I’m seventeen, and I am a waitress, server, and cashier at a semi-local Italian chain. I recently had to take a month off of work for health reasons, since I was in the emergency room and then had to spend time in inpatient care. While I was away, there were huge changes at my job, including new managers and two new employees.

I’ve only been working there since last June, but I picked things up pretty quickly, barring the first day that I had to deal with a packed dining room by myself while still in training; I’d messed up pretty badly with the computer system and needed the manager’s help. Still, it happens.

Yesterday, I met a new girl for the first time. It was her third day, and she was still in training. She’s my age and a complete sweetheart, and as the dining room slowly became more and more packed, we made a great team. She got to practice working with the computers and talking to customers while I took down the orders and showed her how everything worked. It was her first time “properly” serving there, and she really did great considering that, certainly at first.

The other two people who were working were a middle-aged manager and one other hourly employee. The managers at my job will also serve and work the counters; basically, all waitresses have to do double the work, and we still get paid dirt, but that’s another story.

I was running between the dining room and the counters to try to keep up — although we can only serve a maximum of two people at the counters picking up or placing orders at a time. It was to the point where my manager and her friend had bundled up and complained about how cold it was, while I was flushed, with my coat off, covered in sweat. (I cleaned myself up when dealing with the food, of course.)

The manager and her friend were sitting down together, alternating between scrolling on their phones and talking, only getting up to answer the phones when they’d already rung five-plus times and having people wait at the counters to be helped for ten-plus minutes. It was massively irritating, but I didn’t have the time or energy to confront them.

About halfway through my shift, my manager told me that I couldn’t just go in between the dining room and the counter, and if I didn’t pick one or the other she’d withhold my tips for both since I “wasn’t fully invested in either.” Ouch.

[Manager] gave me a choice on paper, but in reality, she made it perfectly clear that I was stuck behind the counter and the new girl, the trainee, was on her own. There was nothing I could really do, so I just stayed at the counter, though that was plenty slammed in and of itself, and I really, really could have used my two coworkers who were screwing around on their phones. I didn’t have time to answer phone calls, pack up orders, check people out, and take to-go orders all at once, and I had one particularly angry woman call me a “lazy b****” for leaving her on hold for about two minutes. (That stuck with me.) While I was doing all this, the new girl was stuck with a packed dining room and no help.

About twenty minutes into it, [Manager] approached me looking both angry and sheepish. Basically, the trainee had messed up and charged the wrong orders to the wrong cards and needed help, though the way [Manager] phrased this was:

Manager: “You know, you don’t have to stay by the counter the whole time. That’s not what I meant.”

I looked over and could see her friend on her phone still, and the manager herself still had AirPods in and a show playing on her own phone screen. I responded in my sweetest, most respectful voice:

Me: “I’m sorry, but as we only get paid $10 an hour, my tips are too vital for me to forfeit them, so I’m going to stay put.”

(For context, the minimum wage is $15.65 where I live.)

[Manager] was floored, and instead of helping either of us herself, she waddled back to her seat and resumed her show.

Of course, I ended up checking in with the trainee and asked if she needed my help and whether the mistake was sorted out. She said that she had things back under control and a lot of the people dining in were headed out, which was great because the counter was still slammed.

This morning, apparently, a customer called in and complained that “the blonde girl [me] and the girl with braids [Trainee] were so busy that they were sweating, while the two other women [manager and her buddy] were sitting on their phones.” I only wish I could’ve seen [Manager]’s face when she heard about the complaint.

I am definitely planning on reporting my manager to the state, but I’m still trying to figure out the best way to do so. I’ve been applying for other jobs but haven’t heard back and I can’t afford to be fired in retaliation. I’m a self-supporting seventeen-year-old who has bills due regardless and is trying really hard to not drop out of school, especially so close to graduation. I’ve been put in touch with social programs and assistance, but they all take a really long time to hear back from.

So far, I haven’t made a report as there’s no way to do a state audit without the name of the employee (me!) being revealed.

I never expect anyone to have a full-blown conversation with me at the liquor store, but I do expect people to at least explain what they need. If someone has a disability or speaks another language, I’m still happy to help in any way I can. The two men on these occasions, however, were just jerks.

The first man was a regular whom I had definitely heard speaking on the phone, in English. When it came to staff, however, he became a caveman. We used to have small bottles behind the cash, and a normal person would say, “Can I have [item]?” This man, however, would literally just point and grunt.

He did this a few more times until we all collectively had enough. It came to a head when he did his point-and-grunt at my coworker, who decided to point at every bottle he didn’t want until he admitted defeat and started speaking.

After that, he suddenly had a voice every time he needed something.

Here’s the second story. I knew this man could speak because I had literally helped him find something a few minutes prior. I went to the register, he came to me, and he just… didn’t say a peep.

Me: “Do you need a bag?”

Man #2: “…”

Me: “Do you have a points card?”

Man #2: “…”

Me: “How are you paying?”

Man #2: “…”

He took some cash from his wallet. I finished the transaction and he just stared at me.

Me: “Have a nice day.”

He continued to stare at me. Then, he looked at the bags and then back at me.

Me: “Did you need a bag?”

Man #2: “…”

He stared at me and then at the bags.

Ooookay. I bagged up his stuff and he left.

A few minutes later, he came back and stared at me.

Me: “Uhh… Can I help you?”

Man #2: “…”

He proceeded to slam change onto my counter, and then he stared at me and then at the change.

Me: “Okay? What do you need?”

Man #2: “…”

He stared at me, then at the change, and then back at me. My patience wore off at this point.

