Servers often take to TikTok to call out customers’ bad behavior and recently one went viral after filming a short skit of a customer swiping unfinished glasses of wine from another customer’s table.
TikToker Stephanie Carlisle (@StephanieCarlisle0529) is a server who posts humorous skits reacting to life in the service industry.
@stephaniecarlisle0529 #restaurantchronicles #restaurantlife #serverlife #restaurant #skithumor #restaurant ♬ original sound – StephanieCarlisle0529
Filming the skit at her home, Stephanie begins her video—which has been viewed over 4,000 time as of Tuesday—by taking on the role of the customer.
She wears a sweatshirt, leans over the table, and says, “Babe, the table over there. That lady took three sips of her wine, and she just left it.”
After checking for onlookers, Stephanie goes for the unfinished wine glasses. “Got ’em,” she says as she takes a big sip of wine.
“Delish,” she adds with satisfaction.
The camera flips to Stephanie walking up to the table, pretending to be the waiter. She’s wearing a black button-down and carrying a plate. “Here is your…” she says, before stopping and taking a deep breath.
“Did you go to the bar to get wine?” she asks. Her voice changes as she realizes what the customer has done.
“Wait, that’s a VIP guest that was sitting next to you, and that’s her glass,” Stephanie states with growing disgust. “Did you get her wine that she drank out of off of her table? You cootie queen!”
She finishes the skit by asking her customer a flurry of questions: “What if her backwash is in it? What if she has cold sores? What if her lips are cracked?” Stephanie pretends to dry-heave before she kicks the customer out.
Commenters shared their own stories of customers eating other people’s leftovers.
“Had a table take a half-eaten dessert off the table next to them, and NO they didn’t know the other people,” one user shared.
“This is how we get the next COVID,” a second agreed.
“That is probably the nastiest thing I’ve ever seen a guest do while at work,” Stephanie replied.
While drinking a stranger’s wine may seem strange, some argue that eating abandoned food keeps it from going to waste. Customers who swipe abandoned food believe that it can be a cost-effective way to sample more of the menu—one that’s unofficially known as “free-range mooching.”
Although it’s unclear who owns the food that is left after a meal, manners and social norms usually advise to err on the side of caution. Even if a meal looks completely untouched, you never know what has occurred out of your line of sight.
The Daily Dot reached out to Stephanie via TikTok comments for further information.
