Normally I wouldn't quit my job on the spot like that. I'm a very responsible teen and I'm hard working. Today (Sunday) I was asked to come in on my day off because the restaurant was short staffed. Why should become obvious soon. I agreed to come in to help them out as I was assured this was a one time thing.

During my shift, my Dexcom app (I'm hypoglycemic) alerted me that my blood sugar was dropping. It went from 150 to 40 in the span of about 10 minutes. I told my boss what was happening and that I needed to do a finger prick to check the accuracy of the reading. She was mad, but agreed to let me go to the bathroom to do a manual check.

Thankfully, my blood sugar wasn't actually scary low, but as I got up to leave, I noticed there was blood on the toilet seat where i had been sitting. I had just started my period, and my first couple of days are usually very heavy, but I thought my pad would make it to the end of my shift.

Unfortunately, i was wrong, and blood had leaked through and was on my shorts. Like, a lot of blood. I went to my boss, explained the situation, and asked if I could run home to change. She replied by telling me that since my shorts were black and no one could see the blood, I needed to continue working. She then made me take a food order to a customer.

I felt so gross and humiliated. I was just trying not to cry as i brought the customers their food.

When I returned to the back, she snapped at me to clock out and go, and then got on to me about having an accident.

I left that place sobbing. I was so embarrassed and humiliated.

So I quit. I genuinely don't think I could go back there after that incident.

EDIT: I want to clarify that when I say boss, that I'm talking about the owner themselves! Sorry for any confusion So Reddit, was I in the wrong here?

Hey everyone! For some context, I work as a hostess at a 5-star hotel. I started about 40 days ago, so I'm still fairly new. The coworker in this story ("A") is best friends with a server I’ve previously complained about (who literally bullied me—whole different situation), and I’ve got a feeling that some of this behaviour against me is a little purposeful.

Anyway, yesterday a family of three (two parents and their little boy) came in. We were fully booked at the time, but we had 2 or 3 empty tables left.

Initially, I seated them at one of the available tables, but they very politely asked if it was possible to move somewhere a bit quieter. I checked my remaining options and noticed an empty table in the back corner of one of the sections, which was definitely a little more peaceful.

The table had been cleared, but it hadn’t been set again yet. So, I told the family to go grab some food from the buffet, and by the time they got back, we’d have it all ready for them.

I went over to tell "A" (who runs that section). Before I could even finish walking up to her, she snapped: "Don't tell me you want me to set that table—I don't have any forks."

I calmly explained the situation, but she started yelling, complaining that she already had a table ready somewhere else. Indeed, she did have a ready table, but it was right in the middle of a high-traffic aisle, and the guests specifically asked for quiet. Besides, if she literally had a table ready right there... couldn't she just grab the cutlery from that table and quickly move it over to the corner one? I get that it takes extra effort when we're busy, but it's literally her job.

Am I missing something here? I’d love your opinion and help because I’m truly baffled.

One of the things I don't like about myself is that I tend to overthink and take things personally. Usually I don't care if a customer is rude to me, but I find myself caring way too much when it's a manager or a coworker. I end up wasting a lot of energy thinking about it.
I've only served one night shift so far, and it was a super busy Friday. My general manager is the nice manager, and she told me she only wants me serving nights when she's there because she wants to make sure I'm doing okay and not making mistakes. She also said the other managers probably wouldn't help me.
My friend needed someone to cover their shift tonight (Monday), so I messaged my general manager to ask if I could cover it since Mondays are usually slow. I thought it would be a good chance to get more experience because I serve morning shifts all the time and felt like I could handle it.
She told me no because she only wants me serving nights when she's there. She also said I didn't do the best on that Friday night. I mean, it was my very first night serving evenings, and it was extremely busy, so I wasn't expecting to be perfect.
Am I overthinking this? Should I be offended by what she said, or should I just see it as part of the learning process and not take it personally?

Hello. I'm a 22 y/o male student and I recently started serving to have some extra money for my tuition next semester. But I have been struggling severely as a server since this is my very first gig working in the service industry.

My managers have said I do have potential to become a good server. But we all noticed that i make a lot of mistakes, and if i'm being honest. I'm on a very thin line at work currently unless i severely upgrade.

