Me: *ultra enthusiastic* “Hi, guys–”

Male Diner: *interrupts”* “I want a Corona!”

Me: “Unfortunately, we don’t carry Corona, sir.” *shows him beer list* “I can offer you a Dos Equis, if you’d like?”

Male Diner: “No! I don’t want that; I want Corona! Fine, just give me a Bud Light Lime!”

Me: “Sir, we don’t carry Bud Light Lime. This is the list of beer that I do have. I have Bud or Bud Light, if you’d be interested in one of those?”

Male Diner: “No, I just want a good American beer, like Corona, or Heineken! Or just a Bud Light Platinum, or lime!”

Me: *long pause* “Sir, I’m going to grab you a water and give you a few minutes to look over the menu and decide what beer you’d like.”

Male Diner: “I don’t want water. I want a Corona!”

Me: “…”

Me: “Ma’am, what can I get you to drink?”

Female Diner: “Is there alcohol in a Mojito?”

Me: *sigh*

(I am 19 and starting a new serving job at a casual restaurant in my small town. The woman training me micromanages how I do every single task, which is usually good for how I learn, but then we talk about carrying a tray.)

Trainer: *showing me how to carry a large tray* “Keep your palm flat, carry it in the center, and make sure you load it evenly — heavy stuff in the middle. We’ll talk more about loading it in a bit. Go ahead and grab an empty tray and try it out.”

(I grab a tray and balance it with my right hand while walking, without issues.)

Trainer: “Okay, good. Wait. Are you right-handed or left-handed?”

Me: “I’m right-handed.”

Trainer: “You should be carrying with your left, then, so you can use your right, the dominant hand, to open up the folding stand or unload your tray.”

Me: “Really? Huh. Well, it feels better using my right. Shouldn’t I use my strongest arm?”

Trainer: “Yes, but that should be— Wait, now I’m not sure. Hold on.”

(She holds the tray, first using her right hand, then her left.)

Trainer: “No, you really should keep your dominant hand free. See? Watch me.”

(She demonstrates again, and then another coworker walks out of the kitchen with a tray of food.)

Trainer: “See? [Coworker #1] is using her left hand to carry a tray. Oh! And here comes [Coworker #2]. Hey! Show [My Name] how to carry a tray.”

Coworker #2: “Uh, okay?” *picks up tray and balances with left hand*

Trainer: “SEE! She carries with her left hand!”

Coworker #2: *to me* “Are you left-handed?”

Me: “Nope.”

(It’s a slow mid-afternoon, so now the other server has come back and they’re telling me how I should be balancing a tray with my left hand and unloading with my right because they all do it like that. [Coworker #1] finally tells me to try with both and see what feels best. Unsurprisingly, my left hand is shaky when I carry the empty tray.)

Trainer: “Oh. Definitely don’t use your left hand.”

Me: “Yeah, no kidding!”

(As I met the rest of my coworkers the rest of the week, they all apparently thought it was crazy that I used my right arm to carry, and I had to repeat that scene several times. I’ve since looked up what’s normal and watched different people, but I still don’t think it was that weird! I thought it was weird they were so adamant that I was wrong about what felt best for ME.)

When I was 17 I worked at a barbecue restraunt chain well known in texas, I was at the register when a customer walks in

Me: hey how’s it goin?
Customer: good *looks at minute for a good minute*
So uh…do you guys have like, nachos?
Me:…..sir, this is a bbq restraunt…
Customer:oh…..how about bbq nachos?
Me:…..no
He then looks around and then leaves.

(As a student, I have a job at a self-service restaurant. One of the duties of my department is “doing the hall,” which is essentially the task of taking away the dirty dishes people leave on the tables. The restaurant has a conveyor belt for the people to leave their dishes on, but of course we can’t force the customers to turn things in there themselves. Also, many people sitting on the other side of the restaurant aren’t able to find the conveyor belt. That resulted in dialogues like this:)

Customer: “Sorry, do you know where I can find the conveyor belt?”

Me: “Yes, ma’am, it’s that way, near the exit.”

Customer: “What? All the way over there?”

(Yes, they really said that to the employee who is obviously walking the same distance countless times every day. Even more assuming is this conversation I have with a big man with a dominant voice, who is putting his dishes on the belt.)

Customer #2: “Hey, I’m not surprised people are leaving their dishes on the tables! That belt really is far too far away!”

(Once again, I’m walking the same distance far more than he is. Also, lots of people sitting nearby the belt leave their dishes on the table, as well, so that has nothing to do with it.)

Customer #2: “Can’t you guys make a cart for that stuff, like so many other self-service restaurants have?”

(The suggestion of a cart wasn’t that weird. Weird was his idea that we should MAKE one, rather than buy it somewhere.)

(My mother takes me to a seafood restaurant I’ve never been to before. I decide to try the tuna sashimi, and when it arrives, I notice something on my dish.)

Me: “What’s this green stuff?”

Mom: *as unsure as I am* “I think it’s guacamole.”

Me: “Oh! I love guacamole!”

(Elated, I enthusiastically dug in and took a very large bite… of the grandmother of all horseradish! That day was when I first learned about Wasabi.)