Restaurant customers are one of two people - the people who love being sung happy birthday to or the people who absolutely despite it. Regardless of our thoughts, we come to recognise that if we alert a waiter or waitress that we're celebrating a day, then there's an extremely high chance that the whole restaurant may end up singing to us.
Finding new embarrassment for the singing extravaganza, the shoe was quickly turned on the other foot for waitress Amy Carroll - who was left mortified after she sang happy birthday to customer's family member who passed. She initially overheard a table mentioning a "birthday" - and took it upon herself to prep the celebrations.
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Sharing the jaw-dropping ordeal on TikTok, Amy described that it was the "most embarrassing moment of [her] life so far".
In the video, which has skyrocketed into internet stardom - having surpassed 140,000 views to date - the waitress detailed the story that happened to her a few days ago.
She explained: "I was serving this table, they were sat down and it was a really nice family - a mum, her older kids, and I'm guessing their partners.
"Another waitress was talking to them and I heard them mention that they're out for someone's birthday, but I didn't hear whose birthday it was."
Amy went on to describe how she kept the small detail in the back of her mind due to the popular tradition of where restaurants sing 'Happy Birthday' to their customers.
She continued: "I've done it before for people and I just bring out a singular scoop of ice cream and put a candle in it, then get people to sing - so, that's what I did.
"I got it all organised and not only me but four other waiters, to go down and sing 'Happy Birthday'.
"I didn't know whose birthday it was - you can usually tell as everyone starts singing and the person whose birthday is all embarrassed.
"So, we're all singing and it was very enthusiastic and we were really going for it!"
In a shocking turn of events, Amy detailed her utter disbelief as she noticed that the initial celebratory reaction wasn't one to be expected.
"I kind of noticed that everyone was singing and not directing it at one person, which is a bit weird.
"Then I get the feeling - the wash of heat that runs over when you know that you've done something wrong.
"The waitress that was talking to them earlier had said to me that it's actually 'really really sad' as the lady's husband passed away in April.
"So, I continued to sing 'Happy Birthday' and realised at this point - when we're coming to the last round of Happy Birthday - that I'm singing to this lady's dead husband whose birthday it is today!
"At this point, I am profusely sweating and definitely luminous red.
"They all look up and ceiling and say, 'happy birthday dad'."
Describing her utter shock, Amy explained how she "sprinted away", but with the nature of the job, she wasn't allowed to get up and leave.
"I couldn't avoid them as they were my table so I had to go back, and they were all like, 'that was so lovely, dad would have loved that'," she said.
"I sang to a family's dead dad! It's not like he died ages ago, it was two months ago that he died!
"So, if you ever think you've embarrassed yourself - you haven't embarrassed yourself that much. I was very embarrassed," she added.
Despite Amy's claims that she was mortified about the ordeal, fellow TikTokers made sure to shed tons of positivity in the comment section - and ease her thoughts.
One user exclaimed: "Those times can be so dark it probably brought them all a genuine giggle later on in the evening, honestly don’t sweat it you were doing a kind thing!"
"I actually think that’s so lovely," a second reassured the waitress.
"I’m sure they haven’t processed it fully yet and feel like he’s still with them and enjoyed celebrating him."
A third questioned: Why be embarrassed? That was so sweet and they appreciated it."
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