Every person, even the most multitasking one in the world, has their own limit of capabilities, after reaching which memory begins to fail, and mistakes, both small and large, are inevitable. I think any of you who have had to perform many work tasks at once alone will agree with this.
So the user u/ExternalScary9392, the author of the story that we’re going to tell you today, also once encountered the problem of mistakes that we make when trying to multitask heavily. The result was a conflict with the customer, and the author, in their own words, is still tormented by remorse…
More info: Reddit
The author of the post is a server at a pizzeria and one day they had to work alone with 7 tables
Image credits: Ketut Subiyanto (not the actual photo)
Among the customers was an elderly couple who ordered a gluten-free pizza
Image credits: ExternalScary9392
The server somehow forgot about this order but then apologized to the couple and vowed they would do the order ASAP
Image credits: Kate Townsend (not the actual photo)
Image credits: ExternalScary9392
However, some minutes later, the old lady started insulting the author for being negligent
Image credits: Alan Hardman (not the actual photo)
Image credits: ExternalScary9392
The customers left and the server said that it was ‘a good idea.’ But then they started to feel remorse and took it online seeking support
So, the Original Poster (OP), in their own words, is a server, and has been doing so for over six years, so they have enough work experience. And so, on the day when all this happened, the author again went to work at the pizzeria early in the morning. This pizzeria has a morning buffet, which is usually very popular among clients.
This happened this time too – the author was alone on the floor, and they had to serve 7 tables at the same time. Apart from them, there was a manager in the room and no one else. Well, you know perfectly well how it all happens – cafes and restaurants are always understaffed since ‘nobody wants to work’. However, let’s get back to our story.
So, an elderly couple at one of the tables ordered a gluten free pizza, and the author took this order. But as a result of the confusion with other orders, this one somehow fell out of their mind. Well, all the clients saw how the server was trying to cope alone with all the orders that piled up on them, and they understood everything. But, alas, not this couple…
A few minutes later, the author approached the couple to check on them, realized their mistake and, instantly apologizing, vowed that they would now accept their order. So they did – but after a few more minutes, when the server passed near this table, the old lady stood right in front of them and blocked their path by putting her arms up in a ‘T’ in front of them. Well, for the author of the post, in their own words, ‘it was the last straw to break the camel’s back’.
The author asked her to remove her hands from their face, and the client continued to shower them with reproaches for ‘negligence’ and ‘poor service.’ Then the woman’s husband stood up and said something like “screw this [damn] pizza, let’s get out of here!” To this the server replied that this was a great idea, and simply stormed away.
When the couple approached the manager to pay, the original poster asked just to let them go. And so it happened. Other customers who saw how this ugly scene unfolded simply tipped the server to make this day a good one for them. But the OP still felt guilty for kicking out customers for the very first time in their life.
Image credits: Fineas Anton (not the actual photo)
“Of course, service is very important, and no one likes to wait too long for their orders, but we are all humans, and no one likes to listen to insults even more so,” says Vlad Ostometsky, the administrator of the UNIT Cafe in Odessa, Ukraine, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment here. “Therefore, any unmotivated rudeness on the part of customers is clearly unacceptable.”
“In addition, in my opinion, there is a clear higher-ups’ mistake here, because sending only one manager and one server to shift during the busiest hours means deliberately dooming employees to almost inevitable mistakes. If the management of the pizzeria was trying to save on wages here, then it lost on the loyalty of staff and clients,” Vlad summarizes.
In turn, commenters on the original post also massively agree that the pizzeria where the author works, apparently, looks like a terribly run place. As for the OP’s answer, it is, according to many people in the comments, quite justified. “They went way over the line & deserved to get nuked. We can’t use it often but when it’s deserved it’s gotta be in your arsenal,” someone aptly wrote.
In any case, according to some commenters, you should treat rude people the same way they treat you. “You give people the same respect that they give you. And they gave you none. Good work today!” another commenter gives the author an advice and a shoutout at once. And what do you, our dear readers, think about this story? Please feel free to express your opinions in the comments below.
People in the comments massively sided with the author, claiming that the pizzeria looks like a terribly run place as well
