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9lce9x
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TalesFromYourServer
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SWEET TEA!
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Me: Good evening, folks, how are you ton-
Asshole: SWEET TEA!
Me: Nice to meet you sweet tea, I’m (name). What can I get you to drink tonight?
Yes, it was insanely satisfying. Yes, I got tipped $0. Worth it.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/9lce9x/sweet_tea/
| 4,403 | 283 | 1,538,663,411 | 10 |
tip
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top
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1i53pzb
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TalesFromYourServer
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A legit question for all of you
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I have been eating in restaurants forever - old guy. I also have friends who own and or work in restaurants. I try to be understanding and patient as I cannot imagine doing what you folks do every day. So thank you. But,
My question is why is it so difficult for courses not to be served on top of each other?
Last night we asked for a house salad in lieu of potatoes (on a diet). Chris our server said no problem, but $3 up-charge. "No problem Chris, but can we get the salads before our entrees so we can eat them after our appetizers and before our fish?" He says no problem.
Appetizers are great - delivered by someone other than Chris. Salads delivered by Chris who very nicely offers and gives us some ground fresh pepper.
2 minutes later, someone other than Chris drops our entrees. I tell this woman our explicit request and she didn't really seem to care. Chris stops by and goes, "Wow, those came our fast. I told them about your request." I am pissed, but not his fault.
We don't eat the salads. We still get charged $6 for them. Total bill is $90. I leave $20 tip and leave pissed off. Didn't say anything on the way out. Won't leave a bad review. Just won't go back. My mantra is life is too short and I am trying not to hate on anyone.
My question is - I know that you have to turn tables fast, and we were there early, but is this that difficult a request? Or is it they want to run us out fast? Or is it so chaotic that it is a difficult thing to do? If too difficult, why not tell me upfront it is not possible?
Lastly, should I have said something to management?
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1i53pzb/a_legit_question_for_all_of_you/
| 0 | 10 | 1,737,307,656 | 10 |
tip
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new
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p0wwtr
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TalesFromYourServer
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This is Tales from your Server not Remarks from someone who isn't a fucking server
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If you aren't a server or are reading a post by someone from the USA where tipping is expected even if not mAnDaToRy, for the love of God stop spewing about getting another job or how unfair it is to expect people to give a gratuity.
In the USA gratuity is expected in the form of 15-20%.
This is a forum for servers to share about their experiences in this position. In Europe, tipping isn't expected so I expect their posts to be about things besides that. In America, tipping is expected and so rants about the lack thereof are not only reasonable, but understandable within the perimeters of this sub. If you aren't a server and are bashing on people here, get another hobby. If you are from another culture than the OP, respect their culture and move the fuck on. I'm so sick of the influx of people here shitting all over posters for expressing frustration about this labor intensive and taxing job.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/p0wwtr/this_is_tales_from_your_server_not_remarks_from/
| 916 | 214 | 1,628,495,686 | 10 |
gratuity
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relevance
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qo5ab8
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Toast POS gratuity change?
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We've been using Toast for about a year at my restaurant. I always average at least 20%. This week I've noticed almost every single time the customer uses the QR code to pay, I'm only hitting about 18%. It's not a huge deal, but it adds up. I'm trying to figure out if something changed on the payment app, or if people are just being cheaper because it's the holidays.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/qo5ab8/toast_pos_gratuity_change/
| 7 | 11 | 1,636,220,532 | 10 |
gratuity
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relevance
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135x89g
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
People who stiffed me got in trouble!
|
So back in December, we had our annual Christmas parade downtown. And after it was done, our restaurant was packed full with a huge line out the door. Some servers had huge tables of 10-20 tops of tables along with servers who had just booths. I got sat two large groups right beside each other. No biggie, right? One group was firefighters and the other was just a cute family, no relation to the other table.
I remember the firefighters had two or three checks, can’t remember which, just know it was splits. Well, they all stiffed me!!! All their food and drinks were over a hundred bucks and in our restaurant we don’t have automatic gratuity and we also have to tip out based on our sales to the bussers/host/dish/cooks. So if I sold 500 bucks worth of stuff, the system says “you have to claim 50 bucks in tips, at minimum”. Some days we get crap tips or get stiffed, so when we claim what we made and it’s less than what the system says it should be, we get the manager to approve it or else we can’t clock out. We also have to cover that tip share that the ones who stiff wracked up.
Well, I was venting to the host at the time and she thought that was terrible of them to do. She ended up quitting a month or two later and another coworker of mine ran in to her at the store the other day. And she had our coworker relay a message to me!
Turns out, she called that fire departments chief and told him what those firefighters did!!! Since they were riding in their truck and were wearing hats and jackets with the name on them, it was easy for her to see which town they were from, so she gave them a call. She was assured that a mass email would go out to chew them out and say they should never stiff the server!! I just about fell over laughing when my coworker told me this. I hope those firefighters felt like jerks. Heck, even if they didn’t, I hope they remember it next time they think about stiffing someone.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/135x89g/people_who_stiffed_me_got_in_trouble/
| 792 | 106 | 1,683,054,589 | 10 |
gratuity
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relevance
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1gk2l7z
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Manager asking for tip back?
|
Server in Florida here. Recently pooled a party with another server where there was an %18 auto-gratuity (customer was aware) and the customer paid the bill of the party, leaving an additional $350. Fast forward a day, my coworker reached out to me to tell me the customer called the restaurant saying they left the $350 by mistake and would like a refund of the tip. According to my coworker, my manager said we must both give back our tip from that party even though they signed off on it. My manager has not reached out to me as of this post. Is this legal?
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1gk2l7z/manager_asking_for_tip_back/
| 102 | 104 | 1,730,797,538 | 10 |
gratuity
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hot
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1f3pl1x
|
TalesFromYourServer
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I’d like to say. That not all humans are as*****
|
I was a new server, finally got my first great section. It was clearly a family of 10 or so give or take. I screwed it all up. Everything from forgetting condiments to one of the children’s entrees!!!!! I tried my best to be attentive, but really didn’t feel like I knew enough to give great service. This was a pretty high end restaurant where you can add 20 percent on the bill for parties of 6 or more. I explained to another more seasoned server as I was getting the bill together. That I really didn’t feel I deserved to add the gratuity. She told me add it, because the next five tables even if your perfect will stiff you. Okay, so I added it. When I got the check book back. I saw the grandfather added an additional 20 percent!!!!! Guys the bill was well over 500! I looked back at the table and saw everyone left, but someone left their sweater on the back of a chair. I grabbed it and found them in the parking lot still with the book in my hand. I returned the sweater, and had to question the elderly man who may have not noticed my highlighted auto gratuity. I tried to not sound like I believed him to be that foolish. He just squeezed my arm and told me he meant to do that…
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1f3pl1x/id_like_to_say_that_not_all_humans_are_as/
| 370 | 45 | 1,724,892,627 | 10 |
gratuity
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hot
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1asqvs8
|
TalesFromYourServer
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The family that made my day
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This was a normal table of 6, polite people, not much conversation but I still provided them with the best service I could (as I try to do with every table). Their tab was about $250 and we use the Toast system in my restaurant so payment is quick and servers are almost immediately informed of the gratuity they received. After they paid I saw the total was now $550. Confused, I asked the man if he had not meant to do this (it has happened in the past where people try to type out what they want the total bill to be where the custom tip button is and therefore accidentally tip too much).
He said no, he meant to do that and that I did a great job serving them.
I burst into tears.
Because little did he know that 1,500 miles away my dad just had a heart surgery that went wrong 2 weeks prior and I did not have the money or the time off of work to go see him. So that $200 tip may have just have been a simple gesture to this family, but to me it was a glimmer of light in one of the hardest moments of my life.
Upon explaining why I was crying to this family, the man proceeded to hand me another $100 in cash and wished my father the best of luck. And yes, I cried harder and shook his hand.
It’s moments like these that truly restore my faith in humanity. So you may have a slew of bad tables and be given less than satisfactory tip %’s but just know, there are still good people in this world :)
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1asqvs8/the_family_that_made_my_day/
| 289 | 12 | 1,708,136,697 | 10 |
gratuity
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hot
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13n7zen
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Am I Going Nuclear?
|
I quit my job at a michelin starred restaurant last March. The job put me on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication because it was so horrifically toxic. Eventually I'm going to write some stories about that, I promise!
This is going to be long; I'm sorry!
Two weeks after my last day I took a job at a local brewery and restaurant, mainly because I could actually be a real person there and because it's walking distance from my apartment. One of the things I was excited about was the manager. All the restaurants i've worked at are well established in our county, so he was REALLY excited about my application. He kept telling me he hasn't been able to figure out how to get the space to run as a well oiled machine yet and he's looking forward to hearing my opinions. This is such a DRASTIC difference from my last job, where I was getting told off and treated like shit for asking questions while trying to solve potential customer service issues I could see forming.
I start, training is easy, serving there is easy, everything is great. I'm noticing a LOT of areas of improvement. For example: less than half of the staff wears non-slips. Counters on the server stations never get wiped and are usually sticky with alcohol or soda residue. All the expo staff eats with their hands right at the pass and I don't know that I've ever seen them at the hand washing station. In fact I had to ask my trainer on my first day, like an hour in to shadowing her, where the handwashing station even was because she hadn't stopped at one yet. It's gross. Also I have serious doubts that everyone has their ServSafe shit. These are good, easy, objective issues to fix. So i bring them all up. He says he'll talk to the owner and probably draft up a staff meeting to go over those standards. At this point I had already successfully argued with him about putting an auto-gratuity policy on the new menus because we get slammed with a TON of parties of 10+ people who regularly stiff us on tips. So I had faith that things were moving along.
Nothing happens. Okay, whatever. He's busy.
Summer is rolling in and the way this restaurant is run during busy season is horrific. Horrific. I had a meeting with him two weeks ago saying the restaurant desperately needs STRUCTURE. He doesn't work services but he and the owner make all these calls from home without understanding how it impacts service. He takes day of reservations for "anywhere from 50 - 100." He put me on that one alone, and it was afucking mess. No guaranteed payment. It ended up being about 75 people and the host told everyone he'd cover their first round and when some of his guests got a drink and then left, he then threw a HUGE fit about drinks he didn't order being on his tab so I basically had to comp about 4 food items and maybe 10 drinks.
Every day this week he has taken a day-of reservation for parties around 30 people or more and asked me to come in early. And this was happening a lot before this week also. My schedule means nothing anymore because I'll likely be asked to come in anywhere from 1 to 4 hours earlier than scheduled.
He has been changing so many random things to the detriment of service, like posting a new drink menu that cuts the price of 4 of our cocktails down to $5 from $10 without telling anyone, and then when i asked him to either take it down or adjust the computer, he just kept saying "no no it's not live until Monday." Like, IF THE GUESTS CAN SEE IT, THEN IT'S LIVE!! And every time someone ordered from it, we'd have to run around looking for the assistant manager to adjust the price. On a busy weekend? It's insane. It's just constant shit like that. He makes it SO HARD to work there efficiently because none of us servers ever know what's going on and he never sees how any of it impacts service.
​
I am going to quit soon. One of the most egregious thing they do is no one in FOH takes breaks, and no one gets missed-break pay. In California, that's a HUGE no no. This is probably the only thing I can get them audited for and I'm thinking of reporting them on my way out. My husband (BOH) says that's a drastic take, but every time I talk to him about stuff that needs to change he argues with me or gives me a million reasons why he can't do it differently. Every other place I've worked has been very careful not to break labor laws so I am very familiar with what is and isn't legal and he's wrong most of the time. I doubt any of the other servers ever want to take breaks, but we could at least stagger the shifts so no one goes over 6 hours. One time I came in two hours early and they kept me as the closer so I worked eight hours straight. It happens to all the servers and they all complain about it. Shit like that needs to stop. They're just constantly screwing us over for money.
I'm here for everyone's opinion: Should I report them or am I being excessive?
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/13n7zen/am_i_going_nuclear/
| 31 | 12 | 1,684,615,245 | 10 |
gratuity
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hot
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9md6uw
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TalesFromYourServer
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A guest stole checkbooks from other tables because of stale chips
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This story comes from a friend who is also in the service industry... Three years ago she worked at a popular, high-turnover Mexican restaurant in a busy, bar district in our city...
​
\*\*\*\*\*
​
My friend had the privilege of working at a restaurant with outdoor seating. We all know how much people in cities absolutely LOVE sitting on a busy block with exhaust fumes, bugs, 90 degree temperatures and a beating sun.
​
A couple arrived and asked to be seated outside.
The hostess said, "Outdoor seating is at a 45 minute wait, but you can be seated inside immediately."
The lady of the couple said, "We'll take inside. We're starving."
​
My friend, who we'll call Meg for narrative purposes, served the guests' order without complaints--a round of margaritas, an appetizer of guacamole, and two well-done burgers.
​
Meg checked in with the table five minutes after their burgers were dropped.
​
The lady of the couple said nicely at first, "Everything alright I guess, but these chips are stale."
​
Meg, a seasoned server, replied, "I apologize. We make our chips in house every morning, but being that it's 12:30 AM they've probably lost their flavor. I'd be happy to replace your Chips and Guac with any substitute--Rice and Beans, Spanish Rice, Refried Beans"... etc.
​
Keep in mind, Meg was working at a restaurant on arguably one of the busiest streets in our city. She was next to a popular music venue, many other bars, and had a table-flip time of under 30 minutes. Quality food wasn't a priority, but fast drinks and food were. She knew to replace a bad order happily if a guest complained.
​
The guest responded, "I guess we'll have fucking Rice and Beans."
​
Being cursed at wasn't unusual. Meg replaced the Chips and Guac at the guests' request, and waited on her other tables. She moved on, hoping that everything was resolved, and was about to check in to see how the Rice and Beans were.
​
Five minutes later, Meg's busser waived her down from across the restaurant. Meg rushed over and her busser said, "Go to that table that complained about the chips, like, right now. I already have someone over there to watch them."
​
Meg rushed over to the 'Stale Chips' guests, where she found the woman from the dissatisfied couple holding several checkbooks against her chest.
​
The woman started ranting-- "I came here, hoping to attend a show that I spent money on, and was served stale chips, stale guacamole, and bad burgers, and EVERYTHING kept me from making my show on time. I asked for my check because our server wasn't there to take care of us, when we were already late for our show, and when the manager dropped of the bill, GRATUITY was added! I refuse to pay a tip to this server! And no one else should either!"
​
At this establishment, because so many servers have been stiffed on checks over the years, the restaurant made a policy that any tab over $50 would receive an automatic %18 gratuity onto the bill. This was (and still is) stated on the menu.
​
The guest continued, "There is NO way I'm paying for gratuity, and no one else should either," as she clutched the checkbooks of eight other tables around her, some of which included credit cards of other tables inside the checkbooks.
​
At this point, a manager had arrived, "Ma'am, I understand you had a bad experience, but right now you are committing theft. You need to give those checkbooks back, pay your tab, and leave before I call the police."
​
The guest responded, "HELL NO. I'm not paying gratuity. No one else should either!" as she continued to hold all checkbooks on her person., "I want EVERYONE IN THIS RESTAURANT TO KNOW that this server don't deserve NO TIP."
​
Meg, confused as hell as to why this woman flipped to the point of stealing other guests credit cards and checkbooks off their tables, claiming she was a bad server, is at the point of ripping the checkbooks out of this guest's hands and kicking the shit out of her, but Meg's manager told her to head to the back of the restaurant and wait it out. Other servers would watch her tables, and police would be on their way.
​
Eventually, the police came, returned the checks to all of the other tables, forced the woman to pay her tab, and escorted the woman off of the property. All of the other tables tipped Meg relatively well, and Meg quit several weeks later.
​
As Meg finished the story, she said, "High-volume in a city is a whole different animal. God bless anyone who has able to power through it, despite all of the bullshit"
​
So I guess the moral of my story is, anyone who has gone through anything remotely similar to this, cheers to you. We all deal with crazy shit every day, and hopefully it's because of stories like these that help us realize we're not alone in this crazy work environment we all sign ourselves up for.
​
​
​
​
​
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/9md6uw/a_guest_stole_checkbooks_from_other_tables/
| 1,015 | 125 | 1,538,988,623 | 10 |
gratuity
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top
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cmwgti
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
I hated kids night
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Another lifetime ago, I was in college in a smallish town waiting tables at a rib joint in the late 90's. It wasn't the nicest place in town, but wasn't far off. Tuesdays was kids night. It was a promotion to get more adults in and in theory, make more money and more tips. Kids would eat free and although it was supposed to be one free kids meal for every adult meal, the manager didn't enforce this. This caused....issues. 1 adult with 5 kids? Come on in! 3 adults with 10 kids? Sure! 3 words. F\*ck. Kids. Night. We are not your babysitting service.
One particular night I get an 8 top. You guessed it 6 kids and 2 adults. Anyone can tell you, kids are either nice and quiet or more work than you can possibly imagine. I remember one of them ordered a Shirley Temple, and once 1 kids sees it, they all want them. Before even getting an app order they must have gone through a dozen of them because we served them in small styrofoam cups with lids. I finally get the food orders in and because it isn't instantaneous, the kids get bored and start running all around the restaurant, loaded up on sugar.
The kitchen had those swinging doors and as I'm coming out with another tables order of food, 2 of the kids from my table slam into my legs. I had the tray on my right shoulder and they ran into me on the right side so I didn't see it coming at all. By the grace of the restaurant gods, I didn't drop the tray and cover the kids with hot soup, sticky ribs, etc. I go to the parents and explain that their kids cant be running around and its dangerous. They look up at me with condescension in their eyes, say "kids will be kids" and go back to their ice cold curs lights. I again explain how they almost got hot food and heavy plates dropped on them and am ignored.
Since moving on from this job, I got my head out of my ass and became a good waiter. I have since found malicious compliance to be much better. But back then, petty was my middle name. Its time for another round of Shirley freaking temples. I grab them and put them on a tray and wait near the exit of the kitchen. As I hear the kids running by, I step out directly in their path. I warned them. I probably could have put less grenadine in the drinks and I probably could have put the lids on tighter but then we wouldn't be here. I got 2 of them really good and a third fairly well. Head to toe covered in cold, sticky, bright red syrup. Parents rush over to see what happened when they hear the kids crying.
Me - Oh Im so sorry! I was carrying all these drinks and the ran right into me! I tried to warn you but I guess kids will be kids, right?
Between trying to calm the kids down and drying them off they request everything to be packed to go. I get everything boxed up and ready. I hand them the bill and they are furious. Not only did the parents have to pay for their meals, but I charged them for all the kids meals. The promotion is only dine in and since there were 8 of them it was auto-gratted as well. I knew I would be taking off the kids meals, but I just had to get one last dig in.
Me- Oh so sorry! When I changed the meals to togo, the computer automatically changes the price. Same with the gratuity. 8 people and it automatically adds it.
A few choice expletive fills rants and I tell them Ill go get my manager but he is busy and it will take a while. I go to the back, have a bowl of soup and some bread, flirt with the cute waitress and finally get the manager. He took off the kids meals but left the grat.
I did screw myself by having to clean up the mess (I wasn't going to make the bussboy do it), but it was totally worth it.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/cmwgti/i_hated_kids_night/
| 289 | 22 | 1,565,127,063 | 10 |
gratuity
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top
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12b07gp
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
The absolute snark
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Had 30 teenage girls plus their coaches from a basketball team in today.
We do 10% service charge on tables of 6+ (in Ireland so this is standard)
Each and every one of them insisted on paying individually and clustered around our only till that has cash and blocked the entrance to the toilets and kitchen and prevented us from doing other tables bills. They all couldn't understand the service charge and kept arguing about it. We can only do 1 table at a time cashing off bills (crap POS) and we had them on 3 different tables.
A mother came in and insisted her kids had to go and was demanding we switch to other table. I was explaining we couldn't and she's says this is ridiculous. I said I'm very sorry but we normally don't even do individual bills and this was causing the delay and we're trying to accommodate everyone.
Her snide response: Well aren't you glad of so much business on a Monday.
No lady, it's not going in my pocket apart from like 16 cents on your kids 16e meal.
Kindly miss me with that shit.
Rant over, long day, thanks for reading and I hope you all have an easy close ✌️
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/12b07gp/the_absolute_snark/
| 237 | 14 | 1,680,560,862 | 10 |
service charge
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hot
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cmtzee
|
TalesFromYourServer
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“I want guacamole, but I don’t want to pay for it.” And Other Shenanigans.
|
I work in a very popular franchise restaurant. I was recently promoted to upper management not that long ago so I no longer serve tables, but I am on the floor a lot mingling with guests.
This one day one of my servers approaches me in the passthrough. We exchange:
Server: “There’s a guy in my section who doesn’t want to pay for his guacamole.”
Me: “Well what’s wrong with it?”
Server: “He says it’s overpriced.”
Me: “Oh jeez, well didn’t he see the price before he ordered?”
Server: “Well the thing is, he hasn’t ordered yet.”
Me: “Wut.”
Server: “Yeah, he says he wants to speak to a manager.”
So I head over to his table. He’s dining with his girlfriend. I ask him what’s wrong. He says he’s upset, he knows for a fact that he can make guacamole for a lot cheaper at home, why would he pay this much here. I tell him that this is a franchise store and we are far below the people who fix the prices for the menu, and if he has a disagreement with how things should be priced he’s welcome to send head office an email with some feedback. He’s giving me the gears about how he’s the customer and he’s right, and if he’s right he deserves some compensation. After he does this for a while, I ultimately have to state firmly that if he didn’t want to pay for the guacamole he just simply wasn’t going to be having it today. The girlfriend was politely nodding this whole time and despite the stink eye this guy was giving me I said a few apologies and started to walk away.
I was just beginning to contemplate just giving him the guacamole. We have an online review system that sends “guest concerns” directly to head office. A certain number of guest concerns would negatively affect my newly acquired bonus structure. Just as all that ran through my head I hear him say, rather loudly, “Prick!”
I pause. More options run through my head, but I ultimately decide to be the grown up and ignore him. I inform the server he’s receiving no free guacamole today.
A while later she approaches me again and tells me Free Guacamole Guy says his tacos are cold. I’m confused as to how, all the food cook times have been 10 minutes on average today. She says he wants a new set of tacos and wants to see a manager.
I’m back at the table and he’s now straight up giving me shit about how rude everyone has been to him and now how dare we serve him cold food. He tells me to touch his taco, see how cold it is. For obvious reasons I refuse and say it’s no problem for us to make him new tacos. I grab the plate to take it away. He grabs the plate too. Says he’ll eat these, too, but he won’t pay for them.
We order up more tacos, 911, the shrimp is out of the fryer, plated and ready to go within 7 minutes. I personally run it straight to him. While I’m taking his empty plate from the first set he is already mowing down on the new set. I tell him we’re sorry for the cold food, please enjoy.
Two minutes later. Server returns. The new tacos are cold. I’m livid. I say fuck it. I write off both tacos and tell her to just bill them the girlfriend’s food and get them out of here.
The next day there is a guest concern. I explain everything to my GM. She says maybe I should have just given him the guacamole. I agree, sometimes I guess it’s best to nip a small cost in the bud. One of my supervisors, let’s call her Rachel, sends him back an email offering 20% on his next bill.
This is the last I hear from or see this guy...
...until two weeks later.
It’s a Saturday night. Super busy, two sports events nearby, concert next door, and UFC all in the same night. Everyone is running off their feet but things are going fairly smoothly.
And Free Guac Guy walks in.
I give EVERYONE plenty of warning. We decide the server who’s section he’s sitting in isn’t up for the task of dealing with him. I assign a supervisor to serve him.
Today he wants a burger with yam fries. Fast forward, it’s cold. We remake. Fast forward, it’s cold, too. Colour me surprised.
I write off the whole bill including his girlfriend’s and I get a more charming supervisor than myself to just go and apologize to him and see if we can avoid a second guest concern. I should add that my GM had finished her day shift and was enjoying the fights with a friend not too far away from all this action, so she witnessed everything.
Of course what should happen the very next day? A guest concern. This one is worse than the first one. Says his server put her whole hand on his food to prove it was still hot, says the food took 30 minutes both times, and says we still charged his girlfriend after all the trauma they went through. My GM and I are gobsmacked. Head office will have a fit if we don’t make it right with this guy. GM decides to call him personally.
She’s a super nice and understanding person, but she’s headstrong. So it takes almost no time for her to go from polite GM to straight up scream arguing with this guy who obstinately demands free food or he’s going to talk to his friends in the media and talk to corporate and have her, me, the server, Rachel, all of us fired. My GM essentially says “go for it.” And immediately calls our RBM and gives him the whole rundown. RBM sends out a store-wide email stating this guy is banned.
That very night I’m managing solo with only a couple servers and who calls? Free Guac Guy. I recognize his stupid voice as it feigns politeness asking for the head office phone number. I google it and give him the reception and the guest feedback numbers. As I’m saying politely “Will there be anything else?” He LAUNCHES into it with me. Saying he’s calling to make sure people get fired because he still hasn’t redeemed his 20% coupon and how that’s a written contract so they can’t ban him because he’s in the right and our store needs to make good on our promise and is this how they treat loyal long-standing customers and how he wants my name, too. I refuse to give him my name and politely say goodbye and hang up.
Two hours later he calls again, polite voice back on. Asks to speak to Rachel. I say she’s not in right now. He asks for her number. I say “oops, sorry sir I can’t give out employee information, surely you understand.” I’m trying to annoy him at this point because when he asks the next time she works I use the exact same tone when I reply “oops, sorry sir I can’t give out employee schedules, surely you understand.” He demands a few more times saying he has a right to this information because Rachel made a contract with him and she’s legally bound to it. I keep repeating my annoying phrase in the same annoying tone and I can tell it’s getting under his skin. Finally he says that we can’t stop him from coming in if he wants to and “there’s not a goddamn thing you useless Pricks can do about it.”
My cool is gone.
“Try it, asshole.” Receiver slams down.
I text the RBM personally and tell him of all this. He replies quickly that if he calls one more time to tell him and he would phone the police to report harassment. And if he comes and refuses to leave that we should call the cops, no questions.
And that’s the situation up to speed. Still haven’t heard from this guy. His Facebook profile picture is posted in the passthrough, complete with WWE watermark, in case he does come when I’m not there. Can’t wait for that showdown.
TLDR: Dude wants free shit, we deny, he complains, he demands, he harasses, we ban.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/cmtzee/i_want_guacamole_but_i_dont_want_to_pay_for_it/
| 3,436 | 295 | 1,565,114,394 | 10 |
20%
|
top
|
57bhy7
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
What are some telltale signs of bad tippers?
|
For me, apart from certain races/ethnicities/nationalities, I can safely say that -- ironically -- any customer that's unreasonably demanding usually ends up either a bad tipper or completely stiffing me. What are signs of bad tippers, in your experience?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/57bhy7/what_are_some_telltale_signs_of_bad_tippers/
| 18 | 49 | 1,476,379,815 | 10 |
bad tipper
|
relevance
|
5nmdtm
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
My New Housemate Is A Bad Tipper
|
We went out for a little household bonding yesterday at the local bar, and I noticed my new housemate left less than 10% after having three drinks and a full meal AND having some random stuff comped because he was with me and I'm a regular. Of course I threw down some extra cash, but I'm wondering if I should say something. He's kinda young and clueless.
It's going to be hard for me to live with someone who doesn't value or respect what I do for a living.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/5nmdtm/my_new_housemate_is_a_bad_tipper/
| 47 | 13 | 1,484,258,710 | 10 |
bad tipper
|
relevance
|
emfmyb
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
I wanted to just scream...
|
Hey guys first time posting love all the stories, so here's the BS!!! I have been working at this restaurant for 2 years. I am apart of the managing staff but I also take tables. This restaurant is going through what seems to be like a "period of cleansing." So in one location I strictly take tables unless I am needed as a manager. Normally each server is entitled to 5 or 6 tables. Which is great! Now they are over staffing I get a 2 or 3 table section now. I could care less about that.... the ducking thing I could not stand is the sorry sons of witches, (trying to keep it clean) and this happened 3 times mind you; that say, "hey everything was great, excellent service!!!" THEN SMACK YOU IN THE FACE with a 3 spot on a 77 dollar tab. Normally it doesn't get to me, we have bad tippers in El Paso. What bugged the most was getting stiffed while the guy shook my hand telling me how awesome I was. Look I get this is the nature of the game, but I wish he spat in my face rather than pull that shyster move on me. After the holidays are hard on all of us but for the love of God just eat at home...
