Karma Cake Never Tasted So Sweet

There’s a mandatory mask requirement for all indoor businesses in my county. If people aren’t at their table eating or drinking, masks are “required” to be on.

People have been very compliant and we have had no issues, but it’s important to preface the story with that.

It is Saturday, and it’s VERY busy for our restaurant, with way more to-go orders than usual. I work in a restaurant that has a bar, bakery, and kitchen, and we have many massive orders that only need stuff from the bakery. This makes the restaurant run very smoothly until it is time to get dessert, which you are likely to be waiting twenty-five minutes for. Servers compensate for this by putting orders in advance and keeping them in freezers until the guests are ready.

There is a huge crowd in the lobby near the bakery for walk-in dessert orders. People who come often understand how busy we get, but apparently, this woman didn’t get the memo.

I am waiting by the bakery for my cakes when I hear a rude-a** lady (wearing her mask as a chin-strap of course) snapping her fingers at one of our bakers.

Customer: “Excuuuuse me. You over there!”

She points at a sixteen-year-old baker.

Customer: “I saw you touch another cake and then mine! I want another one right now! I’ve been waiting here for thirty minutes!”

I turn to her.

Me: *Calmly* “I’m sorry, ma’am, our bakery is extremely busy, so she can’t stop to help you right now. Is there something I can help you with?”

She turns to me with fury in her eyes.

Customer: “I saw that girl touch somebody else’s cake before mine, and I don’t want it anymore. I demand that I get a new one!”

Me: “Ma’am, all our bakers wear gloves at all times. Her particular station only does whipped cream for orders, so she doesn’t even interact with the cakes much. If you want a new cake, you will have to wait in line, place the order with the cashier, and then wait for the new one to get made.”

The line is about ten people long, so that’s another twenty-five-minute wait. This gives her a slight pause before she responds.

Customer: “Where is your manager?! I demand to see one!”

Me: *Pointing into the bakery* “See the guy plating cakes over there? That’s the manager on duty. We are so busy that he stepped in to help get our bakery moving faster. Do you really want me to drag him away from the station for your problem?”

Surprise, surprise, with an utter lack of self-awareness and disdain for other people’s waits, she says yes. I go and tap him on the shoulder to let him know somebody needs him for a problem with their order. Without skipping a beat, he looks up and says:

Manager: “Is it the whiny lady not wearing a mask? I’ll handle it.”

At this point, I’ve spent too long in the bakery and need to check on my tables, but before I walk away I see him go up to her.

Manager: “I’m sorry, ma’am, I would love to help you but I can’t hear you when your mask is off.”

It’s a good thing I was wearing a mask because I was belly-laughing all the way to my table. This manager is known for his short temper, so it was no surprise to hear that he told her exactly what I did and that either waiting or sucking it up were her options.

Thank God for hard-a** managers; it warms my heart knowing that not every whiny baby gets their way in this industry.

This story is part of our Anti-Masker roundup.

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