You know that nervous, but excited feeling you get in the pit of your stomach the night before starting your first day at a new job? Well, imagine if that feeling was actually you getting sick and now you have to call out with a sick day before you even officially have done any work. Sounds like a sticky situation. Well, one server reached out to managers on Reddit to get their opinion on the situation after they had to do just that. They already have asthma and then got Strep Throat, which mak…

Sorry we can't split the check 10 ways, it's company policy

Working in the service industry is often stressful and traumatic for a number of reasons. On the one hand, you're often treated poorly by clientele, who mostly regard you as subhuman because of your line of work. On the other hand, you're at the mercy of the unrealistic expectations and unethical practices of the small business owner who owns the place, and—let's be honest—these people often shouldn't be allowed to operate a business or have responsibility over the livelihood of others. These o…

Restaurant staff serve all kinds of people, but it isn't every day a waitress comes across customers who make her question her sanity. It takes a special kind of customer to do that, and these two utterly confused women really took their dining absurdity to the next level. In this long read post shared to r/TalesFromYourServer, one waitress shared an experience that left her exhausted and confused. Two women came in and were having trouble ordering, not understanding what restaurant their food…

In the service industry, it's incredibly important to be polite and courteous to your “guests,” but occasionally, a chance presents itself that can't be ignored.

Dealing with Karens while waiting tables has to be one of the worst parts of the job. That's what this server had to endure when a group of Karens came into their restaurant at closing and demanded eggs Benedict without the hollandaise sauce.

Tough luck.

The service industry offers its workers a myriad of shitty experiences: Terrible customers, terrible employers, terrible coworkers, and an (often) unpredictable income that relies upon strangers' ethics and understanding of their social obligations.

Unfortunately, every one of us has probably experienced foul treatment from someone in a position of authority who just specifically didn't like us for some reason. It might be conscious on their part, or it might be entirely subconscious; maybe you look just a little too much like an old friend who stole their partner; who knows? Whatever the reason, that person just perceived a freshly painted target on your back from the moment they laid eyes on you. Nothing you can do is ever going to chang…

There are times in life when temptation is just too great and leads us toward doing something that we probably shouldn't be doing… Take, for example, serving a customer a calzone containing entire chicken wings (bones and all) after they obstinately and repeatedly request it as a special order. When you've been working in the service industry, retail, or customer service for long enough, you get a growing itch to pull off something like this. With every entitled customer interaction, you can fe…

If you've ever worked in a restaurant then you know chaos lives there. Whether it's working along toxic managers and coworkers or having to deal with entitled Karen customers—it's unavoidable in the service industry.

Some say the little white lies are necessary, others are disgusted by the “unprofessional” deception.

There's nothing that makes you feel so entirely helpless as being bullied by children. It's this weird catch-22 where you both are unable to retaliate but are rendered completely vulnerable by their cutting words. Kids know exactly what to say to cut you down, and their frank honesty can leave you with no retort or means for retaining your pride. This is even worse when you're in a customer service role. Being bullied by anyone in a customer service role feels like crap, but when it's kids doin…

As a bartender, it is your right—nah, your duty!—to put entitled customers back in their place and not play their frustrating immature game. However, you should always be SURE that they are truly just being privileged spoiled folk and haven't actually been the victim of a real mistake you've made…

Working in retail, customer service, or in the service industry opens you up to a variety of mind-numbing experiences. The first category would probably be the repetitive tasks that you have to do day in and day out. These chores all require next-to-no brain power and could be completed by a monkey. There are only so many shirts you can fold, walls you can merchandise, or stock-takes you can complete before beginning to contemplate moving out to an off-grid cabin in the woods.