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/emfmyb/i_wanted_to_just_scream/
| 13 | 2 | 1,578,602,668 | 10 |
bad tipper
|
hot
|
7v31r6
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
A story about a nightmare customer getting what they deserved
|
Apologies in advance for a long story. But I wanted to share.
I’m not a server but I do bartend in a busy af nightclub. I’ve served or bartended in a bunch of different places since I was 18. Like many of us I’ve had countless times where I’ve wanted to tell someone to kick rocks but held my tongue then gone home and thought of all the perfectly cutting things I would have said if I didn’t want to risk my job. But all the years of pent up frustration paid off in one sweet moment of vindication last week.
The busiest night at my work is our student night. We send out busses to all the campuses in town and have 75 cent draft which is basically a 5oz draft cup that people get In trays of 20. It’s always busy as hell but the student night this past week was particularly mental. 1000 people in the doors before 10pm. 4 people deep at every well waiting for drinks, waving money every one of them proper college student drunk. Ive gotten very good at being pretty zen at work because of this job. It’s crazy busy people are drunk they’re going to be obnoxious and rude, you will get into arguements with everyone if you take things personally. However I got the pleasure of serving three ladies who took this to another level.
Here’s my story. When you pour th draft cups you just grab a stack of 20 and keep the tap running, slipping one in after the other as your set them on a tray on the wood. It’s quick but definitely requires focus and both hands or your going to spill beer everywhere. So here I am, busy but relaxed pouring a stack of draft as a reenacment of the last days of Sodom and Gomorrah plays out on the other side of the wood. Three older ladies (40s) are directly in front of me (I don’t know why they are here with a collection of the drunkest 18 year olds in the city and I bet they’re not having a nice time) but usually older people are pretty good tippers and college kids are most decidedly not, so I smile and give them the nod that is supposed to say ‘I see you, be over as soon as I can be’ put my eyes back on the draft I’m pouring. Clearly my nod was not adequate communication because one of the ladies starts waving at me. I look up again smile and do the knod again. (Its way to loud for them to hear anything I say anyways) go back to what I was doing, next thing I know I have said hand 2 inches from my face trying to get my attention. That’s annoying but as always Im determined the stay polite. I shut the tap of still not done pouring the tray, that some very thirsty college kids are waiting for.
‘Hi ladies! I see you, just give me a sec to finish the drinks for these guys and I’ll be right back for you’ I say, thinking this is pretty reasonable thing to say
Apparently not.. ‘Three tequila shots!!’ Comes the bulging eyed reply.
Inner rage is now 6/10. Face is still smiling ‘Okay no problem, youre just going to have to wait a minute’
Look away pour the rest of the beers. Hand them to the group waiting for the next to these charming ladies. Kids needs to pay by card, of course he does because he can’t be expected to know everyone paying by card slows our bar down to a halt. Go get the machine, kid is paying and out of no where the same hand is back in intruding in my personal space.
I’m not smiling anymore.
Me : ‘Okay 4 tequilas right?’
Her: ‘Not 4! 3! And 3 beers!’
Me: ‘Okay, the draft?’
Her:’ No not that shit! Kronenburg’
Me: ‘Sorry we don’t have Kronenburg, I’ve got bud, bud light, coors, coro-
Her: Fine! Corona
I smile my best fake smile, pour shots, bring them back set them on the bar in front of them and then look down to open the beers.
Holy shit! It’s amazing! the hand is back, 2 inches from my now BUT this time it’s snapping at me. I will happily take a lot of shit at work, but I will NEVER let anyone snap at me. I’m a server, not a servent.
‘We want limes for the tequilas!!’
I stop opening the beers. Look up, and am planning to stay calm here.
Me: ‘Okay, sure. But you ladies need to learn some manners, there’s no need to snap at me’
Her Friend: ‘Well we’re paying for these drinks!’
Me: ‘Yea, that’s fine, and you’ll get them quicker if you stop snapping at me’
Her (voice raised): ‘I’m a paying customer, I’m paying for my drink you just bring it to me. Bartenders think they’re so entitl-
Rage meter 9/10. I have a million other people to serve, and I’ve had it with these three. I grab the three untouched shots of the bar and put them on the counter behind me.
Me: ‘That’s great, now you can be a paying customer at another bar in here because I’m done dealing with you’
Her face looks like I just slapped her. I’m giggling inside now.
‘How fucking dare you where is your manager. I want to talk to the manager I’m not leaving til I see a manager!! Etc etc fit of rage etc.
Unfortunely it’s clear that these witches will be staying put until they have someone else to yell at, but good luck finding one of the bosses in this carnage. However in a true moment of divine intervention ‘Steve’ who is one of the bosses but just happens to be the head of security has just walked up to the other side of my bar. Him and I get along well so I walk over.
‘ Hey Steve these three ladies at my bar at losing their shit because I told them not to snap at me, and now they’re refusing to get out of the way of other people can you just help me calm them down.’ Even though I know full well they’re going to fly off the handle at him as well. In fact I’m planning on it.
So he goes over, he’s a chilled out charming guy, usually wears a button up and tie at work. Gives his best manager smile. I go back to seeing other people. Keeping half an eye on what’s happening. Next thing I know there’s four red shirted security guards headed my way, and they promptly haul these three out. I’m full on laughing now. Apparently one of them had the good sense to try and slap our head of security but was a little drunk and missed... We also scan all IDs so it’s pretty easy to identify the 3 fourty year olds in a bar of teenagers. They’ll be banned for a good couple years.
Never ever, has karma been so sweet. Usually I grit my teeth and take if from customers, but I’m happy to say that the one time I didn’t or paid off spectacularly well. Absolutely made my night just thought I’d share with you all!
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/7v31r6/a_story_about_a_nightmare_customer_getting_what/
| 1,510 | 38 | 1,517,701,230 | 10 |
good tipper
|
relevance
|
yzjpy1
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Closing time etiquette questions
|
Hi servers of Reddit. I didn’t see anything in the subreddit rules about asking questions as a customer, but if it’s not allowed I apologize.
Everywhere in town closes at 9 PM. When’s the last time that it’s ok to show up with a party of, let’s say 7 or 8? We’re separate check people, but polite, agreeable, and legitimately good tippers. Only the really schmancy restaurants here take reservations. Everywhere else you just show up. We’ve tried to call ahead to warn about a large party, but they always say to just come in. Nowhere has ever been too busy to seat us immediately, usually about 7:30. But sometimes it feels like we’re getting the cold shoulder right from the start. In other cases it’s at the end, like one restaurant turned on all the lights and vacuumed next to our table at 8:45, and we definitely took the hint. Is 7:30 too late to come to dinner? What’s the deal? I’m starting to feel apologetic for patronizing local restaurants- like they’d rather we just didn’t.
Edit: Forgot to mention, I’m talking about weeknights. Mon-Thur.
Edit 2: thanks for your input! There seem to be 2 camps:
1) coming at 7:30 and leaving at 9 is fine.
2) if you can’t gather by 6 or 7, don’t come.
Edit 3: Do you think it makes any difference that this is a very tourist-heavy town?
Edit 4:
3rd camp) if you show up with more than 4 in your party, the server will be justifiably annoyed. It’s not a 7 PM vs. 7:30 issue, it’s a party of 7 vs. party of 4 issue.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/yzjpy1/closing_time_etiquette_questions/
| 72 | 101 | 1,668,885,560 | 10 |
good tipper
|
relevance
|
f7llpv
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
$650 bill... $5 tip...
|
Served a 13 top tonight of golfers on vacation. For reference, I work at a relatively expensive seafood restaurant in Orlando, and we get a lot of tourists and golfers who are usually good tippers
Tonight, 13 men came in, ordering lots of bar drinks, appetizers, and lobstes! Great right? Wrong. They all paid separately and in cash, leaving me with 13 bills to sort through and $5 total in tip. Leaving me in debt on the table after my tip out to the bartenders and bussers.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/f7llpv/650_bill_5_tip/
| 7 | 15 | 1,582,335,999 | 10 |
good tipper
|
hot
|
41nfee
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Arrogant Customer gets told that hes a grub by CEO
|
Hi all!
I wasn't sure where to post this as theres no /r/talesfromyourbarman
Im from Australia and work at my local RSL Club where its a bar, restaurant, bistro and gambling area all in one place.
This story has something to do with a promotion that the club ran. All you needed to do was buy a Coca-Cola brand drink (Can of coke or a Bourbon/Rum/Scotch with Coke etc. also sprite, fanta, lift) and you get an entry form to go in the barrel to win a Coca-Cola Surfboard, Esky and Beach Chair.
This draw was done and the woman (NL) who won the package is the nicest woman in the world, she comes down and plays the slots and has dinner and is just a joy to see when shes in the club, plus shes a good tipper.
After the draw, when she was leaving the club with her Coke gear, a gentleman (AC) came up to her and offered her $100 dollars for the surfboard, even though the surfboard was worth way more than that, closer to $700-$800 at least...
Blinded by the immediate cash shoved in front of her face she unfortunately said yes.
When our head of security (HOS) came to the front door and saw what had happened, he explained to NL what the board was worth and asked AC, very politely i might add, to give the board back and take his money and leave, he said "No", NL started crying and AC began to walk out with the board, not before HOS said "youre nothing but a grub, you know that?". Kinda harmless but to some people here in Australia (myself included) to be called a grub is the lowest of the low.
AC left with the board, she was $100 bucks up but still... Not the same thing.
Turns out the following week AC called up to speak to the CEO about the poor treatment he received at the hands of HOS, being called a grub and such. CEO knew about it and in a round about way told him the same thing, that he was a grub. CEO stood by HOS.
AC didnt come back to the club for about a month. He has been back lately, however i don't think he has changed much.
***
I have a few more stories about things that have happened at the club if anyone would like to hear, however if r/talesfromyourserver isnt the right spot for them, let me know where is.
One of my co workers got hit up by a customer for a BJ one day, while he was cleaning the Male bathrooms.
Plus there is the story of the shit on the dancefloor, or the blocked toilet with the cherry on top.
I have lots, but i liked this one as my first post due to the fact that i do not like this customer at all.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/41nfee/arrogant_customer_gets_told_that_hes_a_grub_by_ceo/
| 122 | 15 | 1,453,186,631 | 10 |
good tipper
|
top
|
6ovz5y
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME???!"
|
Okay so long story short, there was this man that always came in to dine with his wife I'd say once a week. Now here's the thing , not only did he come here once a week with his wife but also with another woman, on occasion. ( tbh I never thought anything of it) I'd always end up serving them and let me tell you they ordered quite alot of alcoholic beverages. I loved it because they were nice, always good tippers I can honestly say that his wife speed drinks 4 scotch on the rocks through a straw. Well this particular time while I was attending another table, I see her wander off to the bar to look for me to order another scotch. As I go to the table to ask her husband if they need anything he yells out "Maggie! She's over here. " and I swear to you she turned around so slowly and looked at him and said "WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME??! WHO TF IS MAGGIEEEE!!?" I saw fire in her eyes. He had the sleaziest smirk as if he thought " well I fucked up." I was just in complete shock so I excused myself and left to the servers station. They had to have been yelling for 20 minutes and were asked to pay and leave. Guy must've gotten confused because his poor wife's name wasn't Maggie. Ever since then, when they come in he doesn't over tip ,maybe because the secret was out and he didn't have to feel guilty about it anymore. Hope she's okay though if my husband was as big a sleaze bag as him I'd be speed drinking scotch on the rocks through a straw too.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/6ovz5y/what_did_you_just_call_me/
| 78 | 6 | 1,500,741,942 | 10 |
good tipper
|
top
|
166xitu
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
No Sir, Writing Cash On The Tip Line Does Not Mean No Tip
|
I originally posted this on r/MovieTheaterEmployees but feel like it might get more appreciation here. First of all, my theater decided to combine Box Office and Cafe after the Pandemic, so even though they were buying tickets there was still a line to write tips. So the guy signs his receipt and writes "cash" on the tip line. As he's about to walk away I remind him that he hasn't tipped me yet. He looks at me confused and says "did you want one?", at which point I remind him of what he wrote. He then explains to me that that means he's leaving no tip. When I politely suggest that next time he write a zero on the tip line he snaps back "it's my receipt, I'll write whatever I want". As he walked away I heard him say to his kids "can you believe that guy?"
Edit: A lot of people seem to be missing the point. Whether or not ticket sellers get tips is irrelevant. The point is that the man thought that writing cash in the tip line was the equivalent of leaving no tip.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/166xitu/no_sir_writing_cash_on_the_tip_line_does_not_mean/
| 653 | 154 | 1,693,543,553 | 10 |
no tip
|
relevance
|
18rs0i6
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Job recommendation
|
Hey, guys. Can you recommend good places where you've worked or just know about where I can earn $25k+ during the summer as a bartender/server, etc., with big tips? Please write the name of the place and how much tips workers usually make. You may recommend any states, but small touristy cities are more preferable. I will appreciate your help. Thx :)
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/18rs0i6/job_recommendation/
| 0 | 4 | 1,703,652,129 | 10 |
big tip
|
new
|
9tau4a
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Some customers are people you will never forget.
|
My grandmother was the one who did a large portion of raising me as a child due to issues in my parents relationship had begun to decline very rapidly. My grandfather had dementia (her husband) and passed three years earlier. I lived with them for a large portion of his decline so I had a lot of firsthand experience with it. She was declining much much faster and I was extremely concerned. Took her to a neurologist and he told me she had vascular dementia. Still wanted to schedule an MRI and he agreed. He scheduled it two weeks out. Six days after taking her to the neurologist she’s in the hospital and I get the news she has a massive brain tumor. Inoperable. The absolute worst. She has 3 weeks at most. They put her in Hospice. Here’s where the server tale comes in. I’m working in a trendy Craft Kitchen + Beer Bar At the time and I get a 3 top of middle aged parents and young to mid 20s daughter. They’re very kind and friendly and we are hitting it off right out of the gate. I’m cut at this point (no longer taking tables) so I have time to chat with them a bit. The exacts of the conversation are not well remembered but at one point the wife turns to me and says “you’re so well mannered really. You’re parents did a great job with you” to which I replied “actually, my grandmother is a large part of who I am as a person” . “You must be very close” she said. this point I’m going through a lot emotionally and I said yeah but she could tell my mood had changed from light and happy to a little sad and somber she asked me what was going on and I explained. She gave me a big hug and kind words. I cheer up a bit and say alright enough with this sad sack stuff let’s get some food and drinks in you. I take their order and turn around and my manager is standing behind me. He tells me to follow him and takes me into the office and tells me I have a phone call. It was my mom letting me know my grandmother had died. So I try to give my boss the food order for this family he tell me to go be with my family and I leave. I came back to work about 3 days later and my manager hands me an envelope. Apparently my manager explained the situation to the 3 top. Inside was a very lovely and heartwarming letter with an extremely generous tip I really didn’t even deserve. I never got their information or full names but if you are out there 3 top family I want you to know I truly love you and I won’t ever forget you.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/9tau4a/some_customers_are_people_you_will_never_forget/
| 1,298 | 22 | 1,541,088,784 | 10 |
generous tip
|
relevance
|
8p7tuo
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
The rude asshole and the angels that sat next to him.
|
So I had this dude come in and he is a complete slob. He's fat, sweaty and his clothes smell like he left them in the wash for a week and they got moldy. I try not to judge and I didn't until he started acting incredibly rude.
He interrupted me while I was greeting my next table. Instead of just waiting patiently like a normal human being he continued his interruption to ask for a refill. And when I explained him that the specialty drink he ordered doesn't come with free refills he bitched and moaned about it. When I brought him a water instead he complained that the specialty drink he ordered wasn't free refills and bitched about it for like 2 more minutes about it.
I apologize loudly to the table next to him that I had been trying to greet.
When his food came out he complained about the size of his 16 oz Ribeye and insisted it wasn't the right size. I confirmed that it was and ran away.
When I checked on him he complained that his ribeye was flavorless (bullshit). I offered to bring something to put on it (like au jus or gravy or sauce) or I could get him something else. It took me 5 minutes to get him to tell me he wanted something else. I finally almost lost my cool and just said "What do you want me to do for you?!"
He ordered a New York strip instead.
THEN he had the gall to act surprised when I took the ribeye away. Like he thought I was going to let him keep that steak for free and give him a new one. Sorry doesn't work that way.
The manager brings out his new plate. I go to check on him and ask him if this steak is better. He kind of gives me a 'meh' and complains about the size. I explain to him that the New York strip only comes in 12 ounce so it's going to be smaller than the one he ordered earlier. (At this point I'm convinced this fat slob had been banking on being able to keep both meals.)
He tips 2$ on a 28$ bill.
BUT. The table next to this asshole (the one that I was greeting when asshole interrupted me) was the complete opposite. They were a young couple and very very polite. Their service passed without incident.
I dropped their credit card receipts and thanked them and left them alone to go roll silverware so I could leave.
These beautiful amazing human beings left me
[this note](https://i.imgur.com/Hli8Efz.png?1) with a hugely overly generous tip.
I legit cried and I wish I had gone back to the table one more time to say thank you.
If you are out there, Thank you so much. You are the people the make this job worth it.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/8p7tuo/the_rude_asshole_and_the_angels_that_sat_next_to/
| 1,039 | 25 | 1,528,350,374 | 10 |
generous tip
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relevance
|
184stv
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Christians living out the "Love your neighbor" commandment
|
In light of all the outrage over the Applebees tip, I wanted to share a story about an amazing encounter I had with a truly Christian family at work.
It was a busy Friday night over the summer and my friend and co-worker had a family of 4 who according to her were pretty normal, didn't look especially wealthy or anything. She said they were very friendly, but since we were so busy she wasn't able to give them as much attention as she would have liked. Their bill was about $50 and when they left, my friend went to pick up their credit card slip and saw that they had left a $200 tip and a note about how God had a plan for her and they felt like he told them that she needed the money more than they did. We were all shocked and she was in tears.
Two hours later, I was sitting down, eating dinner. My friend came up to me and handed me an envelope. I opened it and there was $200 in cash inside with a note on the back of a grocery store receipt. I was 8 months pregnant at the time and the note said that God had a plan for me and the baby, that the baby was special, and that we would do good things for the world. I was making an adoption plan, so this note really touched me. Me and my friend were both crying and unfortunately the woman had already left. My friend told me that she had gone to the bathroom and the woman saw her in there and told her to give the envelope to the pregnant girl. I didn't take care of them once, I hadn't even noticed their table, so I was stunned. What I guess is that they left, went to the bank to withdraw more money, and come back just to give it to me.
As much as the Applebees story pisses me off, there are good Christians in the world as well, and those are the people I can respect for living the teachings of their religion. I'm not saying every Christian should go around giving every server $200, or even leaving super generous tips, but this story should be an example for people like that pastor on the true teachings of their religion, like generosity and love for your neighbor.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/184stv/christians_living_out_the_love_your_neighbor/
| 203 | 28 | 1,360,335,394 | 10 |
generous tip
|
top
|
4u89p9
|
TalesFromRetail
|
It's $0.36, no big deal.
|
So I used to work at an ice cream chain where we prepared the ice cream with various toppings on a frozen piece of rock.
On this particular day, I was working with one other person and it wasn't too busy. Two young guys came in, about high school age. They ordered a large bowl of ice cream with a few toppings, I mixed it for them and went to ring them up. I'll use use G for guy, since I really just talked to one of them.
Me: Okay, so that'll be $x.xx
G: Okay, I have a giftcard.
Me: Great! *scans card* so it looks like you owe another $0.36 after the giftcard.
At the point, they both look at each other and shrug sadly.
G: Oh...I'm sorry, I don't have any money with me, never mind....
Me: Oh hey, it's cool, only $0.36 *I take the $0.36 out of the tip jar and put it in the till* no big deal!
G: Wow, thanks!
The two guys leave, and I thought that was that. Felt good doing something nice.
So the one guy comes back several hours later. I saw him come in, and went to the register to meet him.
Me: Oh hey! You're back. Did you need anything el...
Before I finished, and without looking at me once or saying a word, he dropped a $20 bill in the jar and immediately turned and left.
I was so shocked I just stared after him until he walked out the door.
So that was pretty cool :)
Edit: Holy crap this blew up! Thank you for the gold stranger!
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/4u89p9/its_036_no_big_deal/
| 25,897 | 508 | 1,469,281,592 | 10 |
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6bd9lv
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TalesFromRetail
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Small tip, knives are sharp
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Hello everyone! Having worked almost a decade in retail, I have many stories to share (and they just keep coming), so I decided to post one about one I still find funny. But first, some backstory. Please forgive the formatting, mobile and stuff.
I work at a supermarket, which you American folk will find extremely tiny. The store's located in a village, so a lot of the customers are regulars and we know many of them from outside of our retail ~~hell~~ lives. This brings in lots of stories on its own, but those are for another day.
I worked at the meat department. Over here, supermarkets who still cut and portion (a selection of) their meat merchandise are rare. Most of the time there were two people working the meat (there's a joke in here somewhere...), on this fateful day it was me together with my supervisor. He is an extremely chill guy. You can have a great laugh with him and he'll always stick up for you, as long as you work hard.
Sometime before this story, I cut my right index finger on a meat slicing machine (the one you cut the thin slices with). I had taken off all protection to clean it, but I hadn't noticed how thin the peace of cloth I used was, so the blade (even when not rotating) went through and cut a very small bit of skin off of the tip of my fingers. At first I thought a bandaid would fix it, but that soon became a bandage...
So, back to the fateful day. It was a few years ago, somewhere right before Christmas and the well known hell that is the Christmas rush. My supervisor went for a break and told me to cut and portion some beef that is used for soups and whatnot. Between the table I was cutting on and the aisles the customers walk is a counter which comes up to my chest, so they can't see exactly what's going on on the table. While I was cutting away, a lady comes over and asks me if we have any steaks left of a certain weight. This request is very common over here; old people generally want smaller steaks, the wealthy rich want steaks that match their ~~belly~~ wallet. I was just cutting open a bag that contained the meat, so while finishing the slicing motion I looked up to the woman and said
> Sure, just let me gra..... *slice*
Now, everyone who uses a knife should know that you should **always** hold your hand that you use to support whatever you're cutting in a bowl shape, with your knuckles sort of blocking the knife so it can't come close to your fingers. If you don't know what I mean, look up some video from Gordon Ramsay or Jamie Oliver about this. So I don't know what happened or how I did it, but during the cutting I twisted my hand so that back of my hand was facing the table, and then I moved my knife's blade down so it cut the tip of my left index finger. The piece cut was a bit larger than the cut I described previously, so I knew I fucked up. I immediately grabbed some of the paper towels I had lying around, wrapped them around my finger and put on my best pokerface/retail face. This all happened in a split second
>... graaaaab them from the back. If you need to get some other groceries, please do, I'll be right there.
So I went to the back of the store (rather than the fridge we had at the department), and found a manager there. I went up to him
> Say, you were saying you had training for treating injuries at work right? Have I got news for you!
I showed him my finger, he quickly grabbed the bandages and started cleaning it and wrapping it up.
Meanwhile, my supervisor came back from his break. He had apparently asked the woman who was patiently waiting there (bless her) if she was looking for something. When she said I had gone to the back to get some steak, he immediately got what was going on, quickly made her a steak and came to see me. So there I was, blood on my hands, finger being wrapped up, and in comes the supervisor, uttering words I will never forget.
> What did you f*ck up now?
And now both my index fingers tingle when the temperature changes.
TL;DR: Cut my index finger right before Christmas rush, supervisor was super worried about me.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/6bd9lv/small_tip_knives_are_sharp/
| 541 | 52 | 1,494,883,711 | 10 |
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23kp0w
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TalesFromRetail
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I've got your tip. (short)
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So, I'm a web designer during the day but I serve tables at night and on weekends (SoCal is expensive) in a resort.
So tonight (Easter) I had a few nice tables for the holiday buffet. One guy in particular made a great story...
He's there with his brother, wife, and daughter. A lot of people who stay at the hotel/resort will charge it to their room which is perfectly fine. Well he has just enough cash to pay for his bill and says this gem:
Guy: "Hey, I have enough to pay for dinner, but I'll give you my room key so I can give you your tip later"
Me: "um..."
Guy: "WAIT no!! I don't mean like sex... I mean like.... money! I'll give you money if you come to my room.... later...."
Me: "you can put the whole meal and tip on your card...just so you know"
Guy: " YES!!!!! I'll do that.... I'm sorry I don't want to give you ANYTHING else, I swear... sorry"
His wife, daughter and were laughing heartily while his brother was just shaking his head as he left....
Don't be sorry guy I wasn't going to your room anyway...
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/23kp0w/ive_got_your_tip_short/
| 560 | 42 | 1,398,064,687 | 10 |
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13j6jd
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TalesFromRetail
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I know you aren't supposed to tip cashiers, but I felt that this guy earned it.
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I was in line at a coffee shop, and after about two customers that didn't have their mind made up, there was this one bitch. She was very well dressed, about 27 years old if I had to guess. And the cashier was an older man, about 45, who very clearly loved his job. He was very enthusiastic, and I don't think I've seen anyone that passionate about coffee.
In any case, the woman starts her order. "I want one small nonfat latte, the corner oat bar, a muff-" when the cashier says "Sorry, I didn't get the second item?" and she smirks and goes (in the voice you would speak to a five year old) "smaaaaall, nonfaaaaat latte" and he says "your name please?". She holds a finger up, and in the same condescending tone she says "nooooo", as if she was training a puppy. This cashier was barely fazed by it, and asks for the next part of her order. She says "an oat bar, the corner piece" and follows him to the pastry display to ensure he understands her obviously deeply complex order. Then she finishes with "a muffin". And he asks "what kind of muffin?", at which point the woman scoffs and says "you should already know that." Now at this point, I'm getting impatient since I had been waiting in line anyway, and I don't enjoy watching uppity bitches treat people like shit. So I'm wondering "how in the fuck would this poor guy *know* what kind of muffin you want?". No answer from the cashier. Her explanation was that there was only one kind of muffin left, and the cashier (the hero of our story) says "well today we have banana chocolate chip, caramel coffee cake, strawberry-" and gets cut off once more. She explains that she wanted the *one*, the kind that only had *one* muffin left. She goes to pay, and pulls out a gift card. She tosses it on the counter (at least it wasn't at him, like some other customers do), and says "use whatever is left on this". So he offers the card back to her, she scoffs and says "why do I need this? I told you to use the rest" and he says "well, in case you want to reload it online" and she just walks away.
So, I give her a death glare while waiting for the cashier to finish up the transaction and take my order. I order quickly, pay with cash and tell him to keep the change for his lunch break. As much as I hate seeing people mistreat those who work in retail, I love seeing professionalism even more. As a side note, I went over to grab my drink and it was ready as soon as I walked over. The bitch was still waiting for hers. I'm thinking the other barista was taking out some petty revenge of his own.
**EDIT**: For everyone saying I should have interfered - for me, it didn't seem appropriate. The cashier wasn't bothered by her, and he proceeded without any attitude or impatience. He knew just how to react to coffee snobs (thanks Lyssabex for perfect phrasing). I cannot stress how professional he was. As for the tip thing, I thought it was a nice gesture and nothing more. I wanted him to know that I appreciated his service, but left it up to him as to where the money will be distributed. I didn't see a tip jar, but I also wasn't looking for one. He could have just thrown it in there (and given the response here, I'm assuming that's what he should have done). Didn't seem like a big deal.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/13j6jd/i_know_you_arent_supposed_to_tip_cashiers_but_i/
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2bipdq
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TalesFromRetail
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"You do want to be tipped, don't you?"
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Okay friends, prepare yourselves to be thoroughly pissed off from this little tale. This is from last night.
Background: I just got promoted (again) and am now the head bartender at a famous restaurant in my city. We have some entitled people come in because we cater to the "elite". However, since it's summer time, most of *those* clientele are up north in their summer homes.
