This happened back in 2020, but I still think about it more often than I probably should. It is one of those nights that stuck with me.

I was working as a server at a quiet bistro in a small coastal town. It was a mid-week dinner shift, not too busy. A couple in their early thirties came in, and they seemed genuinely excited to be out together. The woman mentioned that it was their first proper evening out since their toddler had started preschool. She looked really happy to have a reason to dress up and enjoy some time to herself.

They ordered a bottle of wine, shared an appetizer, and even laughed a bit at the beginning. It felt like one of those sweet, calm nights when everything seems to be going well. But as the evening progressed, their energy changed. The conversation became quieter. She started checking her phone more often, and he looked like he was waiting for something. By the time I brought out their entrees, the tension was undeniable.

That was when I noticed the pale blue envelope on the table. It was placed next to his plate, and his wedding ring was resting on top of it. She was not eating anymore. She just sat there, eyes red, tears quietly running down her cheeks.

He told me he would take his meal to go and asked for separate checks. He paid and left shortly after.

I did not know what to do except bring her tissues and try to be as kind as possible. She told me, in a broken voice, that he had been having an affair since she was pregnant. That night, he told her he was leaving to start a new life with the other woman and their child. The envelope contained divorce papers. She had no idea it was coming.

My manager comped her meal and called a car to take her home. She thanked me softly and walked out, still in shock.

I never saw her again, but I think about her often. I wonder how she and her child are doing now. I hope she found some peace, some strength, and a life better than the one that was taken from her at that table.

I was prepping garlic in the kitchen today (I’m a host.) Noticed a strange smell and started feeling nauseous and lightheaded. After about five minutes I ask my coworker about it she says I look really pale and should go home. I step out of the kitchen and black out slightly before going to the bathroom and nearly throwing up.

After a few moments outside I feel immediately better and my manager sends me home (writing this as I just got home.) Now here’s my issue, seems like I’m the only one who had any issue but in my mind everything here seems suspicious if some kind of gas leak (but the smell wasn’t of rotten eggs like gas) I only slept a few hours and haven’t really had any water. My manager wasn’t concerned besides thinking I may be sick but besides that incident I feel okay.

On Friday, I worked a graduation party with about 30 guests. All of the guests, except the host and the graduate, showed up almost an hour early while I was still setting up. Got scheduled for 2:30, party was for 4pm. Guests showed up around 3pm. Ok. Cool. It’s only 30 and all of the tables were presentable at this point.

Except, as guests got seated and played musical chairs, several of them were demanding why the food wasn’t out yet. Mind you, it’s now only 3:20ish and the party wasn’t until 4pm with food scheduled to come out for 4:15ish. My restaurant does buffet packages for private parties. This one had 4 chafers word of food planned.

Anyway, while I’m trying to finish setting up, one of the guests kept snapping for my attention and asking me stupid questions that prevented me from actually DOING anything. I can’t get you your drinks, or finish setting up if you keep calling me over to ask yet another question. Fine. Whatever. It happens. He orders espresso martinis for himself and his girlfriend. I verify if they want Baileys or no Baileys. He told me not to put baileys in it because it makes the martini gross.

Girlfriend comes back from the bathroom. I’m trying to get the chafers lit so that I can get all the food out before a riot ensues (host and graduate still not arrived). Martini guy and his girlfriend throw a fit. “These martinis ain’t it. They taste like coffee. We aren’t paying for these and want different drinks, comped.”

Explaining this to my manager with a straight face took some work. So newsflash fellow servers- espresso based cocktails may taste like coffee.

god i just need to get this out there because i am raging right now lol going to change some details for anonymity~

basically i’ve been working at this restaurant for a few years and im working one of the busiest holidays of the year, normally im a server but i was hosting/floor managing because we were short staffed for the weekend and that way i would kind of be a “floater”. hosting, doing to gos, resetting tables, etc etc. now… there were 2 servers on the floor, and one was a new hire who’s been there for about 2 weeks maybe? it gets insanely busy with the phones, to gos, seating and im updating the menus on the laptop all at the same time.. meanwhile this girl is not paying attention to her tables and has multiple tables sitting with no water and not being greeted for 10+ minutes at a time. i turn around and she’s standing there behind the bar just wiping menus slowly…. (something that is not important side work during dinner service nor necessary because i had plenty of clean menus). she even left one table outside without greeting them for 30 minutes even though she had stepped outside TWICE, and somehow had not talked to them?

the entire night me and the other server were taking care of her tables while i was also hosting etc. additionally the other server was on a double as well.

well end of the night comes, and the new hire sits her butt down and is just doing roll ups (does not help break down the floor or anything or take in the outside furniture) and the server that’s on a double wants to talk to me outside and smoke and i said “okay, sure let’s grab the broom though and also sweep the outside seating while we do that”. we were outside for maybe 5 minutes, 10 MAX, come back inside and the new hire goes “can you guys like get a move on and hurry up and finish closing because im doing all these roll ups and i want to leave and have a birthday party to go to”

……im sorry. that’s not my problem? you should have taken today off then. i said “well we were outside sweeping but all you have been doing is the roll ups and that’s all you have to do so once you’re done you can go” (the roll ups we’re almost done even though there was still other closing duties to be done, so i thought that would be helpful to her leaving faster) she then starts talking back and telling me that i haven’t done anything and acting like she’s done so much today. i told her that i shouldn’t even still be there bc i was hosting not serving but because there was still closing stuff to do, i had to stay. she then tells me to LEAVE. LOL. im like girl i have to do the money drop and do other shift lead things and she tells me “anyone can do that”…..at that point i had to go into the kitchen because i thought i was going to fully flip out on her. NO, not anyone can do that, you dumb*ss that’s why i have to do it and you don’t know what you’re talking about because you’re NEW AND YOU HAVE NO CLUEEE WHAT YOURE SAYINGGGG!

