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tales from your server

'We're from out of town; we don't feel welcome here': Customers leave a bad review after their server fails to accommodate their seating demands

'We're from out of town; we don't feel welcome here': Customers leave a bad review after their server fails to accommodate their seating demands

Working in customer service is both a blessing and a curse. While it is true that you interact with a variety of individuals throughout the day, you also sort of roll the dice and hope that the people you meet will greet you with a smile and a friendly attitude. Well, the story below is of a girl who hosted/managed the restaurant she has been working at for the last five years. On that particular night, though, in contrast to other nights, OP encountered one of the worst couples she had ever me…
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'He wouldn't serve me': Customer instead tips their waiter's colleague after receiving hostile service

The wider world of the internet is filled with stories of ill-mannered customers, making life unnecessarily difficult for the humble working-class customer service rep who had the misfortune of serving them. Still, it's important for us to take a step back and realize that, while it may be nice to root for the everyman, we can't blindly assume that the workers themselves are infallible. There are entitled people on all sides and from all walks of life—and there are certainly plenty of people wo…
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'I can't do this anymore either': Restaurant worker quits starting mass resignation after boss's text message

It's not uncommon for those in petty positions of power to vastly overestimate the reach of that power. Whatever the words of the message, the point this manager is trying to convey is clear: we know that you need us more than we need you, so we're going to see how far we can manipulate the conditions of your employment in our favor and you're just going to have to deal with it.
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'Don't you dare speak to me like that!': Entitled couple arrives at restaurant 30 minutes before closing demanding royal treatment and trying the patience of the staff

'Don't you dare speak to me like that!': Entitled couple arrives at restaurant 30 minutes before closing demanding royal treatment and trying the patience of the staff

Consider this: You have been working for what seems like forever. Just as you are about to clock out, a couple enters the restaurant and asks to be seated. You obviously attend to the unwelcomed couple, and then just like that you realize that you're not going home anytime soon. As if that weren't awful enough, the couple now treats you like they own the restaurant, giving you the run-around, yelling at you, and expecting you to treat them like royalty. Well, that's exactly what happened to our…
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‘You need to get out': Manager kicks out non-tipping customer after graciously giving them service despite faulty ID

‘You need to get out': Manager kicks out non-tipping customer after graciously giving them service despite faulty ID

Running around the restaurant trying to take orders, pick up dirty plates, and grant ridiculous requests such as ‘Give me a literal bowl of ketchup’ is exhausting. Especially when your entire wage depends on the kindness of strangers, also known as customers. Are they going to tip? How much are they going to tip? Will I be able to afford to fix my car this month, or am I going to cry when I see my account balance instead? You never know. Around the holidays, people are often a little more gener…
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'[What] do you mean you don't have tartar sauce?': Top 'Tales From Your Server' of the Year (2023)

'[What] do you mean you don't have tartar sauce?': Top 'Tales From Your Server' of the Year (2023)

Before we wrap up the dysfunctional year that was 2023, let's do a recap of the most dysfunctional customers servers were forced to encounter on the job. Being a server requires a certain bandwidth to be able to withstand a lot of unfair treatment from managers, Karens, etc. That being said, every so often, that bandwidth is tested no matter how much experience one may have in this field. Sometimes, customers demand something so outrageous (like seriously, dude? you can't live without tartar sa…
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'The GM was an unbearable human': Server takes as many customer orders as possible before quitting and walking out

One thing's for sure: there's no greater relief than quitting a bad job, especially when you already have another one lined up and ready to go. Everyone, at one point or another, has dreamed of doing this—preferably in explosive fashion. One day, walking and just letting your honest feelings fly before walking out —never to be seen again—while everyone is still sitting there stunned and processing what has just occurred.
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'You should be ashamed of yourself and embarrassed': Restaurant owner writes scathing response to Karen's 1-star review