On with the story!
There's a host, we'll call her Starburst. She is dating one of the server's and we'll call him Bucky. Bucky got Starburst her job a few months ago.
I happen to like Starburst and consider her a friend which is unusual for me because while I do really enjoy my coworkers and being around them, most of them I wouldn't call a real life friend. For her, I would.
Anyways, I was cleaning up behind the bar when she came up to me and I could tell she was really pissed off.
**Starburst:** "Hey, have you *heard* what table 41 is doing to Bucky?"
**Me:** "Not really. Boss-Man mentioned they were complaining earlier but he said it was all settled and they were okay. What's up?"
**Starburst:** *I swear to god her nose was flaring while she was saying this.* "No. They're NOT okay. When Bucky went to check on him they said 'You do want to be tipped, don't you? Because you don't work like you want to be tipped.' AND THEY KEEP SNAPPING AND WHISTLING AT HIM!"
**Me:** "What the hell? Has he told Boss-Man about this?"
**Starburst:** "No! He hasn't!"
**Me:** "Boss-Man needs to know. Like, immediately. If Bucky isn't going to say anything, then you do it or I swear to fucking Neptune I will leave this bar and tell him myself."
Author's Note: I was the only bartender there. Leaving is a big whopping NO.
**Starburst:** "No. I'll tell him."
And with that, she tore away like a jaguar on the prowl, trying to find Boss-Man. After that, two of the servers came up to the service well to grab the drinks I had just made for their tables.
**Me:** "Hey, did Bucky tell y'all what 41 is doing to him?"
**Coworkers:** "No, we heard he had some complaints and little issues but other than that, nope."
**Me:** *Recounts the story to them.*
**Coworkers:** "Oh *hell* no! He needs to tell Boss-Man!"
**Me:** "I think Starburst has that covered for him."
Sure enough, Starburst and Boss-Man were talking at the host stand. Boss-Man definitely wasn't happy.
I don't know what his actual response to the table was but holy crap guys, that really ticked me off. They were asinine about their drinks, too.
Example: every time they ordered a beer, they absolutely *demanded* a cold pint glass filled with ice. For beer. Every time. That's a good way to irritate your bartender. I need those glass for oh, I don't know, maybe some DRAFT BEER?
**TL;DR:** Ain't *nobody* got time for your shit.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/2bipdq/you_do_want_to_be_tipped_dont_you/
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1qjg67
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TalesFromRetail
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Black Friday tips and tricks megapost!!!!!
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So the big Black Friday is a few short weeks away, and I know most of us are dreading it :-( I would like to see this thread become a collection of tips for all manner of things BF related.
* Dealing with shitty people
* Passing the 19 hour day
* Staying fresh for such a long shift
* Etc.
With such a wide variety of people here, I know there will be some awesome tips that we can all use to make the day a little less ugh!
Here are a few things I've learned over the years.
* If your store offers a credit card, walk the line with clipboards and applications, *before you open*. People that wanna sign up will fill the application out before entering the store, it will save you and them both time.
* Have an employee dedicated to entering credit apps into the system, and if possible, get this done before the store opens. It will help sales!
* Setup a coffee pot, and give people in line free cups of coffee. They don't have to be big ass cups, just cups. People have been out in the cold for hours, and will be glad to see something warm to drink, especially when it's free! As a bonus, if you have them in your line, they will usually remember that you gave them something, and be a bit more pleasant to deal with.
* Have good shoes and socks. Your are gonna be on your feet for a LONG time, having good shoes and quality socks makes a huge difference! Buy the shoes now, so they are broken in by BF!
With that, I turn it over to you fine people, let's see what you got!
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/1qjg67/black_friday_tips_and_tricks_megapost/
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2blh5e
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TalesFromRetail
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"Get this man some pancakes!"
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My last story seemed to do pretty well, so I figured I'd send in another. For the sake of redditors' stomachs, this one will lack any Black Abyss incidents. As some background, I'm from a fairly small town that consists of the place I worked, another chain restaurant I'll call Cookie Bucket, and a scattering of fast food chains.
I used to work third shift (9pm-7am) at a large, 24-hour chain restaurant that focused mostly on breakfast food. One morning, I was finishing up my prep for the next shift (filling sugar, salt and paper, napkin holders, etc.), about half an hour from the end of my shift, when a very harassed looking man walks in and straight up to the counter. I ask if I can help him, expecting a large coffee to go, and he fixes me with this panicked look and asks if he could please have some blueberry pancakes.
I feel my face kind of blank and I'm sure I gave him a WTF look before stating that we don't sell pancakes. We sell the other breakfast food that's basically the same thing. Would he like one of those? He shook his head, looking increasingly distressed.
Customer: Please. I will pay you whatever you need. I'll pay you for however many waffles it would cost. But I need blueberry pancakes.
Me: -Turning to look at our chef, Sir Awesome- Uhhh, Sir Awesome? Are we able to sell pancakes?
At this point, our manager is standing about 2 feet away, waiting to switch out our register drawer for the morning shift's drawer. Sir Awesome turns from the grill and is about to answer when the customer blurts out "Please! My wife is pregnant! She hates Cookie Bucket and they can't be frozen. I don't know why it has to be pancakes, I just know it does. She loves (our restaurant) and I just don't know what else to do."
I swear, he sounded near tears. The moment he said "My wife is pregnant." production just sort of stopped and even the surrounding customers (all older males) had this deer-in-the-headlights look. After a few seconds, our manager looks at the cook and says "Get this man some pancakes! Just charge him for a waffle."
I thought the guy would start crying. He started thanking us profusely as I wrote up his ticket. The cook ended up producing some really awesome looking blueberry pancakes from the grill and passed them along to the man with his best wishes. After leaving a really great tip (about $10. Seriously. ) he all but danced out of the restaurant, looking like we had just given him eternal life.
TL;DR: We saved a man's life once...
Edit: Oh my gods, guys, Front Page! You all are awesome! :) I feel honored.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/2blh5e/get_this_man_some_pancakes/
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eqssrx
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TalesFromRetail
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Lady lies about me in front of me to a line of customers
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A few weeks ago (mid December) I had an older lady come to my door 15 minutes before I opened the store. I work at a mail and packing shipping chain. She was banging on the door and yelling for me to open it but I kindly told her I don't open until 8 which is in 15 minutes. I can't have her in there because my safe is open and I'm counting money. After 5 minutes she stops yelling and walks away.
About an hour later she comes back while I'm in the back printing a label that someone emailed. I have a line of about 10 people and I'm working by myself. Everytime I hear the doorbell I yell "Hi, I'll be right with you!" I hear screaming so I finish hitting print and go out to the front.
I go out there and it's the same lady from earlier. She's screaming complaining to my other customers that I opened late and wouldn't let her in. They're already defending me because they're regulars and know I work alone for over half the day. The non-regulars are defending me because I'm running back and forth and have already cleared 15+ people, by myself, from the line that had just been reaching the door.
She's saying "She wouldn't let me in. She was 30 minutes late and was discriminating against me! She isn't doing her job! She's just a lazy teenager! I'm going to call corporate and her boss! There were 5 other people out there and they're going to call corporate too!"
I calmly looked at her and said "ma'am, you came 15 minutes before I opened demanding to be let in. My boss and corporate will let you know that not only do I not have to let you in, I'm NOT ALLOWED to let you in early. The times are clearly stated on the door. You came early then got mad at me for following the rules of my job."
She then SLAMS down what she needs handled (cutting in line). The thing age needed that was SO important she screamed at the door? A letter to drop in the mail that already had postage. THERE'S A MAIL DROP OUTSIDE OF MY FRONT DOOR SHE COULD'VE USED. She continued screaming the entire time she was in my store, slammed her SINGLE LETTER on the counter, angrily tells "MERRY CHRISTMAS" and stomps out.
I got tipped a total of 64 dollars from all the other customers from what I have to put up with and they all left me great reviews later in the day. My job has made me start to hate little old ladies.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/eqssrx/lady_lies_about_me_in_front_of_me_to_a_line_of/
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1jikcp
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TalesFromRetail
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Stealing from tip jar, got their justice. (Happened to a friend)
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My buddy worked at a smoothie stand in the mall, and one day watched on a security cam from the back room while three teenage girls stole cash from his tip jar. He came out and nonchalantly took their orders and made their smoothies. Once they paid, however, he took a big gulp from one of their drinks, said "Don't ever steal from my tip jar again!" and tossed them all in the garbage. Bam, instant justice.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/1jikcp/stealing_from_tip_jar_got_their_justice_happened/
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1gavnu0
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TalesFromRetail
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Woman refuses compromise then blames us
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For context, this happened about 2 years ago when I worked at a boba shop. It was located in a mall and 1/2 of the only locations in our city. All employees, except managers, were teenagers or college students, ages ranging from 14-19.
Okay, the story:
This day was pretty slow and it was just me (15F) and my coworker (17F) working that day. These two women come up and are starting to order, asking a few questions, but it’s normal.
I was on cashier and one of the ladies asks me if she can get extra sugar in the matcha milk. I tell her that our matcha powder is already a formulated powder with sugar in it, so we really aren’t allowed to put more sugar in it. (You’ll see why, it’s two different sugars. It’s stupid, but it’s our rules.)
She starts getting an attitude, rudely asking why.
So I politely explain that our sugar is a thick, syrupy cane sugar and we aren’t really allowed.
She starts throwing a tantrum and makes a big deal out of picking a new drink. Panicked, me and my coworker, trying to people-please, tell her that we can put the sugar in for her and put it in our shakers, but the milk might turn out a little frothy.
She says “No. no. It’s whatever.”, all curt. Her friend is literally laughing at her tantrum at this point and trying to tell her to just compromise but she’s getting a bigger attitude with her friend.
So she settles for another drink and it’s time to pay. The tip question comes up on our tablet and I really don’t expect her to tip, or care if she does.
But she does this dramatic snort-laugh and goes “Tuh!” before dramatically clicking what I *know* is the 0% option.
Bet she felt so nice leaving with her drink knowing she made two teenage girls’ jobs harder!!🤗 Probably added more flavor to the drink!
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/1gavnu0/woman_refuses_compromise_then_blames_us/
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yoekbe
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TalesFromRetail
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Gas Lighting?
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Back in the early/mid 1990's, I was working in a gas station / mini mart / deli, in Oregon. Usually alone, doing all the jobs, including pumping gas. (No self service, in Oregon). The town's primary "industry", was recreational tourism... since the failure of the lumber industry.
Early one morning, a Suburban towing a travel trailer pulled in. This was very common, as was every other type of RV. An elderly couple got out. The nice older gentleman (NOG) asked me to please fill up the Suburban and said he also had a couple of gas cans that he needed filled. Cool, nice enough, but seemed a bit frustrated. Hooboy! Was I about to find out why! Enter: Mean Old Woman (MOW).
MOW: *hands on hips* "Why is the gas so expensive?" (Super nasaly & loud)
Me: "Everything here is expensive, we're miles from anywhere".
MOW: "Well, I heard YOU PEOPLE take advantage of tourists! Do you take advantage of tourists?!"
Me: "Ma'am, I make minimum wage. I'm not taking advantage of anyone."
MOW: "The price per gallon is MUCH more than we pay at home!"
Me: "The supplier sets the price, not me, not even the owner of this station."
MOW: "Can't you DO something?!"
Me: "Um... something?" (Honestly I was baffled)
MOW: "LIKE, GIVE US A DISCOUNT, YOU STUPID HICK! DO I HAVE TO SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU? YOU IDIOT!"
Right at that moment, before I could recover and muster any sort of response, her husband came around the back of the trailer (gas cans in hand) wondering why his wife was shouting.
NOG: (to MOW) "What on earth are you yelling about?"
MOW: "The gas is so EXPENSIVE here! And this idiot won't give us a discount!"
NOG: (Calmly) "Calm down, we knew it would be and I'm absolutely certain this nice young man has nothing to do with it."
MOW: (Shrieking) "He NEEDS to give us a discount!"
NOG: (Firmly) "No, he doesn't. There probably isn't a way to do it, anyway. Now get back in the truck and leave this nice young man alone."
She exaggerated her frustration as she stomped off, still angrily talking about "expensive" this and "discount" that. But she did go away. Phew!
NOG: (Wryly) "Don't mind her, she gets mad about any price higher than it was in the 60's. I'm so sorry about the way she spoke to you."
Me: "I appreciate that, but you don't need to apologize. You've been really nice. Plus, she's not as bad as my mom."
NOG: (Chuckling) "I appreciate you being understanding."
I finished filling up his gas cans and we each carried one back to the trailer, where I helped him strap them down, securely. He handed me cash for payment and I headed inside to get his change. As I was coming back out, he had pulled away from the pumps and was carefully making the turn to the exit. I waved with his change in my hand and he stopped. I was now on the passenger (MOW) side of the Suburban. They rolled the window down and out came the claw-like hand of MOW.
MOW: "Hurry up, FATSO!"
Me: "Do NOT speak to me like that!" (I'm a big dude and have a loud, deep, booming voice, when I choose to).
MOW: *mouth agape in stunned silence*
NOG: (to MOW) "I just can't believe you, sometimes! Just shut up!"
NOG: (to me) "Once again, I am so sorry she spoke to you like that. Please, keep the change."
MOW: *unintelligible shrieking as they pull away*
The change was right around $20 USD. We weren't technically allowed to take tips, but after I told my boss the whole story when he came in later, he was very empathetic and said it was okay to keep it.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/yoekbe/gas_lighting/
| 718 | 55 | 1,667,801,533 | 10 |
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qdujph
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TalesFromRetail
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Kindness of Strangers
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I had the (mis)fortune of working by myself in a gas station during 2019 Country Concert. For those unfamiliar with Country Concert, it's a huge music concert with events spread out over four days with big names like Larry the Cable Guy occasionally performing. As you may have guessed, its *the* big event of the year. On top of that, our newest corporate overlords decided that was going to be the same weekend they took over, rebooted our systems, pumps, et. al. making any already tedious weekend much, much worse.
Examples being my not being able to access the registers because a corporate droog was overhauling the software, running out of ice within an hour as we still had to make and bag our own, and no food being available as I was, again, by myself and didn’t have time to make any.
Three hours into my shift the corporate people left as their bosses were worried about their safety. Despite my acquiring three death threats, and two Karens calling the police about us being “anti-Christian” (no food, ice, POC behind the counter), I was informed my safety was not their responsibility and to “buck it up”,
Roughly two hours before the end of my shift, I was seriously considering offing myself and taking the station with me when an elderly woman walked through the doors. Turns one of the people who had threatened to kill me earlier was her son and she wanted to reassure me that that was not how he was raised, especially as she herself used to work retail.
We chatted for a bit, before she gave me sixty dollars in a sympathy tip. She told me a customer had given her help during her retail years and she thought she would pass it on. I took the cash, and asked if a customer had really given her sixty dollars in the ‘90’s. (She was easily seventy or eighty, I was just trying to be cute)
She laughed and with a wink told me that she and the customer had some “get-togethers” before marrying and felt she was waaay too old for me (I was 30) and opted for the cash instead. With a sly grin, she walked out the door, laughing.
Four years total of working retail, and that easily remains my favorite customer and most cherished memory
EDIT ~ Clarifying stuff
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/qdujph/kindness_of_strangers/
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o9bsfi
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TalesFromRetail
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My phone was stolen. And I got it back.
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I work in a small neighborhood market. I've worked there for 3 years. I'm the woman who calls you honey, and will cover you if you're short. I've even used tip money to buy a pack of cigarettes or a couple of beers for my favorite regulars if they don't have any money. Needless to say, I am adored.
I sat my phone down on the counter after sending a text and whet to help a customer. I got busy so I forgot about it.
This is a year old android phone. It isn't worth all that much but I collect screen shots. I have over 5000 on this phone and they mean the world to me. My books, phone numbers and Reddit account are all recoverable but, my beloved screen shots are not.
A little later I went to grab my phone, and it was gone. I looked everywhere and my son, who was there with me, looked too.
I called the bosses daughter and asked if she would come down and look at the cameras and she said yes.
Freaking out I went to help a customer at the window. He is a well known neighborhood drug dealer but I am cool with him because, why not. He's a nice enough guy. I've even chatted with him when he rode past my house and I was sitting on my porch.
I told him my phone was stolen and he said, "I know exactly who has it. He's trying to sell it for $30."
I told him if he could get it back for me I would buy him a pack of cigarettes every week for a month.
He left and 10 minutes later the man I thought might have done it came walking in saying, "I found this phone sitting outside."
Funny because my son and my boyfriend were sitting outside and wouldn't they have seen it?
The bosses daughter would not confirm who it was. She called her mom and told her so the boss lady is gonna handle it but I know enough of the shady people in the neighborhood who I have helped out in the past won't let him get away with it.
Also, yes I know it is completely my fault. My boss is always telling me to hide it under the counter and stop trusting people.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/o9bsfi/my_phone_was_stolen_and_i_got_it_back/
| 1,277 | 50 | 1,624,850,038 | 10 |
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jabowu
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TalesFromRetail
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Chips Aren't That Big of a Deal.
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So, this happened over a year ago, but I just remembered it after a friend asked about work stories (we haven't talked in a while). When I remembered this, I started laughing.
Okay, so it's (if I remember right) Saturday morning. At the time, I didn't usually work weekend mornings, but we were short staffed. I'll use M1 for manager, M2 for me, and C1 for the customer/C2 for their spouse.
I was new to being a manager on duty (MOD) so I'm somewhat nervous, and on top of that, I usually work the night shift. Some of the customers we had were ones I'd never seen before. Here comes C1, change in hand, and one (1) bag of chips. They hand me the chips, I scan them, and they freak out.
C1: "Umm.. Excuse me?! Your ad says those should've been $2.50. I'm not paying $3+ for one bag! You need to adjust the price! That's false advertising! That price is outrageous!"
M2: "I'm sorry, ma'am. Can you show me where it says this? If it's true, I'll honor it."
We go to the aisle where she claimed the ad was. The ad actually said 2 for $5. She points at the ad, grabs it off the shelf, and holds it about 5 inches from my face. I have a bit of a temper, but trying to be professional, I take the ad and explain.
M2: "Ma'am, this says 2 bags for $5. In order for the bag to cost $2.50, you need to buy 2. If you only buy one, it's the regular price."
C1: "That's false advertising. How was I supposed to know that? There's nothing on here that says that. I want your manager. I know she'll fix it. She always fixes stuff like this."
M2: "Yes, ma'am. I'll have her up here in just a minute", I say, calling her up front to tell this woman the ad isn't wrong.
A minute or two goes by, but my manager isn't on her way yet. I call her again, and she says she's busy with a truck. I tell the customer my manager can't get away from the truck as nice as possible; realizing my situation. Her face immediately turns from patiently happy to unyielding rage. At this point, I want to just change the price so she'll leave, but we can't change prices for an ad that isn't wrong.
She's staring me down, demands a price change or my manager, and is now holding up my line of 3 people. Here's the explosion.
M2: "Excuse me, ma'am? There are customers waiting behind you. Would you mind stepping to the side so I can help them? I'm sure M1 won't be much longer."
C1: "This is ridiculous! You're not even finished helping me! Hold on!" She pulls out her cellphone and calls C2, her husband. "Baby. These people aren't doing there job, I need to use the bathroom, and I need you to hold my place in line. Can you please step in here for a bit?"
I guess he agreed because he walked in shortly after. She leaves (I assume to get M1 with a bathroom break as an excuse). C2 stands there for a few seconds and asks me "...so what part of your job are you not doing? She's been a bit of a b-word lately, and I'd like to know."
I explain how she wants a price change on something that was advertised correctly, it's store policy to avoid doing so, and she won't take no for an answer/demanding my manager fix it for her.
C2: "Well, how much is she short? 45 cents? 60 cents? If it's that much of a difference, I'll pay it. You seem like a nice boy. Must be new too, since I've never seen you here before."
M2: "I've been here for almost 5 months now, and I usually work the night shift", I tell him as I'm ringing up the people behind him. "We've been short since someone quit so I'm filling in during the day for now. Long story."
He laughs, and then my store phone rings. Apparently, his wife is now demanding a price cut from my manager in the back. M1 called me to put her husband on the phone. I hand him the phone, turn to check a text message since my line was empty, and I heard some words that still make me laugh randomly when I think about them:
C2: "Woman! If you don't get to a** up here and pay this boy for these chips, I'mma beat you a** until it's a color shrimp cain't (how he said it) see! If I gotta go back there, the boy's getting a lick too! You're grown, so act like it!"
I'm laughing so hard, I drop my phone. Luckily, she came up front. My manager came with her since the truck was checked in now. The husband hands me her chips again so I can scan them and tell her the price. She's so red at this point, I'm just waiting to get called every curse word, slur, and insult under the sun. She looked truly defeated that we couldn't knock off $1.11 (I think) from some stupid chips. She walks to their car, but the husband stays.
He gave me a $20 tip.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/jabowu/chips_arent_that_big_of_a_deal/
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gimiyo
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TalesFromRetail
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"I'm not scared of handcuffs!!"
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First time poster here! Also, English is my fourth language, please be understanding of any mistakes.
So i work in a super market, been working there for several years. It's a family owned store and i act as a manager/jack-of-all-trades. Have so many stories of that place, clients attacked by cats, thieves stuffing frozen chicken legs in ... uncomfortable places, robberies and almost being shot, among others.
But i though i'd share the most recent one, though it's not a very exciting one. This happened yesterday afternoon. Due to the current crisis, we have a mask enforced policy in our store and since some people are getting snippy about it (among other things), we also got some military troops and policemen guarding the entrance and patrolling the store.
Enough exposure of the situation, here's the tale. During my yesterday endless 11 hour shift, in walks in this lady, who looks a bit....off. Nevertheless, she grabs her stuff, goes to the back to get the produce weighed and comes up front to pay. Now, the system we have it's a bit old, so all products names have to introduced by hand. The worker makes a small mistake with a code and one of her products gets mislabel for another.
After she pays, she checks the receipt and notices the mistake. Starts going off on how we are stealing from her, how we are criminals and such. Me, being in charge at that point, go up to her and in a very polite Service Voice, ask her if i can help by checking the receipt and correcting the error.
Even though she was explained the situation, she keeps going off and refusing to listen. The cop who was near me, came over and asked me to explain. I did. He talked to her, explained what i told her before. She doesn't want to listen. She keeps going off and get all up on the officer face. Big. Mistake.
Cop: "Put your hands down and get off my face."
Lady: "No! You put your hand down! FK you!!! You're all thieves in here!!"
Cop: "Lady, if you keep cursing at me and disrespecting me, i will detain you! OP has already explained, so let's calm down and get this fixed."
Lady: "Detain me?! You think i'm scared of cuffs?! I'm not scared of handcuffs!!" -spits in officer face-
Cop: "Ok, that's it." -grabs her arm, turns her around and cuffs her.
I'm just standing there, with the groceries and her recipe in hand, while she keeps fighting with the cop, kicking and screaming.
After half an hour, she calmed (and sobered up a little) and the cop managed to talk to her calmly. I felt so bad, when she started crying. He did ended up letting her go home. Turns out he just wanted to give her little fright and make her see some sense. She got lucky.
And the difference in change...........20 cents.
EDIT: typos and mistakes
EDIT2: thank you for the responses and interest in other stories as well. Here's the link for the cat one [https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/gjs3wd/then\_suddenlycats/](https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/gjs3wd/then_suddenlycats/) please enjoy. Thanks for the tips on the vocabulary, it's helping me a lot :3
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/gimiyo/im_not_scared_of_handcuffs/
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e523h3
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TalesFromRetail
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Black Friday
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Thanksgiving night was great. All of the crazies came out Friday. Granted, I work for a smaller store and it wasn't near as bad as previous stores and years, but just though all of you may enjoy these tales:
**1.) The dressing room guy:**
This guy was with his mother. He's in his 40's, and she in her 60's. He didn't need to help her physically or anything she was perfectly capable. He just had this odd fixation with his mother's wardrobe. Our dressing room is small with a central, "hallway", and six doors. Quite narrow especially when you throw in a table, mirror, and ottoman. This posed an issue as the guy would keep standing in the dressing room, or the doorway making it difficult for women trying to get in or out. He also just stuck with one of the newest sales girls which stressed her out tremendously. Anything he needed, right to her.
Mama needs this in a bigger size, doesn't like the fit and needs (more room here). Does this come in a different color? She spent an hour just running around for him. At one point, an older associate snaps at him telling him to get out of the dressing room because she's trying to measure people for bras and he's just in the way. He leaves for all of 3 minutes and then goes back to planting himself right in the worst spot. I walk by and see the unholy pile of stuff the poor new girl is trying to fold and put back she didn't like. At the end, I ring them up and the girl tells me later that he tried to tip her for the trouble. She kept refusing because many places don't allow that. He threw the money at her.
**2.) Bra measurement know-it-all**
3 women come in for 1 of them to get a new bra. Friend 1= stays out of the way and goes shopping for herself. Friend 2= lady being measured, very nice and cooperative. Friend 3= total Karen +1. I measure friend 2, and friend 3 decides to defy everything I say and argue even though she's completely wrong every.... single.... time.
F2: Okay, what's my size again?
Me: (Band, cup).
F3: What did she say you measured? (with me standing 4 feet away).
Me: She's a (band, cup)
F3 gives me a dirty look. F3: Ok, that doesn't sound right. We'll look for some bras out there for you. What kind?
F2: I need underwire and padding and a (bra style).
Me: We only have a few of that size and will end up having to order because of this massive sale.
F2 leaves and F3 corners me lecturing me about, "how I'm sure you did your best, but that's probably not the right size because they went to a different store and the girl there mismeasured all of them. So, no offense to me, but they're going to try one band size down because that's probably the best fit". What Friend 3 didn't realize, was that I'd already told this lady one size smaller simply because she measured inbetween 2 sizes which is common. So, the size she's suggesting will be too small. F2 comes back asking about the size again and F3 repeats what I said about the sizing, but reminding her that we're going with a different size.
They pick out a few things and head in there. F2 asks F3 to help snap the bra up because she can't (due to it BEING TOO SMALL!) Surprise, surprise, it doesn't fit. F3 then goes and finds bras without wire or padding and makes F2 try them on. Those too fit horribly and she tells F3 that I was right once again and that simply will not work. F3 is getting panicky and upset because her friend is telling her to basically butt out and I know what I'm doing. F3 darts her eyes between us stammering and runs off to find more ill-fitting bras. I get the tablet out as F2 says to just order the bra in the certain style and size. F3 returns and makes a scene again because, "she didn't want her to have to order anything".
Whatever lady; 3 strikes, you're out!
**3.) Sign twister**
This lady has an armful of stuff. She gets to the register, and starts throwing a fit because a certain kind of shirt is ringing up for $2 more than she thought it would. my manager who's on the register sent her over to us to verify the price as we were standing there straightening. The sign reads, "Starting at $10. Originally $29.95-35.95".
Lady: See? The sign SAYS $10!
All 3 of us: (points at the starting at part and saying in unison), "starts at"
Lady: But, it says originally $29.95-35.95. That means this is $29.95, so it's $10!
1 associate: No, that just means all of these assorted tops start at $10. It doesn't mean just because it's $29.95 that it's automatically $10.
Lady: Then why is this type of top the only one pictured?
1 associate: That's Christmas advertisement they did. It's up there because it's the prettiest and our biggest seller. That doesn't mean it's $10. You don't see that printed anywhere on the sign, nor the style name at that price.
Lady: Throws another fit and huffs away.
We all agreed the manager should've just given her the 4 shirts for $10 instead of $12 because it wasn't worth her time arguing and abandoning a $150 sale over petty nonsense. She ended up getting them for the lesser price and walking out happy.
**4.) Sloppy associate**
This woman isn't bright and what's even more scary is, she's a teacher full-time and works with us part-time. Our store manager is always fussing because things are left all over the back counter (which is really small). She tells us all the time to put back things laying there from customers unless they're still shopping. It was really important today because again, super busy Black Friday and we don't want to confuse anyone's purchases. This associate has a bad habit of stockpiling and shopping while on the clock, then just strewing her items everywhere, inside out, unfolded, just being lazy and messy.