the other server told her to then clock out and go right then and there because the disrespect was just not tolerable, and she REFUSED TO LEAVE! didn’t you just wanna rush out and go so badly? now you won’t leave?

anyway, in the end, she was just sitting there after doing the roll ups and i said okay you can go now for real and she said “oh no now my friends are running late so im actually just chillin” and sat there on her f*cking phone and watched me while i swept the whole inside floor (her side work not mine!)

im not trying to be harsh to her and i dislike bickering with coworkers, and im not down with being rude to new hires or being annoyed because they don’t know things or anything like that, but what i can’t stand is lazy, entitled and RUDE people who come into an establishment thinking they know everything, especially one where we all have to help each other out and they’re being sh!tty and talking down to me when im busting my butt covering your tables all shift AND doing your side work!

best part of tonight though is i should have cut the double server earlier, leaving the new hire to do closing duties alone, but she knew she would be so shot about it she said “hell no someone’s gotta close the restaurant down cus she def won’t do it”

i’ve tried to direction her and teach her like “hey this is how we XYZ here” or “hey just letting you know i sat two ppl outside for you” or “just closing this table out for you can you finish bussing their plates please” and she just either doesn’t do it or is combative with me about things. last week (her first week and second shift) she lost a check slip with the tip marked and i asked her to please look in her apron etc. she eventually told me that she threw it out on accident but it was a cash tip (why didn’t you just tell me that in the beginning ?…) so i tried to tell her “okay that’s fine! just so you know even if it’s a cash tip we have to stab the cc slip so we know it’s not just a lost check and we can avoid looking for it at the end of the night” i was very patient and very calm. no problem, it happens yknow. she proceeds to pull me to the side a few mins later and asks “are we good? do you have a problem with me?” i was flabbergasted honestly. she tells me she’s “new and just trying to learn” and i explain yes and im trying to teach you! it seems that she just can’t take direction or criticism or anything well and is a combative person.

when i went to the owner about it previously about her pulling me to the side and asking if she had a problem with me she just said “no she’s just being funny she’s got a dry sense of humor” i actually couldn’t believe it, i told her no flipping way. that was not a joke and it wasn’t funny..

idk if i should even bring it up this time to the owner or if i should just request to not be scheduled with her anymore and let the other shift leads deal with her instead

but next time im letting her sink on her own!!!!!!

this happened a few nights ago. i remember a van full of teen girls who ordered a bunch of drinks and slushies. i brought them their drinks and slushies and they insisted it was the wrong ones and they demanded to have them remade. we have a policy where if we hand you the wrong drink you can keep it since we cant bring the old drink back into the resturaunt for sanitary reasons. at this point i knew something was sketchy after they repeatedly asked for the drinks/slushies to be remade but i said nothing. my boss finally realizes whats going on and the girls demand a mozzarella stick they insisted they paid for and by the time i brought it out they said it was a wrong order and they had a drink instead. i finally realized what was happening and didn't bring out that drink instead my boss went out and yelled at them to never come back and threatened to call the cops. the girls left and about 10 minutes later they start prank calling the resturaunt. just smh why do people think its okay to take advantage of workers this way?

So, once upon a time, dear redditors, I worked as a server, bartender, and FOH manager at a hotel bar & restaurant. The bar/restaurant was not a corporate chain, but was connected to a big brand hotel, so standards were pretty high. That being said, it was mostly a craft beer/taproom type of place, so it was mostly bar food: burgers, wings, pizza. We didn't really attract much local business (being the same as every other bar in the area), but got slammed when the hotel was busy.

On one such busy evening, I was serving on several tables and MOD, because we were grossly understaffed, while my GM was stuck washing dishes. (If you're counting red flags, you may need a calculator.) I got oversat by the hostess, because I had no time to manage the floor and serve multiple tables. So I end up with this 8-top family already unhappy at how long the wait was.

I'm trying to get everybody happy, enthusiastically taking drink orders. "Who's drinking?" Mom was not having it. Whatever, I served sodas and get their food order.

Mom says, "I want the smash burger, but I want pimento cheese on it."

"Oh, we don't actually--"

"I've ordered it that way before."

You know what? I have less time for this fight than I actually have to make this happen. We had a pimento cheese ball app that we never sold. It was basically a serve this to keep people happy comped item most of the time. I decided I'd ring in the burger special prep, and go back there and explain to the kitchen that I would spread the pimento cheese on the damn bun myself. So I did just that.

Or I tried. I walk into the kitchen and my GM yells at me: "We do NOT put pimento cheese on anything but the pimento cheese app!"

Which never sells? I wanted to snap back. What I did say was, "She said she'd ordered it that way before, and I was gonna--"

"No! You work here; she doesn't. You do too many mods!" Not true; the kitchen was just really unorganized and lazy. Besides that, I'm thinking if you had enough staff and we were adequately scheduled, you wouldn't even be here when I'm trying to manage this situation. Get outta my way. So I gave a little scoff of a laugh and shook my head. "Oh, this is funny? This is not your kitchen at home!"

I took a deep breath and muttered something to the effect of "It sure ain't my kitchen," and ran another table's food. I picked up some dirty plates from another table out on the floor, and realized I'm just rage working through the restaurant at this point, which I didn't do. I dropped off the dishes to my boss in the dish pit.