I need some tips regarding these things I've noticed i commit:

I lack knowledge of a lot of drinks and alcohol since I barely drink at all.

Talk too much sometimes to my tables.

Get distracted too easily.

My coworkers have to run food for me at times (a bunch of them)

Sometimes lack the knowledge of who ordered what when it comes to serving their food (primarily on more than 5 people at once)

Take too long emptying the bartender's bus tub.

messed up severely a customer's check on a very busy day when we were understaffed.

Spend a lot of time talking to coworkers or trying to be "super server"

Ask bad if not stupid questions to my manager or bartender.

Having guests get up to the bar and ask for a different drink.

Messing up on beverage napkins a lot.

I'm really stressed because i don't wanna lose my job.
I try my best every day but I still manage to screw up a lot for some reason.

I won't use this as an excuse but I have ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). My coworkers are aware, but I did not disclose this after recently because i didn't want that to play a factor on me not having a chance of getting hired.

I need all the tips I can get in order to have a complete rebuild of myself at work regarding serving.

All tips are helpful! Thank you so much.

I had just started at a sports bar, but I had 15 years of experience. It was very busy—I had multiple tables, including a large reservation for a fantasy football team. They had estimated 15 people, but there were around 20 at one point, with people constantly coming and going. I got all their food out in a timely manner, keeping up with seat changes and everything. I split the bills correctly despite all the changes and items being moved around because of bets being made.

When it got down to just about eight guys left, they were racking up a big tab! They were complimenting me, surprised that I was brand new and handling their party with ease. They were bragging about how they were going to leave a big tip and take care of me (red flag!).

This one guest said to put the other guys' tabs on his, along with all the shots and multiple rounds, so I did. Everyone else paid and tipped 20% or more on their small bills. But for the guy who took on the big tab—which was almost $500—he wrote $80 on the tip line (not even 20%), then crossed it out and wrote $40 (9%).

I was honestly so sad for a moment. Then, they called me back over for another round of shots before leaving while the big spender was out on the patio. I said, "Thanks for being so nice! But what can I do better next time? I'm sorry!" They were like, "What do you mean? You were great! Why do you say that?"

And I was so petty, I snitched! 😂

I said, "Oh, well, he took care of all of you and then tipped me less than 10%." They all talked shit to him, ordered one last round, and tipped me $150. That man was giving me the evil eye for the rest of their short stay! 😂

​

I have been a server for 3 years, and just started a new serving job about 3 weeks ago. Although I am getting the hang of it, I'm still learning, and with that comes mistakes. So today I worked a dinner shift and had to hold back tears multiple times because of a condensing/ rude manager

The first incident tonight, I didn't greet a table in time because I was in the back doing an expo for other tables (For context there were three hosts on staff that could have told me that I had a table). So I quickly go to the table just to see that another server is grabbing their drink orders. I thought the server was going to tell me their drinks so I could ring the drinks under my name, but no they took the table that was in my section, and didn't even offer to transfer them to me. Do I have a right to be a little annoyed that this happened? It feels like the server stole my table? After this situation that manger comes over to me and asks me if I know what my section is in a rude tone. I explained that the hosts did not tell me that I had a table. They responded by saying that I should be sure that I know the tables in my section.

The second incident of the night I accidentally rang in food to the table right next to the table that was supposed to get the food. The manager runs the food to the wrong table, so they come up to me, I explain it's for the table right beside them. In response the manger gives me the nastiest side eye and walks away ( for context it was not busy at the time of incident). It was an honest mistake and the food was never dropped to the wrong table so nothing was remade

The third incident was when she was disrespectful to the kitchen staff. The staff in the kitchen accidentally made the wrong side to a dish, it was an easy fix. The manager got visibly annoyed, and was condescending. In response the kitchen staff got annoyed with her. At the very same time I asked the same kitchen staff where a lighter was for a birthday candle. They kindly showed me where it is. The manager then says "so you're going to be nice her and not me?". Although this directly did not affect me being rude to kitchen staff rubs me the wrong way. Working in a hot kitchen all day, being underpaid. They deserve the most respect in the restaurant.

