A server may have gotten a little more than she bargained for after serving a couple and receiving something more than a tip.
In a viral TikTok, server Davena (@.davena001) shared a photo of the message her customers left her on a napkin at the end of their meal.
“Hi, [we’re] swingers and loved our experience here. Text us. Michelle,” the note read, accompanied by a phone number the TikToker censored. The napkin also held an undisclosed number of $1 bills, though it didn’t seem like much. Swinging refers to couples being consensually non-monogamous.
According to Davena, the horror didn’t end there.
“The worst part was that one of them was in a wheelchair and they were both in their late 30s/early 40s,” she added in her caption.
It seems Davena was seeking commiseration because she added in the text overlay: “Servers, what’s the weirdest thing customers have given/said to you. This is mine.”
Viewers shared their own server horror stories
With her video earning more than 340,000 views, people didn’t hold back in answering Davena’s question in the comments section.
Several viewers who had experience in the serving industry shared their own questionable customer interactions.
“I work at bar, a lady walked up to me saying she’s going through a divorce and i would be perfect for her ex-husband bc she wants a pretty step mom for their 4 yr old son,” one user said.
User @Leanna wrote, “Some old guy asked what time I got off and gave me $40 ‘for parking’ in the parking garage and his hotel room key card and told me to meet him after I get off. Best believe I took the $$$ home and ran.”
“I work at a hotel bar and last weekend, DURING ONE OF THE WORSTTTT SHIFTS OF MY LIFE, a 74 yr old man came up to me with a $10 bill asking if i’d join him in his room for an hour,” viewer Alex said.
One detail many pointed out—and had experience with—was that most of these strange requests often came from folks who never tipped well.
“And has the audacity to tip you in ones too,” a top comment read. TikToker @courtney commented, “Same thing. they said i was cute & asked for my number. tipped $5 on $60.”
Servers and the restaurant industry today
Since post-COVID, servers have been voicing their concern about how customers’ behaviors have changed for the worse. A lack of manners, respect, and patience is what those in the industry are facing. A HubSpot report from 2022 reported that 93% of customer service teams say customers have higher expectations than ever before.
That, coupled with a rise in tipping fatigue, has left customers even more disgruntled. Now, servers have had to find creative ways to earn a living since good service isn’t enough. Stories of servers getting stiffed after going above and beyond are far too common. For example, one IHOP server waited on a 16-top only to receive zero dollars at the end of the meal.
In one story the Mary Sue covered, a server says she has to make frequent trips to Ross to stock up on beauty products that can earn her more tips. On TikTok, the search phrase “server bits” has earned millions of views, where servers share the bits they do that leads to customers tipping more.
While tipping culture continues to be a hot debate both online and off, everyone agrees that servers, whose minimum wage is $2.13 an hour, should be earning more.
The Mary Sue reached out to Davena via Instagram direct message.
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