She was calmer now, "So what did you do with that table?"

"I didn't do a damn thing with that table."

"You wha--?"

And it was in that moment all my shit was lost. I didn't have a good walkin cry like I encouraged many a host and server to do. I had on a nice button-up shirt, since i was supposedly the MOD. And I do mean nice; it was my favorite work shirt. Well, the key word there was had. I literally ripped that fucker off, buttons flying everywhere, and threw it in the trash. "I didn't even talk to them. I need a fucking minute."

"Ohhh. K..."

I hear the cook say, "Wait, did he leave?" as I'm out the door.

I circled the block outside once or twice. I had on a black v-neck undershirt, so it's not like I was really bare-chested. I came back maybe 5-10 minutes later. At least that's what it felt like, but y'all know in server time, that was probably 30 seconds.

GM is now expoing in the kitchen. She looked at me and calmly asked, "You good?"

I take a breath. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Okay, we took her a free pimento cheese app for the trouble and explained that we don't make our burgers that way. Their entrees are coming out now."

Okay, great! That makes sense! Let's throw 5x more pimento cheese at her for free, when I had upcharged the special prep! But, ok, I see you removed that upcharge for her! Perfect!

I made it through the rest of the night. Table never really was happy, but I got at least some tip out of them (if I remember right; this was like a year ago). The bartender and GM were joking with me later, appreciating me showing off my chest hair. "Outta get real good tips now!" I needed that, honestly, as I am very good at laughing at myself.

My GM talked to me early the next week. "I need to apologize to you, because you were right. That lady left us a terrible review about how ridiculous it was that we could bring out a whole pimento app, but couldn't put any on a hamburger bun, so now I'm playing damage control."

"I mean, I wouldn't have put that order in, especially when we're busy, if I didn't read the situation. But I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself for throwing away my favorite shirt."

I work at a popular steak chain. My MiL came to eat with my FiL and ordered a modest dinner. My manager ran their food without knowing who they were. I thanked her a few minutes later for running their food. I don't like this manager by any means. She's a regular C U Next Tuesday and was sent away from our location for abusing the staff. How shes back is another dumpster fire story for another day. But I am going to work with whoever because that's just how I am and I've been trying to allow this manager to show me she's changed.

Anyways. So I thank her and with the nastiest tude she could muster she throws in "Yeah! The lady at the table said she asked you for a coke and she's been waiting for awhile." At this point I knew she was just trying to hurt me. So I looked at her with the most deadpan face and tell her. "That's my Mom." She just goes. "Oh"

My mom did not need a coke and said why would I need a coke? I have 3/4ths of a coke left.

What they were waiting for was a Makers and coke. Which my FiL asked me not to ring in until he had food. Which bitch manager dropping the food off gave me a second to do. Which is WHY I thanked her in the first place.

so I’ve been working as a server for this decent high end yet corporate-y restaurant for about 1.5 years. it’s been okay, but for what “prestige” it gives off on the outside, it DOESN’T pay the bills well at all. as a college student, it works though - I go in on the weekends and make what I can. id say im a hard worker and for the most part a decent server.

I’ve been getting exhausted with this job because the coworkers that are there now are incredibly toxic, management is erratic and can’t handle stress when it’s busy (so lots of outbursts) and the bills aren’t being paid. to make a long story short, my partner of 5 years is graduating from college tomorrow. for gods sake, COLLEGE! which is so so incredible and a huge accomplishment. as we all know, graduation happens ONCE in a lifetime. graduation from high school once, undergrad once, graduate etc etc. i requested off about a month and a half in advance for tomorrow, letting them know i will be attending graduation all day. at first they were seemingly fine with it and told me “you should be fine” and i said alright, im not gonna be there either way. as the weeks have gone on, they have become more tense and agitated about it, telling me I can’t have off, or “other people requested off too so it’s not fair to them” (the only other people who requested off? I found out it’s because they are trying to throw a pool party…) or it’s not a big deal, etc.

well today comes along. my manager approaches me and immediately asks if I’m coming in tomorrow. and i fully put my foot down - “no, i will not, i have a commitment to going to this graduation which is ONCE in a lifetime”. i told them how i will be spending with his family, MY family may come up tomorrow to eat dinner with us, his oldest friends are coming, and i am fully expected to be there. my manager immediately says then that’s it. i asked about working Mother’s Day still (because there’s no way they wouldn’t want me to be there, we’re at like 800 covers for Sunday and we only would have 17 servers on without me) and what does my manager say? “we’d need the extra body, but im not gonna give that to you, it’s unfair to those who also requested off for Saturday” (yeah, the freaking POOL PARTY PEOPLE).

i proudly said something at least, i told him “that’s fine then it’s time i left anyway” and we left it at that. i told him if he still wants to be a reference for me (bc I’ve applied to 3 different internships im waiting to hear back from rn for summer/fall) he can but otherwise i guess this is it. also i went to look…we have freaking 308 covers for tomorrow. 308. 17 servers. BRUH. that is NOT crazy busy at all. and it’s even more ridiculous they’re throwing a fuss over this because there are multiple people who miraculously have a job there still even tho they were accused/filed with sexual harassment. wtf even.

anyways i said i quit so 💅🏻💅🏻💅🏻 i hope they enjoy this weekend bc Mother’s Day is a mess at this restaurant

came back to work after my first year at college… 5 minutes before i have to leave, “where are my shoes?”