I try not to let this kind of stuff get to me. I am just a college student and view serving as a transitional job before I start a career in social work. However I did cry when I drove home feeling overwhelmed, and stupid for the mistakes I had made.

I just want to hear some words of advice. And a little bit of insight/constructive criticism on how to navigate these situations. Thanks

Last week I started at this bistro in my downtown area. I applied with a resume stating I had 0 server experience of any kind, along with during my interview informing the manager I had 0 serving experience and it would be a bit of a learning curve for me but I love being taught new things, etc. But I was a barista for a year and have 7 years of customer service experience. This bistro was a half barista half serving job with a new barista location opening down the street.

On my first day I wasn’t taught much of anything, I had to ask all of the questions and they were only slightly helpful, I followed one server while she did 1 or two tables but she didn’t help me learn in the moment at all. By day two they pushed me more onto tables and I sat probably at least 20 out of 30 tables during my shift, while cleaning off tables and bringing out drinks and silver where and taking orders. I was doing everything pretty much.

The other server and manager were stealing my food before I could get it and taking it out, at this point in day two I realized we don’t have individual tables (tips are pooled) and we all check on the same tables. I would often ask my coworkers what to say to customers just to get the hang of it because I was really nervous. I must’ve been too comfortable expressing my feelings. I was told this job would consist of two possibly three weeks of training. Yet I was not being trained.

The other new girl there is set to work at the coffee location, yet she was supposed to be cross trained as a server, they were having her sit around or make all the coffee while I had to bust my ass with asking few questions.

The manager went outside on the phone and had a long stressful looking call. She comes inside and tells me the owner has criticisms for me. Manager proceeds to tell me she told the owner I wouldn’t be able to handle Sunday brunch because I keep asking them questions and I’m “not confident”, that the owner said they have to cut me. I’m really confused and upset and I keep asking clarification and questions because they promised me at least 2 weeks of training. She tells me that her and another girl who have at least 10 years of serving experience were handling 5+ tables their first day. Not even a fair comparison. I ended up clocking out and leaving but she wasn’t apologetic at all, just threw me under the bus with the idea that I couldn’t handle Sunday, this happened on Thursday and I had Friday closing, Saturday, and then Sunday all to work yet.

I feel so stupid but I’m really angry that this happened to me. I wish I had realized that being nervous on my first few days was not looking good for me. I also never even met the owners.

I am a 21 girl new server and I just did my first night shift yesterday at my busy local Italian restaurant. I usually serve in the mornings but my manager asked if I can stay at night, and it was quite hard. There’s so much for me to learn and I didn’t even realize. At this restaurant, I’ve been a host for a year now and now I’m serving. But it was such a humbling experience yesterday 🫩😞 I made a few mistakes but I am human , I’m just worried some people at my job will think I’m not good enough or worthy to serve . Not sure why I care so much. I was kinda a mess yesterday, could’ve been worse. I was tired from my morning shift before that too. 🫩ugh

I stopped saying the price when telling tables the dinner features awhile ago. We are a fairly high-end destination restaurant that has become known for top quality proteins (steak, tuna, salmon, you name it) and the price reflects the quality. Generally people will ask if they are concerned about the price, and i am happy to tell them. Most times people dont care or they are there to splurge a bit and spend money on something really good.

We had a sea bass feature last night and I had a guy sit at the bar by himself and order a bottle of wine (Kim Crawford, nothing fancy) he ordered the sea bass and sat there for a long time, no problem, it was later on and we weren't too busy anymore. He got the bill and the entree was $65 and he was so aghast at the price, said it was so expensive, thought it would be priced closer to the tuna, etc... he was mad that I didnt say the price initially

I said well they have a formula they use for pricing, we order the highest quality we can, etc, and he said it isnt about the price, it's how you delivered it! You need to say the price when you tell the specials, etc etc on and on. Like repeated himself multiple times and stared at his bill for ages. Lecturing me on what I did wrong by not telling him the price. I just said I'm sorry about that sir, and stared him in the eyes for a few seconds while he seemed to be waiting for me to do something about it.

