A server revealed that while hot tea might be the perfect complement to a meal for some, it sets servers up to do more work than other drink choices.
TikTok creator Hannah A. Brown (@hannahabrown) shared her displeasure with this brand of customer via a video put up on the platform on May 27, and getting more than 403,000 views since then.
Playing both the part of the server and customer, she asks as the server what the customer would like to drink.
As the customer, she brightly says, “A hot tea.”
@hannahabrown0 oh so thats the kind of shift we’re having #serverlife #server #hospitalityindustry #restaurantindustry #restaurantindustryproblems #hottea ♬ original sound – Mr. G
The server’s eyes then snap open with a two-beat musical interlude suggesting anger.
The caption contributes to the message with, “Oh so that’s the kind of shift we’re having.”
In a follow-up TikTok, answering a commenter’s question about the process, Brown explains the ordeal further.
“I truly, truly wish, like from the depths of my soul, that serving tea was this simple at a restaurant,” she says in response to a question reading, “How could it be time-consuming? Put boiling water and a teabag into a cup and serve it.”
@hannahabrown0 Replying to @cecile ♬ original sound – hannahabrown
She explains, “It was always, like, get a plate, put a napkin on the plate, find a mug—and mind you, coffee stains mugs, so you want to find a clean mug where there are no coffee stains, because obviously who the f*ck wants to drink out of a dirty mug, so that’s an extra step—then get a mini tea kettle, then take the tea bag, which is usually going to be in a box up on a top of a shelf, and you take it down then you have to balance it against the tea kettle.”
“Then you have to find a teaspoon and usually there aren’t enough teaspoons, so then you have to run to the back in the dish pit to find a clean teaspoon, get a side of honey but the honey is in dry storage so you have to run back to dry storage.” Brown continues. “You can’t find a ramekin to put the honey in, someone used all the cut-up lemons and no one cut up new lemons. I mean, in theory, it should be so simple but oh my God.”
Someone responded to that video, “This gave me a flashback montage.”
The other, more viewed video also drew comments from servers who could relate.
“Even the hot waters with extra lemon,” said one.
Brown responded, “I love doing extra work for free.”
Another quipped, “Me at hooters like why do u want hot coffee at hooters w your bbq wings.”
“My own mother sat in my section and ordered hot tea on a Saturday night,” someone else shared. “I flat out told her no.”
“I once had a group of 4 old ladies and one of them asked for a hot water w lemon,” someone recalled. “Then they all said ‘that sounds good we’ll all get the same’ LIKE NOO.”
One person, however, chimed in with, “I get ur j sharing ur experience but servers on TT are so annoying like j do ur job and stop making ppl feel bad for going out. working sucks we get it.”
But someone came to the server’s defense, saying, “People go out to eat and forget the servers are human. If you haven’t worked in service you don’t get it.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok comment.
