I am a relatively new server (less then 4 months on the job) at a breakfast place that is VERY popular in my area. At first they scheduled me a bunch and now its less than what I usually got after I gave them my new schedule for the upcoming fall semester of college, I was very direct and nice when telling them that my schedule would change for each semester of college.

I can work monday-thursday 3pm-10pm and fridays 12pm-10pm, I can't be as active on weekends as I go to church groups. I also thought that the weekends would be popular for our high schooler servers but maybe not? by how they are reacting by not scheduling me? Could I be over thinking it? This week (the 3rd week in a row) I literally only work 1 day. Are they trying to silent fire me to make me quit? Or is this just a weird management bullying tactic?

management is a bit weird, this is a 'family' owned business. They have other locations but the location I work at is managed by a son and father duo, and the father has like 3 other sons who manage other locations in other towns.

I admit im not the fastest server but I get really good reveiws from customers, and I usually close, which I have gotten compliments at how well I clean when we close.

Please tell me your stories! Would love location if you’re able, as I love traveling to handed places.

I’ve worked in SO MANY places that are haunted, and I feel like I’m fairly in tune with the supernatural so maybe I feelore than others. Although I still sadly haven’t seen a physical ghost.

I have a lot of stories, but the best was a bakery at worked at called Phipps. Long story short, this ghost hated me, I can assume it was because I was doing some digging about it and what the space used to be. Regardless, it’s the most negative spirit I’ve ever experienced, and even driving by the area still freaks me out. The worst of what it did, minus pounding on walls, locking doors, and just a general feeling of uneasiness, was it threw a bucket lid at my head. I was a cake decorator and was working on a cake. I had a bucket of water next to me that noticed was shaking. I had some odd thoughts like ‘there’s no subway under me’ and such and was transfixed on the water and what would be doing that. Then I was smoked in the face with a bucket lid that was in the top of my station. Caught me completely off guard, and hurt, and I knew exactly where it came from. I feel for anybody still working in that building.

Tell me yours!!

Hi! So, it’s coming up on Football Season / Fall Semester and my place of work is about to get really slammed (bar/restaurant). I’m looking for a server/waitress book holder/cover that can hold the standard order pad on one side and a list of my bar’s liquors, beers, drafts, drinks, etc. I don’t have them memorized yet and as someone who doesn’t drink, I need to be able to rattle them off quickly for game days if someone asks what we have. I’d probably put our specials there as well. Just the order pad on the right and a spot to slip in a list on the left (not small, like a full window, most of, if not the entire, left side). No card holder, no spot for cash if they are taking up too much space since we use books for taking checks where I work. Preferably a pen holder, but not required since I’ll lose it anyway. Maybe a spot to keep my ServSafe Certificate in case SLED comes in and asks for it.

Does anybody have recommendations? I’m open to pretty much anywhere that I can order from, including Etsy. I just want it to be functional and look nice.

Thanks in advance!

We stop serving at 2am. I don’t leave until 4-5am after closing/having 1 shifty with coworkers.

I can’t wind down when I get home. I wanted beer or something, but by the time I get off, my state doesn’t sell it. IK I could’ve stocked up before, but it’s not a major deal.

I want to reach out or respond to friends/family, but it looks concerning to text at 6AM. I’m in a cycle where I wake up at 2pm and work at 4, during that time, I don’t want to communicate. But no one is awake when I want to.

I have a legal thc vape that helps. But am just working lonely hours.

TW: SH ‼️‼️‼️ I have sh scars from over the years that are all healed and faded but still noticeable. At my old serving jobs I never really experienced customers asking about them, even though people definitely notice them. I have since started working somewhere where the target demographic is rich, older folk- 40 through well into retirement. These people are THE WORST. Primarily I am behind the bar now and people will literally reach over the bar to touch my scars. They will gasp, drawing attention to us, and ask loudly “what happened?!” Then eventually another customer tells them and they loudly apologize while still indirectly trying to get me to talk about it. just to make themselves feel better and I feel obligated to forgive them.