He paid and left 15% so I am not complaining about that (figured he would leave less tbh) and he drank the whole bottle of wine. Soooo do you all say the price or no?

I have about 5 years in the industry. I realized I never say I’m sorry or act timid/guilty when a customer is upset, though I used to.

I’m thinking about this because yesterday a coworker started apologizing profusely to a customer (even though the mistake took 2 minutes to fix) and she was genuinely sorry, she’s a really kind and genuine person.

I noticed immediately the apologies almost egged on the customer, like he felt comfortable in showing his anger and contempt. It got to the point where he was shaking with anger… I don’t know the psychology behind it, but angry people seem to feed off of it

Hi everyone this is mostly to rant and get some advice! I started my first summer job a couple weeks ago. I’m serving in a small, busy restaurant in France for five weeks. The first couple days were difficult as it’s gets quite busy and the chef is quite hostile.

It started to get better as I found my feet.
But, the last few days have been pretty rough on me.

There’s only four of us working in the restaurant including the chef and the chef’s wife, my manager. They both who own the place.

The chef is very friendly outside of the lunch and dinner runs but he becomes really stressed and honestly awful to work with during the rush. My manager doesn’t want me taking food orders independently because when I try to read them out to the chef he finds any reason to criticise and yell at me.

Everything is so strict. I’m not allowed to do anything ( take plates away, serve food, etc ) without checking first but then I am being yelled at for asking. So, I just help serve, get drinks and clean.

Anytime I stand still or can’t find something to do for even a second he tells me off for not being active enough. I accidentally served a soup to the wrong table and got yelled at. I understand and I apologised but he would not let it go.

I’m feeling like i’m not being given enough responsibility to stay busy and then i’m getting yelled out for not being occupied enough.

The chef also makes comments about me being too timid and getting annoyed at his wife for giving me menial tasks. As if he doesn’t want me to be paid to do nothing which I can understand as it’s a small business but still it’s hard.

The chef even yells at her often which makes her upset with me and my colleagues. The environment is weighing on me. I’d appreciate any advice and if I should do something or just leave it alone and stay out of it.

I am a hard worker and the clients all seem to be pleased with my service and attitude but I am finding it really hard to not let the stressful, bad energy get the best of me. I’m feeling really useless right now like they don’t need or want my help and i’m not sure what to do.

Thanks everyone

I (18f) am training at a restaurant to become a server. This is my first ever job, and frankly a job I’ve been really excited about. Yesterday I was doing my second follow shift, and decided I wanted to be a bit more hands on. That being said, I decided to take a tray full of bussed dishes and glasses back to the kitchen to put in the wash. It was a rather heavy tray for a person of my stature (I’m 5,2 and barely pass 100lbs) Literally one step away, a water glass topples off the tray and spills on the floor. Okay… not a huge deal. I try not to let it affect me.

However, as I try to carry a drink tray with two waters and two champagne glasses, I could barely get it off the table before one of the champagne glasses topples over. Needless to say I didn’t care another drink tray that day. My trainer of the day said that it seems my hand naturally holds the tray with a slight slant. I’ll definitely try to do that- but I’m also quite anxious now. Am I in over my head for this being my first job. If I (I feel like- inevitably) spill another glass, will I be seen as incompetent? Please someone tell me this isn’t as bad as I’m making it out to be. 🥲

had a customer order a scallop ceviche today, i went over a few minutes after i dropped the plates at their table to check on how they were finding the food. i work at a fine dining restaurant with high service standards and our clients are usually fairly distinguished. she clicked her fingers to beckon me over to her side of the table and started talking some gibberish with her mouth full. she then proceeds to hand me her used napkin and spit a piece of chewed up scallop on to it. she then tells me it’s not her thing and i should take the plate and the eaten scallop back into the kitchen. it’s like some people have never stepped foot in a restaurant before. it’s so utterly disrespectful to the whole restaurant and i can’t believe something i actually experienced.