I started to clean up and put things back across the counter. M= spineless manager standing right there witnessing this, A= sloppy associate, Me
A= Why you always touching my stuff, where did it go?
Me= I didn't know you had anything up here.
A= Yeah, it was laying right here. I had a shirt, leggings, blah blah blah.
Me= \*held up 2 items\* Are these a part of that? What did it look like?
A= I'm TRYING to describe them to you!
Me= No, you're telling me general items. What did the rest look like? All I saw was a messy pile of stuff here, and here. How was I supposed to know they were yours with no name and you didn't tell anyone?
A= You always do this! I leave my stuff, and you put it back. Quit touching other people's things!
Me= This is my third time saying this to you. Put a hold tag with your name on it, or tell someone. It's that simple. I don't know it's yours if it's just all over the counter, in a heap, with nothing on it. My job is to clean up after people and we've been told not to leave things back here due to limited space.
A= Psssh, nobody does that!
Me= (points to a neatly folded stack left by another associate with a hold tag and her name written on it).
A= I'm still here, quit touching my stuff!
Me= Label your stuff.... For the third time.
M= Ok, y'all cool it. It doesn't matter.
Me= (throws down the two items in my hand on the counter and walks away). A is standing back bad mouthing me again, right in front of customers as M continues to make 0 attempt to talk any sense into her. A just stands and pretends to work in one corner of the store the additional 2.5 hours she has left and doesn't speak to anyone until she checks out.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/e523h3/black_friday/
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bo9ojy
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TalesFromRetail
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Mild Retail Horror Story
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First-time poster, so the formatting might be wack.
I've worked in two different dollar stores and oh boy do I have stories. One that happened more recently at my newer retail job was this:
Two ladies came in with (I guess) their son (who was like...I'd say 7 or 8) and had a full cart of groceries. They also had two big Rubbermaid type totes, so they decided to put everything in them instead of just on the counter. Okay fine, whatever. I'm short. Like 5'2, can't reach in the damn tote when it's on the counter standing up short. So I tip it on its side and start scanning the items. I get most of them scanned and bagged when one of them starts taking the items I ALREADY SCANNED out of the bags in her cart, so I scan them again because I didn't realize. Then this crazy person decides to get pissy and say something along the lines of, "Oh well now you have to take them off twice." I can't void items off at this store, a keyholder person has to, and we don't have a pager system. So I have to go find the assistant manager, explain what happened, and she voided them all off and finished the purchase for me. I'm lucky to have awesome people I work with. I had to go in the break room and take a few breaths to keep from crying because oh boy was I close to that point. I'll post my other stories at some point, but I have other things to do now. Thanks for listening!
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/bo9ojy/mild_retail_horror_story/
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8ndlih
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TalesFromRetail
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Count it.
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Hi! Long time lurker first time poster, forgive me father for I’m on mobile etc. etc.
I’m still pretty mad about this so please forgive my rant, this happened a few hours ago. Customer drops his stuff on the counter, and I say “your total is $3.55.” This man gives me $3.20 in change, a toonie, a loonie, and four nickels. If you’re not Canadian that’s $2 + $1 + four five cent coins. I say, “oh, sorry, your total is actually $3.55.” I hold out my hand to show him what he gave me. He says, “oh sorry,” and hands me another dime. I’m looking it over again and I’m like, “uhhhh I still need another 25 cents.” He’s says, simply, “count it.” I look at it (again!) and I say “... this is $3.30, I need another 25 cents.” He says “what’s the problem?” I’m like, “your total is $3.55. I have $3.30 here. I still need 25 cents.” I hold it out for him to see. Here’s what tipped me over the edge. His reply is: “you’re so bad at math. Count it again.”
Some backstory: I’m going to university on a scholarship for science next year. My program requires me to have a lot of math courses. I’m in my last semester and I’ve never gotten less than a 90 in a math course, I’m very good at it. I’m really really not trying to brag or anything, it just annoyed me SO MUCH that this random guy who doesn’t know me is trying to tell me I’m bad at math. I think that I don’t take criticism targeted at my intelligence well.
Anyways, I was pretty upset, and still am. Maybe more than I should be. I held the change out, dropped it back in his hand, and said, “hold on let me get my supervisor.” Supervisor goes over. I went to the back to chill out. Didn’t see what happened but I was told that my supervisor counted it coin by coin and reached a total of... wait for it... $3.30. Customer, apparently, ended up buying something that costs less. He obviously just didn’t have enough and was trying to push me into just giving him his stuff. Honestly, normally I would just pay for it if it was such a small difference and they just said, “sorry I don’t have enough” but this guy really annoyed me.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/8ndlih/count_it/
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8ncw36
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TalesFromRetail
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Being charitable
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This is going back a little while to when I was managing a charity furniture shop, a job I genuinely enjoyed, and would still be doing if it wasn't so poorly paid.
Our van did deliveries and collections, but was an expense for the charity to run, so to ensure that it was being used as efficiently as possible we had a policy of not issuing refunds if the furniture people were having delivered didn't fit in to their property (offering a credit voucher instead). This put the onus on them to ensure that it would fit before being delivered so as not to waste a journey at the charity's expense. This policy was clearly advertised in the POS material for each item of furniture and we would always explain this policy to customers before making a sale.
We were always happy to measure up items of furniture for customers and put them on reserve so they could go home and measure up their doors and access ways if needs be. Customers could then ring the shop and confirm that it would fit and we'd take the sale over the phone, saving them a trip back in to the shop. For the most part, this worked very well and 99% of the time customers understood our policy when we explained it to them...sometimes a little too well.
We received a donation of a really good quality 3 seater black leather sofa which we had on sale for about £350, pretty much the top end of how much we could sell a 3 seater sofa for (a run of the mill 3 seater sofa would fetch us £80-£120). it was quite deep and how a low back, I forget the exact measurements but it was something like 50cm tall, 90cm deep and 200cm wide. Not long after it went on sale, a woman came in to the shop and made a beeline for it having seen it through the window. She fell in love with it straight away saying how perfect it was and was just what she had been looking for for her new house. She impulse bought it but before taking the sale I explained our refund policy. She completely understood why we had that policy and said it was absolutely fair enough, so she decided to play it safe and go home to measure her front door first.
Despite her enthusiasm, this gave her pause, as she said her front door was pretty narrow and she was in a terraced house so there was no access at the rear. I measured up the sofa for her and said I'd reserve it for a few hours so she could go home and measure her doorway. An hour later I got a call from her.
C: "Hi, I'm really sorry, I absolutely love the sofa, but my doorway's only 70cm wide, so I'm gonna have to leave it.
me: "70cms, don't worry that's fine, it'll fit through"
C: "Oh...no I don't think it will, the measurements you gave me said it was 200cm wide 90cms deep so it wont fit"
me: "Yes, it is, but it's only 50cm tall so it will go through on its front"
C: "...Sorry, but I don't understand, if it's 90cm deep and 200cm wide it wont be able to fit through my door, it's only 70cm wide"
me "Sure, but the height is 50cm, so when our delivery team get there they'll flip the sofa on to its front or back and take it through like that"
C "Yeah I know the height is 50cm, but the depth is 90cm and the door is only 70cm wide, it's the depth, not the height that is the issue"
Me (now having to devote more and more mental energy to hiding my exasperation) :"No I understand, if we were taking it through the right way up it wouldn't go, so we'll take it through by tipping it;
C: "How would that help?"
Me: "So if the sofa is 90cm deep and 50cm tall then if we turn it on its front it becomes 50cm deep and 90cm tall and then it will fit through the door"
C:"...but it's wider than it is deep, so how would that work?"
Me: "The width isn't a problem, it's still going to be going in lengthways, but the delivery team will put it either on its front or on its back and take it through the door that way"
C: "But how would that make any difference, it's 90cm deep so even lengthways its not going to fit through the door."
Me (now really struggling to think of another way to explain this): "Ok, imagine you are look at the sofa from the side, now imagine tipping it on to it's front so the back is facing in to the air"
C: "Right... then how does it go through the door"
Me: "So it will go through like that, the height is only 50cm so it will go through the door that way"
C: "*long pause*"
C: "But if the sofa is 90cm deep, it's not going to fit, the doors only 70cm wide so I don't see that the height is anything to do with it. Oh this is so frustrating, it's the perfect sofa for my living room".
By now it's readily apparent to me that the customer is simply not able to mentally rotate the sofa on to it's front, so I try a different route to help her get the sofa she really wants to have, that is perfect for her new home!
Me (not wanting to lose this sale): "I'll tell you what, I'd be willing to refund it if it doesn't fit, I wouldn't normally, but since I'm the one saying it will fit, then it's my fault if it doesn't, how about that?"
C: "Ooooh, I don't know, I really love it, but I just don't see it getting in, I just don't think the doors wide enough and I don't want to waste your delivery teams time, I understand that you're a charity and that it would cost you money if the trip was wasted"
me: "It's fine, honestly, they will be able to get it in, and like I said, I'm happy to refund it if it doesn't.
C: "That's nice of you, but I just don't see it fitting, the doors only 70cm wide, so I'll have to leave it, but thanks anyway.
An that was that, I lost a £350 sale, a lot of money for a charity, because this bloody woman couldn't mentally orientate a sofa on to its front!
EDIT: Formatting
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/8ncw36/being_charitable/
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6353sv
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TalesFromRetail
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"You're doing an amazing job. Here's the money for my bill and here's 20 for you"
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I work at medium sized retail chain.
Today we made 20k in sales.
3 people called out and there was only two cashiers. Me and the manager.
The manager had to cover someone's break because we can't leave their area unattended so the manager had to be over there. Which means I was the only one cashiering.
Literally had 100 people in line at a time. Not exaggerating. The line was huge. A bunch of them were getting impatient and yelling at me for it. And every time I finished one transaction, like four more people got in line.
Normally when I cashier, the line eventually starts to die down so then I clean up my area. Put hangars away, put returns and go backs away etc. well since the line never stopped I had no time to clean up. I had a mountain of hangers just thrown all over my area and a mountain of clothes right next to it. I had to reach over it to scan the people's items. It was such a mess.
 
It was funny because people like to switch price tags. Most of the cashiers never catch it because they don't even care to look for it. Well these customers thought that amongst all of this mess and getting yelled at, I'd be too distracted to catch their switched price tags. I saw more attempts at it today than I'd ever seen before.
Still caught all of it. Granted it slowed down the line when I had to confront them and tell them I'm not allowed to sell them this item, but no one is getting through me. Especially if they think they can take advantage of the fact that I look distraught and all over the place.
 
But then there was a few good customers. I got praises from them.
 
"I shop here a lot and you're way faster than the other cashier I've seen here."
"You're doing a great job don't listen to them" - referring to the customers yelling at me for having no other cashiers.
"What's your name I'm going to call corporate and tell them you're doing such a great job"
And then the last praise I got from the customer was
"Here's 40 for my total. And here's 20 for you. You're doing an amazing job. I own a business and I know how bad it is when people call out." Then she went on to tell me how her business is around a college campus and so when people call out during the summer, they get bombarded with all these loud college kid customers basically like I did today having to do 11k in sales by myself.
*To put it into perspective, on a normal moderately busy day by the end of the night I've done like like 3k in sales / ~ 200 transactions in an 8 hour shift. Which is still a kind of long line with the help of 2 other cashiers. Today I had 407 transactions and 3 hours into my shift I was at 4K.
 
And then the customer after her told her that it was a nice gesture and so he did the same thing. He got 4 dollars back after he paid for his stuff and he told me I could keep it.
 
I wasn't really in a bad mood during this chaos. I like a challenge. But the praises still made my day. And I've been working there for two years and I've only gotten one 3 dollar tip for helping a lady carry a rug to her car like a year ago.
when she gave me 20 I was like no no no that's really sweet but I don't need that I'm just doing my job.
She quickly pushed it towards me and insisted I take it and then left before I could try to hand it back to her.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/6353sv/youre_doing_an_amazing_job_heres_the_money_for_my/
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2h2hru
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TalesFromRetail
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Your excuse is not worth it.
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Heyyyyyoooooo! I work in a casino buffet as a cashier/hostess. While I am the most experienced and fastest cashier there, I just put in my 2 week notice a couple of days ago and am moving on to bigger and greener pastures (aka, cell phone provider sales).
This story takes place on our famous Crab Night, where for $30 you can eat all of the Snow and King crab that your fat heart desires, as long as you can stand the hour long wait to get a seat. Our Crab Night Extravaganza runs for 7 hours. We close at 10 pm. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I'm a stickler for that, as I am usually working 9-10 hours that night and am ready to go home since it's usually my retail Friday.
Wouldn't you know, every week someone tries to push their way in, giving us the most ridiculous excuses as to why they should be let in after we are closed. (The "only need 1 thing" equivalent is "but I'll just have a little bite" that turns into 5 plates and 4 drinks)
This week's tale comes from a grandmother and grandson duo. They mosey over to the buffet at a mere 25 minutes past close while we are still counting down registers and handing out tips to servers. As she walks up, I inform her that we are closed. She will be known as Grandma (GM), I will be Me, and my manager will be known as C, as that is what her name starts with.
> Me: Sorry ma'am, we're closed for the night.
> GM: What? No, I've been at the hospital for the past couple of hours and didn't get to make it here. Please, let us in to get a bite to eat. My coupon expires tomorrow and I won't be able to use it after that...
*Note: the casino gives out coupons for 1-2 free buffets and Crab Night is usually the night everyone and their mother decides to pull out their coupons to use.
> Me: Unfortunately, all of our registers are counted and drawers are pulled. We can't let anyone else in.
> GM: Oh, c'mon. It's just two of us. We will be quick! We promise...
> Me: Sorry ma'am, it's a no.
> GM: Seriously? This is how you treat customers?
> Me: Ma'am, you aren't a customer because you can't come in. If you're hungry, the Sports Bar outside of the casino is still open for another 30 minutes, but we cannot let you in.
> GM: Where's your manager? Let me talk to him!
> Me: She is at the register right next to me (My manager looks to be about 20 or so, but dressed professionally) and you can plead to her, but she's heard me say no so I'm not sure what good that will do. C, talk to her please.
GM walks over to the register where C is and hands her the coupon.
> C: *always happy-go-lucky and smiling* Oh! I'm sorry ma'am, but we can't let you in! We closed 30 minutes ago.
> GM: Then why did she send me to this register?
> C: Because I'm the manager and I have leeway in this situation. But unfortunately, the line cooks are picking up the food now and servers are finishing up their closing duties. No one is allowed in after hours.
> GM: Well you can expect to never see me again after the way you treated us! After being in the hospital with my grandson here all evening, we just wanted some crabs and now you won't let us get any. *Grandson limps up to the register, but walked in here fine...whhhhaaaaa?!* We will take our business elsewhere!
> C: That's fine ma'am.
> Me: *As GM and Grandson walk away* Have a good evening!
> GM: *rushes back to the register* WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME?!
> Me: *Past my limit* I SAID to have a good evening, but now I hope you have a bad one and lose all of your rent money in the casino and get evicted. Better for you?
GM raises her hand to try and hit me but thought better because of security, and the fact that I have about 100 pounds on her and an extra foot of height. I'm sure she could sense that I would have no qualms about hitting an old lady if I needed to.
C laughed until she couldn't breathe at my statement. She's rarely heard me say anything as spiteful as that towards a customer, but little does she know I have 2 weeks of rude remarks and don't give a shit attitude to dish out.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/2h2hru/your_excuse_is_not_worth_it/
| 791 | 41 | 1,411,335,933 | 10 |
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21er10
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TalesFromRetail
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Tales from Wally's Cafe "I SAID COKE you Fu**ing asshole"
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Tales Wally's Cafe (all names Changed)
Its the summer of 2001, our cafe at lunch is the hot spot in the area for quick friendly tasty food. We were always extremely busy between 11:15-2pm. Our goal is to have you seated and fed in 5 minutes. In order to achieve this goal, we had to work like a well oiled machine. So now on with the story:
Its smack dab in the middle of the lunch rush, and we have a long line up to the door( approx 30 ppl). We have three cashiers at the front who will take your order, and grab quick drinks and send you with a number to a table where the servers will deliver your meal/desert.
Supervisor Deen is on Cash 3 when this very large woman gets to him and orders 1 Meat lasagna, with a side Caesar salad, extra bacon bits extra cheese, cheesy garlic bread, and a french onion soup with cheesy bread and a coke. Deen punches in the order and walks over to the fridge to grab drink. Because it's busy, Deen may have made an error so to confirm he asks "that was Diet Coke right?"
This woman Flipps her lid, she starts yelling obscenities at Deen that even children at the far back can hear
"I said Coke, you fucking asshole, are you calling me fat you fucking jerk?, this is an outrage, I don't come here to be judged by some fucking kid."
This is where things grind to a halt and I see my guests looking at this woman mouths wide open. This is the sort of time where, if it was a move, everything would be in slow motion, and the scene would cut to a fork dropping on the ground with a loud booming echo. The place was silent.
Deen, politely tells the woman he was just making sure he got the right drink and that this was a FAMILY restaurant so please keep the language PG13.
She still has none of it and continues to yell asking for a manager. Lucky for here the owner "Jimmy" was about 5 feet away inside the open kitchen. Jimmy overheard the entire situation.
Let me tell you a little bit about Jimmy, Jimmy is a 28 year old angry Greek and he gives 0 fucks about anything but his Cafe' and family. When someone makes outbursts like that be it staff or customer, Jimmy will let you know where to go.
Jimmy walks out of the kitchen, looks at this woman and asks "What can I do for you?"
"This Kid insulted me by calling me fat, and was extremely rude to me, I don't deserve this kind of treatment from you're staff, I deserve a discount"
Jimmy "I'm sure you don't, but, I heard the entire conversation, and you need to take your attitude, your loud mouth, your lies and get the fuck out of my store" Jimmy then without a fuck walks back into the kitchen and continues cooking food.
Customers actually applauded Jimmy and the woman walked out empty handed. Believe it or not, She came back two days later and apologized to Deen for her outburst and tipped him $5.
[Hey all, Part one here:](http://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/21glht/tales_from_wallys_my_first_day_at_wallys/)
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/21er10/tales_from_wallys_cafe_i_said_coke_you_fuing/
| 778 | 89 | 1,395,837,812 | 10 |
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top
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5b55mh
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TalesFromRetail
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"You can't un-cut keys, ma'am"
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So I'm a locksmith, I both go out on calls and stay at our shop where we sell locks, keys, safes, all kinds of stuff. It's just me and my dad that work here.
This happened a few years ago but you usually remember the really fun customers. We were doing some cleanup around the shop when a middle aged woman comes in and slams a (rather expensive) key down and says she wants to return it. CL for crazy lady and M for me
> M: "Is there a problem with it?"
> CL: "No, you made this key for me when I lost my car keys last month, but I found my keys so I don't need this one anymore"
> M: "I'm sorry but if there's nothing wrong with the key we can't refund you."
I said it was an expensive key earlier, it was for a mid-2000s Mitsubishi, and it had a remote head. The chip keys we sell are $20 plus programming, and the remote heads are more depending on the make/model of the car. If I remember correctly her key was around 80 for the key itself, not counting the service charge to go make it when she lost hers. Total cost was somewhere around 220, which she wanted the full refund of for whatever reason.
> CL: "Well can't you just un-cut the key and sell it to someone else?"
> M: "No ma'am, we can't un-cut keys. Plus it's been programmed to your car so we couldn't reuse it anyway."
> CL: "Go get your manager so I can speak with him"
My dad is around the corner in the back room and heard the whole thing, so as she said this he poked his head around the corner with a chipper "Hi! What can I do for you?"
He then gives the same answers, pretty much word for word, until she's visibly angry that we won't give her 200 bucks
> CL: "is the owner here? I'm not leaving without some kind of refund"
My dad's more amused than irritated by this point so he just says "Sure, let me get him for you" and heads into the back.
He's back there for a few seconds, then he pokes his head around the corner, this time wearing his reading glasses, and says "Hi! What can I do for you?"
> CL, fuming now: "Do you think I'm an idiot?"
Me internally: "yes, a little bit"
Me externally: "No, not at all. Unfortunately neither of the three of us will be unable to give you a refund though, seeing as it's been over 30 days and there's no actual issues with the key. I'm sorry we couldn't help you any further."
> CL: "Well I hope you're happy that you just lost a customer"
Then she leaves, forgetting to pick up her key sitting on the counter. About 5 minutes later she walks back in without saying a word, picks up the key, and leaves. But not before my dad chimed in with a "have a nice day!"
TL;DR: lady wants a refund on a key we made for her because she found her old ones, she can't understand that we can't un-cut keys and gets mad.
Edit: I have more stories, a couple more from the shop, but a few from going out on calls too. I'll share if you're interested, not sure of the mods would be cool with the service call stories though
Edit 2 because some people can't seem to grasp that both services and goods cost money:
Service call = $40, this is the basic local "gas and services" charge. An extra $10 is added on for every 10 miles away, so her total service call was 50
Fitting a key to a car when they've lost it = $35 usually, and this involves either peeking inside the lock and reading the pins, or taking apart the lock. In this case it was the latter, so we're charging for time spent also.
Key programming = $40, this is a set price because some cost more, some cost less, and we only charge to program keys that require us to hook up our machine(which by the way costs several thousand dollars, plus several hundred per year) to their car.
And then there's the price of the key itself, which I mentioned at the beginning of the post.
So yup, sorry if you can't grasp that things aren't free
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/comments/5b55mh/you_cant_uncut_keys_maam/
| 4,568 | 277 | 1,478,282,837 | 10 |
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1jzxky4
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TalesFromYourServer
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Woman wrote "don't be such a c###" on tip line after I denied alcohol to her underage daughter
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Very busy Saturday at a brunch restaurant. Table of 10 people, they had been on the wait-list and then sat. Probably had to wait 30 mins, but that's typical for this restaurant.
A woman ordered an alcoholic drink, but when I brought it out, she gave it to her daughter. I saw her daughter drink it so I asked to see her ID. She "left it in the car" and then she said she left it at home. This girl looked 14. I told her that unfortunately we had to take it away, but I would get her a juice instead if she wanted. She was pissed!
I had my manager talk to her, we took the drink off the bill. We were nice. Another woman at the table told me it was the best breakfast she'd had all year, really hamming up how good it was.
Well when they left the mom wrote "Don't be such a c-word" on the additional tip line. Great. I'll keep that in mind.
I just can't imagine trying to do something illegal and then being mad when I don't let your child drink alcohol.
What a lovely day 🙃
Edit: Here's a photo of the reciept: https://imgur.com/a/cpe86eM
I cropped this photo more because this has a lot of views and I'd rather not show the whole thing.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1jzxky4/woman_wrote_dont_be_such_a_c_on_tip_line_after_i/
| 1,918 | 234 | 1,744,737,689 | 9 |
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relevance
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kgx1xk
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TalesFromYourServer
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Pro tip: If a guest looks like a trash bag, push your state’s mask mandate...
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I’ve done this a couple times since our mask mandate in my state got more strict. Now everyone is required to wear their mask any time they aren’t “actively eating or drinking”. It’s honestly nonsense because nobody is enforcing it the way it’s supposed to be enforced (it’s exhausting and the mask comes off as soon as water is poured) and I’ve been working for the last few months with various rules that really don’t protect me one bit.
So, when someone sits down and they look like a piece of shit (ie, the dude with the confederate flag gater around his neck before he even received a drink), I politely remind them of the new rule. Both times I’ve pushed it, the guest pushed back. Confederate gater dude started talking about medical exemptions (doesn’t matter in my state, no mask, no service) and I was all too happy to get the manager for him. Manager tells him the same thing and then tells him to kick rocks. Spared me the sales that I wouldn’t be tipped on and I don’t have to interact with douchebags. I hope gater dude got denied service at every restaurant he tried to pull that shit at and had to eat fast food in the cold.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/kgx1xk/pro_tip_if_a_guest_looks_like_a_trash_bag_push/
| 2,959 | 212 | 1,608,482,076 | 9 |
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ikfpf2
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TalesFromYourServer
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Tired of customers assuming I’ll put up with anything for a decent tip. If you have a shitty attitude, I’m giving you the shittiest service I can provide without losing my job.
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My job as your server is to put in your order, bring it to the table, and collect your payment. As long as I’m doing that and not refusing normal requests like refills, I’m doing my job.
Most restaurants, especially family businesses, will not fire a server for being “rude” unless he or she lashes out at a customer. If you roll your eyes/talk to me like I’m stupid/have an attitude/yell when... 1) I make a small mistake that can be fixed 2) you are inconvenienced by something completely out of my control (like the food taking too long/being out of an item you like)... I will move your table to the bottom of my priority list and do the absolute bare minimum to fulfill my job duties. Don’t count on me checking on you more than once after you get your food, smiling, talking more than I have to, or doing anything you ask in a hurry.
I make plenty of money on a decent night of serving. Your tip will not make or break my financial well-being, and it won’t make me abandon my dignity.
Edit: I don’t think I made it clear enough that I’m not pushed to this point easily. In fact, I’m only been pushed to this point like 5 times in my two years of serving. If a customer is *extremely* rude (not extremely difficult or needy) then I will simply give them the cold shoulder when it comes to my enthusiasm/sweetness. I’ll also add that if a customer turns their attitude around, I forget the whole thing and treat them with how I would any other table (which normally happens when they notice my change in attitude)
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/ikfpf2/tired_of_customers_assuming_ill_put_up_with/
| 2,861 | 231 | 1,598,944,087 | 9 |
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dtb201
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TalesFromYourServer
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To the dad who was teaching his daughter how to tip last night...
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THANK YOU!
You have no idea that two life long industry people, were eaves dropping on your conversation with your young daughter last night. My partner (42 m) and I (32F) had been traveling all day and made a detour to try these delicious soup dumplings that we had read about. We were seated right next to you as you both were finishing up your meal. (Don’t worry, we’re weren’t creeping the whole time you were there, that’s not our style.)
She seems to be around 5, that curious age, that “why?” age. I overheard you explaining a few different things to her as you guys were wrapping up the food and you sound like a great, level headed dad.
When the bill arrived I listened as you had her count out loud how much money the bill was and how much cash you had put on the table for the server who had taken care of you two.
She’s smart, she noticed that you put too much money down, naturally she asked “why.”
Thank you for explaining that everyone in the restaurant worked hard to put together the meal that you guys had just enjoyed. Thank you for including the bus boy, the dishwasher, and the hostess in your explanation. Thank you for adding the additional information about how the culture here in America is different and explaining to her about how much waitstaff do (Or do not make) hourly. Your break down to your daughter about the tipping culture and how it should be respected was simple, to the point and a lesson that I hope she takes with her everywhere for the rest of her life.
You sir, in my eyes, deserve to be ‘Dad of the Year’ and thank you for reminding me again that not all hero’s wear capes.
Edit:: Hey guys, I’m currently at work right now and I’m just glancing at the responses, I’m on a quick break, I’ll be on to respond to some of y’all later tonight. I did not expect this to blow up. See you soon.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/dtb201/to_the_dad_who_was_teaching_his_daughter_how_to/
| 2,990 | 248 | 1,573,192,418 | 9 |
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o0syh4
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TalesFromYourServer
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An asshole ditched his date and left me the best tip ever.
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It's a long one, but a good story.
About 10 years ago, I was managing an Asian fusion restaurant. It was a weekday so we didn't have a bartender so I would handle the bar. Our bar was separate from the dining room so I would go between, making all the mixed drinks and checking on the servers and kitchen. You know, manager stuff.
A couple sat down at the bar and ordered a couple of drinks and appetizers. I place the order and make the drinks and then a server had an issue that took me a while to solve. We had a good team there, so another server saw that my apps were up and took them out for me. She then came and found me and said, "I took your apps to the bar but she looks upset. She said everything was fine, but you might want to check on her." From one problem to another, I think.
Back at the bar, he was nowhere to be seen and she (we will call her K) was typing angrily on her phone. Her drink, a cosmo, was empty and his was barely touched. The apps were untouched. I prided myself on knowing what my customers wanted before they did so started mixing her another drink. She put the phone down and asked for another cosmo just as I was garnishing. I said, "You mean this one," and set it in front of her. She gave me that surprised look that I absolutely loved as a server.
