Anyone who's worked a job where you have to deal with customers knows how emotionally and physically draining it can be. A great example is servers: on their feet all day, dealing with all sorts of Karens for not smiling enough or not being polite enough.
This is a list of waiters' worst experiences from the r/ServerLife subreddit. The rest of us should check these out not only for their entertainment value. There are plenty of lessons about what kind of entitled customers we should never be.
To know a little more about the inner workings of the subreddit, Bored Panda reached out to one of its moderators, wheres_the_revolt. They were kind enough to tell us more about what it's like taking care of the community. Check out our short interview below!
#1 Sorry I Politely Asked Your Crotch Goblin To Not Throw Sugar At Other Guests. Lmao
Image credits: Saelem
The Reddit community r/ServerLife is a place where servers, waiters and waitresses can come to vent about entitled and frustrating customers. Fellow restaurant workers come here to relate to their fellow brothers and sisters in aprons.
It currently has 209k members and is in the top 1% of the largest communities on Reddit. It's not easy moderating a community of that size. Officially, the subreddit has 8 moderators, but, as wheres_the_revolt tells us, only several actively carry out their duties.
#2 Someone Decided To Have A Gender Reveal At The Table
Image credits: fibbybob
#3 A Grown Man Sneezed About 40 Times Within A Few Minutes Without Covering His Mouth. This Is The Aftermath
Image credits: ArtisticPossum
wheres_the_revolt agrees to tell our readers the story of how they became one of the moderators. At first, they were just a member of the community like everybody else. But a sudden increase in spammy posts encouraged them to take some action.
"I have been a member of the sub for a couple of years now," the Redditor tells us. "About a year ago, I noticed an uptick in trolls from the end-tipping community. And 6 months ago, there was an all-out brigading campaign in r/ServerLife that made it almost unbearable."
#4 My Manager’s Response Makes Me Want To Quit. What Would You Say/Do?
Image credits: Amazing-Jaguar2909
#5 Is Calling Costumers "Hun" Weird?
Image credits: warlockofsortz
#6 My Bad For Not Following The Law I Guess. Sorry Guys
Image credits: kxmirx
"There were only 2 active mods," wheres_the_revolt continues. "One was brand new, so I asked them to add me as a mod and they agreed." Their mission then was to address the problem around discussions about tipping. "The first thing I did was create a zero-tolerance rule for anyone expressing end-tipping sentiments," the Redditor tells us.
#7 The Tip Line Said "Turn Over For Tip"
Image credits: nicholasgarski
#8 32 Separate Checks
Image credits: Beanergriffin
#9 Group Of Four Older Ladies Left This At The Table Next To Me
Image credits: the_lord_bruno
wheres_the_revolt tells our readers more about the changes the new moderators made. "I also created a couple of auto-moderators, to flag and pull posts. Then I created 'Tips-y Tuesday', to focus all tip-related posts (that weren’t legal questions) onto one day so that we could actively moderate those types of posts."
#10 Is This Even Legal? Servers Make $3 An Hour In This Area And You Can Take Their Tips?
Image credits: SourceIntelligent741
#11 Is This Even Legal?
Image credits: RabidHamster105
#12 Seriously
Image credits: On-The-Red-Team
This moderator isn't afraid to exercise stern authority for the good of the community. "This is the only place in my life I’ve become a complete authoritarian," they laugh. "I actively enforce the zero-tolerance policy and have probably banned several hundred accounts since I’ve been a mod for about 3 months."
#13 The Time I Ruined This Woman’s Birthday
Image credits: Sudden-Ad-1583
#14 By Far The Craziest Note I’ve Ever Got
Image credits: WhiteCrocsGuy
#15 I Was In The Weeds And Very Focused I Guess…
Image credits: StuckInSalem
Other than that, it's important to be present on the subreddit. "Moderating mostly just requires us to pay attention and also to participate in the sub," wheres_the_revolt explains. "I try to coach the active users in here to not engage with the trolls, to report them and we will get rid of them.
#16 Lol
Image credits: cheifqueef1
#17 My Day Just Got A Little More Exciting
Image credits: PaleBlueDotEnthused
#18 What My GF Got From A Customer
Image credits: CouncilOfApes
In their professional life, the Redditor is a veteran in the serving sector. "I’ve been in the restaurant industry for almost 30 years, have worked almost every position, and have owned my own restaurant."
As a seasoned restaurant worker, they have knowledge about the inner workings of the industry. That's probably why they’re so adamantly against posts on no-tipping. And the members of the community generally agree, given how positively they received the changes.
#19 My Co-Worker Got A Novel On Her Check
Image credits: junkiejarrett
#20 What You Guys Think? Honestly
Image credits: Camus_24
#21 Came In 15 Mins Before Close And Left This
Image credits: ghosteagle
That's one of the reasons this moderator joined the sub – to help other fellow restaurant workers. "A lot of folks don’t know their rights when it comes to labor laws (in the US) and I realized a lot of people are getting taken advantage of by unscrupulous bosses," wheres_the_revolt adds.
#22 Just Say You're Broke
Image credits: personalproblem123
#23 This Guy Lost A Fantasy Football Bet To His Friends, So They Made Him Sit At A Separate Table And Eat Dinner With A Cardboard Cutout Of Marjorie Taylor Greene ???
#24 Boh Got Ahold Of The New Broom
Image credits: underthesea9393
When we ask what's the hardest part of the job, the Redditor says it's how time-consuming it is. "Really there are only two of us that are active moderators. So I end up spending much more time on here than I would actually like to!"
#25 Missed Both Of My Weekend Shifts Due To Sun Poisoning And Was Over The Moon To Get This!
#26 How Do Yall Distinguish Sweet And Unsweet Tea? I'll Start
#27 Cause...tf?!
#28 Actually, How About You Don’t (Read The Note First)
Image credits: pizzaninjaturtleseat