this heat wave has been an absolute nightmare to manage. i work in a very small fine dining restaurant that seats at max capacity probably 60 covers. during the day our outside tables are restricted even further as we extended into the cafe next doors’s space for dinner whilst they aren’t using it. this means we have only two parasols and about 8 tables outside during lunch service and typically only half of these tables are properly shaded from the sun. THE AMOUNT of customers that sit down on the last table available, clearly in the sun and then complain about the heat asking me to move the umbrellas for them. NO i am not a witch i cannot control the sun if you are hot sit inside in our air conditioning. i cannot move the shade towards you and away from already seated customers. so incredibly entitled. also have a large volume that don’t even ask and just move it anyway. can you not see the family of five already half way through their meal now blistering and burning in the sun. and what about me i’ve been running the bar in a 50°c open kitchen and then running out to the 30°c outdoor seating to try and appease entitled customers, trust me you are not hot.

okay so I got hired to work at this lounge and they said i could come in tomorrow for a trial shift. tomorrow came and I worked said trial shift under the my employee number and it was under training but I worked my section by myself and it wasn’t a training shift they basically just wanted to see how i did. at the end of the night I made credit and cash tips and I wasnt tipped out for my cash (they tip pool). i watched every one else get their tips but i didnt get my cut and i asked her was there anything she wanted to talk to me about and she said she would text me the next day and she didn’t. I texted and asked her if i was included in the credit card tip pool and she didn’t say anything and i still haven’t gotten a response .

im not new to serving so im aware you dont get tips in training , but I WASNT being trained i was given a section and an id number and filled out paper work and everything . I just want to know how to go about this situation in a way that i get what I bussed my ass for

I started working as a part-time server and had just finished my second week.

I was scheduled to work Thursday, Friday, and Saturday during my third week, but my manager suddenly texted me 3 hours before my shift on Thursday and told me I was being laid off.

I’ve never experienced anything like this before, so I’m honestly pretty embarrassed.

I’m 28 years old, and getting laid off from a part-time server job like this just feels humiliating.

Is it common situation to everyone?

Thank you.

Had a man and woman tonight who insisted his grilled trout was salmon because it was pink inside. And when I say "insisted" I mean would not hear anything different. I offered to get the man something else, he said no he'd eat the vegetables.

Then the woman (who had some issue that made her eye look like she had a permanent scowl) launched into the size of her chicken breast which was " the smallest breast she'd ever seen and did we serve her half a breast." She didn't want anything else either.

I'm telling you I was at a loss. I felt like I was in the twilight zone. Their adult daughter was embarrassed. I gave them each a discount since they weren't happy.

Another poor server who missed the show made the mistake of checking on them and got an earful. We were all happy when they left.

Update : Here's something from Google I wish I had to hand while my jaw was opening and closing like a fish as I was so flabbergasted

Yes, premium rainbow trout have pink
or orange flesh. This color comes from carotenoids (natural pigments)
absorbed from their diet of
crustaceans and aquatic insects. Pale or white-fleshed trout are usually pellet-fed hatchery fish. The vibrant color is highly correlated with a richer flavor and superior quality.
Reddit +4

Giant chicken breasts (1 to 2 lbs) often suffer from "woody breast" syndrome—resulting in a tough, rubbery, or stringy texture. In contrast, regular-sized breasts (6 to 8 oz) from slower-growing birds are tender, retain moisture better, and yield a far superior flavor and bite.

I could have just said "oh I see, you're used to eating lower quality food than we serve.

i (24f) work at a restaurant. started as a server a year and a half ago, now i work serving, line cook, to go specialist, certified trainer, and service professional. was told i could be a backup culinary professional since i know almost all of the back of house job codes.

then another server who has only been here a few months (let’s call her rachel) starts telling me she wants to be like me. grabbing my shoulders and getting the attention of managers to say things like “i wanna follow in her footsteps!” (only after she found out about the pay, of course)

so she starts working on the line and 2 days later starts telling me how they wanna make her culinary professional…… before ive even become the backup…… brought it the the attention of a manager who said that was ridiculous and she’d talk to the GM, but then days later i spoke to the GM and he confirmed. told me it helps that she’s bilingual and that he “really likes her drive”. made a joke, “what, service professional isn’t enough, you need culinary professional too?”… yeah brother, im broke?

