Servers and bartenders have many service tricks up their sleeves to help them keep the drinks flowing and the customers happy. Sometimes, those tricks include making conversation and, as one TGI Friday’s server exercised with their patron, some good-natured banter.
User @itsmle_ posted a TikTok on Sept. 30 that shows her innocently sipping an electric blue cocktail commonly known as an Adios Motherf*cker (AMF). The server makes a simple joke, and, after he delivers the punch line, @itsmle_ and her fellow guests die of laughter.
Her video has over 26 million views at this time.
What did the bartender say?
@itsmle_ takes big sips of her nearly half-empty drink at the start of the clip. Off-camera, the server says, “You ladies get a blanket for your babies?”
Confused, @itsmle_ stops drinking the cocktail and asks, “My babies?”
“Somebody’s babysitting those drinks,” the server responds. @itsmle_ and the others gasp at the dig and laugh hysterically. The video ends with someone asking, “Did you get that?” to which @itsmle_ responds in between laughter, “Yeah.”
In a follow-up TikTok, @itsmle_ and her fellow diner explain to her father what an AMF is.
She added in the caption, “The whole reason we were even at TGIF before the bartender handed my *ss back to me” was for him to try the drink.
But what is “babysitting” a drink? We’ll get to that.
@itsmle_ Did not know that getting roasted by the bartender at TGIF was on my bingo card this year 😭 @TGIFridays #blankies #for #da #babies ♬ original sound – mle
Some commenters understood the joke, others did not
Some commenters laughed wholeheartedly at the server’s joke.
“Not him saying that as you r downing that drink,” one said.
“The way I would immediately down my drink and order another one,” another joked.
One commenter agreed with the server’s method: “I would always say ‘are you getting paid?’ ‘To babysit that drink’ and it worked every time. They would always get another and tip well.”
Some commenters didn’t find the server’s joke funny because they either didn’t get it or thought it was insensitive.
One user asked, “Wait what is ‘babysitting’ a drink?” to which someone responded, “When you just let the drink sit there, sip, and don’t drink it for a long time.”
A third replied, “That’s kind of a rude thing to say to someone. Why can’t I drink it at the speed I want?”
Ever heard of ‘nursing’ a drink? It’s the same thing
Other commenters pointed out that the confusion may be a generational thing.
“I believe it’s also called ‘nursing a drink’ I’m old,” someone wrote.
Another shared their version of the joke: “The one I always use is ‘you work at the hospital right’ ‘I just assumed cuz you were nursing those drinks’ they love it every time.”
Regardless of phrasing, the TGI Friday’s server and the service workers in the comments confirm just how effective this trick is in persuading patrons to add to their tab.
The Daily Dot reached out to @itsmle_ via TikTok DM and comment for further information.
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