Me: “Okay. I need you to use your words now because I have no clue what you even want and this is very rude.”

He grunted that I had given him the wrong change. I corrected this, and he muttered a sarcastic thank-you before he wandered into the sunset.

Related:
Use Your Words, People!
Use Your Words, Especially When There Are Knives Involved!
For The Umpteenth Time, USE YOUR WORDS
Use Your Words!
Didn’t You Learn To Use Your Words In Kindergarten?

I work as a waitress in a popular waterfront pub/bar. I was called in two hours early on a four-hour shift — I ended up working six hours — and it was fairly warm by UK standards.

I was on the food pass alone (which I normally am), and it was starting to get stressful. We were in the middle of the 11:00 am breakfast rush and food had a forty-five-minute wait. A ferry from France had come in, so we were very packed.

I grabbed a ticket and food, punched the ticket, and navigated through the 100-plus tables outside to this woman’s table. At first, she didn’t see me, so I made myself known with a little “Hi” and started to put her food down.

I announced the meal I had, and she smiled, stood up, and gave me a slight bow.

Customer: *In a French accent* “Thank you, ma’am!”

I put the meal down and gave her a friendly smile. As she sat down again, I asked if she needed any sauces and she asks for ketchup. When I brought it, she once again stood up and bowed slightly.

Honestly, it was such a small thing, but after dealing with rude customers all morning, it really put a smile on my face and made me enjoy the rest of my shift.

I work in a restaurant with my family. My aunt was serving a table of ten for dinner. The couple in the group were regulars who came here often, and the husband usually left a generous tip. I only got to serve them once, and at the time, [Husband] had to leave early, so he left $200 for his wife to pay. I personally overheard him tell her the change was a tip — the change was almost $50 — but [Wife] ended up keeping the change, so she pretty much stiffed me of my tip money. Knowing this, I warned my aunt after she sat them down to keep an eye on the wife.

Later on, after everyone was done with their meal, the husband paid for everyone’s dinner and personally handed my aunt a $50 bill. My aunt was so excited! She then told me that she was afraid they would ask for it back because she overheard [Wife] and her mother, [Mother-In-Law], ask how much did he tip her, and they then proceeded to read through the receipt.

Not even five minutes later, [Mother-In-Law] came up to my aunt and asked for the $50 back because they “didn’t know the tip was in the gratuity”. My aunt hesitantly gave her the money back.

I could tell my aunt was really upset.

Me: “You should have handed the husband the money back personally instead of giving it to the lady; maybe he doesn’t know about her asking for the tip back.”

I even offered to speak with [Wife] and [Mother-In-Law] about it, but my aunt was too embarrassed.

Aunt: “Just let it go.”

I was already angry that the wife had stiffed me on my tip, so I wasn’t going to let her get away with it this time, and I especially wasn’t going to let her take away from my aunt who works really hard!

So, when the time finally came for them to leave, I swear it was perfect timing. [Mother-In-Law] walked to the bathroom, and [Husband] was right behind her getting ready to walk out the door, so I tapped him on the shoulder.

Me: “You tipped my aunt $50, and it really made her day, but I just thought you should know that someone—” *I didn’t say who* “—came and asked for the money back, and she’s really hurt about it.”

He looked a bit shocked.

Husband: “Oh, really?!”

Then, he asked for my name and my aunt’s name and asked what our closing time was. Right before he left, he looked at my aunt.

Husband: “I’ll be back to speak with you later.”

My aunt looked worried until I explained to her what I had done.

Later on, [Husband] showed back up and asked to see my aunt. He explained to her what had happened and personally handed her $100, and the glow on my aunt’s face nearly made me cry! Sometimes you just have to speak up if you know something isn’t right!

Our hotel holds a lot of weddings. There was always a wedding on the weekends, and sometimes there were five to seven in a day. The wedding guests usually stayed at the hotel, as well.

The bride and groom on this occasion were both from the east coast, so all their guests were also coming in from the east coast. To me, it honestly seemed like all the guests were on the same flight.

At 10:00 am on the morning of the wedding, everyone came into the lobby trying to check in early. We were fully booked the night before, so there were no available rooms at all. Most of the guests were extremely understanding, so they checked their bags and went to the bar.

HOWEVER, some of the guests I got were the furthest thing from understanding. They couldn’t understand that there were no rooms available at 10:00. They kept screaming at me, at the desk, in front of everyone.

Guests: “Well, I have a wedding! At your hotel! How do you not have our room?!”

Me: “Unfortunately, all of our rooms aren’t clean yet due to occupancy yesterday, but I will let you know as soon as a room is available.”

They didn’t like that answer. Another guest happened to come check out, and as soon as the guest in front of me heard, “I’d like to check out,” the wife screamed:

Guest #1: “THEY’RE CHECKING OUT! GIVE ME THEIR ROOM!”

Me: “Ma’am, that room isn’t clean yet. I’m unable to give it to you.”

Finally, after ten minutes of back and forth and tons of words yelled, they finally conceded and checked their bags.

As I was walking to the bell closet, the woman and her husband followed behind me.

Guest #1: *Yelling* “This is unacceptable! This is already a horrible experience.”

Guest #2: “If we miss the wedding, we’ll come for you!”

This was definitely a threat, and I should’ve canceled their reservation. But in the moment, I didn’t even register it as a threat because it happened so often, and honestly, I knew that management would get so angry about me canceling the reservation and would take the guests’ side! That property is the reason I left customer services entirely.

At the end of the day, their room was ready at 12:00 pm, but it was the worst room in the hotel, so I mark that as a win.