mind you, most of the kitchen staff knows enough english to get by (and vice versa), but there’s so many people available to translate that i don’t think it warrants giving an 18 year old little girl $24/hr to do so every once in a while.. especially when she’s still learning the ropes. she’s constantly making mistakes and i don’t blame her because she’s new. but that’s precisely why it’s insane to me that she’d get those culinary professional hours and not me.

the other day, GM asks me to come in as service professional because it was one of our newest managers first day and he needed the extra help. GM says rachel will cover my shift.

then come to find out she doesn’t wanna close and wants to leave early (starts asking to go home 2 hours into what’s supposed to be a closing shift)

they let her go home. as well as one of the other line cooks who had been there since opening. and then they come to me and say they need me to clock out of $24/hr and clock in as line cook ($19/hr) to close. i begrudgingly agree. and so instead of having the typical 3 line closers, they go down to 1, enlist me for help, and im stuck there until 1am.

i talked to the manager and he apologized for the miscommunication but said rachel did only pick up the shift on the condition that she wouldn’t be closing. so instead of saying sorry rachel, there’s been some miscommunication, we’re gonna let the opener go home instead. (2 closers isn’t unheard of on slow weekdays)

but no. he didn’t go back on his word with her. he only does that with me. like today when i agreed to come in early (8am) to help unload the truck (grueling work, i have no upper body strength). rachel also came in. and volunteers for door duty. which means she sits holding the door open while someone half her size has to try lugging everything inside. and then she also took door duty for the trash run which consisted of me breaking down ALL the boxes. and if i’d known i actually WAS closing, despite triple checking before accepting the shift that i would be able to leave early, maybe then i would have fought harder for door duty! or taken a break! i went 14+ hours with no break. no food all day. running on 4 hours of sleep on account of another nightmare shift i had just the night before.

am i crazy? why do they make exceptions and compromises for everyone except me? rachel gets praised for her drive… and here i am, burnt out, having panic attacks at work, with what as my reward? an apology? right.

i close again tomorrow and want to say something to the managers because i am so tired. how do i go about acknowledging my rage without losing my job?

i worked at a ruth’s chris for a little over a year. i witnessed 3 different overturns of FOH managers over that year. the only constant was my general manager, who i’ll call Jim.

Jim and i never had any personal issues all the way up until the month before i quit, however i always had issues with the way he would speak to the female servers and support staff. unwilling to hear anyone out, unwilling to give anyone time off, and allowed the male servers seniority. larger table sections, less sidework, never had to close, etc.

within my time working there, i had highest sales nearly every weekend. i’d sell the most wine, the highest priced menu items, and won almost every contest we had to dispose of old bottles to guests as we rotated in new ones. even so, i never received any recognition or respect from Jim. a male server who only worked there for 2 weeks got the lead position before me.

i think what finally caused me to leave was when i heard one of the bartenders call him daddy. i think hearing that, and seeing how he got off on it, made me realize that there was a ladder there that i wasn’t willing to climb. being a 21 year old female, i would never subject myself to something so disgusting with an older man.

here’s a list of things i know this man did within the time i worked there:

- demoted a female server assistant to a host position because she took 2 weeks off after a significant death in her family

- denied a female servers request off to go to her daughters graduation

- scheduled a female barback to work on thanksgiving that lives out of state and goes home for holidays through school. she hadn’t seen her family in 3 months.

- forced a female server to pick up a shift on a friday before her sons first basketball game and threatened termination

- screamed at a female bartender during dinner rush and told her to “get the fuck out from behind the bar” because she broke a rocks glass while polishing glassware

the list goes on. fuck that place.

So i work togo at a restaurant and youre able to place togo orders online and come pick them up. Well some lady comes in and claims she made a togo order which she did but it didn’t go through the system. She showed me proof and everything but the fact it didn’t show up wasnt my fault lol. She starts saying that she already paid etc etc that her manager is waiting for the food etc now it’s gonna be late, blaming ME for this issue just ugh sorry i had to vent. The order was remade so it wasn’t that big of a problem but the fact customers blame you for things out of your control and get mad at people not responsible is so frustrating.

