When someone is dining out, it’s typical for them to try to be as courteous as possible. But sometimes good intentions go bad. According to many servers, one such example is when customers do things like stack plates at the end of the meal.
That’s what happened to TikToker @perlarondan_ when she recently dined out. The customer decided to try and help the waitress but was rudely made aware that her efforts were not appreciated.
The woman posted a short video to her TikTok account asking, “Someone enlighten me,” as to what she did wrong. In the short clip that she filmed from inside the restaurant, there are two tables stacked with the remnants of a meal—empty plates, glasses, and cutlery.
The woman then explains the situation in a text overlay.
“I thought I was helping the waitress out by doing this but she thought otherwise,” she writes.
It seems that the customer decided to stack the used dishes and arrange the used glasses so that could be bussed from the table more easily. But apparently, this went unappreciated by her server.
Is it helpful when customers stack used plates?
As a customer, you want to do all you can to help out the waitstaff. However, from the waiter’s point of view, not everything patrons do is actually helpful to them. Very often, servers wish people would just get on with eating their food, paying their bill, and leaving so they can clear the table for the next party.
In another video with 2 million views, server Brooke Roderick (@brooke.roderick) shared her thoughts on the matter.
““It just makes my job harder,” Roderick said about customers who stack their plates at the end of a meal. She says that she has a specific system when clearing plates and stacked plates simply get in the way of her doing her job.
According to several servers interviewed by Today.com, stacking plates is an accident waiting to happen. Many waiters also feel as though the gesture suggests they are not providing the proper level of service.
“As much as we appreciate the effort to assist us, it really just makes it harder for us to clear and clean a table,” says William Bonilla, service captain at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco restaurant Dirty Habit, in Washington, D.C.
Viewers explain both sides
The customer’s query went viral, with her video gathering over 11.9 million views. Many viewers who worked in the service industry applauded the woman’s efforts to help out her server.
“As a waitress, most of us DO appreciate this!” one person said.
“I absolutely appreciate when customers do this!! Saves so much time,” another said.
“I’m a server and I love it! Especially when the parents have kiddos,” a third added.
However, some servers pointed out that no matter how well-intentioned, sometimes stacking plates isn’t helpful.
“As long as you don’t leave food/silverware/trash between the stacks it’s fine! It’s better to pul all that on the top plate,” one wrote.
Another shared a specific example of stacking going wrong. She wrote, “As a waitress we all have a different way of stacking things when we are moving fast that [are] comfortable for us so we don’t drop things. I appreciate it sometimes but iv’e had glass [put] in between baskets.”
One person offered specific tips. They wrote, “Utensils in cup. All plates stacked large to small. Trash on top. The goal is to make it so that the server does not need to pick through your pile.”
@perlarondan_ Messi #messi #soccer #soccer #mercedesbenz #atlantaunited #daughter #mom ♬ Not Like Us – Kendrick Lamar
The Daily Dot reached out to the TikToker via email for further information.
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