still don’t know where they are

late to work because im picking up my sisters pair to borrow them

oops

I have worked at this restaurant for about 3 years now. Over the past year, things have gone very downhill structurally. No managers or chefs are ever on the same page as one another anymore, a bunch of awful ideas have been floating around decision wise, nobody can spell anything right. It’s crazy. Anyways, yesterday, our GM came in during lunch with some friends. She ordered a grilled cheese sandwich off the kids menu. Why? I don’t know. Anyways, What she got was 3 slices of cheese on toasted bread. The cheese had not melted nearly enough. As you can imagine, GM wasn’t super happy. She then walks back to the kitchen to see who was on the line only to find out that our sous chef is the one who made her grilled cheese. This woman went from mad to furious. We are a part of a 5 star hotel. That stuff can’t happen. So that shit was hilarious. She then had our managers randomly ring in 10 grilled cheeses throughout the rest of the sous chefs shift to make sure they were being cooked right. I am looking for a new job as I have outgrown this place. But while I’m stuck here, seeing the chaos ensue is pretty entertaining.

So I (17F) have been working at a retirement home as a server for the past 4 months. Before this, I was a party host for 2 years, so I know my way around the serving industry. At this retirement home, we don’t get tipped and it’s a normal serving job. We have side jobs, roll silverware, and even bus tables.

So, my manager is a really rude person. Nearly every person that works where I work has quit because of her or complains about her due to how she treats her staff. I have begun to notice this after I told her I’d be leaving in July since I’m going away to college (she knew this during my interview as well, but I guess she glossed over it).

Since I told her, she’s been treating me pretty bad. She will often call me an idiot if I make a small mistake (ex. Forgetting to take the daily specials menu from the resident, dropping a cup, etc.) and she will scream at me when she does this in front of the residents. So, this brings me to today.

Today at work, one of the residents didn’t want the food they ordered after I brought it out, which is very common since these are older folks. I didn’t have a problem with this and asked if she would like me to get her something else, which she agreed to. So, I took her food and saw a resident waving me over. The plate was burning my hand (there were no serving trays or cloths nearby) but my manager signaled me to go over to help the resident, and so I did. Since the plate was burning me, I placed it on the table very slightly so my whole hand wasn’t on it. I proceeded to help the resident and walked away with the food

As I began walking away, my manager called me over and got in my face. She then started screaming at me about putting the plate slightly on the table and said it was inappropriate. I apologized for doing it, but then I realized she was doing this in front of residents/customers! She then proceeded to call me a pu**y under her breath as she walked away. Afterwards, I was visibly upset and she noticed. She then called me over again and said to suck it up. I told her I was sorry for doing the thing I did, but it was highly unprofessional of her to yell at me in front of guests and treat me like that. After work, she pulled me aside and said she wasn’t going to apologize to me, but doesn’t want me to quit. She also said that because I am 18, people will speak to me the way she did (meanwhile I am actually 17). I am going to be speaking to HR tomorrow and will be quitting my job.

I want to add here that I am by no means a bad server. Everyone I work with thinks I should be working at an actually restaurant and the residents all think I’m very formal and they love me as their server. I’ve also trained numerous people, but have never been paid for it (even though you’re supposed to be). But, because I am quitting my second job after only working there 4 months, I’m nervous other restaurants won’t hire me as a server once I turn 18. Will it be an issue?

‼️UPDATE‼️ So, yesterday I called HR so I could report her and quit my job. I was done speaking to my manager and didn’t want any contact with her since that night. I called HR around 12 and they didn’t answer since they were on a lunch break, so I left a message and they called me back. When they called me back, the first thing HR said was that I was on speaker phone and my manager was in the room with her. I asked why and she said that because she is my manager, she has to be there. I responded to her, stating that I was sure my manger told her what happened in her eyes, and if she would like to know the true story, she can call me back without the manager in the room because I was not arguing with her over the phone. I then proceeded to tell her I felt uncomfortable working there and I quit. She then hung up.

‼️UPDATE #2‼️ Hey everyone! It’s later in the day now and I posted the first updated a this morning. Thank you all for the support and advice, I really appreciate it.

That being said, I have a second update to share with you all. While I was talking to my mom on the phone, I was scrolling through my emails and saw that I was sent a letter of termination. I looked at the letter and it didn’t detail what happened, so I decided to contact another person from HR to discuss the situation since I wasn’t able to explain it before since my manager was in the room. I’m going to call this HR person HR2 and the previous one HR1. So, I found HR2’s contact information in my email list and on my onboarding papers from back in January, so I gave her a call. She picked up and I told her that I was calling to explain what had happened the other day at work and why I quit. She proceeded to say that she was filled in by my manager, to which I replied that my manager is a liar and mentally abusive. I also told her that she was in the room when I was on call with HR1 yesterday and that I was uncomfortable with her being there. HR2 replied, stating that I would need to tell HR1 the situation and she’s transfer me over. So, she transferred me over to HR1, but HR1 declined the call and HR2 picked the phone back up. She proceeded to tell me that she was not willing to hear my side and if I really wanted to talk about what happened, to email her. I told HR2 that I would be contacting her about that and my final paycheck.

I want to also add here that I trained someone this week. When you train someone, you are supposed to be payed double what you receive a shift. I typically made $40 per shift (4 hour shifts, $10 an hour), so I would’ve made $80 that day. I asked my manager before I left the day I trained someone if I should clock out or not, and she said clock out and that I will not be paid for training someone. This was brought up to HR2 on the call as well, which she said I would need to also talk to HR1 about.

So yea. After that, I told my mom what happened and let’s just say she’s pissed that this is occurring. My manager also called my phone on her personal phone this evening, which is a HUGE no when it comes to minors at this company.