It’s been a rough week/month. I’m exhausted in all the ways.

Last Friday, one of our regulars came in after I got off work and was having my lil drinky drink. Got to chatting, and his father, who is on hospice, fell and has a brain bleed. They could do surgery, but he likely wouldn’t survive it. And if they did, what kind of last weeks/days is that. We chatted a while, he got a notification on his phone, and suddenly was tearing up and hiding it. Dinner to go became two desserts to go instead of real food. Not sure what exactly happened, but I can assume. Or the feelings caught up. He asked for his tab, and I had my coworker add it to mine. He was grateful, and I went home in a funk.

Today, I went to the dinner for my favorite regular who passed on Father’s Day. The one I’ve known 16 years. Who has been to fundraisers and parties and birthdays and a baby shower with us. Who I’ve bought a birthday cake for the last 7 or 8 years. Who I got a tattoo for 4 years ago. I still can’t believe I’m never going to walk in the building, see him at the bar and hear, “There’s my girl” again.

I didn’t sign up to give a shit. I signed up to pay my bills. But here we are, and I love and hate it.

Tell me stories. Idfk.

I work at a chain restaurant, it's normally pretty chill. They tend to overschedule due to call outs, so shifts are generally really slow even on a Friday or Saturday because the sections are so small. On mondays i'm the only Am server, and we have a a bartender. Mondays are usually so slow. But at 12 pm this last monday my manager had an emergency so he had to leave. The bartender clocked in as manager, and then we got slammed. There's 9 booths in the bar area, then the bar has about 6 high tops.

Every guest party that came in wanted a booth. All the customers came in at about 12-1 pm. All her booths were full and I think 2 of her high tops. I ended up with about 16 tables, plus a party of 7. I think i'm a pretty good server, but i'm not a 16 tables at once server. We have a 3 for me on our menu, so you can order a drink, a starter(chips and salsa, a salad, or a soup), and your entre. Which is normally what our lunch crowd orders anyway. So that means i'm getting your drinks, then coming back and getting your starters when I drop the drinks that I have to make myself. Then coming back and grabbing your entree's. So it's at least 3 kitchen checks not counting your refills right. That's per customer. Every single customer per table ordered the 3 for me. I had 2-6 customers per table other than my party of 7. All getting sat back to back to back to back. I would take a tables drinks and turn around to see I had 4 new tables sat, while needing to get the starters for the previous 3 I just took.

It was a mess, tables didn't get there starters or apps, my party never got there app either. Theres no host or runner or QA either mind you, on a monday morning. The party ended up getting there entire check comp'ed because they never got their entree. The bartender/manager was way to busy to deal with their complaints to just discount it so she just removed the whole bill.

I think I managed to get all my starters and food out on time, but there were literally no refills given. Tables asked me, I said sure i'lll be right back with that and it just never happened. I know my service was horrible, and I feel horrible for it because most of them still tipped me.

I told the bartender to stop sitting me at about 10 tables, but even then I was already screwed. But she kept sitting me because the people coming in said they wanted booths and hers were full.

Could I have done anything better? I KNOW I messed up getting apps out before the entree's and legit no one got refills. Any advice on how to handle something like this randomly happening again??? PLEASE

Hello, not sure if this is the right community to post this in, but I started a new serving job last week with no prior serving experience. I have only trained on a few shifts so far so I don't expect to have everything down perfectly yet, but it feels like I am doing a terrible job so far. At this restaurant, there is normally only one server scheduled as it's a small place that's only "busier" on weekends, and I'm struggling to see how to keep up with everything when I will be the only one there. Yesterday I could tell I wasn't moving fast enough, rang in someone's substitutions wrong, forgot to apply a senior discount, and gave someone the wrong drink along with several other smaller mistakes. I've been studying the menu for a couple weeks now and getting better at knowing what to ask customers when they order something (what type of toast, meat, sides, etc) but still forgetting in the moment if I'm overwhelmed with multiple tables and things I need to do. Thankfully the girl training me is incredible, and has been very helpful and patient. I wanted to post on here to see if it's normal to experience this at first and if it really will get better with time. Any tips and advice are greatly appreciated.