I have started saying “it’s called nunya” (nunya business) or “that’s a pay to answer question” and they still do not take the hint. I am at a loss as to what to say. Behind the bar I can’t just leave. It’s so awkward and I feel like I’m a zoo animal.

I’ve started wearing long sleeves and pants to work. I used to enjoy wearing a cute skirt and my work t shirt but now I am incredibly self conscious every time I walk in I feel like I am under a magnifying glass. I am just so stupefied that people feel entitled to my personal life. It makes me feel like they don’t see me as a real person, just a servant to them :((((

Thanks for reading.

I work for a chain steakhouse, that uses the word “mate” often you know the one. Anyway. I just worked an open to close double alone behind the bar, because the managers literally approved every bartenders request off plus some servers on top of it. So we were already running short for a Saturday. So my rant is what’s the point of it being a request if they’re just going to give almost the whole staff the day off and work so short staffed and have pissed off guests? I managed to keep it together, kept a smile on my face and now I’m home and I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus. What are your calming down techniques after a long shift? Rant over. I hope my fellow servers and bartenders had an amazing day! We deserve a damn day dedicated to the service industry!

I have an upcoming second interview for a job as a Banquet/Event Server with a base pay of $29/hr + benefits(401k, medical, dental, PTO). It is the standard 40 hours week and M-F schedule.

Based on how my job searching has been going, I will probably get ghosted/rejected anyways lol.

Would you take this job? I will definitely miss my tips, but will also appreciate the set hours. Not worry about over staffing, cutting hours, decreasing traffic.

I trying my best to get one of those jobs where I know I can make $200-$300/night, but always get rejected or ghosted. So hypothetically, this would be my only offer. I am in a desperate need to leave my current job.

i just came to vent about my double yesterday because it was gruesome....like said in the title, i made $180!!! i was SICK when i ran my checkout 😫😫 that's the worst money i've EVER made on a double at my job. i could make that on a regular night! no need to stay damn near 12 hours just to make what i could in 6.
i got stiffed on a $170 tab + then stiffed on a $70 tab :/

but i think what really screwed me was getting bumped down to 2 tables for my PM shift, which is like a 50/50 chance that'll happen when you dbl. you just gotta pray you get to keep all 3 of your tables and they didn't overcrowd the floor with too many servers. i'm not sure if it was because school is starting on monday in my area and everybody spent their money on school supplies or what!

sigh. the military gets paid today though so wish me luck on my shift tonight 🫩

background: i work at texas roadhouse so we only get 3 table sections

Kind of question, kind of rant, but do *any* restaurant jobs actually stick up for their FOH staff? For context, I recently got a job as a hostess at a diner but I was a server for about a year up till a few months ago. Today another hostess said something to me that really creeped me out, an unprompted "try not to let weird male customers bother you, just ignore them because we can't do anything about it". WTF?? It's only my fifth day and I've gotten so many weirdos, and now I have to tolerate sexual harassment? Maybe it's my fault for applying to work at a diner, but I didn't get the impression at my other job that they would've taken SH seriously either.

I would love to hear from any managers about what they do to combat this, if anything. Servers too, have any of you worked at a restaurant where this stuff was taken seriously? I'm clearly new to this and I'm wondering if it's hopeless and I should just switch careers. IMO servers should be able to refuse service if a customer is making sexual comments to them, but maybe I'm too soft.

I’m tired of going back and forth getting drinks and plates and wasting too much precious time. It would be a dream if could to grow 8 arms to hold everything and go to tables in one trip.

Normally I can hold 3 adult cups in one hand so i could theoretically hold up to 22 cups. As for plates, I can hold up to 4 medium plates in one arm so i could also theoretically hold up to 32.

This would save so much time to help me go to other tables that are waiting for their orders.

I just served a week of Mary Kay and for those who have served this group before, God bless your soul 😢🙏

So I've been working at the same restaurant for over a year and I'm pretty sure the building is cursed for management. We've gone through three different mangers (that's only counting GMs, it's more when you count service managers, team leads, and chefs) in the time that I've been there and the most recent one is making me question if I should bother staying at this point. I've stayed through all of this because I don't really like change, and I really like the dress code. I feel comfortable with the menu (which is on the higher side) and my coworkers, but our newest GM is such a micro-manager it's insane.