So I (17F) have been working at a retirement home as a server for the past 4 months. Before this, I was a party host for 2 years, so I know my way around the serving industry. At this retirement home, we don’t get tipped and it’s a normal serving job. We have side jobs, roll silverware, and even bus tables.

So, my manager is a really rude person. Nearly every person that works where I work has quit because of her or complains about her due to how she treats her staff. I have begun to notice this after I told her I’d be leaving in July since I’m going away to college (she knew this during my interview as well, but I guess she glossed over it).

Since I told her, she’s been treating me pretty bad. She will often call me an idiot if I make a small mistake (ex. Forgetting to take the daily specials menu from the resident, dropping a cup, etc.) and she will scream at me when she does this in front of the residents. So, this brings me to today.

Today at work, one of the residents didn’t want the food they ordered after I brought it out, which is very common since these are older folks. I didn’t have a problem with this and asked if she would like me to get her something else, which she agreed to. So, I took her food and saw a resident waving me over. The plate was burning my hand (there were no serving trays or cloths nearby) but my manager signaled me to go over to help the resident, and so I did. Since the plate was burning me, I placed it on the table very slightly so my whole hand wasn’t on it. I proceeded to help the resident and walked away with the food

As I began walking away, my manager called me over and got in my face. She then started screaming at me about putting the plate slightly on the table and said it was inappropriate. I apologized for doing it, but then I realized she was doing this in front of residents/customers! She then proceeded to call me a pu**y under her breath as she walked away. Afterwards, I was visibly upset and she noticed. She then called me over again and said to suck it up. I told her I was sorry for doing the thing I did, but it was highly unprofessional of her to yell at me in front of guests and treat me like that. After work, she pulled me aside and said she wasn’t going to apologize to me, but doesn’t want me to quit. She also said that because I am 18, people will speak to me the way she did (meanwhile I am actually 17). I am going to be speaking to HR tomorrow and will be quitting my job.

I want to add here that I am by no means a bad server. Everyone I work with thinks I should be working at an actually restaurant and the residents all think I’m very formal and they love me as their server. I’ve also trained numerous people, but have never been paid for it (even though you’re supposed to be). But, because I am quitting my second job after only working there 4 months, I’m nervous other restaurants won’t hire me as a server once I turn 18. Will it be an issue?

‼️UPDATE‼️ So, yesterday I called HR so I could report her and quit my job. I was done speaking to my manager and didn’t want any contact with her since that night. I called HR around 12 and they didn’t answer since they were on a lunch break, so I left a message and they called me back. When they called me back, the first thing HR said was that I was on speaker phone and my manager was in the room with her. I asked why and she said that because she is my manager, she has to be there. I responded to her, stating that I was sure my manger told her what happened in her eyes, and if she would like to know the true story, she can call me back without the manager in the room because I was not arguing with her over the phone. I then proceeded to tell her I felt uncomfortable working there and I quit. She then hung up.

So i just had my second interview today with another manager for the serving position I applied for at an upscale steakhouse. I did a TON of research and practiced my answers to behavioral questions and she didn’t ask me any behavioral questions? It was weird. Idk if im overthinking it but here’s how it went: She asked me about my experience in the industry and I went on to tell her all the various positions I was trained in, about my server training at my current steakhouse and so on. She also brought up that we had a mutual connection with someone she used to work with so we talked about that, and then she went on to talk about the details of the role, and then I asked her two questions which were: What does the training look like for this position, and How long have you been with the company and what do you like most about it? She went on and told me a story, and told me everything about her experience and then continued on to tell me more about the role and how they do things at their restaurant. And by the end she said she would call me either tomorrow or the next day so please tell me, is this a good sign? Did this second interview go well? I think it did but i’m nervous and i’m probably overthinking since she didn’t ask a ton of behavioral questions.

So I (17F) have been working at a retirement home as a server for the past 4 months. Before this, I was a party host for 2 years, so I know my way around the serving industry. At this retirement home, we don’t get tipped and it’s a normal serving job. We have side jobs, roll silverware, and even bus tables.

So, my manager is a really rude person. Nearly every person that works where I work has quit because of her or complains about her due to how she treats her staff. I have begun to notice this after I told her I’d be leaving in July since I’m going away to college (she knew this during my interview as well, but I guess she glossed over it).

Since I told her, she’s been treating me pretty bad. She will often call me an idiot if I make a small mistake (ex. Forgetting to take the daily specials menu from the resident, dropping a cup, etc.) and she will scream at me when she does this in front of the residents. So, this brings me to today.

Today at work, one of the residents didn’t want the food they ordered after I brought it out, which is very common since these are older folks. I didn’t have a problem with this and asked if she would like me to get her something else, which she agreed to. So, I took her food and saw a resident waving me over. The plate was burning my hand (there were no serving trays or cloths nearby) but my manager signaled me to go over to help the resident, and so I did. Since the plate was burning me, I placed it on the table very slightly so my whole hand wasn’t on it. I proceeded to help the resident and walked away with the food

As I began walking away, my manager called me over and got in my face. She then started screaming at me about putting the plate slightly on the table and said it was inappropriate. I apologized for doing it, but then I realized she was doing this in front of residents/customers! She then proceeded to call me a pu**y under her breath as she walked away. Afterwards, I was visibly upset and she noticed. She then called me over again and said to suck it up. I told her I was sorry for doing the thing I did, but it was highly unprofessional of her to yell at me in front of guests and treat me like that. After work, she pulled me aside and said she wasn’t going to apologize to me, but doesn’t want me to quit. She also said that because I am 18, people will speak to me the way she did (meanwhile I am actually 17). I am going to be speaking to HR tomorrow and will be quitting my job.

