Unfiltered Story #245960

(I am eating at a local chain restaurant. I reach for my water glass to take a sip, but I lose my grip and it falls out of my hands and onto the floor, shattering into a glass-filled puddle. I flag down the waitress.)

Me: Excuse me, my glass slipped out of my hand and onto the floor.

Waitress: No worries, sir. We’ll clean that up for you and get you another one.

(Suddenly, a woman emerges from the kitchen, her face red as a beetroot, and storms over to my table. She then turns toward the waitress and screams in her face, loud enough that the entire restaurant can hear her.)

Manager: YOU’RE FIRED! GET OUT OF HERE, YOU WORTHLESS BRAT! NOW!!

(The waitress breaks down into tears as the manager storms back towards the kitchen. I am in such disbelief and disgust over what I just witnessed that I follow after her.)

Me: Excuse me!

Manager: What do you want?

Me: Please tell me what this young lady did to deserve being fired so harshly like that.

Manager: Why does that concern you?

Me: Because you screamed at her, loud enough that everyone here could hear you, over something that wasn’t even her fault. I was the one who broke that glass when it fell out of my hand.

Manager: DO I LOOK LIKE I CARE?! I am the manager here, I can do whatever I want to her!

Me: Well if you are the manager here, you’re not doing a very good job!

(She ignores me and disappears into the kitchen. I go back over to the waitress, who is still crying, and hand her a $20 bill.)

Me: Listen. Don’t take what she said to you personally. You are ”not” worthless – in fact if anything you’re the best waitress here and I’ve never had any trouble with you. So don’t worry, I’ll make sure everything turns out right.

Waitress: *sniffles* Thanks, hun. That means the world to me. Uhh, by the way, do you think you’d be able to give me a ride home? I live in [Neighborhood].

Me: Gladly! I live in that same neighborhood!

(I pay for my meal and leave, and the waitress follows me out. On my way home, I drop her off at her house, which turns out to be just one street away from my own. She thanks me for the ride home, and kisses me on the cheek. I file a complaint with corporate about the manager’s behavior as soon as I return home, and the next day they return my call, apologizing for the manager’s behavior and stating she has been fired as a direct result – it turns out that there were literally dozens of complaints against that manager for that one incident alone, and she was already on thin ice for a similar prior incident with the same waitress. Later that day, the waitress comes to my house saying she needs a ride to work since she got her job back, to which I gladly oblige. Fast forward six years, and we’re now happily married!)