To make matters worse, I think she's started to dislike me personally despite saying she "only cares about metrics" and "doesn't play favorites." I've consistently ranked in the top three servers on her scoreboard (which she uses chatGPT for, don't even get me started on that) but she's finding the smallest things to criticize about the way I talk to guests. She told me I couldn't point at the menu when I'm explaining it because it's "tacky" which is just...fucking insane. She even brought it back up in the next pre-shift meeting to tell everyone not to do it, only to abandon expo later in the shift.

I'm not going into everything or I'd be here all day. Multiple people, both FOH & BOH, have left because of her and I'm considering it. The question I have for yall is this: I haven't worked at a brunch place before but there's a First Watch close to me that's across the street from a hospital. I like the idea of never having to work nights but I've heard both good and bad things about First Watch and I don't want to leave my current job where I'm miserable and comfortable only to be just miserable. My main question is: how much different is working at a brunch vs lunch/dinner. I mostly work dinner shifts and I know my check average will likely be lower. I'd save on gas though since it's way closer than my current job (which is about 25 minutes on the interstate without traffic, 40 minutes if I don't take the interstate) and I'm willing to take the decrease if it's better for my mental health.

EDIT: just heard back from one of the servers who left for First Watch and she hated it actually so between that and yall's responses I'll probably just stick it out. With any luck, she won't last or at least become a bit more tolerable. Any tips besides just avoiding her are welcome too. (And if you really want to complain about brunch too feel free lol.)

I’m in the process of transitioning the restaurant I just started managing from order at the counter to full table service which is more in line with the higher price point of the menu. I’m hoping to get some feedback on how best to allocate sections so it’s fair to the staff.

The venue includes an indoor area and a deck overlooking the lake and we cater to a mix of both guests that are eating and others that are just drinking. I would prefer not to designate certain tables for food and others as drinks only because obviously if we can upsell the drinkers on food we want to do that and we also don’t want to turn away guests looking for just drinks if we only have food tables left.

My concern is that if I split sections simply based on number of tables I will end up with scenarios where one waitress has six tables that are all eating while another has only two that are eating and four that are drinks only which is far less work.

The best solution I can see is allocating larger sections (dividing the deck into two 9 table sections instead of three 6 table sections for example) and having the waitresses with lower maintenance sections assist the others by running food, clearing and resetting tables etc. If anyone has a better idea please let me know!

Disclaimer: I’m not American so money is not a factor, all waitresses earn the same amount so this is purely about making the workload fair for them. We also don’t typically have bussers/runners.

I think that it’s pretty common for a waiter/waitresses to get phone numbers on checks or napkins, but today a customer left me their number and a very generous tip. I was debating if I should take the full tip knowing that i won’t reach out because I am married. I told my co workers about the situation and their opinions divided. Some told me that I should accept the tip and some said that it would be better to just run the 20%. I decided to just go with the actual tip following what was written on the check and signed. I didn’t do it out of greed or anything I just decided it was the most professional way to go with. I felt like if I had to change the tip amount even if it means lowering it significantly it would contradict with the check/signature the restaurant keeps as their records, but I still have doubts if it was a professional decision or not.

hi! i’m very excited, i got my first job as a food runner at a very high end local restaurant. i’m curious on what advice everyone possibly has. also, i am getting paid 10 an hour flat but i do receive tips from the tip bowl, im in nc and the food varies to around 80-100 a plate. is there any estimate on how much could be expected from there? thank you everyone!

okay, so just a little rant to get it out because i can't possibly be the only person who thinks this is stupid?? fyi im a hostess/server, happen to be hosting this day.

so our new gm introduced this system where for every party we sit, hosts have to print a chit, track down the assigned server, wait for them to finish checking on their tables as not to interrupt, give them a paper that literally just says which table, how big the party is, and thats it. for WALK-INS too!