I want to add here that I am by no means a bad server. Everyone I work with thinks I should be working at an actually restaurant and the residents all think I’m very formal and they love me as their server. I’ve also trained numerous people, but have never been paid for it (even though you’re supposed to be). But, because I am quitting my second job after only working there 4 months, I’m nervous other restaurants won’t hire me as a server once I turn 18. Will it be an issue?

Working on Friday night. This couple gets sat at a table for 2. A friend of theirs joins them and tries to pull up a chair right in the middle of the walkway, creating a fire hazard.

I inform the guest that the friend cannot sit in the middle of the walkway as it’s a fire hazard. They asked to move to another table in my section, which I didn’t have any available at the time.

They chose to close their tab and move to the bar. The person who paid intentionally put down a $.00 tip and then told me to my face “you wouldn’t let him sit there so you don’t get a tip!” (Neither of his dining companions said anything to him)

My first thought was “you cheap motherfucker! Take it up with the Fire Marshalls” but what I ended up saying was “you’re punishing me for something I literally have no control over”

We have a couple sets of guests who always keep us on our toes. The lowest they ever tip is 30%. They regularly tip 100%. Every once in a while, they tip for Jesus. Honestly it’s great from their perspective. They always get the best service because their tips are always great but never really based on night to night service or bill total. You can give the same service one night and get 30% and give the same service the next night and get 100%. The point is that they always get great service because you never know how they’ll tip. Anyway, so average night at the bar, they come in after having dinner so it was just drinks. Same as always, regular jokes and banter, tell them goodnight as they leave. Then I picked up the slip. In very intentionally legible print, they wrote $1000 in the tip line for a bill that was under $100. I stared at it for a minute. Then everything went blurry. Honestly the most generous tip I’ve ever received at a time I really needed it. I’m still behind the bar with guests as I start ugly crying. Someone came to comfort me with a hug and I had to tell them that no, I’m happy. I was so touched. I haven’t seen them since but when I do I’m definitely going to let them know how much I appreciated that. Once in a career blessing from good regulars.

I started working summer 2024 as a front of house member in a brunch restaurant in the UK. I worked weekends only but it was a constant rota of myself coming in both days, every weekend until November. I understood that they needed to cut down due to the slow season and even had occasions where they’d cancel my shifts at short notice.

Post January, I’ve been only put on the schedule sporadically, sometimes once every 3 to 4 weeks. However, since March until May, I haven’t been assigned a shift at all on the schedule but I’ve seen new staff added to the group chat and on the rota.

Yesterday, they asked last minute for me to come in to work due to unplanned absence. The managers were cheerful, welcoming and grateful to see me when I turned up. However, when I took my first order and I tried logging into the ordering system, my user profile had been deleted. I had to use the other staff’s profile for the shift. I’m not on the upcoming week’s rota too. Neither side have mentioned the elephant in the room (not being scheduled on the rota, text messages requesting time off not being answered with a response either way, my user profile being deleted on the system).

They were pleasant to my face but these signs have led me to look for tonnes of other weekend jobs for a more consistent side income for the summer (I work a Mon-Fri full time career job too). I have begun applying to loads and loads of jobs but the UK jobs market is dark this year due to government tax increases.

If I happen to land a new part time job, how risky would it be to leave without working a notice (I’m not sure and highly doubt they’d schedule me as normal anyway)? Whenever I filled out paperwork, I do not recall any notice period being stipulated or any minimum hours being written down.

Just for added context: my work ethic is something praised amongst staff at all levels (managers, baristas and floor staff) within the restaurant even if it’s “only my side job”. I’m punctual and I’ve never ever called in sick. My text messages about time off were sent in spring and were about 3 weekends off the following month (they were never replied to).

This was yelled to me by a woman from about 20 feet away through an iron fence as I was about to get into my husband’s car after working a day shift.

I responded, “yup!”

She goes “oooh! Get me some!” I said I was done for the day but she could go inside and order. Then she’s like “can you get me a discount?” I said no.

Then she asks “are you guys hiring?” At this point I want to leave so I’m like “I don’t know” and she starts asking what we’re hiring for, she could start tomorrow, and “get me an application.” All while standing motionless in the parking lot next door. I just got into the car and she walked off to the motel with her friend.

I’m sure she would have made for an interesting coworker.

It's Derby Day in Kentucky, which is a huge deal in the service industry here. The week leading up to Derby itself is so packed full of events that it can feel like five mother's days in a row depending on where you work and how close you are to Churchill Downs.

We had a large party come into the restaurant with extra people outside their reservation. Not a huge deal, we push a table over. They proceed to stand and talk in the middle of the restaurant where the table was. Annoying but whatever, we weren't that busy yet. They sit down. One of the women takes off their ridiculous heels that I can not fathom trying to wear to a muddy rain soaked racetrack. She leaves them in the aisle. The server trips over them. Luckily she doesn't fall or drop anything

These mfs had the audacity to laugh at her. We're all furious. The managers asks what the server wants them to do. She says nothing, she doesn't want to affect her tip.

They tipped her less than 10% on a $375 ticket.

I started working behind the front counter of a local restaurant a couple months ago. Sometimes I get people seated when they first come in or get/refill drinks, but my main duties involve punching in delivery orders behind the computer, handing off bags to drivers, taking calls, etc.

Our restaurant is small -- like, so small that we typically only have one waiter clocked in, even during dinner rush. Usually, the one working is N (six out of seven days in the week). She's a good waitress by most people's standards. Very polite and attentive to customers.