Then K asked, "He left, didn't he?"
"I don't know," I responded, "but I can find out." (I did check later and the hostess said he bailed only a few minutes after they got there.)
"You would not believe what that asshole asked me!" K then explained that that was supposed to be their first date. They had met through friends and had been talking for some time, but this was the first time for the two of them to go out just the two of them. After hellos, the first thing he did was ask, "Am I getting lucky tonight?" Needless to say, K reacted negatively to this. He said he needed to pee and proceeded to leave the building. K asked for another drink, I said "Sure, but you do need to eat."
It was a slow night, and I figured K could use some company, so I spent most of my time that night in the bar chit-chatting and polishing glasses and such. Eventually, I said something and I saw an abrupt change in her demeanor. Never before had I seen such a clear indication that a woman was interested in me. She was attractive and I was flattered.
She ended up hanging out until close, having 5 or 6 drinks and a full meal in 4 hours, and she was not a small girl so she was probably feeling pretty good but not drunk. I called her a cab and when she left, she asked if I would come by later. I said, "No, you are ahead of me on the drinks, but here is my number, and if you still feel the same way tomorrow, I would love to take you out some time."
We ended up dating for a year and a half until we had an amicable break-up. We still talk often and are good friends.
TLDR: An asshole ditched his date and left me the best tip ever, a new girlfriend.
Edit: This blew up while I was cooking dinner for the family. It is okay it didn't work out in the end, otherwise I wouldn't have the kiddos I have now. Thanks for all the good feels, everyone!
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/o0syh4/an_asshole_ditched_his_date_and_left_me_the_best/
| 7,132 | 96 | 1,623,804,786 | 9 |
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ou0ot3
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TalesFromYourServer
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Ribs ARE made from MEAT
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I had a couple on a 4-top both order baby back ribs. It's a whole rack plus fries, slaw, and a rammie of extra BBQ sauce, and a side of Texas toast.
5-6 soda refills during the meal.
At the end, I'm clearing the plates... Nothing left but a pile of bleached bones. Obviously delicious... She might have even licked the BBQ sauce out of the ramekin, as it was almost spotless. I'll give her the benefit of doubt and say maybe she mopped it up with her toast.
So, as I'm picking everything up I casually (and kinda subtlety sarcastic, since every eatable speck was eaten) asked how they liked the ribs.
LOL
In 100% sincerity the woman looked at me and COMPLAINED that she didn't really like the ribs (HUH?)...
I, kinda in a flabbergasted way, asked what was the problem!? I mean.. I'd been back to the table 5-6 times with soda refills and inevitable extra napkins. No mention of any problems during the meal.
She says...
"I don't know... They just tasted... MEATY"
LOL
I deadpan looked at the dude she was with and said... "Well... Didn't you tell her!?"
She says "Tell me WHAT?"
I said...
"Well, Ma'am.... Ribs ARE meat.. see those bones!?"
Went over like a lead balloon. She claimed to have not known that ribs are meat... And she doesn't eat meat. (Can't fool me from the way she cleaned the plate)
Get the manager.. comp the check, and obviously no tip.
Clearly just free food scammers... Oy!
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/ou0ot3/ribs_are_made_from_meat/
| 5,208 | 563 | 1,627,575,615 | 9 |
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13jjg78
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TalesFromYourServer
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Table asked me not to transfer them at the end of my shift
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Few weeks ago I had a 2-top enjoying a late evening dinner. We seemed to jive pretty well, they appreciated my menu recommendations, politely asked for anything they needed, and generally seemed really appreciative. After their cocktails they ordered a shot each and seemed to genuinely offer me one too.
"Haha, thanks so much! Can't though, but y'all enjoy! Salud"
They were still enjoying themselves when I had finished all my sidework for the night, and it didn't look like they were going to get up any time soon. I went up and said "Hey guys, its been a pleasure serving you, but its getting towards the end of my shift. If you don't mind I'm going to introduce another server who'll help you out with the rest of your meal."
"No!" they cried. "No delo, if its not you its not the same."
Alright, I thought. Fine. I guess I can stay a little while for their $150+ check. They had no issues, they seemed to really like me, it should be worthwhile. I wait about 40 minutes for them to finish and thanked them when they paid on the tablet (corporate) and left.
I don't typically like checking my tips, especially when I don't have to see each one because of the tablets. I just like seeing how much I made at the end of the shift. But against my better judgement I printed out their post-tip check, just to see how much it was worth it to stay. No tip.
Run to double-check the table that I bussed myself as soon as they left. No cash.
Motherfuckers begged me to stay their server, wasting my time, so they could completely stiff me.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/13jjg78/table_asked_me_not_to_transfer_them_at_the_end_of/
| 4,830 | 211 | 1,684,276,446 | 9 |
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top
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10ikvfm
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TalesFromYourServer
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5 years ago I used to work with a team that unanimously agreed to not take orders from people who sat themselves.
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This was a place with no hosts so we would seat guests. We had a clear sign right in front that said to please wait to be seated; people would seat themselves anyway despite the fact that this was a small family restaurant and everyone typically would seat people under 1 minute. So all the servers had an agreement that if they did that, we would simply ignore the table until they asked, and everyone would go, "Oh sorry, let me get the server who sat you!"
80% of the time these twats would lie going "Uhhh I think it was that person! But can you serve us anyway?" pretty much showing they knew they weren't suppose to but did it anyway rather than it being an honest mistake.
"No sorry, I can't steal another person's table! Please give the person who sat you a minute!" (We did pooled tip so it didn't matter).
It was actually fascinating how they would lie to each server that came to them that it was someone else that sat them. My favorite was a group of young women in their early 20's from Spain, clearly a bunch of rich kids given money by mommy and daddy to go on a vacation trip. They went through all three of us working that dinner, lying that the other had seated them. They finally demanded to speak with the manager (We didn't have one, we only had the owner who would come during the weekends). The three of us played rock paper scissor and I lost so I pretended to be the head server.
"Hmm... Well I really don't know who served you. But I assure you I will punish whoever is ignoring you. Let me call the camera man so we can see who sat you. I really would like to serve you ladies, but unfortunately I must follow company policy. Please give us 30 minutes to get a response from the camera man!"
The pissed look on their faces as they slowly stood up and left.
Good times. I miss that old team.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/10ikvfm/5_years_ago_i_used_to_work_with_a_team_that/
| 4,221 | 169 | 1,674,397,697 | 9 |
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top
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1ioz8u2
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TalesFromYourServer
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Highest tip
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What’s the highest tip you’ve received from a single person?
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1ioz8u2/highest_tip/
| 0 | 26 | 1,739,496,695 | 9 |
tip
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new
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1icjc6a
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TalesFromYourServer
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Is This Legal?
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is this legal?
My restaurant has recently severely cut server hours to the point where a few of us are applying for unemployment. Management just recently sent out this message on HotSchedules and it just doesn’t seem legal. They give us our schedules a day or 2 in advance and often text us hours before our shifts to give us a different in time or to call us off entirely. How are we supposed to live like this?
An additional new parameter for being a top performer is getting 5 star Yelp reviews. We are offering an in restaurant promo for “15% off a current check for a 5 star review mentioning your server’s name”. This seems not only crazy but illegal? Not sure. Any and all insight is helpful, thank you.
HotSchedules message:
“
Hello Team,
Upper management recently reduced our daily labor budget from 30% to 26%.
So there is no surprises, I wanted to inform you all.We are now solely basing schedules on performance, so let’s stay proactive, efficient, and guest-focused. This team has the skills and determination to succeed, and I’m excited about what we’ll achieve together.
I want to kick things off by recognizing the importance of Top Performers and the benefits of being one! Starting now, we’re introducing some exciting perks for those who go above and beyond:
Top Performer Perks
* Priority Shifts: You’ll get the best shifts—those busy lunch and dinner times with higher tip potential.
* First Dibs on Holiday Time Off
* Weekly Free Meal: Once a week, our top performer will get a meal on us!
* Extra Support: During busy shifts, management will prioritize helping you promptly greet tables and ensure drinks and food are delivered quickly.
What Makes a Top Performer? Want to join the top-performer list? Here’s what it takes:
* High Review Counts (Very Important): Earning strong positive feedback from guests every week!!!
* Team Support: Promptly welcoming guests at the door and helping teammates when needed.
* Pre-Bussing & Table Resets: Cleaning and resetting tables as you go—don’t wait until the table has left.
* Proactive Mindset: Asking for management help before feeling overwhelmed to ensure every guest has an excellent experience.
* Punctuality & Professionalism: Arriving on time, looking sharp, and maintaining a “How can I help?” attitude.
* Sales Focus: Boosting add-on sales, such as drinks, appetizers, and desserts.
* Efficiency & Hustle: Working with urgency, maintaining a steady pace, and staying productive during all shifts.
* Adaptability & Awareness: Reading the room, anticipating guests' needs, and making sure every table gets the best possible service.
* Opening/Closing Efficiency: Openers and closers keep a steady pace and complete side work throughout their shift. Anything remaining must be finished before clocking out.
* Faced Out = Action: When faced out, staying productive by assisting teammates or completing side work.
* Clocking Out Promptly: If asked to clock out, doing so immediately, as lingering affects our ability to stay on budget.
Striving to be a Top Performer not only benefits the team and our guests but also creates more opportunities and higher earning potential for you! Thank you for all your hard work—it’s noticed and appreciated And that is why we are taking this new approach”
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1icjc6a/is_this_legal/
| 0 | 15 | 1,738,117,307 | 9 |
tip
|
new
|
1gldyrh
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Entitled guest tried to split her own bill
|
Context: I work at a small bar and all my co-workers are amazing, they're super hands-on and take 0 bullshit from people. Before I worked there, they escorted the 2 over-friendly drunk guys talking to me out, walked me back to my car, and made sure to ask when I'm home safe. Stupidly amazing spot.
I have an 8-top reservation, all couples who sat across each other. Our policy is "20% gratuity for parties 6+ and 1 check or 3 equal payments). I don't have seat numbers on my Toast so the only way I can split checks, is if the guest explains EXACTLY what they ordered. One girl at the table, let's call her Lisa, ran the show. They started with 2 pitchers of Sapporo and some Sake bottles. Each couple ordered about 2-3 starters and 1-2 mains for themselves and constantly asked for substitutions or special additions. Our menu changes frequently, so its normal for guests to be disappointed they can't order something they saw on Yelp.
What I didn't anticipate... Lisa would ask if the kitchen could make her a spicy sauce or if we can take out dairy from the curry, stuff like that. When I'd tell her no, then the next couple would ask the same question or something similar like "can you sub this for chicken?" after I'd stated we didn't have any chicken in-house. Every. single. couple.
Once their food drops, I quality check throughout the meal, and Lisa's BF hadn't touched his main at all. He said it was good, but eating slowly after filling up on starters. Around this time I'm doing last call for the kitchen so if they didn't like their food, they had 15mins to let me know and my kitchen would either replace or comp it. 7 mins later, no orders. About 10 mins after once I start clearing entree's, Lisa said her BF hated his main and wanted it replaced. Nothing I can do there, I checked on them throughout their meal and reminded them of last call, so we comped the entree.
End of the night, I remind them of the reservation policy, Lisa was NOT having it. She started to fight back and said "because they ordered by couple" I should've split the bill while I was taking their order. Totally get that, and I let her know I have no ability to split the check unless they told me what each couple ordered. While we're going back and forth, my owner caught on that Lisa was being a bitch. I explained the situation, owner gave me his full support to enforce the reservation policy and asked if I wanted assistance. I said "thank you, but I want the pleasure of putting her in her place".
I return to their table, re-explain our reservation policy and it was stated on the confirmation and deposit. Lisa is STILL yelling about her split checks, so I pull out my Toast and tell her I have no way to divide it unless everyone could remember what they ate.
Lisa looks at me and says "oh your using Toast? Just give me that and I'll split it my damnself" and reached to grab my handheld. IMMEDIATELY my owner stepped in to deescalate, figured out how to have them pay, and got them tf out. If my bar wasn't so incredible, I would've ripped my work shirt off and tossed it to Lisa with the handheld. If you wanna undermine me, be entitled the whole night, and try to split your own check? all my tables are yours. And they made sure to yell at me on my smoke break :) s/o to my owners and co-workers for having my back and letting me set my boundaries
TLDR: entitled guest tried to split her own bill and my bar is the shit
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1gldyrh/entitled_guest_tried_to_split_her_own_bill/
| 1,160 | 73 | 1,730,940,036 | 9 |
gratuity
|
relevance
|
y3y46f
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Auto Gratuity
|
I think this is the right subreddit for this. Last Friday we finally got our manager to implement auto gratuity on large parties. We put up signs announcing the new policy a few places customers would see when they first come in. When I was sweeping the entrance area last night, I found one of the signs crumbled up under a bench. Do people think that if they get rid of the signs we will get rid of the policy?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/y3y46f/auto_gratuity/
| 118 | 26 | 1,665,763,953 | 9 |
gratuity
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relevance
|
151o2p4
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Fun fact: We actually served the worst table in the history for brunch yesterday
|
Let me start of by saying: Fuck brunch!
Recently I accepted a role of an AGM/floor manager at my restaurant. We are fairly new and have been open for about 6 months now. My current role pretty much makes me everyone’s server. I go around, check tables, talk to people, even run drinks and food and close checks when it gets busy. The place is not very big, but we do get pretty busy, especially for brunch, and especially because we started doing bottomless brunch recently. From a financial standpoint - this was a great move. Our brunch sales are insane, but everything else absolutely sucks.
When I accepted a manager role - we were just about to start bottomless brunch. Before that, my favorite thing about this place was the clientele. We have good product (we are a wine bar with a great cocktail menu and very solid food). People generally leave happy, tip average is awesome and the place is just a breeze to work.
But, since we started doing bottomless brunch, all the Karens and all the rest of the scum started coming in. People started complaining about everything. Everyone is a food blogger or an influencer when in reality they’re all just a bunch of nobodys looking to satisfy their gluttonous asses. It got to the point where this Saturday, we had a group that:
- showed up 2 hours late for their reservation
- got mad that we gave their table away
- demanded a table, but not for 8 people they were supposed to have - they actually had 13 people (we don’t even have tables that big!)
- we managed to sit them down which was a miracle to start with.
- they complained about everything - from food to speed of service (literally they were mad at the server for taking too long to place a 20+ item order with every item having modifications)
- returned a bunch of stuff back to the kitchen after eating 90% of it.
- refused to pay a cake fee
- complained about auto-gratuity
- complained about paying sales tax (yes, that happened)
- disrespected everyone from the host to the busboy including managers and servers
- asked for extra tables when it was obvious that our tiny place is completely seated
We tried really hard to make them happy but the more time passed, the more we regretted that decision.
Fuck brunch.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/151o2p4/fun_fact_we_actually_served_the_worst_table_in/
| 1,502 | 142 | 1,689,557,888 | 9 |
gratuity
|
relevance
|
nazhmt
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Paid for half of an awful customers meal today.
|
Today was an all around awful day for tips in general, but this was something else.
A guy came in and sat a table in the bar. Then a women showed up. Both got coffees to go and sat around on their computers for awhile. I drop the bill off. Guy pays in cash and she thanks him for paying. He's a nice guy. He gets up and leaves a 5 dollar bill on the table, under the water I had brought for him.
I assume that was it so it surprised me to look over and see the women snapping at me. She wants to order food. Okay. I get her order. 5 dollars is still there. I should've grabbed it. Put in the food order and finish... I notice her moving tables. I go to bus the table and pick up the tip. But it's gone.
She pays with a 5 and couple ones, and leaves me the change, which is less than a dollar.
So stealing the tip to pay for her food, making me buss two tables, being rude, and camping for 1-2 hours..... and still people wondering why the service industry is struggling.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/nazhmt/paid_for_half_of_an_awful_customers_meal_today/
| 2,543 | 162 | 1,620,853,765 | 9 |
gratuity
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relevance
|
rc87km
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
$30 tip on almost $700 party of 20 after four hours
|
It was a 20 top and they ordered a shit ton of drinks so after tipout I would have lost money taking care of them, because I work at a semi-corporate restaurant and corporate refuses to allow autograt.Also, because it was so big, I only took one other table tonight, with like a 20$ tab. So yeah,with her tip I would have literally paid to come to work today. BUT literally as I was writing this post, a couple of people from the table caught me on their way out and were like “you did amazing today!! Thank you so much!! Did they tip you well?” and I answered honestly and was like “No, haha they tipped $30 so I actually probably didnt make anyting after tipout, but dont worry about it! I know it wasnt yalls fault and i hope you have a great rest of your night!” and then they pulled $40 out of their wallet and gave it to me, and texted (im assuming) the rest of their group cause i got $10 more from another person. Still, next time a corporate person comes to my store im going to tattoo “AUTOGRAT FOR MORE THAN TEN PPL” on their arm lol.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/rc87km/30_tip_on_almost_700_party_of_20_after_four_hours/
| 1,261 | 250 | 1,639,019,399 | 9 |
gratuity
|
relevance
|
xpsw3w
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
“We didn’t have to tip you at all”
|
I agreed to bartend a special event, a 50th wedding anniversary. It was a dinner, open bar, and dancing with a DJ. We agreed to $250 per bartender for 5-6 hours of work (prep and cleanup). At the venue, there was a tip jar already on the bar top, which we decided to use. From experience, even at open bar events, guests like to leave tips for their bartender(s). Throughout the night, guests frequently left gratuities, often indicating they were for crafting their cocktails. When the party began to wind down, the other bartender and myself began breaking the bar down and cleaning up. We even helped clear tables and put away chairs. At one point, we were both in the kitchen cleaning our supplies and we left the bar unattended for maybe five minutes. When we came out to count our tips we discovered the jar was missing!! I went to ask the party coordinator about the missing jar, and met her coming out of the supply room having counted and divided the tips “three ways” between both bartenders and the DJ. I was given $70; the other bartender $60. We talked to the DJ the next day and he said he received $90 “in a wad of 5’s”. When I texted the coordinator, I told her it was extremely inappropriate to take count or distribute bar tips without the consent of the bartenders. At first she was apologetic and thanked us for all the extra help we gave. She gave us $80 via Venmo to “make it up”. I said thanks and figured it was over. Then she began to text me telling me it was “their tip jar they provided therefore the tips were theirs to do what they wanted with”. Called me petty and greedy, said they talked to multiple bartenders who defended their actions. I just blocked the coordinator and their partner, after having them send me essay length texts explaining how unhappy with my attitude that they “didn’t have to tip us in the first place”.
Thoughts?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/xpsw3w/we_didnt_have_to_tip_you_at_all/
| 1,628 | 139 | 1,664,313,239 | 9 |
gratuity
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relevance
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1dz0mts
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
I Messed Up
|
I had a 7 top today. I greeted them and gave them time.
After I gave them time I went back to take their order.
Time passed. Their food was ready and I walked some of it out. After dropping their food the host asked me where their seabass was.
What Seabass?? I didn't hear a seabass or write down a seabass. Of course the kitchen had also run out of seabass for the night.
After summoning some courage I went to them and told them,"The kitchen just informed me we were out of seabass for the night." Which they were. They said that was fine and they probably had enough for food.
Afterwards the host walked up to my manager and complained that I wasn't very attentive and didn't deserve the 20% auto gratuity.
What did I do wrong and what could I have done better?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1dz0mts/i_messed_up/
| 272 | 59 | 1,720,526,467 | 9 |
gratuity
|
hot
|
1av09lw
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
High turnover at my place, manager is tricking people and now tries to switch me to a position I don't want.
|
I was hired as a banquet server at a country club and since it's inconsistent, I said I could get the restaurant since all the bussers quit. So I started working as a busser 5 days a week and the manager made it official in a way. Until to discover that there is a service charge fee that the club takes 50% of and the rest is being pooled among everyone. There is an additional gratuity on the check and that goes only to the server.
Last week the runner walked out and quit. And I don't blame him, the place is full of kids who take the order and disappear in the back and chat or on their phones. The bussers and runners do everything.
Yesterday the manager told me that he is gonna hire new people since we are short staffed and he hired a busser already. Said I could either return to the inconsistent banquet server position or accept the food runner since nobody wants to do it. Mind you it's a big oval tray and the restaurant area is so narrow. I don't think I would enjoy it.
But I don't understand why the manager acted that way after I help so much. The other day he tricked one of the banquet servers to come in by saying there was a banquet server event that was canceled so to work at the restaurant.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1av09lw/high_turnover_at_my_place_manager_is_tricking/
| 71 | 14 | 1,708,380,487 | 9 |
gratuity
|
hot
|
1ajn001
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Need advice on payment for a large dinner party
|
Hello I'm actually looking for advice on how to go about a large dinner reservation and splitting the bill. The reservation is for a surprise birthday dinner on a Friday night. I'll go ahead and say the name is Traveler's Table in Houston (if you want to look at the menu)
After speaking with their team, I have two options 1) to do a normal reservation which has a $50 minimum per person (not including tax and gratuity) or 2) to do private dining at the back of restaurant which carries a minimum of $3000 (also not including tax and gratuity).
I am expecting 30 guests, I imagine some will drop out and I was concerned about meeting the $3K minimum so I changed from private dining to a normal reservation. I figured the $50 minimum per person would be appreciated since it's more affordable in this economy.
Now my concern is how will I go about splitting the bill? The restaurant says they only split the check 4 ways, and it's not by item but by amount? I'm not sure what means. I am okay with paying for the tax an gratuity for the party... but what's the best way to make sure that everyone pays for their share of food and drinks? My brother advised me to contact everyone and have them tell me their order in advance, and I could give this information to the restaurant... But it seems tedious and what if people change their mind or end up wanting more than what they told me?
Obviously I'm getting some anxiety about this and now kind of regretting the idea of a dinner party in the first place. Hoping someone has some magical solution that would help me out here.
​
**UPDATE:** When I say "splitting the bill", I meant how can I make sure that everyone pays ME their fair share of food and drinks since this restaurant doesn't itemize the bill. Impossible to know who all got 2 drinks, and an extra appetizer. But regardless it's all going on one card... I want the points :)
Now the restaurant said that parties more than 20 require a prefix menu anyways. This relieves some of the headache. We went with the cheaper $65 menu. Someone suggested throwing in a bottle of red and white which I think is a nice gesture for the party, but seeing if the restaurant will allow separate drink orders for people that prefer a cocktail instead. Again I think this is a good idea and it can't hurt to ask.
I'm not interested in comments that say just do something else... the birthday person has said multiple times that they love this restaurant and would love to bring people there. Plus I think this is a fairly common situation that comes up in adulthood, and I think it's nice to have a good solution on how to dine with friends unproblematically. I've never done a reservation like this before and I'm thankful for the solutions offered!
​
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1ajn001/need_advice_on_payment_for_a_large_dinner_party/
| 22 | 45 | 1,707,156,177 | 9 |
gratuity
|
hot
|
17rxbb6
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Taking guests literally can be fun...
|
I follow a lot of these Server Life and such threads because I was in SI for so long. I love reminiscing, sharing wisdom and hacks, swapping stories. I hung up my apron in 2020 after 2 decades of everything from fast food to fine dining, cashier to cook, server to managing.
I remember one night at a popular fine dining chain, we had a large group of VIPS that were broken into smaller groups of 6-12 because there were so many, in town for a convention. They had company CCs without per diems, and were known to splurge for their out of town folks. I got one of the "big wigs" of the group in my party of 10. The host kept telling me to bring the best wine in a loud voice while conspiratorially whispering (purposefully loud enough for others to hear) make that the house blend, yaddah yaddah. Har. Har. Har. Lol
I went along with it, good naturedly, making jokes to stay with the theme. But once I realized this guy was definitely the one paying, for what quickly became a very expensive dinner for 10, I stepped it up a notch. Really milked it. They loved me. The host, especially, cuz I went out of my way to make him look like the ham he was trying to be, and everyone was having a good time.
After hours of back and forth knee slappers, bazingas, terrible innuendos, analogies and dad jokes, he announces to the group that if they want anything else for the evening, now is the time to mention it because he's headed home for the day. Dessert for the wife, late night snack for the kids, bottle of wine to take up to the hotel room? Speak now or hold your peace. A few did make last minute to go orders. He asked me for the check, while loudly demanding I bring him to smallest bill possible with a wink and a big smile. I leave them to enjoy their espressos and night caps and head off to tally everything up.
At this point I've invested a whole night to this group, declining any smaller tables that were offered to me out of kindness for my small guest count so I could focus on them. Of courses there was an autograt. But I was truly hoping for a bump. So as I'm printing the receipt, I get an idea.
I bring the check presenter book and, with a flourish, set it down standing open, facing the host, of course. I say, Sir, this is the smallest possible bill I could manage, please forgive me, I do hope it's to your liking. He looks inside and starts gaffawing. He's red faced, laughing, and turns the book around so his dining companions can see that I've used our photocopier to shrink the itemized receipt down to a little bigger than a quarter, and used a small piece of tape to fasten it in the middle of the presenter. The whole table was laughing as I bowed out gracefully.
When I came back to collect the card, they all commented on my "performance" to which I responded: What? This is all HIM (points to host) Do you know how much he paid to have me come here, act as a server and say nice things about him all evening? Arm and leg, I tell ya! Your dinner barely put a dent in the down payment he spent on a professional actor and bribing the restaurant to be in on the gig.
The look on his face was priceless. Well, actually not. The look on his face did have a price, and it was paying the 22% gratuity on the card and leaving a whopping additional 50% in cash when he finally left after thanking me and shaking my hand.
🤣
I do kinda miss creatively coming up with ways to finesse a little extra from those with more than they need hehe
🍂🍁 Happy Fall, Y'all 🍁🍂
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/17rxbb6/taking_guests_literally_can_be_fun/
| 632 | 14 | 1,699,594,884 | 9 |
gratuity
|
hot
|
yhtfld
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
So, friends. I've had quite a couple of months.
|
I left the giant chain restaurant I'd been at for seven years to work at a smaller place that seemed more lucrative. It wasn't. I stayed there for two months, and then got what I thought would be an absolutely killer gig at a fine dining establishment. I was promised a lot of stuff in the interview - thorough, intense training, automatic gratuities on parties of six or more. The works.
Over the course of three days of training, I saw so many red flags that people would mistake them for a Bolshevik invasion.
I was told to show up for a half-hour orientation after my second interview. I wasn't given any other materials, given a training schedule or told to bring anything at all. I show up in my regular clothes and the GM tells me they're expecting me to start that night. I told them I wasn't aware of that and didn't know what the uniform was. During orientation, the manager proceeds to tell us that "he's not gonna spend a lot of time here, but I'd advise you to read through the orientation pamphlet when you're taking a fat shit or something."
Training was basically non-existent. Over those three days, I showed up and had to wait half an hour to an hour for my trainer to arrive. I shadowed a guy over two basically empty days, wherein the most that I did was ring stuff in for him. I didn't run any drills, or have any questions answered, or any of the usual, basic things that you do when you're training at any restaurant anywhere. I did get to hear a lot of bitching about who he secretly hated and who was the worst. No one had a good thing to say about working there. Everyone just looked kind of sad and ready to go.
There was no expo shift. You were expected to start without having seen 90% of the menu that you were trying to sell. When I asked why that was a thing, the manager I asked told me "I dunno. You know what a steak looks like, right?" and walked off.
There was no automatic gratuity. That was just a lie.
And apparently, the POS computer had been calculating the wrong suggested gratuities on tickets - where it said 22%, it was instead suggesting 10%. When I brought this up to the manager, he just shrugged his shoulders and said ". . .huh. I wonder how long that's been happening?"
I got to see how the managers dealt with conflict. Half of a twenty top comes in, cloud of weed smoke around them and heads to their reserved private dining room. Managers go and tell them they have to go outside and "air out." As soon as they leave, said GM starts talking about how "I don't care how big they are. I'll beat the shit out of them. They're not coming back in here."