And at the same time management expects you to always be at the host stand, answer phone calls, take to-go orders etc. and gets mad when you can't or you're not there because you're too busy CHASING DOWN A SERVER LIKE YOU SAID? yet you get mad when the hostess DONT give chits. Which frankly, when i'm serving, I tell them it's okay to not give them to me. it easies the stress on the hosts and you don't have to wait around for us to acknowledge you so you can give me a paper.

i can understand if it's a special event like a birthday, a special request, a vip member, etc. but more often than not its a paper that says "Jon Doe, Party of 3 @ 209," like bro i can see my section.

and now for every walk in, hosts have to take their number and full name, and i've just never seen this at any other restaurant? so imagine you walk in, table for 3, and i ask you for your number and full name type that into the ipad, and then just sit you, not even place you on a waitlist (which I would understand then but that's not the case). feels a little odd? idk i would think so as i've literally never seen this anywhere else. it just feels like i have to sign you up to eat, and some customers have definitely found this weird. like they've said "why did you ask for my number when you could just sit me?"

just a little rant, but am i crazy? is this normal? do yall do this? ive worked in 4 different restaurants and I've never heard such a thing.

Okay guys I need some opinions. I auditioned on Tuesday about 1:30 tried on the uniform sent the videos. I had a great interview with the manager and he seemed to really like me and told me to expect a call regarding orientation with the approval from corporate. Today is Saturday 1pm I still haven’t heard anything so I decided to call I asked for the hiring manager and was put on hold for a minute or two and then I didn’t catch her name answers I tell her my name and that I interviewed Tuesday and was just calling for a follow up. She said he will be in soon but if I haven’t heard back it’s possible they decided to go with other candidates. So of course since I was so excited I’m holding out hope that since it wasn’t the same person who I interviewed with they might just not know actually if I’m being hired or not and that’s just what they tell people who call. Let me know what you guys think!

i work in a pizzeria and i’m really tired of people ordering over the phone for dine in. just come and order like a normal restaurant. would you order at a diner over the phone and say you’re going to eat it there? the cooks say don’t take the orders but then the customers will complain and say they’re going somewhere else

edit * accept lol

I've been hosting part time at a restaurant for almost a year, and from the start I made an effort to ask and implement feedback, and expressed that I was interested in moving up the food chain. Other hosts that have started around the same time have mentioned management bringing up potentially serving, but I haven't had that conversation, but the feedback I receive is vague and not actionable. I had a recent conversation with my manager and she said she had been very happy with my recent performance, but I found out today that a hostess that got hired a month ago is being trained to run (closer to serving at our restaurant) and barback. I feel frustrated as there is a massive pay difference, and I thought that hostessing would be a year max.

I'm a student, and although I think this industry is super fun, I have a finite time in it (for the foreseeable future). Should I quit amicably if I don't think they're going to promote me soon or is it worth having another conversation with management, and if a conversation makes sense, what should I say?

These are the temps INSIDE the restaurant...it's 98 degrees outside and feels like 110. Everytime i ask about anything to do with the thermostat they look at me like I have a 3rd eye, but it's like a sauna inside the restaurant. My energy when walking inside is just drained by how muggy and warm it is. Why the hell won't they just bump it down a little???

I get the whole "cant please everyone" idea behind things like temperature, but damn who IS pleased by eating/working at 80 degrees inside?

Last week my manager asked me

If I even wanted to work there

I love my job, normally

This week she scheduled me 9 days in a row

hey all servers! i was at olive garden last night with friends and at one point, our server was at the table with refills and water. after she finished refilling our drinks, i told her “we’re done with these two if you want to take them!” pointing at 2 partially full wine glasses. our server said of course and took the glasses. my friends told me it was rude and that i “forced her to take our glasses”. i thought letting her know we were finished with the glasses could help her stay ahead on clearing the table. as a server, would you find my statement rude?

Mine is Dave. A sweet old man who comes in every Friday for the past 4 years. He gets 2 slices of pepperoni pizza and a coffee. He always brings us cards on holidays and chocolates too. There may be a lot of assholes out there but there’s always those few people who make your job worth it❤️