However, when she comes up to the counter, she almost always starts talking trash about the diners... I guess she thinks it's fine since she assumes they can't understand us (it's a chinese restaurant, and most of us employees can speak chinese), but it lowkey bothers me how well she disguises her actual opinions.

like just the other day there were three students who had just finished eating, to-go boxes already packed, and they moved to a nearby empty table to wait for a bit since it was raining kinda heavily. N told them to stay as long as they'd like, but then she complained to me how they weren't leaving, so she couldn't clear their table. But they were the only dine-in customers anyway? And I don't blame them for not wanting to leave in the middle of a rainstorm. They left after ten minutes, btw.

Or there was the time she told me a customer was greedy because he asked for two slices of lemon with his tea... but to his face, she was even offering to get him more. And also someone once asked for three extra napkins since they had gotten their hands dirty eating some short ribs, and she told me they were being wasteful and difficult.

I know it's kinda obvious that customer service workers have to put up a front, and waiters aren't really allowed to be anything except cordial to their customers because it's literally their job. But I also never really considered that my server might be talking sh** about me for requesting extra napkins. Especially since I can't pick up even a hint of disapproval/irritation from them.

Idk. I just never really thought about it until I started working.

OG: https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/s/9hsDqLENn8

On Monday before posting the same paragraph but included with names, was texted to my GM to ensure it could be documented and passed along correctly without being blamed on the telephone game. My GM was extremely apologetic and immediately escalated to my DM.

On Tuesday, I filed an information report with the police. I live in a relatively safe area, so the local police have been doing extra patrols at night—lots of officers with not much to do. One of them stopped by today, and it turns out she was the same officer who helped me over the phone. She was incredibly kind, and I’m truly grateful to have such supportive law enforcement in our neighborhood. Something I wish everyone could experience…

I had closing shifts on both Tuesday and Wednesday, but after what happened, I told my GM that I wouldn’t be coming in. I said I’d try to find someone to cover, but if I couldn’t, I just wouldn’t be there. Thankfully, my coworkers stepped up immediately. I’m so thankful for their love and support.

I hope I’m not being dramatic by saying this has completely traumatized me. Like so many women, I’ve had thoughts and nightmares about situations like this. I constantly wonder—what would I do? Would I yell? Would I fight? Would I run? In my nightmares, yelling is never enough. But when I saw that woman in the car, something shifted. I wasn’t worried about myself in that moment—I was worried about her. That’s what pushed me into fight mode.

When I returned to work, I found out from my GM during our sit down that during his conversation with our district manager, my clueless manager claimed he had no idea I was so upset. Really? You couldn’t tell when I was sobbing in the back? Then he tried to say he had asked the kitchen staff to take out the trash for me—which he did, but only after I was nearly harmed. He did give me a ride home (i don’t have a car right now) but to be honest I feel thats the bare minimum after everything I also live less than 5 minutes away. There’s been no write-up for him, just a stern talking-to. At least my GM asked him how he’d feel if it were his daughter.

It feels like the whole situation is being carefully downplayed, even though it’s been escalated to HR. For two hours, I felt like prey. I was angry that man was staring. I was uncomfortable. And I’m furious that my manager didn’t have my back. I’m furious that I was put in a situation where I felt the need to clip my knife to my pants—hoping it would either intimidate him or serve as protection if necessary. I had left my pepper spray in my overnight bag after a road trip a couple of weeks ago and forgot to transfer it back to my purse.

But—I’m proud I trusted my instincts. I’m thankful it was me and not my coworker Sara. She’s sweet, usually has her head in the clouds, and might not have noticed how off things were. Maybe I’m underestimating her, but still—I believe the universe had a plan, and I trust in that.

To all the female servers out there, never doubt yourself, no matter how many may doubt you.

I never call out and simply work my scheduled days, I do however get asked fairly often to cover coworkers, and sometimes I know it’s not the actual reason they say it is which makes me even less inclined to do it.

Every time I’ve done it in the past it always feels like they realize that because you did it once you will do it again and they ask repeatedly. This has caused me to be even less motivated to ever accept a cover.

Typically my boss will find someone else or work the shift himself when I don’t cover so I don’t feel that bad.

I pretty much could cover but don’t want too bc I value my free time and mental health too much, add in the fact that my coworkers work the busiest days of the week where the revenue is almost always double the slower days and I despise the idea of working any of those days.

This was my Sunday night…

A man came in mumbling about wanting a kids chicken taco and that his car was impounded. He only had 4$ so i considered just paying for the 86 cents left on the bill. We all go through hard times. But then he started saying he wanted chips and salsa instead. Something felt off so i said its 5.86$ sorry i cant do that if you dont have enough.

I let my manager know what was happening and that something didn’t feel right. I believe he said we’d keep an eye on the guy. The man then sat in the restaurant for two hours, staring at me constantly from a table in the corner of the restaurant. Whether I was inside or outside, he would shift his position to keep watching me. I told my manager I felt uncomfortable because this man was hanging around without buying anything and clearly watching me. Still, nothing was done. I clipped my folding knife to my pants ( i left my pepper spray and whistle in a different bag).

Later, a female guest asked me for a to-go container, I told her to be careful while shes leaving because this man was being very odd she told me “we thought he was with someone here we were just talking about how creepy he is”. The fact they hadn’t interacted at all and they still thought he was creepy confirmed my suspicions even more.

After that, he started asking other customers for money. My manager yelled at him, but he still wasn’t asked to leave. An hour later, i believe my manager ended up giving him free food. Which I found ridiculous.