(they still came back in though)
Holy shit. I'm so underwhelmed.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/yhtfld/so_friends_ive_had_quite_a_couple_of_months/
| 24 | 4 | 1,667,171,719 | 9 |
gratuity
|
hot
|
a4jrhd
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
When they think “We won’t be coming back” is a real scary threat
|
When we say, no, our sports bar cannot accommodate your party of 35 during our city’s soccer championship game during a busy Saturday night, it means no. It does not mean, “come in small parties of 4 and keep adding people to your tables, and then asking to combine everyone into one large party.” It does not mean you can complain about the service/food wait times when our restaurant is already 80% booked before you demanded a single server for 7 tables. It doesn’t mean you can all move to different seats/tables after ordering and getting upset when your food isn’t steaming hot because the runner could not find you. It doesn’t mean you can complain about our large party 18% gratuity because our service wasn’t perfect, because we literally told you we could not accommodate you, and you still showed up. Despite all of their antics, they have the audacity to say, “We won’t be coming back after this type of service.” THANK FUCKING GOD.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/a4jrhd/when_they_think_we_wont_be_coming_back_is_a_real/
| 1,318 | 60 | 1,544,348,005 | 9 |
gratuity
|
top
|
7vwqzc
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Soliloquy of a Server
|
Dear angry girlfriend;
I am doing my job. I’m not trying to seduce your
Boyfriend,
Husband,
Girlfriend,
Partner.
My outfit barely meets my uniform requirement, and if I could put a sweater on without another write up, I would. It’d make us all more comfortable.
Dear handsy old dude;
I am doing my job. I’m not here for you
To grope,
To flirt with,
To practice all your inappropriate jokes.
I want to go back home to my girlfriend, not attend to your fantasies of my drawers forgotten in your cigar room. Have you noticed my ears crimsoning, the same hue as your wine?
Dear suits and high rollers and entrepreneurs,
I am doing my job. You don’t have to tell me what I’m doing
Won’t feed a family.
Won’t be here forever.
Won’t pave a comfortable retirement.
I know. This is a pitstop on a journey I hope your children read about in medical school. I want to experience the humility I aspire to mend.
But right now? I. am. doing. my. job.
Which means:
Bringing you your fifth top shelf scotch;
— yes, sir, I made sure the bartender stirred, not shook, it before straining —
Making sure your extensively modified meal is picture perfect;
—yes, miss, our chefs were made aware of your raw onion allergy, and yes, your extra guacamole is right there. —
Listening to your complaints, smile never faltering or fading;
— It’d be my pleasure to send my manager over, I’d be glad to comp your revolting, yet utterly finished, meal—
I am just doing my job.
I have kids to feed.
I have bills to tend to.
I have a degree to pay off,
and dreams to pursue.
So please,
Over-possessive wives,
Malapropos geezers,
Egomaniacal salesmen;
Let me do my job.
All I ask, is you take the time to understand:
You sign my pay checks, not this bar.
Your tips and gratuity feed my family, not my hourly wage.
Your choice to leave the tip line blank, means having to choose between my daughter’s school uniform or my water being shut off.
Your choice to leave pocket change in lieu of “the recommended 18-20%” means deciding between a warm meal on my table or my son’s class trip.
Your bills aren’t paid in compliments and spare change.
As such, next time you dine out, I hope you realise;
They also don’t pay mine.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/7vwqzc/soliloquy_of_a_server/
| 814 | 51 | 1,518,016,594 | 9 |
gratuity
|
top
|
3hmybc
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
The time I wasn't polite about telling a customer to fuck off.
|
So this was five or six years ago, but I love telling this story because it describes my I-work-in-food-service-but-am-not-beneath-you attitude and how an owner can totally back you up when shit goes too far.
I was the FoH manager/Bartender for a little tapas restaurant in my town. We had 116 items and 70+ wines, amazing place and it was fairly popular. This happens on a Thursday night.
It starts off great. I'm behind the bar and I have my new trainee that I'm teaching the bar to so I can not work the six nights a week we are open. I get a couple of tables in the lounge, I worked the lounge as bar because it was essentially seat yourself and I enjoyed it. We were a small place so it had I think thirteen tables; eight four-tops four two-tops and a random eight-top with plush chairs, and then there were like thirty tables in the restaurant itself. If I got weeded I'd bring over a server to help take some of the tables, but usually I'd have three or four with a few people at the bar with me.
So we fill up the dining room, woohoo!, and my lounge starts to fill up. No big deal I have my trainee with me, he knows how to make drinks I'll put him in charge of that and I'll be in charge of the tables we have, boom! problem solved. So I go out to tables tell them my name, explain that we are tapas so food just shows up at random intervals, I'll be here to take care of you, if you need something I'll be at your table soon, we are really busy so you know you're in a great place, enjoy yourself, have some wine, etcetera.
Now I was rocking out, my trainee was busting out drinks from orders left and right, dude was a fucking Rockstar that night, I'm walking through the lounge chatting to tables and taking orders and doing server things along with randomly running out to the dining room to check on guests there and make sure everything is smooth for them. Then it happens, an anorexic Dog the Bounty Hunter is at one of my tables. He was already pissed off that we didn't serve any domestic beer and so he had a Hoegaarden, enjoyed it so had a few of those, he was with a carnival I believe because included in his party was the bearded lady, and what I could only assume to be their fully grown adult child. This family didn't really fit into our restaurant, but you never just assume bad things about people, you just go and give your best because they are out in a nice place trying to have a good time, my job is to provide that.
This table wouldn't get the way it worked. They weren't happy about serving size (one plate was usually good to share for four people, on average a single person got about four plates of food), that things came out at different times ( I didn't allow this to happen after the first complaint I just rang in the food so it all came out at once), that it was too loud, and overall they were just rude. They just talked down to me, and that isn't ok, I don't care if you are the guy working on my car or Jesus coming down from heaven to prove to me that God is real, you treat me with respect, period. I'm going to give it to you until you give me a reason not to.
Finally it happened. I'm leaving one of my tables and I hear a whistle and somebody snapping their fingers. I assume another person from one of my tables walked in so I looked at the door, then I happens again and I look at the table in the corner with Jesse James on meth sitting at it and he is snapping his fingers and pointing at his empty beer. Oh HELL no. This isn't acceptable at all. I look at my bartender and he just looks at me like oh shit this is probably going to be ugly, and goes in the back to preemptively tell our owner who is on expo.
I walk over and I say calmly, "Sir, I told you my name, you have used my name previously so I know that you know it. I'm not your fucking dog, I'm not a person or a thing that you can whistle at. I will not tolerate the level of disrespect that you have shown me here tonight and this is the final straw. I'm going to grab your bill, add a gratuity, you're going to pay it, and then you're never coming here again."
Skinny Dog: I want to speak to the manager.
Me: You are.
SG: Then the owner, I want your owner.
These were my favorite words. This man backed us hardcore. He'd go to battle for us if he believed we were right. I had more respect for this man as an owner than I realized at the time. Truly a great leader, just not good with taxes...
I walk back and Chef is standing there waiting on my version of the story and I give him a rundown and then what just happened and he says ok I'll go talk to him.
Chef walks out of the kitchen and one of the four kitchen guys we had followed him out just in case it went too far South.
Chef: Did you already speak with Fluffymufinz? He told me the story, whatever bullshit you're about to say to disparage him is probably not accurate and he told you everything that is going to happen. So as he said, get the fuck out of my restaurant and don't come back.
That was the end. It was over at that point. They left, I got a guaranteed 20% and everybody was happy...except for Dog.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/3hmybc/the_time_i_wasnt_polite_about_telling_a_customer/
| 361 | 35 | 1,440,019,657 | 9 |
gratuity
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top
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v9hjfr
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TalesFromYourServer
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Auto-Grat
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I work in a fine-dining restaurant and basically our policy is that if it’s a group of 8 or more, we can, at our discretion, add an automatic 20% gratuity to the bill.
Sometimes we get parties that obviously aren’t our “usual clientele” and I love bringing them the check and seeing the looks of anger on their faces when they were obviously going to stiff me on the tip.
😂🙃
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/v9hjfr/autograt/
| 288 | 108 | 1,654,894,983 | 9 |
gratuity
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top
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1ndrxr
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TalesFromYourServer
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I don't dance for tips....til now apparently
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So last night my section was in my restaurant's private dining room (used for private parties generally, over flow seating on busy nights). After a hectic three or so hours of dealing with a full room and needy tables (makin paper though), things finally looked like they were calming down.
Thinking I was about to get cut, the host comes in and tells me to quickly put together a big table for an eight top walk in. I sigh, a little upset that an eight top would walk in so close to our kitchen closing, but I live to serve. So I hastily set the table and wouldn't you know it, in walks 7 drunk ass ladies and their drunk ass bachelorette friend. So maybe this won't be so bad.
I immediately turn on the charm, offer champagne, cocktails, wine, you name it, we got it. And so did they. Also they only ordered off of our small plate menu, so no angry kitchen! Yay.
So after several rounds of drinks, and a giant penis cake that they brought in for dessert (And yes, it was chocolate haha), they were ready to pay. I cleared the table, dropped the check, then disappeared. I figured I would just be making the 18% grat off of them (We do it for parties of 6 or more) because their total bill was up to about 320 bucks.
Not five minutes later they called me back in and they all had these goofy grins on their faces, and a check presenter full of cash. "It's for you, but only if you dance for the bachelorette." Now I know I could've refused, maybe even should have refused, and I'm pretty sure they expected me to. But being the ridiculous person that I am, I simply told them to cue the music.
And so I did a hilarious and very vanilla lap dance for a bachelorette last night. And made a LOT of cash. Like, they doubled the gratuity. I sort of felt a little dirty after it, but was able to laugh it off after a post work drink. Inappropriate? Maybe. Fun? Definitely.
TL/DR: I gave a bachelorette a (very) vanilla lap dance in our private dining room for a huge tip. New profession in my future?
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1ndrxr/i_dont_dance_for_tipstil_now_apparently/
| 277 | 14 | 1,380,472,624 | 9 |
gratuity
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top
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15v7bcq
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TalesFromYourServer
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I made a grown woman cry, she’s “been in the industry for 25 years”
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Moral of the story: DONT TOUCH YOUR SERVER…a 3 top drama
TL;DR(?) The manager continued to coddle the table after the owner wanted them gone. The lady still tried touch me even asking her not too. Blue didn’t even try to apologize for cussing at me and the guy who asked me if was “one of those Europeans” tipped me a 20 and apologized for their behavior. On a $300 tab.
—I’d like to start off with, I have spent my whole life in customer service. We are talking age 14 working at Dunkin’ Donuts allll the way up to selling designer bags, shoes, watch’s, jewerly etc in Beverly Hills. I’ve done marketing for restaurants, been the manager, dishwasher, host, server, bartender, photographer, and graphic work for merch. I know customers. I’ve helped create a crypto currency and market it in over 15 languages… I’ve dealt with shitty people.
Tonight a 3 top is sat, already complaining that they don’t fit in the booths. They were short, rude, and demeaning. When things didn’t happen or if i couldn’t attend to them in a millisecond, it was straight to cursing at me.
First up it’s not a cheap place, the steak is 39 and we sell bottles of wine up to $500.
I always greet with bread and dipping oil, my name, ask for a drink order and offer the specials. I do my spiel, whilst being interrupted multiple times. The lady of the three top decides to cut me off one last time to ask if we have items off the “online menu.” I told her that she was looking at a photo of a previous menu, and the items there aren’t available. They proceed to ask for duck multiple times, which we don’t carry. They ask to make chicken, and veal saltimbocca when the only one of we offer is haddock. We don’t do substitutions like this unless it slow, and it was. So I asked the kitchen and got confirmed we could make those dishes tonight but not next time.
This table became a table from hell. They get their app (charcuterie) and shortly after the lady comes to me on the other side of the restaurant to take my picture at the POS because I’m her “favorite.” I politely tell her I’m not comfortable with that and please don’t. She proceeds to rub my arm, call me honey, and say it’s because “you are my favorite” whilst watching me enter a large parties order. She then asks for blue cheese stuffed olives to just eat. “For free”. I charge her and bring some over, and then they ask to have another app (garlic bread) before their entrees. Sure, not totally uncommon but annoying af since I fired their meals. One of the 3 asks if I’m “one of those Europeans” I respond with no, I was born 45 minutes away. The lady of the table goes “he has really good English”
Next up is entrees. Our restaurant runs hot food no matter whose it is. I was using the restroom when their order was up, so my coworker dropped it off explaining which was veal and chicken. They switched plates, and then took a bite of the wrong food. The gentleman, we will call him Blue, is screaming.
Im walking by with a 7 tops food and Blue stops me, and proceeds to tell me it was unprofessional that someone else delivered his food. Im forced to stop, because he is cussing “this is fucking bullshit” and my 24 other customers are maybe 6 ft away. He proceeds to go off about the simple mistake and then tells me “I don’t eat my fucking pasta touching my food” okay…sure
At this point I drop the 7 tops food, walk to my manager with the two “wrong” plates and told her I won’t be spoken too like that, and that the lady was crossing a line and creeping me right out. It gets to the point where the owner has stepped off the line and is going to ask them to leave and my manager stops him. Straight up says to him that “it’s fine, they are actually really nice.”
More happens, but to shorten the story the owner tells the manager she is to take the table.
The evening continues, I’m still serving 5 tables with 26 guests…they get their check and all of sudden I’m approached by the same lady, outside on the patio. AT A TABLE. She grabs my arm and tells me “ come here honey” “come here, you need to come here”
She took 3 steps from my table I was speaking with and decided to explain herself. I simply asked her to come further from my table to have a discussion.
From that point, she continues to touch me, and then I ask her to please stop and tell her it’s inappropriate. Next., She says I’m sorry for their behavior, I’m gonna leave you a very big tip. I replied with “okay.” She then began to cry, which I didn’t mention before but this is the 3rd time of the evening. First two times was to my manager. first, when I was no longer their server, and second when they got the bill from her. And now because I won’t let their behavior slide. She tells me she’s been in the industry for 25 years and she’s dealt with much worse. My response? “I won’t accept being treated like that. “
She asked me “like what?” and I say her husband was cussing me out over a simple mistake, that I didn’t make, and her touching was inappropriate. Her response? “That’s not my husband, you don’t want to meet him.”
She then cries more, tries to hand me her book and she goes
“ I’ll leave you a big tip”
I respond with “ thank you for the offer, the manager will be able to cash you out at the host stand” and then stood there. Like she genuinely thought giving me more money was a way to apologize for her friends behavior and her inappropriate advances? Im all set. Especially the fact you are 30 years my senior and I’m a 31 y.o. gay male….. I proceed to remind her she can pay at the door and I’m all set for the tip. For some reason, she reaches out to touch me again and I say “have a good night, and please don’t touch waitstaff, or anyone, without their permission” she walks away and then my manager gave her “large tip” to the host.
Moral of my story, do not accept being treated as less than and sure as shit do not let YOUR SPACE be invaded. It’s not your job to accept an apology from someone, it’s their job to do better.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/15v7bcq/i_made_a_grown_woman_cry_shes_been_in_the/
| 1,633 | 71 | 1,692,423,054 | 9 |
service charge
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relevance
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efemfl
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TalesFromYourServer
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Killing em with kindness is satisfyingly petty.
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Happened tonight, Christmas Eve.
My restaurant is a local, small, family owned pizzeria. A nice perk of that is being closed every holiday. We closed early (7pm) tonight. Was having a nice night, wasnt too busy, but customers had been very nice and tipping generously. Around 630pm, we run out of tea. I live in the South. Sweet tea is a staple. Not unusual to run out at this time, we usually brew more, no problem. If it gets within an hour or so of closing, there is usually enough brewed unsweet to split off and make some sweet. Tonight, both teas were out. We were 30 mins out from closing, we were definitely not brewing anymore. In this time i had 2 customers from different tables needing refills. The first lady I apologized and told her we were out, she was cool and understood. The second lady on the other hand was a little annoyed. But her husband....oh man did he not like it.
Dick head- (with an attitude) Are you out of tea, or you’re not brewing any because you close soon?
Me- yes sir, im sorry but we close in less than thirty mins, and it would be a huge waste.
DH- Do not charge her for this tea if you aren’t going to refill it.
Me- She drink it, i have to charge her.
DH- Then refill it.
Me- I have no tea to refill it with, sir.
DH- it will not cost that much to just make the tea!
DH wife, clearly embarrassed- She’s just an employee, it’s not her fault, STOP!
Me- i dont make the rules, sir, i just work here.
I walked away at this point, flabbergasted that this dude is having a cow over TEA, that he isnt even drinking. He is literally expecting me to brew an entire tea urn, so his wife can have one more glass. It’s tea, not the end of the world. He then comes up to our computer area and asks for a manager. We have no manager in the evening. I told him he could call her Thursday. I was so done with this guy. At this point i just wanted him to gtfo so I could go home to my husband and kids. So, i did the best “fuck you” i knew I could do.
Me, bringing them a box- (in my kindest service voice) your meal is on me tonight, have a wonderful evening. Merry Christmas.
He came up to me, trying to give me his card “i want to pay for the dinner” Me- No thank you! And i just went about my business. His wife found me and profusely apologized. He ended up leaving 30 dollars on the table. Note, i did not have to pay for his meal out of pocket. We are allowed leeway with these kind of things. Owner fully trusts our decisions, and our manager is also a server, so she understands better than anyone what we deal with.
In the end, he left feeling like a asshole, and i hope his wife tore him a new one. No sweat off my back, and i made 30 dollars.
People like this want you to blow up at them, want to make things miserable. Kill those mother fuckers with kindness. Merry Christmas, or whatever you do or do not celebrate, and happy new year yall.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/efemfl/killing_em_with_kindness_is_satisfyingly_petty/
| 1,282 | 214 | 1,577,266,516 | 9 |
service charge
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relevance
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765m7e
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TalesFromYourServer
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Satisfying revenge for the regulars who never tip.
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I have only been a server for 3 months and have been working at one chain brand, and recently transferred to another location across town.
We have this family (adults and children of all ages 4-8 ppl) that comes in a few times a month. At the old location, they were well know for not tipping. One night, I was the lucky server who’s section they were in. I did everything with a smile, fixed all their orders they never customized in the first place, refills, sauces, choosing new drinks half way through, this that, kids, the mess. Split their bills. Got a $0 tip for almost 2 hours worth of work and cleanup.
Well, they now frequent this second location too. They have the same notorious no tipping agenda with full force run down the waitress for fun mentality. I looked at them get seating in my section, on a super busy night, and made a choice I am proud of to this day, I decided I wasn’t going to let them get under my skin. Not even close. You will have what you pay for, which was also every cent I could charge for every sauce and soda brand switch they requested.
First, I gave them about 10 minutes to get seated and think about being thirsty as they watch me serve beverages to my full 6 table section. I go over once and write a beverage down for everyone and bring it out, don’t drink it too fast now bc that is all I am bringing out tonight. I go around a take everyone else’s orders, key them into the most visible computer and then proceed to take their orders last and nail every accommodation and sauce charge they ask for and walk to the furthest computer. One lady wants her food made at the end to go. I will gladly make it with the rest of the food and let it sit under the lamp until you are ready to leave. Seeing you are not tipping, I will allow the food runner to serve your meal. Oh you need extra sauce you didn’t order? Well so do 5 other tables so you can watch their sauces come first. Then I will ask what sauce it was you needed again. Oh you say refills? Give me a few moments to find that warm pitcher of tea sitting on the ledge. Hope it’s fully enough bc I am splitting between you all, not refilling it. By this time, I am being tipped out by other tables as they are asking for the checks. No tips from this family, as expected and deserved. But one lady did apologize for her sisters rudeness, and that was good enough bc the sister heard.
Now, because I dearly remember you, I hope that you remember me now too. Remember that I have served you great, and remember when you didn’t pay for that service like others in my section have, you will only get exactly what you pay for. Sit somewhere else, or pay for what you want.
Also to note, I was never without a smile or kindness in my voice, I just for some reason kept forgetting about this table, like they were camouflage or something. Hmm?
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/765m7e/satisfying_revenge_for_the_regulars_who_never_tip/
| 1,118 | 271 | 1,507,909,350 | 9 |
service charge
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relevance
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gjfs3w
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TalesFromYourServer
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Karens want a Male Server
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Alright, this happened back in July.
A little background first: this is the first steak house in our wine industry-driven town. We aren't even a year open. (I was part of the beginning staff members that helped open.) It's a little controversial among the locals because the company adds a 20% service charge already added on. It's apart of a large corporation on the other side of the mountains, and it's just a company policy. Servers technically get 15% and then it's supposed to go to the kitchen and bussers and hosts and it helps "pay for health insurance." All lies. Anyways, Fridays and Saturdays are super busy, because it's Prime Rib night, so you have to be quick to flip tables.
So I (28/F) worked as bartender and server in the bar section because I was good at flipping tables like a mofo. One Friday night, I was sat with two Karens who clearly had too much work done and very flirtatious with the guys. You can probably see where this is going.
Me: Hello are we still waiting for two more?
K\^2: Yes we are.
Me: Alright can I get some drinks for you, bread, or appetizers while you wait?
K\^2: No, we'll wait.
Alright, fine with me. I'm busy AF, I'm about to be in the weeds. So great, take your time. Then I got a 4 top that was sitting RIGHT NEXT to the Karens. I go through my usual spiel with the specials, blah, blah, and then I ask if I could get some drinks going, and I can't remember their answer, because all of the sudden I hear:
K\^2: Oh, so *they* get service, but *we* don't?
Me, swearing in my head, calling them all sorts of names, puts on my best customer service smile and ask: Oh, can I get some drinks going? Are we still waiting for two more?
K\^2, clearly embarrassed I called them out and the other table heard: Oh, no we aren't waiting for any others and we're still not ready.
Through my gritted teeth and best smile: Alright, I'll be back in a few.
I pull the settings and head to the bar, which is about 10 steps away, I put down the extra settings, turn back around and one of the male servers is getting their freaking order. My restaurant manager, who hated me, snapped at me.
RM: Why is so-and-so taking their order? Why aren't *you* doing that? You can't do your job?
Me: Well I *just asked* if they were ready and they told me they weren't. I was *literally* there 5 seconds ago. So, I don't know what's going on.
He always gives a disappointed shake of his head. The server comes up to me, hands me the order, I'm mad, rightly so. I get their order in and go back to check in with them and they just brush me off, like I don't even matter. Then the General Manager is making his rounds, but he only talks to people he know or pretty women.
The next thing I know, he's coming up to me full force. Now the GM is the Gordon Ramsey of this town and he's tall and has this disappointing look ALL THE TIME. Everyone's scared of him, you can't please him. He's not pleasant to work for (I have another story about him). I overhear them dragging me through the mud.
K\^2: We haven't been getting service all night.
GM takes two strides over to the bar and says: They just told me that they hadn't been getting any service. WTH is wrong with you? Why aren't you serving them? What is going on with you? (he said a lot of other choice words.
I'm gapping like a fricking fish. Thankfully the Head Bartender steps in and goes to town.
HB: She has been serving them, she goes over and checks in with them ALL the time, but they're being rude and clearly don't want a woman waiting on them. She's been doing her job, and I don't know if you noticed GM, but we're really busy, so if you don't have anything else to say, can we get back to our jobs?
I was like Ooooooooooohhhhhhhh you got served!!! The GM took over their table for the rest of the night. Thank god.
TL;DR Karens make my shift a living hell and almost get me fired because I wasn't a man.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/gjfs3w/karens_want_a_male_server/
| 1,372 | 83 | 1,589,432,721 | 9 |
service charge
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relevance
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133gfxc
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TalesFromYourServer
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Grown women literally bullying me
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Ok so context: im 19, ive been serving/ in the restaurant industry for almost 3.5 years and I've worked at several places. I've been at my current job for about 2 months. i can take a lot of shit and just brush it off but today, whew. nope. today was roughhh.
for those of you that arent servers, sometimes you get so incredibly busy (I cannot stress this enough) and you literally cannot catch up. this is like weeded x100. now, this can be for a few reasons: you get double/ triple sat, people say they're ready and they are not (these people are literally THE worst), food is going wrong, etc. the past two days have been tough with this, since we've been super busy. and there is nothing I can literally do when I get this busy. i literally do not have time to ask for help. so I was getting undertipped all damn day because apparently, no one has any sympathy. (I understand the frustration, I really truly do but to leave me nothing??? bc I made you sit for a few extra mins??) so this table of 7 women sit down at my table. they ask for waters, and seat 6 wants to put her food in right away which i hate so after a minute of explaining that it wont come out with the rest of the food and stuff she insists. several other ladies order apps, one orders calamari which does not come with marinara. as stated IN THE FUCKING MENU. (This is a recurring thing, no surprise) so i tell her that in order for me to get that i will have to ring it in (because BOH will not give it to me without me ringing it in) and she's like "what the hell??" i was like "sorry i don't have a choice."
just for the record i could've just not told her and charged her anyway. but i chose to be nice. she makes a big stink and I'm over it and busy so i walk away with (kindly obviously). seat 3 gives me a hard time about some weird shit with her food, i tell her "idk if we can do that" and she's all "WELL I HAD IT BEFORE AND IT'S ON THE MENU" (proceeds to scan the menu and it is, in fact, not there and she looks dumb) so i bring out their food everythings fine whatever and then they all want split checks. (i asked them in the beginning and they told me they wanted them, i also sort by seat/ person so it takes me 2 sec to split a check, not the issue at hand) and while I'm incredibly busy i have to cash out 7 different damn checks. seat 2 did not give me her money bc she wasn't ready so when i came back and handed back checks she asks for change for a 20. will not give me the 20 unless i get her the change so I'm forced to stand at the table and sort thru my messy cash (bc I'm so busy i don't have time to sort) and look stupid.
apparently, they loved this. because what did they do? they all hand me back their checks with the tips and then seat 1 (marinara lady) after seeing my shove all of their slips into my apron says, "actually can i see my receipt? I want to make sure i wrote the right thing." bullshit. so i pull out all of them and sort through them and show her, she goes, "yeah that's right" in a very bitchy tone. while i was sorting thru the slips, i looked up and saw seat 2 and 3 giggling like children. i knew that seat 1 had intentionally done that to be nasty. right after that, seat 6 basically throws a $5 bill at me and asks for change. they're giggling and trying to hide it. like, these are fully grown middle aged women that could definitely be my mother.
then the table next to them (who had witnessed this entire thing and had been motioning for me to come over- which i hate, wait your damn turn, i see you) basically gives me a hard time about things they need with their food (ketchup, napkins, etc) despite seeing me stuck at that table for like 5 mins. they undertipped tf out of me too. for no reason.
i leave that table and go to grab their things, but i legit start crying on the way back to the kitchen and i cant stop so i run to the bathroom and sob in the stall, trying desperately to compose myself because i DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THIS BULLSHIT. so i go get their shit, whatever. once i got my shit together i proceeding to bawl my eyes out for a good 5 mins in a side station because i needed it.
seat 3 had also said she "wrote the tip she wants to leave me on the check" so i could write it myself to which i said, "i cant write my own tips," (because wtf?? what place can???) but the kicker was that she wrote $45 on the damn check but that was supposed to be the total. prime example of why we cant write our own tips; i interpreted that as a $45 tip.
anyway, that was the story. i really don't understand why people feel the need to give servers such a hard time. i am literally a fucking human being. i was never intentionally rude to them, i think some people just think everyone has it out for them. when someone requests something that i can't give them, it's not a personal attack. i was patient and they were very condescending the entire time. i fully understand the frustration with shitty service, I'm incredibly picky when i go out, but like people need to understand that the world doesn't revolve around them and that other people need my time too. i also need to be able to run food and stuff.
so please, don't tell your server you're ready to order if you are not (especially if they seem busy) and understand that if i can't do something for you, I CANNOT DO IT. and telling you i'd have to charge for something is a courtesy. you have eyes, you can read the menu. it very clearly outlines everything we have available. get the fuck over yourself. just because we are serving you, doesn't mean you're above us as people. i make more money than you, HAH.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/133gfxc/grown_women_literally_bullying_me/
| 108 | 97 | 1,682,831,465 | 9 |
service charge
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hot
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110ihxq
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TalesFromYourServer
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Wildest first table of the day encounter
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I work at an Applebee's in a very busy location. I've almost been there for a year now and it's my first serving job. Saturday's are by far the worst days ever(Of course). You get constantly double-sat, (Hosts are idiots and other times managers demand them to sit anyone if there's an open table. They don't care what quality of service we can give.) Cups and utensils barely get cleaned thanks to forgetful/lazy bussers, so we're scrambling to find plastic utensils and to-go cups (Both of which we're not allowed to give out but do anyways under the managers' noses when we have to).
