‘Sir…’: Man picks up Costco birthday cake. Then a worker tells him to microwave it when he serves it

Does a trip to the grocery store even count if you don’t have an unfathomable encounter with a worker there?

Apparently not.

One man had a pretty innocuous reason for stopping by his local grocery store (Costco, in this particular case): A birthday! This errand turned into a bizarre interaction, as relayed in a video he later posted on TikTok.

So what really went down? Let’s journey to Costco together.

A cake convo turned kooky

Our saga begins on Jan. 15, when TikTok user @jarvis_andfriends uploaded a video to his profile that has since gotten over 8,000 views. Turns out he had a pretty straightforward question for a Costco worker, but the worker responded with an outlandish bit of instruction.

“So I just picked up a birthday cake from Costco,” Jarvis begins in his video. “And when I picked it up, I asked the bakery guy, ‘Oh, well, you know the birthday is in a couple days.’”

The clock was ticking somewhat, it seems.

“‘How should I like, keep the cake safe?’” Jarvis says, quoting his query to the worker. “‘How should I prepare it?’”

Not the most complicated question of all time, to be sure. Jarvis was probably wondering how best to store and transport the cake, seeing as he’d need to get it home and to the birthday party safely—as well as keep it fresh for 48 hours.

But for some reason, the worker’s answer came out of left field.

“He said, ‘Oh!’” Jarvis relays. “‘When you’re ready to serve it, just microwave it.’”

At this point in his video, Jarvis pauses briefly, staring at the camera with a dumbfounded expression. He then says, “Sir, that’s not the answer I was really looking for,” with a laugh.

@jarvis_friends Just simple baking tips from Costco! Throw that cake in the microwave! what's the worst that could happen! #costco #birthday #cakes #fyp #foryoupage ♬ original sound – jarvis_andfriends

Should you microwave your cake?

First of all, let’s address the elephant in the room: Is it even wise to microwave cake in the first place?

The short answer is yes. Not only can you reheat a cake in a microwave, but you can even bake a cake in one if you’re really committed. Just make sure, if you’re doing the latter, that you use the right recipe and a microwave-safe pan!

But back to reheating: While the length of time you’ll need to reheat depends on the wattage of your microwave and the size of your cake portion, the key here is making sure you’re not reheating it in a container that’s unsafe for microwaves. Single-use plastics, styrofoam, cardboard, and metals are all no-go’s—so take care. 

In conclusion, there’s nothing wrong with microwaving cake if needed—especially if you’re serving slices of a temperature-reliant cake, like a molten chocolate cake. Yum.

So clearly, Jarvis’ experience was just a harmless miscommunication. Commenters got in on the fun, too.

“How big does he think your microwave is??” one viewer commented, poking fun at the absurdity of the worker’s response.

Hopefully, the birthday was as entertaining as the cake mix-up.

The Mary Sue has reached out to Jarvis via TikTok comment and Costco via their media request form to request additional comment.

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