Server waits on table of 8. Then doing her job makes one of them threaten to beat her up: ‘All over a marg btw’

If you’ve never worked as a server, you have no frame of reference for the number of unhinged people you have to deal with consistently.

One server named Lisa, who documents many such instances on her TikTok account @montana10702, says a recent interaction led to an actual physical threat.

In her recent video, which got over 368,100 views, she explains what happened during the memorable shift.

What Went Wrong With This Customer?

Lisa says she was sent an eight-top. When she greeted the table, only three people were there: a mom and her two children.

When Lisa went to take their drink order, the woman ordered a margarita. Lisa carded her, and the customer pulled out two IDs. According to Lisa, both had void stamps in them.

“Those aren’t legal forms of IDs, so I can’t take it,” Lisa explains.

The customer reportedly told Lisa that she had just gotten her CDL, so she only had a paper copy. But when Lisa asked to see it, the woman allegedly said she only had a picture of it.

“I can’t take that,” Lisa says.

Because customers can get angry when they are denied alcohol, Lisa says she got her manager. The manager came over and told the woman the same thing: They could not serve her alcohol without a valid ID.

Then the customer asked for a higher manager.

“I go and I get our AGM,” Lisa says. “And I’m like, ‘Hey, there’s somebody who’s mad that I won’t illegally serve them alcohol.’”

The AGM also told the customer they could not serve her.

Meanwhile, more people joined the table. Lisa says she could hear the customer complaining about her from just a few feet away.

“I’m 10 feet away from you,” she says. “I can hear you complaining about me not illegally serving you alcohol.”

Then Came Happy Hour

Then another issue came up. The restaurant’s happy hour ended at 6pm. At 6:05pm, the eighth person at the table ordered a margarita that would have been on happy hour.

Lisa says someone else at the table checked the time and commented that Lisa would not give it to her for the happy hour price.

“I can’t,” Lisa says. “The button doesn’t exist.”

Lisa says she brought the woman’s margarita and food anyway and continued checking on the table. But the group still complained.

At one point, another person at the table told her she needed a Long Island and accused Lisa of doing a bad job.

“Girl, I checked on you, got you your stuff, gave it to you, paid on my other table, and came straight back,” Lisa says.

Still, Lisa says she tried to stay upbeat.

“I was smiling and still so upbeat and peppy every time I talked to them, even though that’s really difficult to do,” she says.

Things Escalated When The Server Delivered the Check

When the table was finished, Lisa printed out their checks. Since they were a party of eight, the restaurant added an automatic 18% gratuity.

Lisa says the restaurant does not hide this policy. There is a sign at the door.

“You walk in the door, you’re staring at it,” she says.

The original customer, who had been upset about the margarita, then asked why her appetizer was not listed at the happy hour price. Lisa says she explained that the happy hour appetizer required a drink purchase, and her child’s lemonade came with a kids meal.

Then the customer brought the ID issue back up.

According to Lisa, the woman asked why Lisa had not carded two other people at the table who ordered alcohol. Lisa says both were clearly older than the restaurant’s carding cutoff, while the original customer had said she was 32.

“She’s like, ‘I’m gonna contact corporate about you,’” Lisa says.

Lisa says she was not worried about that part.

“OK. Tell corporate that I carded you, and you didn’t have a valid form of ID, and so I didn’t serve you,” she says. “Tell them I’m doing my job right.”

The Customer Allegedly Threatened Her

As Lisa walked around the table to close out another person, she says the customer read her name off the check.

“The check says her name is Lisa D.,” Lisa recalls the woman saying.

When Lisa responded, the customer allegedly accused her of “getting smart” and started yelling.

“I’m like, ‘Hey, could you stop yelling at me, please?’” Lisa says.

Then, according to Lisa, the customer escalated.

“She starts saying that she’s gonna come around the table and beat me up,” Lisa says. “She’s telling me she’s about to come beat me up.”

Lisa says the customer also told her, “I know what time you close tonight,” which Lisa took as a threat that the customer would come back after closing.

“I went, ‘That’s a threat,’” Lisa says.

According to Lisa, one of the other people at the table told her to stop, even though she says the customer was the one repeatedly threatening her.

By that point, Lisa says she was shaking and crying. She told two managers what was happening and had to go outside to calm down.

The shift was not even close to over. “That was at 6:30 and I didn’t get off work until 12:30,” she says.

Lisa says one other customer sitting near the table heard what happened. Later, his bill came to $57, and he tipped her $22.

“That made me cry again ’cause I feel bad and it was really nice,” she says.

Lisa says she cannot understand what would make someone threaten to beat up a server over something like this.

“I am convinced that the reason that this lady was screaming at me and threatening to beat me up was because I didn’t give her a margarita,” she says.

What Should You Do If You Feel Endangered At Your Server Job?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) defines workplace violence as threats of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening behavior at work. It can involve customers and visitors, not just co-workers.

If you feel endangered while doing your job, the safest move is to remove yourself from the interaction as soon as you can. Continuing to argue with the customer or following them outside is a bad idea. From there, a manager should step in, take over the table, refuse service if needed, and ask the customer to leave.

OSHA’s restaurant safety guidance says restaurants should have a violence-prevention plan that tells employees how to notify law enforcement in an emergency. It also says employees should be trained for unsatisfied customers and emergencies, and should know how to report and log threats or violence.

When the situation feels dangerous in the moment, call 911. Customers can be unpredictable, especially when alcohol and anger are involved. Trust your instinct when you need immediate protection.

Commenters Were Horrified

In the comments, many viewers were upset by how the situation was allegedly handled.

“The fact that your managers let this happen disturbs me more than the interaction itself,” one commenter wrote.

Others focused on the happy hour issue.

“‘The button doesn’t exist’..wish more patrons realized this,” another said.

One viewer seemed to understand exactly what kind of exhaustion Lisa was describing.

“I know this certain fatigue,” they wrote.

Another person shared a go-to response when customers try to use a photo of an ID.

“My husband is a restaurant manager,” they wrote. “When people give him a picture of an ID he says hey that’s great I’ll bring you a picture of a drink….”

@montana10702 #serverlife #serverproblems #server ♬ original sound – lisa ?✨?

The Mary Sue contacted Lisa via TikTok messages for comment.

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