A server is shedding light on the unfair realities of working in the restaurant industry after enduring a family of customers she said enabled their child’s “bad behavior,” which led to a mess for restaurant workers to clean up.
In a two-part video, TikTok creator Kristina Withers (@krisswith)—who regularly shares with viewers her experiences as a server—told a story of how she had to deal with a table of four people who appeared to be celebrating a birthday.
Since it was “Taco Tuesday” at the restaurant, Withers got confirmation from the table if they were OK with ordering the cheapest option for the child at the table—one taco at $2.50 that comes with no sides. The table also ordered extra sides of ranch with their additional food, and Withers alerted them it would cost extra.
@krisswith #fyp #server #servers #serverstorytime #serverstories #serversoftiktok #serverlife #serverproblems #serversg #serverstory #bartender #bartenders #bartendersoftiktok #bartenderlife #bartenderstorytime #bartenderstory #bartenderstories #bartenderproblems #bartenderlifebelike ♬ original sound – Kristina Withers
Later on, another kid joins the table, making it a total of five people, Withers said. After bringing food to the table, Withers comes back to check on the customers and finds out one of the kids threw their Shirley Temple drink on the ground.
“The entire ground was soaking wet and sticky,” Withers said.
She said she went to get a mop to clean up the mess. However, the kid continued to make a mess, while the mother laughed with the kid as Wither cleaned things up, the TikToker shared.
“Lady, your kid just destroyed sh*t, and you’re encouraging bad behavior,” Withers said in her video.
Throughout the rest of their stay, both the kids continued to make a mess, wiping food on a restaurant mirror and the walls, while the mom continued to be aloof, Withers recounted. Later on, the mom argued with the restaurant manager about her bill, despite Withers explaining earlier that certain food items would cost extra and only certain meals included sides.
At the end of their meal, the table also complained about a surcharge added to their bill because they used a credit card instead of cash, Withers said. After the table was done paying, Withers recounted she returned back to their table only to find a bigger mess.
“They leave, I walk back to the table and it was even more destroyed than it was in the first place,” she said. “They tore up both cups so it was more Shirley Temple everywhere. They had spilled the water. There was food littered on the ground. And I’m not talking like a normal mess, they were tearing up food and throwing it on the ground. They had smeared sh*t all over the mirrors so I had to clean all of that. Like it was an obscene amount of mess that was completely unnecessary.”
People were largely sympathetic to Wither’s experience. The Daily Dot has reached out to Withers via TikTok comment.
“I’m so sorry they treated you like this!” one person said.
“Restaurants should charge extra for excessive mess,” another person said.
“I was never a server but I would never allow my kids to do this!” one viewer argued. “If they made a mess I would clean it up as much as possible, ask for more napkins etc.”
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, some restaurant workers were pushed to the brink, due to a variety of factors including rude and impatient customers during, and in the aftermath of, pandemic lockdowns, NPR reported.