​
This Saturday in particular started off with a bang. My first table of the day is a 5 top. A dude, his girlfriend, and 3 kids definitely all below 10. He first starts off by telling me he used to work there and is wondering if he can get a discount. I go to ask my manager. For this case let's call her Joy. I tell Joy his name and immediately she responds with "HELL no! He ain't getting shit!" I'm guessing she wasn't a huge fan of him when he was there.
​
I go back and tell him we can only give discounts to former employees and he's okay with this. Everything is going smoothly, we strike up conversation.
​
The man orders Bone-in Buffalo wings, then when I pass by 3 minutes later, he changes his mind to flaming hot cheetos wings instead. I already sent the buffalo wings in so I go in the kitchen to let the kitchen manager know of the change and he says alright.
​
When the family is finished eating they request their bill which I give them. The Bill is $117 and he gives me $128 and tells me to keep the change. As I pass back around, he tells me I charged him for the buffalo wings that he cancelled which I apologize for and immediately go to fix it. I return with his money back AND the corrected bill (Total is $101) so that he can adjust how much he wants to tip me because I doubted his intentions were to tip me $27.
​
He gets up without a word after I gave him the new bill and the money, and walks for the door. I'm thinking "okay maybe he left it on the table and I didn't see?" So I stick around the area and the girlfriend is still there with one of the kids, so I'm thinking she's going to pay the bill. Then SHE gets up and starts walking for the door and I ask her "Is he going to pay the bill?" she replies with "I think he going to pay up front" and I tell her that it doesn't work like that here and that she has to pay with me. By the time I finished she had a phone to her ear (likely pretending to be on a call so she can ignore me and walk out).
I get to the front where they both are and ask them if they're going to pay and they still ignore me. THANKFULLY my manager Joy was there. She's tall and has a no bullshit attitude she's known to chase customers down LOL! She looked at me with a smile of anticipation on her face and says "Do you need me?" and I said "Yeah they didn't pay their bill". And she instantly springs up and confronts them outside.
​
I explain to her in-front of them that I gave him the money with the corrected bill back and he walked out ignoring me and he said "Well isn't that kind of stupid? I told you take whatever you charge me. (He did not) Nah I don't think I'm going to pay.." And tells his kids to hurry up and go to the car. The lady continues playing dumb.
​
My manager Joy, and one of the hostesses ran inside to get her car keys and prepared to chase them down. After that happens it's silent for a while, work resumes as normal. About 20 minutes later she comes back inside YELLING claiming she punched the man AND the woman in the face and that they called the cops and that I may need to give a statement. The kitchen and other staff are shocked at what's happening and are looking at me like "Oh that's YOUR table???". The cops came in and thankfully didn't question me. The dude got arrested for skipping out on a bill he was already going to pay. Idiot.
​
tl;dr >!I made a mistake on a customer's bill, gave it back to him with the money he gave me initially and he tries to walk out on the bill. Eventually gets chased down by my battle-hungry manager and gets his and his girlfriends asses beat infront of their kids and the dude gets arrested.!<
&#x200B;
Also not much of a story here but one of the hosts slapped a server in the face.(Both women, and I have no clue why it happened) They both got sent home. The server caught her outside and hit her really hard in the back of the head with her shoe. (I don't know what happened after, but one of them may get fired)
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/110ihxq/wildest_first_table_of_the_day_encounter/
| 28 | 7 | 1,676,216,249 | 9 |
service charge
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hot
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jwpasc
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TalesFromYourServer
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Restaurant profited off of my tips
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Overly dramatic title and a long story, but a blood-boiling one so bear with me.
I was working as a server at a family-owned restaurant in college. I had been serving for a couple years at this restaurant and knew the ins and outs of the place very well. At least until they hired a new assistant manager. This guy was wild and unpredictable. He would make decisions to screw over staff just for the fun of it.
On a particularly busy night I was overloaded with tables. One group had asked for an extra side of rice after I had brought out their meals. No problem, I went to our computer and put in the order. I got distracted at that moment by another guest and totally forgot to go get the rice (extra sides were gotten by servers, not kitchen staff). A while later I bring the ticket to the table who had asked for the extra rice. They mentioned the forgotten side and I felt terrible, but they couldn’t have been nicer about it. All they asked is that I take the $1.50 charge for extra rice off which of course I was happy to do.
Unfortunately, to remove any charges from a ticket you needed a manager. So I go get the new manager, explain the situation, and ask him to remove the rice. He does and then tells me to go put $1.50 in the cash drawer since it’s my fault that I forgot the rice. Keep in mind I never even put any rice on a plate so the restaurant is losing exactly $0 by removing this charge. I thought he was joking so I left and forgot about it.
At the end of the night I went to the new manager to get my tips for the night (at this restaurant we got all of our tips, even the ones from credit cards handed to us in cash at the end of each shift). I count it, and I’m $1.50 short. Thinking he miscounted, I ask him for the $1.50 and he says “You didn’t give that table rice so that loss comes from your tips”. I explain again that there is no loss because I never went to get the rice. He doesn’t care. I never see that $1.50 even after complaining to the GM and the owners.
If you’ve stuck around this long, thanks and sorry for a long story. I realize it’s only $1.50, but what if it had been a pricey (upwards of $15) cocktail? It’s really the principle of it that irks me so much. This was the last straw on top of a lot of issues at that place and I immediately started looking for other jobs. I left about a month later.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/jwpasc/restaurant_profited_off_of_my_tips/
| 1,615 | 90 | 1,605,736,261 | 9 |
restaurant tip
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relevance
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664z96
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TalesFromYourServer
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Someone left a $10 tip on a $220 tab because the "restaurant was small, so the server didn't have to walk that far"
| null |
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/664z96/someone_left_a_10_tip_on_a_220_tab_because_the/
| 869 | 211 | 1,492,542,701 | 9 |
restaurant tip
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relevance
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1gfrlec
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TalesFromYourServer
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Please use your brains and call ahead before doing something like this
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This was a couple years ago. But one of the most mind bogglingly stupid restaurant experiences I've had. It seemed to actively rely on multiple people not using their brain or having the most basic understanding of how restaurants, or how even time itself, work.
It's about 230 in the afternoon on a Wednesday. Our lunch rush is over. We've cut to two servers, one manager, one host, one bartender and iirc two people in the back. There's like one table in the dining room and a couple at the bar. Typical.
Suddenly, three FULL school busses pull into our parking lot.
Out start coming kids from what I guess is out of the area as they are wearing unfamiliar uniforms. They are probably in the 15 to 16 year old range.
This so far is unfortunate but not end of the world bad. My boss is actually a bit excited because it's gonna make the days numbers look good. But I've got a sinking feeling.
Other server and I start getting pitchers and stuff ready while the host and manager starts seating them. It's 42 people in total.
I go up to two adults with the group and introduce myself and ask how they are handling the bill. (Praying for a single check)
They smile at me and say yes, one check. (YAY) except....all the kids are gonna have to pay for their drinks themselves if they don't want water. Okay. Fine. Annoying but okay.
So I go up and down the lines fast getting all the drinks (about 3/4s of them order non waters). Fine. Then as my server buddy goes back and starts making them I get the adult drinks. As I'm just about to turn away, one of the women stopped me and drops the bombshell.
"We're on a tight schedule. We have a debate tournament to get to. We need to be out of here in 25 minute, okay?"
Deer in headlights look. You have a 42 top. I'm just starting to get their drinks. We have two cooks. Everyone is eating. No one has even ordered.
My boss has overheard this. We lock eyes. We're fucked. To her credit she immediately runs to the kitchen to get on the line herself.
At this point I literally grab a chair to stand on. Yelling over 40 talking children I tell them we are short on time so have your orders ready as soon as I get to you.
I start going down the lines. No chit chat. No questions about any modifiers, I'm just best guessing at this point (they aren't paying for the food anyway). About every 8 orders I run to the POS and throw them in. Most of our food is fast. A couple people ordered the few things that would take too long so I just said "you don't have time. Pick something else." I'm not trying to be a dick but I'm working with what I have.
I know my boss is gonna kill me later but I know at this point all those drinks the kids ordered are free. I'm not gonna have the time to individually process 30 extra $3 tickets. The kids don't know better. They're not gonna be all ready to pay. They're gonna be talking to their friends, be annoyed we are interrupting, take forever to pull out a card, etc.
To our kitchen and bosses credits they are flying. Everyone else is food running and it's going fairly smoothly. But the women keep checking their phones and frowning.
We get the last plates out pretty much at the time they are supposed to be leaving. To the kids credit they all were eating pretty fast.
The women start rushing the kids, telling them to get back on the busses and they had to go. I checked my phone. 32 minutes from beginning of order taking to completion of a meal of a 42 top. Pretty damn good IMO.
As I said before, we gave away about $100 in drinks. My boss thankfully completely backed me on not trying to charge for it or waste time by remaking all waters and taking the drinks already on the table back.
But I still to this day remember the numbers on the check.
Total bill was $532. The women looked at in and both laughed. She turned to me and said "Dang that was so close! They only gave us $550 cash to cover the bill!"
Yup. $18 tip on a 42 top we got from door to door in 40 minutes.
They even left a review. 4 out of 5 stars. Said the food was great and the people friendly but "the food took longer than they expected". 🤬🤬
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1gfrlec/please_use_your_brains_and_call_ahead_before/
| 2,351 | 149 | 1,730,307,965 | 9 |
restaurant tip
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relevance
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1fvhxcv
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TalesFromYourServer
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my favorite regular is now my worst nightmare
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I am a 24F bartender and have worked at my restaurant for over two years now. About a year ago I got promoted to become a bartender and this is when I met Alex(changed his name for privacy).
Alex started off as the perfect customer. Super kind and respectful, low maintenance, easy to talk to, great sense of humor, and tipped really REALLY good. Like if his check was under $100 he’d always tip $50, and if it was above, he’d always tip $100. Even if he didn’t tip like this though I still would’ve really enjoyed him as a customer though. I really did like talking to him and if I saw him come in I knew it’d be a good day.
My coworker who had been bartending at my restaurant longer than I have noticed it before I did. She had suspected that Alex had a crush on me for a while, but didn’t say anything because he kept it respectful and it seemed harmless. Alex also has a wife and three children btw, and he also knows that I am engaged. So again, a harmless crush doesn’t necessarily mean anything especially if he doesn’t act on it.
Or at least that’s what my coworker thought.
Alex started coming in more and more. I would see him come in at least once a week. He then asked me what days I bartended, then he would only come in on those days. Then one of his kids got really sick and he didn’t come in for a while. Me and all the other bartenders were really worried about him during this time because his kid is super young and he all cared about this guy.
Sometime after Thanksgiving Alex comes in again while I was working. He talks to me about his kid and he begins to tell me that he really likes talking to me and asks me again what days I work because he wants to come in when I do. He proceeds to ask me to exchange emails so he can get my schedule. I thought that was really weird and I told him emails seems a bit suspicious. He laughed it off and agreed with me then gave me his number instead. He tipped me $200 that night and I threw away his number at the end of my shift. It felt wrong and made me feel dirty.
Maybe a week before christmas Alex comes in again and apologizes if giving me his number made me feel uncomfortable and says “if i ever say or do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable you can tell me to fuck off.” I laugh it off and say I will, cause what am i supposed to do? I am at work and I can’t leave or do anything. I was also very confused at three time because it was very weird for him to do that. Later on when I cash him out, he starts talking about again how easy it is for him to talk to me and how he really has no one. How his mom has never cared about him and only now does because he has money. How friends have manipulated him cause of his money. I ask him “what about your wife? surely she is there for you” He then continues to talk shit about his wife and how they are always fighting and can never agree. I tell him I really think he should talk to a therapist. He tells me that he’s tried and they only want his money. But then he looks at me and tells me that I am different. He also calls me attractive and continues on, I didn’t know what to say or how to even process what I was hearing but I found a way somehow to end the conversation and get back to work so he could leave. He didn’t come in for a while after that again.
Alex came back again on Valentine’s day with his wife. I was not sure how to process it at first but he started bringing her in more and I even got talk to her and get to know her. She is wonderful and so beautiful. She is really kind, she is an elementary school teacher and she loves her family a lot. It really made me dislike Alex because here he has this wonderful wife who is struggling just as much as he is and he spends hours at my bar while she is at home taking care of her sick kid and their infant.
Anyways, things started to get better and it really seemed like their relationship was in the mend and maybe whatever was happening during the holidays was a moment of weakness for him. He started acting normal, I could talk to him without feeling uncomfortable and even when came in without his wife it was like things were back to the way they were.
The last time I saw his wife she came in and asked if I workout and started asking me what I do cause she has fitness goals. I don’t mind normally talking about that stuff cause I enjoy weightlifting and I enjoy helping out other people that are interested in it. As I am answering her questions, Alex jumps in and says “I’ll pay you to train her.” My jaw nearly dropped to the floor. It felt almost sinister and I started to feel trapped. I immediately say “oh no I wouldn’t be good as a trainer.” and derail by showing his wife a woman who I know of who is a certified trainer that could help her get the results she is looking for.
Alex started coming in alone again after that, and making very weird jokes. He started joking about me babysitting his kids. (I was literally screaming internally, I AM A STRANGER) He told me he could teach me how to paint when I mentioned I enjoy painting as a hobby. Invited me to gamble with him, when I told him I don’t like losing he told me he’d give me money to gamble. I had to make a joke about if he gave me money I wouldn’t gamble it cause then it wouldn’t be his it’d be mine. At this point I had told two of the other bartenders that are women and they had noticed it too and helped keep an eye out for me and tried to help me avoid him. But it’s very hard when I am literally trapped behind a counter.
The worst of it happened this summer when he came in late and heard that two of my coworkers were going out for drinks after the shift. The bartender I was working with liked him a lot and the two of them have gone out for drinks before so he invited Alex to join them. Alex quickly asked me if I was joining which I said no I am tired and I am going straight to bed after my shift. He literally begs me to come out and offers to buy me a drink. I again decline, and give the excuse that I just got back from vacation and I drank way too much and need to let my body rest. Alex continues to beg me to come out with them and to let him buy me a drink 15 times that night. I am not even exaggerating. I wish it wasn’t true. The last thing he said to me before they left for the bar was, “So what will it be? yay or nay?” I tell him my answer is still no. He jokes that he didn’t hear me. I correct him and say he wasn’t listening, he then saws coyly “well i don’t like to listen.” I nearly flipped my shit, that pissed me off so much. but i chose to just not say anything and leave.
Alex came back in the next week, and before he leaves he asks me to come out for a drink with him again “as a friend.” I say i don’t drink. he says what about coffee. i say i don’t drink caffeine. he pleads with me and asks “water?” I finally tell him I am not comfortable going out with him at all and cash him out. He tells me to have a nice life and leaves.
He didn’t come back in for almost three months, and I bet you can’t guess what happens next?
Alex came in again about two weeks ago. He came in with his friend that will sometimes come in with him because he passed a really hard class. Some really high level chemical engineering class. And again things seemed to be normal. Alex is not saying anything weird just acting like nothing ever happened. I am keeping my service hat on but also trying to keep my distance as much as i can behind the counter. he also likes to sit right behind our POS computer which is also right next to the well, so again makes it really hard to avoid the man. Much to my relief nothing happens and they leave with it being a pleasant and uneventful visit.
But now we have caught up to the present and he came in again this past Tuesday an hour before we closed by himself while I am the only bartender working. I am hoping everything will be fine and normal, but really really scared that it won’t. And to my dismay he asks me to drinks again. I avoid the question but he asks again. I tell him i’m on antibiotics so i can’t drink(which is the truth conveniently enough). But this man refuses to take a hint and continues to exhaust me, and he asks “how about when you’re off the antibiotics?” I tell him no again and just make an excuse that I am trying to be sober. I don’t know if he believed me or finally got the hint but he said goodnight and finally left.
I was actually very scared with this last interaction. even though nothing serious seems to be happening from an outside perspective, i was so scared. for the first time i was actually alone behind the bar while he was here. there was one cocktailer working but there was no one behind the bar with me and he was almost the second to last customer to leave. i was very very scared of being completely alone in the whole bar just me and him. And him completely ignoring everything that happened to continue to ask me to get a drink with him is scary. it makes me so scared of what would happen if i gave him and finally agreed. what else would he continue to push? luckily my manager walked me out that night and nothing happened and for now I am safe. I finally told the bartender that went out for drinks with Alex that night. But I don’t know what else to do. from the surface he is the literal perfect customer, and i am just so lucky that the people i’ve told believe me. but i am scared management won’t believe me. I am scared of them blaming me for what happening to me. i am scared of retaliation from him. but i am also scared every time he comes in now.
I apologize for this very long post but if anyone has experience anything like this, what did you do and what happened? I could really use some hope in this situation. thanks <3
Edit: Alex has always been a big tipper. he was a regular before i started bartending and he always tipped $50-100 on his checks. the thing that changed was the frequency, day of week and time that he’d come in once i started bartending. He had the stamp of approval from all the other bartenders, so i thought he was just a good person. this took me and the rest of the bartenders by surprise, especially because he kept it well hidden from the other bartenders as well.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1fvhxcv/my_favorite_regular_is_now_my_worst_nightmare/
| 1,478 | 193 | 1,727,988,636 | 9 |
restaurant tip
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relevance
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1gonxlf
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TalesFromYourServer
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Since The Election People Think It's Okay to Be An A****le Again
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(my goal here is not to entertain, but to document. I think it's important writing to be done because people should know what happens in restaurants.)
The day after the election I came back to work. I didn't want to talk to anyone because I was concerned with my future and well being. Almost immediately a table of 3 come inside. Old people, one wearing a big Trump Hat. I already want to go home, but I decide it's best not to stereotype, I mean, maybe they like waiters, I wouldn't know. So I put on my charm, and do what I do with everyone. I ask them what they want to drink, the lady immediately interrupts me and asks me if I cook any of the food. I give her the rundown of how the kitchen, oven, and cutting area works. Clearly, I decide, these people are not interested in tipping me, but I don't let that get me angry anymore. It's just a job and temporary one at that, and I knew what I was signing up for (serving food to people means you will be exposed to the worst human behavior). So whatever, they're just here for a little bit then I'll never see them again. I bring out their food, there's no problems. They get everything they asked for. To my surprise they did tip me. 3$. My average up to this point was 5$ but I'll take it considering I expected them to leave me a quarter at best. The lady gave me a card with conspiracy theory videos on it and told me it was "the truth about what's really happening in America".
Not long after this the teenaged cook we have comes around to the front to mess around. He dances a bit and says "I'm glad daddy trump won." I gave him the card the lady gave me. I told him that now these are the people who will decide what minimum wage is going to be.
Not to say that my regulars still aren't my favorite guests, they still come and I'm proud when I do a good job, but the degree of assholes has exploded. I don't expect tips from customers who wait an hour and then get the wrong food (though the receipts show that it's not my fault). However today I was doing great. We had grandmas and grandpas and grandkids, a loving and fun environment, but to my displeasure, despite doing a great job. They didn't leave any money at all. I thought that maybe they found a hair in their food so I didn't let it bother me. Probably 4 more tables of people come in all at once. One man is selling Trump crap out of the back of his car. He won't order food. He just stands at the counter, showing me "own the libs" memes on his phone, making others wait, while he makes me explain how the app works. I stand there with him, explain how we do chicken wings. Everything. If we cut the chicken ourselves, if we fry it or bake it, what sauces do we have, how long are they cooked. He ended up buying 8 piece wings after what seemed like an hour. Meanwhile people waited so I rushed around and got everyone what they needed. Ended up getting 9 dollars out of the whole rush. I'm grateful, but this isn't enough to pay my bills.
All day long, these old people coming in are giving me shifty eyes, they're enjoying themselves but not tipping. My average of 5 a table drops to 2 at best since the election. This might just be a random thing, but I've hung out with many MAGA people in the past, and they DO look down on service workers. They assume the worst, and hate the idea that we get paid for what we do. For the most part, they are looking for a reason to look down on and resent the service class. I've been a cashier on the highway by Kansas City. The Trump Supporters were the rudest people by far. Some of you will probably say I should be fired, but I will not kiss anyone's ass for a few dollars. Only a fool would do that.
Next bad tip I get, I'm going to follow them back into the parking lot, give them the money back and say "you need it more than me". No job is worth this nonsense. I will never forget the disrespect I've suffered from these morons. Shame on this country and on its people. History will not be kind to us.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1gonxlf/since_the_election_people_think_its_okay_to_be_an/
| 1,453 | 169 | 1,731,315,275 | 9 |
restaurant tip
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relevance
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1azjuyt
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TalesFromYourServer
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Waiters in states where the tipped minimum wage is still $2.13/hour, does your restaurant pay you more than that?
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I waited tables a long time ago and made $2.13/hour so my paychecks were usually $0 and I owed a bunch in taxes since that $2.13/hour didn't cover taxes on my tips.
Do restaurants in those states still pay $2.13/hour or do they pay more now?
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1azjuyt/waiters_in_states_where_the_tipped_minimum_wage/
| 28 | 57 | 1,708,853,001 | 9 |
restaurant tip
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relevance
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19dexg7
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TalesFromYourServer
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Recently started managing a major chain restaurant and the franchise owner (my boss) is being super deceptive about credit card tips.
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10 days later update: Spoke one on one with the owner after I recovered from covid and all is resolved. Tips are being paid out on checks biweekly from now on and back pay is coming for employees. I also got an hourly raise at the end of it all. Some way some how it all worked out.
EDIT: Should be tagged with advice 😅)
Hi guys, I’ve worked in restaurants for my entire adult life (about 10 years now) and seen just about every single tipping arrangement you could imagine, tip jars split between employees by shift, serving tables with tip outs for bussers, bartenders, hosts, barbacks, food runners, or digital tips spread through checks exactly by hours worked, you name it.
In December I became a manager at a chain corporation that does low amounts of business at this particular location. Right now, it is just me, the franchise owner (who just bought the location in November), and about 8 other part time employees, mostly younger high school first job types, very small staff. According to the younger staff, they used to see on their paychecks their hourly wage and hours worked, as well as a seperate section for credit card tips. Ever since the new owner took over, those credit card tips have not appeared on their checks, only their hourly wage.
Since starting my position, for the most part I have completely taken over the back of house and kitchen operations although instead of actually logging an order or inventory count into a computer myself he simply has me record the order on paper and he inputs the orders himself. I have no access to any of the manager functions on our back of house systems besides being able to print labels for food items.
In terms of cash handling, I tend to work in the morning so I have only been responsible of making sure the drawer is counted and balanced at the start of the shift but he or another employee has handled the check outs.
He instructs employees to simply get the drawer balanced ($200) and then *any and everything* more than that is the deposit to be put with the cashout report and cash in the safe (remember this detail it will be important shortly)
Meanwhile, for weeks now I have had several conversations with employees about tips and wondering where they go and frankly most of them seem confused and slightly upset about it but haven’t said anything to him or felt like they could do anything about it. However our minimum wage just raised to $15 so they all just got a raise by default so I think they’re just distracted and happy about that.
Despite that raise, these employees have not been receiving any of the credit card tips that customers leave at the POS for months and this is a fairly well known and nationwide chain.
I have been conflicted about what to do about this, I’ve started blatantly telling some customers, and they’ve even told others. But when speaking to the owner I’m focused on making a good impression on my boss and don’t bring it up and just have long conversations about the needs and status of the kitchen. I’ve been struggling for a while and this job has been a blessing, even for bad pay and stolen tips, I can’t afford to lose it. But I also want to do the right thing and make sure these employees get their tips.
Tonight I decided to take things into my own hands though, he tasked me with coming in to close the store for him 3 nights this week which means I was responsible for the checkouts.
When I counted the drawers and separated the deposit, I entered the deposit amount and printed out the checkout report. On the report it shows as follows
Declared Cash - ($X)
Expected cash - ($Y)
Tips - ($Z)
Deposit - ($X-$Z)
Cash Over/Short - ($Y-$X)
And then under a full list of each individual credit card tips for that day
So, clearly on these reports they account for and separate the credit card tips out for the employees. Yet none of them see any of that and are blindly adding the tips to the cash deposit because the owner has instructed them that anything and everything over balancing the drawer goes into the deposit. Instead of doing that, I seperated the tips amount from the deposit, checked the labor report to see the exact hourage of each employee that worked today, and divided the cash tips up between each employee based on their hours worked for that day. Their tips are sitting in named baggies in the office that I will give to them when they come in. It is THEIR money.
I don’t know how this trend will continue or what will happen when the owner returns on Thursday but I am hoping he will be empathetic. I have taken this job extremely seriously and operated with complete integrity for his business and will always continue to do so but if this costs me my job in the end I don’t know exactly how to proceed. Any thoughts are appreciated.
(EDIT) Next day:
I spoke with family and friends for a long time today getting their opinions on everything (my mom owning her own business herself) and even spoke anonymously with the DoL about what to do while giving little details besides the state I work in to decide my actions carefully.
Unfortunately, according to the DoL, if I file an official complaint it will take 3-4 weeks to process to their higher ups and they will make a decision on its validity first, then if it is valid basically choose whether they have the resources to pursue this and send someone out to the location, or if they decide they don’t have the resources, will simply advise me to seek a private attorney to represent me in a case against the business.
Sadly, I can’t afford a private attorney to take this anywhere and I suspect the reason their resources are divided so thin is because the mimimum wage was just raised to $15 an hour this month and cases such as these as popping up all over the place as business owners shrewdly adapt.
I haven’t really decided what to do. It’s 11:35 now and I work at 5 and will be responsible for making the deposit tonight as well.
Haven’t spoken a word to the owner yet either. Everything this morning was simply business as usual. Feeling anxious.)
Edit: day after
Me and my partner both tested positive for covid this morning and I had just left work last evening, I didn’t even feel symptoms and still don’t now. So this entire situation has been put on hold and I don’t even know what’s happening at the store right now. Not even to mention what he’s gonna make of everything when he comes in Thursday. What a roller coaster of a week.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/19dexg7/recently_started_managing_a_major_chain/
| 81 | 46 | 1,705,980,699 | 9 |
restaurant tip
|
relevance
|
1hilodr
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Great first impression!
|
You just know when you first meet a table how the rest of the night's going to go. Thankfully I was hosting last night but I feel sooo bad for my coworker who had to take this table. It was a 12 top who came in at like 9 when our kitchen closes at 10:40, which is fine, but meant it's likely this server's last table and will keep her there for the rest of the night. before they even greeted me one of the moms loudly exclaimed "man! It's motherfucking DEAD up in here!" She was so loud the cooks could hear her.
