There’s no doubt that working in the restaurant industry can be brutal. The most challenging aspect is customer service, trying to please every whim while risking clocking out empty-handed. When customers are more demanding than others, it’s understandable why servers crash out. That’s what happened to this Cheesecake Factory server, recalling, post-shift, the two unruly customers she had encountered.
Florida-based Cheesecake Factory server Kenz (@cocainekenz) vents her frustrations while driving. “First of all, don’t ever touch me. Second of all, don’t ever interrupt me. Third, don’t do them both together consecutively,” she says. “Today was the day for a crotchety old woman to be in my section. It was a real treat.” Then, she dives into her story.
What happened at this Cheesecake Factory?
“I had this woman sit down,” she says. “Mind you, the rest of my shift went pretty OK. She was older, ordering four meals.”
Once a couple of dishes arrived, the server was met with criticism.
“So, our food runner comes out with two things because he has two hands. She looks at me and goes, ‘well, we’re missing stuff,” she recalls the woman saying rudely. However, the server wasn’t having it.
“I go, ‘I know. He left his other two arms at home today. I told him to bring them,” she says she responded sarcastically. But the woman didn’t take too kindly to this. “I caught a death stare and she didn’t say one word to me for the remainder of the time that they were there,” Kenz says. This was only the tip of the iceberg.
It gets worse
When Kenz served her a table, one customer in particular proved to be even more challenging.
“I’m at the table taking their cheesecake order. Mind you, 12 people. This older woman, who was also in my section, taps me on my back four separate times,” she says. After the second time, the woman called over the manager. The reason? “She tells the manager that she’s feeling forgotten,” the content creator recalls angrily. “She wanted to know why her food was taking so long. The ‘so long’ was 12 minutes on a Saturday where the entire restaurant is full.”
But the woman’s behavior only escalates.
“She orders the salmon. Dry salmon, no oil, no butter, no seasoning. It hits the table, and she says, ‘This salmon is dry,’” the server recalls, adding. “She says, ‘I don’t want this. I want my salmon cooked more medium well.’”
Next, Kenz circled back to the woman’s initial complaint. In total, the woman called the managers over six times.
“Then, she tells the manager that she’s feeling neglected again because I was processing 12 separate checks for about 10 minutes,” she says. “I’m not gonna come over to your table every five minutes. I’ll come over every 10.” Needless to say, this infuriated the server. “You see that I’m doing something. Clearly, she doesn’t care if I’m doing something, though, because she didn’t when I was actively taking an order,” she says, exasperatedly.
How did the managers remedy the problem? “They took her meal off. They took her meal off, they took the cake off,” the content creator shares.
Did the Cheesecake server earn a tip?
Despite going above and beyond, the cherry on top of the cheesecake was the measly tip. “She pays with two gift cards. leaves me $1 on her already discounted check,” the Kenz recounts. “Check was $80 after everything was taken off. You could have kept it.” As a result, she expresses in the text overlay, “Old people need to eat at home.”
Viewers sided with Kenz
Her video racked up over 590,000 views. The Cheesecake Factory server’s experience resonated with viewers. In fact, it is the reason why they don’t enjoy dealing with old people.
“Unfortunately working in the food industry has made me ageist,” one viewer shared.
“I knew this was Cheesecake Factory behavior. The old people there think they are dining at a 5 star restaurant,” another commented.
“Idgaf how old you are. Respect is EARNED not freely given. Just bc you’re old doesn’t mean I have to respect you. Be a nice person and you’ll be treated like one back,” a third said.
Moreover, the conversation about serving this age demographic made its way to a r/serverlife subreddit a couple of years ago. The waitstaff in the comments section had mixed interactions.
“I agree. Even the low tippers that are very low maintenance and require like nothing I prefer. As opposed to the high-maintenance old people who complain about every little thing and maybe tip 18%. There are some cool old people though but they are a slim [percent],” one Redditor wrote.
“Yeah, it’s hit or miss. Some of the worst people I’ve had are crochety old people who are confused. I almost shushed an old woman back when she shushed me the other day. Some of the nicest are old people, too, though. Such a toss-up,” a second stated.
“They seem to be the least understanding of all my guests I will say that,” a third revealed.
Overall, customers come in all ages and personalities. Depending on a server’s experience, one age group may be more troublesome than others.
@cocainekenz but that’s showbiz babe
♬ original sound – cocainekenz
The Mary Sue reached out to Kenz via TikTok comment and direct message as well as to Cheesecake Factory via email.
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