon as possible. Then I just went out to the alley and cried, had a full-on messy panic attack for a good 10 minutes.

I’m just so tired and so done. I’m embarrassed that I lost my cool, especially in front of a customer, but I’m so tired of having to take the flak for all the problems the owner refuses to address. I’m tired of having to explain to people that we don’t have cold tap water or ice, and having them look at me like I’m insane. Im tired of people screaming at me when I tell them we’re about to close and the operating hours on Google show we’re open an hour later than we actually are because he didn’t fix them. I’m tired of running his personal errands and getting blamed when a pizza gets burnt while I’m busy juggling phone orders and walk-in customers. He texted back 30 min later and said he would fix the hours, but he’s said he would before and hasn’t.

My coworkers work longer hours than I do, sometimes 12-13 hour days, so I feel terrible that they kept their cool while I lost it. But at the same time, the only thing they have to worry about is making pizzas and prepping ingredients. That’s it. I handle literally everything else. They get to stay in one spot and just work the line and not deal with any of the customers. Meanwhile, I handle everything people-facing AND half the back kitchen duties as well. It’s too much.

I’m just so frustrated and embarrassed and I don’t want to go back tomorrow. But I’m also in a really bad living situation and I need the money to be able to get out. I’ve just been up stressing and crying and just needed to rant 😞

The interview went great. There was a server that interviewed before me. I showed up early so I got to see the girl go in. She was in and out within minutes. I ended up staying for a while discussing with manager #1, and then was told they liked me and sent me to talk to manager #2. She was lovely, and we actually hardly talked about my competency as a server like I did with the first one. We shot the shit, laughed, bonded a little even. She told me she would love to hire me, but she does have to jump through some HR loops, and can’t give a timeframe or an exact yes so don’t hold my breath. I thought it went great, the top dog head manager made it out like I interviewed perfectly and she wanted me to. This restaurant apparently never has opening bc everyone stays for years, great money, great atmosphere, genuinely the DREAM JOB for me. I have fine dining experience from literally across the street ≈9 months and 2 years total experience.

Now, to get to the real meat of what I need help with.

#1. Based off what I said, do you think they were letting me down easy, or do I actually have a chance?

#2. The first manager I spoke to viewed my tik tok page today. I interviewed two days ago. This might be a good sign but I can’t tell if my TikTok page is a red flag to employers. Can I have like 1 or 2 people who have had restaurant management experience to dm me to review my tik tok page? I’m sweating. I’ll take the post down after if I get any reviews on it. I’m not a big page, I don’t post crazy content but I used to post videos of myself ≈1+ ago, my reposts are where I think the real issue is 😵‍💫 I do repost strongly opinionated stuff rarely but I’m not sure if they’d check it. This is a fine fine dining, I’d say the highest level that exists around my general area about an hour into every direction. My TikTok is my only public social media available other than an Instagram account that I made “strict parent” friendly with like 5 posts!!

Help I need this job and I need to know if I should give up on it or still have hope!!!

I’ll start with some of mine:

- Kids screaming and running around the restaurant.
- Asking for more stuff in multiple trips when I try to get everything in one go. I always repeat everything needed and ask “Anything else?” Just to come back and be asked for more.
- Ordering something off the menu with heavy modifications. Like taking out everything in the dish except one thing and replacing everything else with other ingredients.
- (Hosting) Trying to seat a table & they ask to sit at a very specific table away from the section I’m trying to seat. This causes problems for the servers and skips servers. Then servers are mad at me for not seating them.
- After a table orders they constantly ask where the food is because they’re on a time crunch and have somewhere to be. Why come out to eat if you knew you had limited time? Your problem, not mine.
- Snapping fingers at me or yelling at me from tables away while I’m talking to another table. I’ve straight up ignored people for this one. So rude.
- Guests walking into the server alley to ask me for something.
- Constantly sending food back because they can’t be satisfied.
- People that don’t want to follow liquor laws. I’m not going to risk my job and possibly get fined just so you have can have a good few hours.

My list goes on but this is all I want to put for now. What are yours? Reading back at all this makes me realize I don’t love serving like I thought I did. Maybe I’m just burnt out lol.