While I was seating them one of the kids told me "I want DIS! But without DIS!" I said "okay, but I'm not your waitress." Another kid goes "I want a pasta! But with bone in wings on top instead of tenders." Again, I'm not your waitress and bone in wings are a stand alone dish not a topping sub, but whatever. They eventually sat over two large tables, they put all the kids (like 8 of them) at one table and had the four adults at the other. So there's a table of 8 kids without an adult, you can imagine how that was. But not all of them were even there when they were first sat, and they told the server to divide their checks into like four including the members who weren't there yet. "He's with me and his momma who's not here yet, she's with these two coming later, and these two are together." X4. I went back to my book and let their server attempt her best, at one point she asked them "can I get anyone anything else?" And one of the kids goes "refill! Refill!" No correction from parent. One of the adults had music playing on her phone on full volume the whole time. The kids who were all at a table together were wrestling, climbing over the booth, etc. no parent involvement. When they got their check one of the moms yells at the waitress "I'm not paying no $40 for no broccoli chicken Alfredo with extra chicken! Extra Alfredo sauce! And extra broccoli!" All of which she ordered, like restaurants just let you add unlimited mods to food for free? I went to check the bathroom and they had somehow pulled every single paper towel out of the women's room which I had just refilled earlier that day. What the fuck?? Are you stealing PAPER TOWELS from a restaurant?? The manager finally kicked them out and made them pay their bill on the spot for the state of the bathroom and not controlling their kids and they tipped nothing on over $200. I hope they're banned for life.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1hilodr/great_first_impression/
| 53 | 5 | 1,734,706,969 | 9 |
restaurant tip
|
hot
|
1h9b44s
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
I accidentally served a minor alcohol
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I’m so in my head over this and I feel so guilty and scared. Let me paint the picture for you. I just started a new waitress job a couple days ago, this was my fourth day. I am very well aware of the identification laws as the majority of my past jobs have required me to check IDs whether for medication, alcohol, etc. I was already stressed at the start of the shift because I was 3 minutes late and I had made a mistake the day before, which was sternly discussed with me on my arrival in front of the whole bar and server staff. Already not to pleasing to my “hard-to-please” boss. Saturdays are the busiest days at this place I was forewarned, and that was a huge understatement. I didn’t stop moving from 1pm-9pm so much so that that the other waitresses pulled me aside and acknowledged how busy I was and tried to get me to take a break and get something to eat . But I was hungry, I was exhausted, I was stressed, I was on the verge of tears the entire night, using every ounce of energy and fight I had to not have a breakdown in the bathroom because my anxiety was giving me a ride. During this mishap, I had at the time, 6 tables at once, two 4tops, three 2tops, and one 3top. The 3top was 2 guys and their dad. Now I want to say here is where I fucked up. I should have carded. I should have and instantly regretted not doing it. The guys did look young and I should have just asked for a goddamn ID. Now here is how the situation played out. One of the guys was looking at our drink menu as I approached the table. I gave my intro and asked for drink orders. I want to reiterate that the dad is there with them. The guy looks up from the menu, looks at his dad, looks at me, and orders a strawberry daiquiri. Keep in mind this is my fourth day to a job I’ve never done, at a local restaurant pub. I’m not totally familiar with all of the drink options. So to add to my stress, I look like a complete and total dumbass because the bartender shakes his head and tells me we don’t serve those here. I relay the news and the son orders a pina colada instead. I come back with the drinks and attend to my other tables, one of which was not having a good experience unrelated to me personally, but was taking their frustrations out on me. So I’m rushing around for probably another 20 minutes or so and I go back to the 3top. The dad lowered his voice and asked me if the pina colada was non alcohol because his son was 14. I stared, utterly shocked and panicked at the dad for a good 10 seconds before answering oh my god I am so sorry I cannot apologize enough. That dad said he understood how it would have been confusing because the son did not ask for it virgin or no alcohol. I apologized about a thousand more times for the rest of their stay and each time the dad reassured me not to worry about it. However I am indeed very worried about it. This place doesn’t have cameras. I was so scared I told one of the waitresses what happened and I fear that that may have been a mistake. Thankfully the son didn’t drink very much of it, probably a sip or two before he realized and the dad ended up finishing the drink himself. The dad also tipped me generously for the amount of the bill. I didn’t think anyone ran to the boss/owner about me because I didn’t receive any angry texts. I know where I went wrong and I completely acknowledge that and take all the accountability for course of actions I should have taken differently. I have to go there tomorrow to get my check and I’m scared shitless I’m going to screamed at or worse, fired. I can’t afford to loose this job whatsoever and even though it was hell I made $300 in tips and averaged $100 the two prior days I was on the floor. Has anyone ever had a similar experience? Should I start looking for a new job?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1h9b44s/i_accidentally_served_a_minor_alcohol/
| 89 | 98 | 1,733,633,090 | 9 |
restaurant tip
|
hot
|
1gzm8u2
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Why are servers so entitled when it comes to bussers helping them?
|
I’m currently doing seasonal work for fun and was placed as a busser for a restaurant.
I work hard, am constantly busy, and as a team, no table really is left unset for more than 5 minutes.
I’ve been having issues with some of the servers. Not all, just 2-3 of them who make poor comments that “the bussers don’t do anything, the way they clean tables is unsanitary,” and complaining behind our backs. Or complain when bussing isn’t quick enough but is the one to comfortably hand you $2 as a tip. Most servers tip us under $10 for the shift each.
By nature, i’m a sensitive person and wanted to get along with everyone as well as enjoy coming to work. I’m confused at the entitlement by some of the servers. We do almost everything from greeting guests, getting drink orders (at least waters for sure), clearing plates, then resetting the tables. Also, polishing silverware, keeping servers stations filled, etc.
Why do servers complain? How do I handle it without causing tensions?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1gzm8u2/why_are_servers_so_entitled_when_it_comes_to/
| 51 | 91 | 1,732,550,589 | 9 |
restaurant tip
|
hot
|
1gq1z3h
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
just a bad tuesday
|
i had a bad shift so i need to talk about it. i get to work and all the labels for the bar are expired from two days ago. ok whatever. i’m cleaning the coolers and NOTHING IS STOCKED. i understand it was veterans day but i worked yesterday as well and they had 2 people so it shouldn’t be so hard for two people to stock up. it wasn’t busy at all today and every table i had just tipped poorly. i got 2.50 on a 57.50, 5 on a 62, 5 on a 56, etc. a newer coworker comes in a lil early before his shift and sits down to eat. everything goes good until he didn’t tip. how do you work in a restaurant and NOT TIP?? he’s not a server but my day wasn’t already the best so getting stiffed by someone i work with annoyed me. shift change happens at 4. the server and bartender are late so i’m still taking tables. my last table is a 6 top which was a mom and her kids. they were super polite but did take a long time. their bill was high so i was hoping for a good tip to make up for the day. i’m there til after 5 when i have class in 20 minutes just to get 10 dollars on a bill over 100 dollars. i wanted to explode when i saw the tip. days like this just make me question why i stay lol.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1gq1z3h/just_a_bad_tuesday/
| 44 | 5 | 1,731,463,227 | 9 |
restaurant tip
|
hot
|
1gngimc
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Not sure if I should stay
|
I’ve been working at a location that’s split between a casual dining restaurant and a pub for about 8 weeks now as a food runner on the pub side. This is my first food running job as I was a host at my previous job which was fine dining. My original was plan was to become a server but was told I would need to foodrun first. I was also told that the food runners on the pub side sometimes make more money than the servers as there’s often large parties and events. Food runners get 20 % automatic tips on orders from the pub side as well as a percentage of bartenders and servers on the restaurant side. So far I’ve worked about 151 hours and made $1,953.89 without deductions. I feel like this is a low amount of money for the work I’m doing and is a decrease from my previous job. I am surprised my coworkers are extremely content with this amount and can afford rent as well as having decent cars solely working this position. I am currently struggling financially and am conflicted about either staying and hopefully becoming a server and making a little extra more or looking for another job where I can use my experience to serve but I do struggle slightly with carrying trays with heavier items such as skillets as well as trays with a ton of drinks. I’ve had trouble in the past looking for server jobs that require no prior experience serving but can food running experience count?
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1gngimc/not_sure_if_i_should_stay/
| 10 | 1 | 1,731,176,938 | 9 |
restaurant tip
|
hot
|
efusqr
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
750 dollar tip on Christmas. I had to share with you.
|
Apparently there is a meet up group that gets together on Christmas morning with the sole purpose of hooking up service industry people. I have served, managed, cooked ect for 18 years and have never had anything like this happen to me nor am I likely to ever have this happen to me again. I gotta share it. I hope y'all can appreciate it.
I work in a diner. For all of the aforementioned 18 years I have worked in the same place. It is a good place with great mom and pop owners. On the 24th I take off each year and spend with my 4 kids and family. On the 25th I get up and go in at 6am and work. I do this so other people who don't have the luxury of taking the 24th off can have the morning with their kids. They also have small kids and mine are not little anymore. 2 of my kids have worked in service industry beside me since they were 13. On Christmas morning my 18 year old son, we will call Dan, came in with me. He doesn't work in my restaurant any longer but he wanted to hang with me for the day. We love working together.
I am really glad my son came to work with me. No other servers showed up. I was managing and serving this shift and would of been all alone had Dan not drove in with me. We also only had 1 cook. No dish, no bus, no host, no nothing!
At 9am a group of 15 walk in. All big hungry guys who start arranging their table themselves moving things and getting settled. I explain that things might be moving slow today as lots of our staff was out for the holliday. These guys were totally understanding and I felt good about them. At that moment a guy comes in off the street saying he was sent to me for orientation! I laughed in his face for a second then I asked if he was willing to work. He eagerly said yes and he puts on an apron and hit the dish pit. Who trains on Christmas?!? A dude who really needs a job I guess. Our first Christmas miracle had just occured.
I tell Dan that I will take the 15 top. He has a handful of other tables and we are tag teaming everything. We had agreed earlier to split everything down the middle that we made when we realized we were going to be alone. I am just better with large tables and I also knew I would be helping cook for these guests so all the better to hear straight from them what they wanted. I take there order, nothing too complicated, and head back to the kitchen and help cook by manning the grill side. They get their food pretty fast. Me and the cook have worked together that whole 18 years so we are like a well oiled machine.
They all paid separately or in pairs. I drop the checks and have had a pretty good time with the guys, joking and laughing. They have been a fun table and I am glad they came. I always wonder about people who have no one on Christmas morning and feel a little sad for them. These guys seem like old friends though and I am glad they have each other. Little did I know that these guys only meet once a year and for this event and that they were watching me very closely.
The first two guys pay. One guy gives me a 100 dollar tip! The next guy gives me 50! I want to thank them but want to do it on the down low because I dont want to make them feel uncomfortable. I go over to them each and give them a whisper, "I am about to hug you." And then give them both a little hug and whisper "thank you." No one seemed to notice because this was a loud busy table. They were all watching though! Three more guys give me there credit card slips... 200, 100 another 50. I stand there stuttering and dumb founded. They realize the jig is up and all of them start shoving money at me. I loose my shit and start crying. They are laughing their asses off like they just pulled the best prank of their lives. My son runs over at the sight of his crying mother and I show him 2 if the slips. One says 100 and another says 200. He knew I had just gotten a 100 so he is thinking this is the same one. He glances at the 200 and he thought it said 2.00 so he is confused. Then it hits him.
It's like a scene from a bad 80's movie. There is crying and laughing and hugging and then they explain who they are and what they are doing. Me and Dan are just freaking out. They left us 750.00 total.
Once these Christmas Fairies left, me and Dan did some quick math. We had 400 in cash. We decided to split it with cook and the new guy that saved our asses on Christmas morning. We went back to the kitchen and made it rain 20's (not really. We handed it over like sensible people) and both of them were so happy! It felt great to share with them a few hundred bucks and made the rest of that shit show of a Christmas brunch rush a tad easier for all of us.
I love working in the service industry. It is true we see the worst of humanity in our field. But we also see the best sometimes. Today, I saw something crazy and beautiful. These guys planned this, do it yearly and take crazy joy from doing it. I am glad they exist, not just because I became richer financially yesterday but because I became richer in feeling the love of humanity. Thank you Christmas Fairies. May you all have a beautiful New Year.
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/efusqr/750_dollar_tip_on_christmas_i_had_to_share_with/
| 4,125 | 85 | 1,577,362,655 | 9 |
restaurant tip
|
top
|
at9y1w
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
Woman tries to kill her son for a free meal
|
So to start this is my first post so I apologize if anything is off format, I only discovered these exist thanks to the overflow of reddit videos on youtube.
&#x200B;
A little back story, when I was 22 I had bounced around several jobs not really knowing where I wanted to end up, and after being unemployed for about month I finally found a decent job as a server at a brand new Olive Garden that had been built in my neighborhood. It was great, after a week of onsite training in the empty restaurant we had our grand opening. The local community, as well as all the staff, were super excited (it can be incredibly fun to open a restaurant that everyone has been eagerly waiting for).
&#x200B;
fast forward 6 months, everything has been going great, we are constantly busy as the nearest Olive Garden before ours opened was a good 30 minutes away and didn't have a great reputation. I have received a few raises in that time, some of my friends/coworkers have gotten promoted to trainers and everything, overall, just seems to be going great. Until this family comes in.
It was a Saturday evening and I was on the closing shift. If you're a server you already know Saturday evening is busy AF, and we were no exception. There had been a 45 minute wait (minimum) all day and I had been working 6 tables since the start of my shift.
Halfway into my shift I get an 8 top in my section, which is fine by me as it means A.) more tips for me and B.) two of my six tables would be pushed together (less work on an already crazy busy night). I see my table being sat by the hostess as I'm getting refills for another table, she hands out menus and then walks back to the drink area to let me know she had sat my 8 top that she had previously warned me was coming. The family consists of an older couple (mid 50's-ish) their 3 adult sons (the youngest being in his mid 20's) and the two older sons SO/GFs. There is a worrisome look on her face as she lets me know "they are going to be a handful" (I found out later that they had been incredibly loud/rude because they had been expected to wait, and had decided to take out much of their frustrations on the poor teenage girl hosting).
&#x200B;
No worries, this isn't the first hangry customers I've served.
&#x200B;
I deliver the refills and immediately head to the table. I make my usual greetings offer a wine sample (no takers), and ask if I can bring them some drinks. The mother looks at me with flaming daggers spewing from her eyes, "That would be great, since that idiot up front left us waited for almost an hour" she says. I apologize for their long wait and take all of their drink orders and promise I will get everything on the fly. I rush to the back grab every one of their drinks (even convince the bartenders to bump their drink to the front of the line, I usually tip them out pretty well so they aren't above doing me a favor every now and then), and I'm back within 2 minutes with 7 sodas, 8 waters, and two margaritas.
&#x200B;
The mom is now impressed and the air around the table has begun to get a little lighter, or so I though. After delivering everyone their drinks I begin asking if everyone is ready to order, most are but the mom and the youngest son (who is sitting next to her) have some questions about the food. No worries I know this menu like the back of my hand at this point. I'm casually talking with them both trying to get a feel for what type of dish they are looking for which basically amounts to "we want lots of pasta and lots... I mean LOTS of cheese, and none of that weird alfredo with spinach in it".
&#x200B;
I completely understand, I hate the soggy spinach at the bottom of the alfredo, it's just gross.
&#x200B;
After hearing them out i recommend the 5 cheese baked ziti, as anyone who has eaten it can tell you it is definitely the most pasta filled/cheese filled dish on the menu, and honestly my personal favorite. "YES" the mom proclaims "that is DEFINITELY what we are looking for, you are such an attentive waiter". I'm blushing at this point, I thank her for the compliment and let them know their food will be out quickly. I don't handle open praise well, not that its not welcome I just get super embarrassed and am never really sure how to respond.
I bring out their salads, get refills, and my nightmare table is happy... like happiness if bubbling from this table. In my mind I'm like, "BOOM, I'm a rockstar, I turned the entire mood of this table around just by being my usual helpful self, who's awesome? this guy, that's who" until the entrees arrive.
&#x200B;
I bring out everyone's food (at this point I have another server helping me as it's a TON of food), everyone is still beaming but I notice the younger son has this Sh\*teating grin on his face. I'm like "OK that's weird" but the tables still doing good so I don't really put much into it, I ask if everyone is good (they are) and I head to the kitchen to pick up an order for one of my other tables. I'm back there for about 3 minutes when I hear a commotion coming from the dining area. I rush out to find the youngest son gagging and clutching his throat as big pink hives start to appear on his neck.
&#x200B;
H\*ly Sh\*t
&#x200B;
The mom is behind his patting him on the back trying to get him to hack up whatever it is that he ate, while the rest of the table looks horrified. I rush to the table pull out my phone and begin calling 911.
Before I can hit send the mother stops (her son magically stops coughing) turns to me and vomiting hellfire says "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!?!?". I tell her I'm calling an ambulance as her son is clearly not OK. she's pissed. "YOU THINK I CAN AFFORD AN AMBULANCE JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE INCOMPETENT?" she screams, "Go get your manager this instant". I run to the managers office, at this point I have no idea WTF is going on but I'm not going to start questioning things now (I'm 22 and not the brightest in this regard). The store manager and assistant manager are both in the office going over schedules for the next week, I explain there is an emergency but the woman doesn't want to call 911 and instead is demanding to speak to the manager. They ask me to stay there and rush to the dining room.
&#x200B;
I waited in that office for what seemed like hours, having a panic attack because I literally could not figure out what had just happened. Was he allergic to something and just not know about it? what could it be? the oregano? IDK. The store manager comes back in and she is F\*cking livid.
"WHY WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THE ZITI TO SOMEBODY WITH A SEVER ALLERGY TO PASTA AND CHEESE?!?!?!?!?" she screams at me. "Wait... what?" I say, my mind still trying to wrap my head around the bullshit hurricane that I'm now facing. "THE ZITI, THEY SAID THEY TOLD YOU THEIR SON HAD A SEVER ALLERGY TO PASTA AND CHEESE AND ASKED YOU FOR A RECOMMENDATION TO ACCOMMODATE HIM, AND YOU SUGGEST F\*CKING ZITI????"
At this point I'm like "whoa B\*tch calm the F\*ck down". I take a deep, DEEP breath and begin to explain what happened.
"They never said any of that, in fact they asked specifically for which dish had the most cheese and pasta" (bingo it clicks they want free food) "I'm pretty sure they are just doing this for a free meal, why would a person who is deathly allergic to pasta and cheese come to an Oliver Garden?" I say, attempting to reason with my manager who is now red faced (I swear you could almost see the steam escaping her nostrils)
&#x200B;
"I DON'T CARE" she screams, "EVEN IF THEY DIDN'T SAY IT YOU SHOULD'VE KNOWN BETTER"
"HOW WOULD I HAVE KNOWN, I'M NOT A MIND READER" I yell back (bad idea)
She takes a deep breath "You are going to be paying for their meal from your tips, and after your shift you will be let go with a formal reprimand". OH HELL NO. This table had rung up a bill well over $200 and I currently made $3 an hour plus tips (this was the early 2000's, when it was still legal to pay servers well under the federal minimum wage because "they make it up it tips") I look her dead in the eyes and muster every ounce of courage I possibly could (plus I was mostly running on adrenaline and anger at this point so, yeah that probably helped) I say "Go F\*ck yourself" and leave her office.
I grab a handful of Ande's mints from the bucket we kept them in (they're good, sue me) and walk out. On my way out I see the family laughing their asses off, the son's hives have completely disappeared and they are all reveling in the fact that their stupid f\*cking plan worked. They see me and shoot me the most smug smiles I have ever seen. I smile, wave, and flip them off on my way out the door. I have no idea what happened after that and honestly I don't care. In one night I went from have the best most supportive job I'd ever had to having my entire world turned upside down. The pay was sh\*t but I genuinely enjoyed my work and it sucked to have a boss who had been so cool before completely turn her back on me in favor of these con artists.
&#x200B;
Edit 1-
**TLDR Woman and her adult son fake an allergic reaction to get free food, end up getting me to quit my job when manager believes con artists**
&#x200B;
Edit 2-
I wasn't aware that servers were still being paid there atrocious rates of pay, which honestly just makes me sad. I know my state has made some strides in not allowing this kind of treatment but I didn't realise so many were still struggling. You all are rockstars and deserve way better.
&#x200B;
Edit 3-
Wow, I went to bed last night and this thing has taken off, thanks to everyone for the kind words and support. I can't believe how awesome you all are. Thanks again.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/at9y1w/woman_tries_to_kill_her_son_for_a_free_meal/
| 3,262 | 292 | 1,550,791,014 | 9 |
restaurant tip
|
top
|
d38vfj
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
I've somehow found myself with a bunch of elderly best friends
|
I (24F) bartend at a family owned place that's mostly a restaurant with a little bar smooshed in it. I tend to work a lot of day shifts which include a wonderfully cheap happy hour and the slow "good" hours on the draw lottery which pull in a full rail of retirees most days from about 2-5.
Yesterday 3 of my favorites were at the bar and during a conversation about the seemingly randomness of life one of the guys, Roy, ended up getting on the topic of how he met his wife while she was in cosmetology school and he was her instructor. I was shocked as I wouldnt have expected this former electrical lineman to have also mastered styling hair, let alone well enough to teach it to others. He said he still colors her hair but he doesn't cut it because of a botched experience once lol.
After this conversation I had to share a story of an awful haircut I'd had, the guy wouldn't cut my bangs because he was afraid to cut curly bangs, then he used a bristle brush on my wet curls ruining them (which I explained to the bald old men was a no no), and to finish he also did not blow dry my hair as their high end salon 'didn't have a diffuser' so I walked out with sopping wet hair. All three of these 80 year old men started raising a big old ruckus about my hair, saying "You paid for that?!" And "He used a what brush on your hair?!" Old Joe who almost never talks even piped up to say, "And I bet you still tipped him too! For what! Rat hair?!"
It got me thinking after they left about why they'd care or pretend to care about something that obviously doesn't matter in the least to them. Then it dawned on me that when Roy talks about the deal he got on bulk meats by driving 45 minutes to the Amish market I enthusiastically listen and ask about where this market is and what he's using that meat for. Or when Bob went from flip phone to smart phone I spent a good three hours teaching him how to use the basics and especially how to save grandkid pics. Old Harry has given me over $2000 in huge jars of loose change as my tip over the past year to help with my student loans, Stu fixed my jeep's air conditioning twice when it took a poop and would only accept beer as payment, and Larry made me a personalized monogrammed lei in his print shop as a send off when I went to Kauai for a month. When Lenny and Linda went out of town I stopped by their house every day after work to water the plants and feed and love the cat. One of my closest friends is a 65 year old woman named Jen I met at the bar, I help trim the MJ she and her son grow (legal state) and babysit her little goats and big dogs when she goes out of town. I spend hours at her house with my pup just sitting on the deck and listening to her talk about life.
I realized these folks have become so much more than regulars, they've become my friends or like a bunch of surrogate grandparents and in turn they treat me like some beer equipped granddaughter. I care about their lives and they care about mine. After graduating college, all of my own friends save 2 live at least a 2 hour drive away. I don't see them like I used to and it's been strange being a total loner. It's like somehow these folks knew that and decided to just treat me like a peer and integrate me into their small town bar regular group. They invite me to barbecues and events all the time, though I usually have to work on those nights of course, and are genuinely disappointed when I can't make the event. Its sweet and makes me feel appreciated in a very cool way.
I wanted to post this as a reminder that behind every customer is a deep and intricately built individual. We are in the business of service but that doesnt mean we can't make genuine connections at the job. I've been in the industry for 10 years and the first 7 or so were spent thinking the public, especially the older public after working in breakfast places with the "church crowd," was my worst enemy. Here I am now with several senior citizens I met while bartending at the top of my "people i trust" list. Life is strange and I just wanted to share this with you guys. I'm a twenty four year old woman and my best friends are a bunch of extremely old people.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/d38vfj/ive_somehow_found_myself_with_a_bunch_of_elderly/
| 3,195 | 97 | 1,568,299,243 | 9 |
restaurant tip
|
top
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ooso64
|
TalesFromYourServer
|
The time that Larry caught me off guard
|
I haven't been a server in quite a long time, but waiting tables gave me some seminal memories.
When I was in college, I waited tables at a resort town; the town had always been a somewhat wealthy place, but in the 2000s it exploded (today, median home value is >$3MM). I worked at a BYOB, a fine dining establishment that had a healthy mix of owners and renters.
It was my first time working in such a nice restaurant, one where average tickets were $100 for a 2-top, as I'd previously worked at little cafes and the Macaroni Grill, and I struggled in my first month (so much so that I was almost fired). Fortunately, I got my footing and started doing relatively well by July.
In mid-July, it was the busiest Saturday we'd had; I was in a section that had mostly 4-tops, and a 4-top came in. It was a group similar to plenty I'd seen before - obviously wealthy, obnoxious, and used to getting what they wanted. I did my usual thing, which was to be friendly and helpful, make them laugh, but not try to dominate their evening.
The group ran me around a bit, but nothing out of the ordinary. When the bill came, they split it down the middle. One of the cards was an AMEX Centurian card, which typically meant a particularly stingy guest. One couple was very generous, tipping $35 on their $110 half; then, I saw it: the other couple, the one with the Centurian card, tipped $100 on their $110 half.
I was floored. After that, the couple, the husband of which was named Larry, started coming in every Saturday with a different couple, and they requested me as their server. Every time, they split the bill, and every time, Larry tipped me $100.
Finally, on the third or fourth instance of this, I caught Larry as he was going to the restroom. I told him that I appreciated the generosity but that I didn't deserve such a big tip. What he told me has stuck with me: "For me, at my stage of life, $100 here or there doesn't mean much at all, but I know it means *a lot* to you. One day, you'll be in a position like me, and I'm sure you'll do the same thing for someone else."
It's been 13 years since that happened. I'm not yet in the position Larry said I'd be in, but it isn't as crazy as I once thought it was. I am really looking forward to the day that I can to go to a restaurant with my wife, split the bill with another couple, and make our server's day.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/ooso64/the_time_that_larry_caught_me_off_guard/
| 2,956 | 119 | 1,626,882,678 | 9 |
restaurant tip
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top
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13smw4z
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TalesFromYourServer
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Was $10 tip cash from me too much for a table of 2?
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I attended a graduation ceremony with my friend yesterday to show support for our friends and afterwards we decided to eat at a restaurant. As you know, these are the busiest weeks given how most graduates go to all sorts of restaurants in the last couple weeks of May.
So, our waiter had at least 4 tables with one party of 10 and he was clearly stressing but regardless was up to par with service and gave me constant water refills (I was so damn thirsty and felt really bad for asking or him having to refill) but it was awesome service!
Well tip comes up and my friends tips $5 on his end through card and I decide to give our server a $10 tip from my end cash and he seemed very happy about it.
I come home to tell my mother about how it went and she asked how much I tipped and I said $10 and she went batshit crazy. She expressed how $10 was way too much and how I should’ve done $4 at most, she seemed really upset with me and honestly it just ruined my day.
Came here to see if she was right and if I over did it or that $10 was a good tip or the usual you should give for a table of 2?
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/13smw4z/was_10_tip_cash_from_me_too_much_for_a_table_of_2/
| 566 | 294 | 1,685,131,075 | 9 |
waiter tip
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relevance
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186qilt
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TalesFromYourServer
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When You Used to be a Server.
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When my son was in high school, he invited a friend to his Homecoming dance. His friend went to a small school, and she had never been to a formal dance. So it was very exciting for her, getting the dress with her mom and everything that goes with that. I can't remember why, but the dance was cancelled like a day before hand. He was bummed, but she was crushed.
We were determined they would have a great evening. We got them reservations at a very nice restaurant, and tickets to a show in town.
I was to be the chauffeur in my friends limo. I gave him $200, and dropped them off. I pick them up and he gives me $20 back. He said "Thanks dad, I had just enough, the bill was $180!" I'm no math wiz, but even I could see he didn't leave a tip. I drop them off at the theater, hit a bank machine, and went back to the restaurant. I approached the maitre d' and describe my son and his date and my fear that he had not tipped his waiter. The man went in the back and came back with the waiter. "In fact, sir, he did not." I gave the waiter $60 and my apologies. He was stunned, and very grateful. As he left to attend his tables, the maitre d' said, "Sir, I have worked here for over 20 years and have seen many diners leave bad tips, or no tips. This is the first time anyone has returned to make things right."
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/186qilt/when_you_used_to_be_a_server/
| 1,041 | 90 | 1,701,267,714 | 9 |
waiter tip
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relevance
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1gsguwz
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TalesFromYourServer
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What’s your worst experience ever being a server ?
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Tonight was mine. I had a party of 12 who were very needy and barely spoke English which made taking their orders twice as long. They ordered lots of alcohol and I was busting my ass for them for two hours. When they were ready to tab out they wanted their bills split 4 ways evenly. I told them it would take about 10-15 mins to separate each item correctly between 4 tabs because they had so much food and drinks. They just said okay and waited. I brought them their tabs after spending 20 mins separating it for them and they acted impatient and angry at me for how long I took. They then proceeded to not tip me on a $400 tab. To make things worse another table of mine also didn’t tip me even though I explained what happened and why it took so long for me to get to them and offered them a free meal. What are your worst experiences/ customer stories as a server/waiter?
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/comments/1gsguwz/whats_your_worst_experience_ever_being_a_server/
| 264 | 63 | 1,731,736,873 | 9 |
waiter tip
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relevance
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