The best part of managing or owning a business is that you're the master of your own destiny; success or failure rests primarily on your shoulders. The worst part of managing or owning a business is that you're always going to be at the whim of petty delusional customers who, for some reason, any reason, may at some point perceive that you've wronged them in some way, even if the result they're upset about is directly a result of their own actions. Still, they'll leave reviews and maybe even ma…
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'You were in no rush to help': Managers scapegoat server for entitled customer's kitchen complaints

It can be incredibly difficult and frustrating working in customer-facing roles where your managers refuse to face up and take accountability on behalf of the operation they are managing, instead throwing the lowest-level workers under the bus for things well out of their control. When you're an honest, well-intended person, it can take an unfortunate amount of time to realize that not everyone is wired to be honest and well-intended and that there are, in fact, people trying to take advantage…
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'Wanted extra mayo so I maliciously complied by drenching it': 15+ servers share the pranks they pulled on customers

'Wanted extra mayo so I maliciously complied by drenching it': 15+ servers share the pranks they pulled on Karen customers

Being a customer-facing worker means having to put on a smile even when you are about to spontaneously combust underneath the surface. This is a grim and unfortunate part of the reality of what it is to be a server or to work in customer service in general. However, every so often, you get the opportunity to serve a little malicious compliance and/or some petty revenge along with an entitled customer's meal. Sure, you're still serving your customers with a smile, but little do they know, you ha…
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'YOU SHOULD BE SERVING ME': Bookstore worker on a coffee break accosted by raging Karen who thinks she works there

Karens have the uncanny ability to identify, single out, and berate people who work customer service jobs, accosting them with wanton fury regardless of whether or not they even happen to be working at that time—or are even employed by that place at all.
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'I won't be in today and I won't be back': Restaurant worker quits 20 mins after the start of their shift with explosive text message to boss

When this restaurant worker was running late for their shift, their manager reached out to ask if they were coming in, probably not realizing that the simmering heat of anger that had been bubbling below the surface was about to boil over. After a series of unmet promises, unrealistic expectations, and even being cheated out of pay, this restaurant worker was more than happy to call it quits. The reason they were late to their shift in the first place was that they had actually been interviewin…
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'I ordered salmon, not fish': Karen spits on server after being politely corrected for thinking salmon was not fish

'I ordered salmon, not fish': Karen spits on server after being politely corrected for thinking salmon was not fish

Entitled customers are really twisting the whole “customer is always right” saying these days. Whatever happened to straight factual information? Some things simply cannot be argued, no matter who you are. For instance, salmon is a type of fish. When you order it, expect fish to come to your table. In addition, if a server tells you they are out of a specific dish, it's not up for debate. They're simply out. Once again, this isn't an opportunity to flex your muscles and enforce a false sense of…
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'I don't even get a chair': Restaurant manager won't let hostess sit following surgery

"Comfort equals laziness" is an attitude that is pervasive throughout certain industries, with the idea that a comfortable employee is an unproductive one and that relative comfort is somehow offputting, prompting employers in these industries to treat their workers with cynicism and hostility.
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'I don't want my server to have a sense of humor': Waitress faces online backlash for her jokey sense of humor with customers

This waitress wanted to share a story about a family interaction at her job, but commenters took the customers' side! The OP has a few memorably cringe lines. If a waiter ever handed me water and in the same breath told me about how it had “came out of the dinosaurs years ago. [It's] just filtered super well," I'd hesitate to eat there. What a weird thing to say about a fresh beverage! Perhaps one of the worst ways to make water sound appetizing is to remind the customer of how water filtration…
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'I have about 100+ pictures of a wedding proposal gone wrong': 15+ dating disasters as told by the servers who witnessed the drama unfold

'I have about 100+ pictures of a wedding proposal gone wrong': 15+ dating disasters as told by the servers who witnessed the drama unfold

Servers have to deal with a ton of unwanted nonsense on the job, but one perk of the job is that they get a front row seat to a wide variety of date nights gone wrong. From awkward first dates that turn out to be full of red flags to full-on marriage proposals that turn out to be complete failures, it seems like servers have seen the full range of possibilities that can occur on a date. Not to persuade people not to go out to dinner, but when someone says, “Just go out with them! What's the wor…
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