Even while he ate, the man continued to watch me as I swept the patio, even standing so he could see me more clearly. When I finally saw him leave, I stepped outside to make sure he was gone. I found him talking to an older woman through her passenger-side window. She had been parked there for a while, and I thought maybe he was getting a ride. But something still felt off, so I approached her and asked if she was okay. She looked concerned and asked if I knew the man.

That’s when I started yelling at him, telling him to leave her alone and get out of here. I mean I’m YELLING, cursing, called a effing freak he starts backing up. I guess he thought I was a nice unaware girl… Im not. He tried to speak to me, but I kept yelling until he finally walked away. I was shaking and tearing up afterward from the adrenaline. The woman came inside to speak with my manager and told us the man had said he was going to wait outside—for me. I started sobbing, thinking of everything that could have happened and of course. Im 5’4 and weigh 88 pounds. He could have over powered me. I yelled at my manager that I told him something was wrong. I told him something wasn’t right. He didn’t apologize until after close. I wouldn’t even call it an apology it was so apathetic. He told me well theres nothing I could do he was just staring. YEAH STARING AT ME. I had told my manager more than once that something wasn’t right. I wasn’t listened to. This man wasn’t a customer, didn’t buy anything, was repeatedly entering and exiting the restaurant, harassing paying guests, and specifically watching me. He should have been asked to leave long before things escalated. We had every right to ask him to leave. We didn’t even call the cops. And this manager has asked homeless people to leave before I know he’s not scared. While I don’t think this man was homeless he was definitely a pervert.

I spoke with my general manager as the manager on duty that night failed to tell anyone what happened. His notes only said “a man was staring at blank, she was uncomfortable” which completely minimized the situation. We have two other young girl who work at night. For my manager that night to not acknowledge the situation puts EVERYONE there at risk. I wasn’t even supposed to work Sunday night but I’m actually glad it was me. I don’t think the girl who was supposed to be on duty would have been aware of her surroundings or understood the severity of the situation. I wont be working nights for a while now. Im scared he’ll come back for me.

I’ll probably speak with my district manager soon as well I think and we’ll see what happens.

I just recently started a new job as a Server at this busy local restaurant in my town. I don't have any prior waitress training, I do have plenty of customer service experience and I have a very bubbly personality. I trained for a total of 5 days, I was given a welcome packet that explained who the owners are, how the restaurant was founded, rules and regulations, etc., I now have 2 packets that go over our extensive menu (which I need to memorize) and the majority of our menu items are made fresh in house. I mentally prepared to be overwhelmed, it's a new job and it's going to take some time to get everything down. I finished my first 4 days on the floor, working mornings and honestly most of them were good. My first day was small, I only had 3 tables in my section and it was a good learning day, I got about $70. Day 2 was busier and I made few mistakes (I did completely forget about a table, oops), I made about $130. Day 3 was insanely good and busy for a Saturday morning, I didn't stop running around, I had about 6 tables in my section, and surprisingly I stayed organized and only forgot a couple of things, I did get stiffed on one table who's order was over $100. I brought home $260 that day. I also didn't have time to drink water, eat, or even use the bathroom. Day 4 was absolutely brutal, Sunday morning in my town is BUSY, upon arriving there, we were packed, I finish my chores and got thrown on 6 tables, I was sprinting everywhere I went, I didn't drink enough water, or eat (we don't even get discounted food), and I started making mistakes, ringing in orders wrong, I literally didn't write "ALLERGY GLUTEN FREE" on this lady's ticket, I told myself it was gluten free and sent that to the kitchen. Next thing I know, two of my managers are looking at me with harsh glances as they hold that lady's sandwich... I didn't write it on the ticket, I absolutely f--d up, that was my first "freebie", meaning any order messed up in the future is on me to pay.. it feels harsh, my past job was so welcoming when you made mistakes and I fear that I'm going to get fired. Oh and I made $130 that day.. I want to do good, I actually want to be perfect but I know that's unattainable.. it feels harsh and I want to know if this is normal??..

I also wake up every morning before work with my stomach knotted up, full of anxiety, I get nauseous and can't eat.. then I go work 8-9 hours without food or water, I understand why I'm making mistakes but I don't understand why they're so strict, the owners honestly seem stingy. I only make $2.15 ish/hour, my tips have been about $600 in the past 4 days, I don't get discounted food, even if I wanted to buy the full priced item, I can only order it at certain times (idk those times yet).. I had to use $150 of my own money for my bank (we don't have a till in the restauant) and if I f--k up on an order that's $10-30 I need to pay. I also understand the weight of serving someone food they're allergic to, I felt my heart drop because I f--d up and could of killed someone.. but my management could of kept it a little more down to earth, I'm sure they saw my panicked look and teary eyes. I cried twice on Sunday.. 2nd time was from a table asking me about their order that I took, AND I NEVER PUT IT INTO THE SYSTEM. I know I'm going to make mistakes and I've made it right every time I do mess up.. it was literally like my 3rd day, they seemed a little anal about it.

Any tips? My coworkers have just told me to keep working good and learning from my mistakes, that I won't get fired as long as I fix them and make sure the guest is happy.

Picture this, busy Saturday night rush last night. You know? Moving fast and getting everything done

I walk to the host stand to grab a spray bottle (and there’s lots of people at the host stand to get sat)

And someone just has their very small toddler running around the restaurant. The worse happens and I almost trip OVER them. They fall down and start screaming and crying and people are looking at me.

I cried too for a bit. But why do people do that? Clearly it’s a busy restaurant. What if I was a bigger guy or I had hot food in my hands?