A server just had one of the most annoying and difficult encounters with a table she didn’t even ask for. That’s because a table vehemently refused her service despite sitting down in a full-service restaurant.
TikToker Kelly (@kellybrooke.m), a server at a restaurant with cocktails and bites, first noticed an issue with the table when she realized they hadn’t been sat by a hostess. After that point, Kelly tried to address the table, but she ran into complaint after complaint about her service and occasional check-ins.
In a video with over 1 million views, she explained that after multiple attempts to make sure they were well accounted for, she ended up hearing rude comments and receiving a measly 15-percent tip, alongside another rude and sarcastic note.
Kelly’s table gives her issues from the very beginning
While working a relatively normal, slow evening, Kelly ran into a table that made her entire night strange and unusual. One of her co-workers approached her and let her know a table didn’t have an assigned server.
Confused, Kelly looked over to table 117, which now had a group of two waiting for service. She realized that they had completely bypassed the hostess and sat themselves down at the table without asking, something that irked her. If another table had reserved that table, it would end up being a problem.
She decided to take the table and not judge the situation. The moment she passed by and tried to give her greeting, though, she was interrupted mid-word. A man at the table simply told her he wanted a Vesper with very little additional conversation. His companion wanted a French 75.
This also frustrated Kelly, as she had no idea whether or not this was a “secret shopping table” that would judge her ability to not give her full greeting. Kelly went along with it, though, grabbing their drink orders. She took a pause to ask whether there were any allergies that the kitchen should know about. That’s when the man said the strangest thing she had heard the entire evening.
“This man looks at me and he says, ‘I’m not disclosing my medical information with someone like you,’” Kelly recalled. “What do you mean? Someone like me, do you think I’m a government spy? What do you mean someone like me?”
The response stunned her so much that she excused herself from the table and found her manager, letting him know about the comment the man just said. They ended up offering her some advice that she tried to keep in mind for the rest of the evening.
Kelly problem-solves for the table, then leaves them alone
When Kelly snuck away to go speak to her managers, they gave her some advice. Don’t approach the table too often and just let it be. After all, there was no point in trying to serve a table that didn’t want to be served.
She would, however, have to swing back around to drop off their drinks when they were done. When she did so, she asked whether they wanted anything to eat.
“ I asked them if I could get anything else going for them. They both looked at me with a look of pure disgust and disdain. A look I’ve seen many other times,” Kelly said.
The couple ended up outright ignoring her question. So, she moved on in defeat and focused on other tasks. Around five minutes later, and right as she was holding a series of dirty dishes she grabbed from another table, they called her over.
That’s when the man at the table said that they had been waiting “a few minutes” for her to come by and take their order. Kelly wasn’t a mind reader, so she didn’t have any way of knowing that was the case. He just assumed she would’ve figured it out by that point.
Regardless, she took their food order and placed it. Then, she left them alone for as long as she could because they clearly didn’t want to get checked on.
Later in the evening, Kelly drops off the food
Later that evening, Kelly dropped off their food and let them eat. She swung back around just one time to make sure they were enjoying it, which ended up earning her a final “fluoride stare.”
Kelly once again tried to be gracious in the situation, telling the couple to enjoy their food otherwise and that she’d be back around if they needed anything. The man responded in a way that genuinely shocked her.
She says, “ This guy looks at me and he goes, ‘We haven’t needed service. You don’t need to come by.’”
The comment infuriated Kelly, who described the situation as feeling akin to a person expecting little elves to serve them rather than another human being. She left the table alone for the rest of the evening, only going back to pick up their check. When she did, she noticed that the couple left a 15 percent tip with a written note that read, “There you go!”
“The message at the bottom makes it seem as if I was trying to poach their money from them, when at the end of the day I was just trying to provide them with a good service experience for their meal and for all the people that say, ‘oh, you’re doing too much. They just wanna be left alone,’” Kelly recalled. “I get that. I can leave people alone, [and] I can read the room. The issue is that this guy came into a full service restaurant. And expected the service to magically happen with no server.”
Commenters add their thoughts
Many commenters were quick to agree, adding that it really did seem like it was some customers’ “first time on Earth.”
One commenter said, “If you wanna be left alone… why not order it as takeout… and be at home… so you can [expletive] BE ALONE!? One cool after [effect] of COVID was to-go drinks. So if I don’t wanna sit down in public, I can get a couple cocktails and my meal and GO. HOME.”
To which Kelly replied, saying, “My theory is they want servants, not servers.”
Other viewers agreed, adding that they’ve heard customers refer to servers as “servants” before.
@kellybrooke.m this situation truly perplexed me #server #serverlife #storytime #restaurantlife #rude ♬ Mozart-Violin Concerto No.5-1 – 中国爱乐乐团
The Mary Sue reached out to Kelly via email for more information.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
