Newbie server forgets woman’s Diet Coke, then she crashes out when he’s not fired over the simple mistake: ‘I would’ve asked her to leave’

Mistakes are inevitable if you’re a new server in the restaurant industry. After all, you’re learning the ropes on how to keep up with the demands of a fast-paced environment, managing multiple responsibilities, exercising your memorization skills, and of course, dealing with various customer behaviors.

When a newcomer does slip up, most people are patient and show them grace. There’s a grain of truth, or else it wouldn’t be on the list of seasoned servers’ default lies on Eat This! Not That when they mess up.

However, Philadelphia-based restaurant manager Kellie (@ambryrae) recalls how one customer was anything but understanding. A lapse in memory of a Diet Coke order sent them in a rage.

What Happened With This Server and Diet Coke Order?

“So, this one time, we had a newer server on,” restaurant manager Kellie (@ambryrae) says to over 395,000 viewers. “And at one of his tables, he forgot to take the lady her Diet Coke. She asks to see a manager, and rightfully so. There’s no reason for her to have been waiting.”

As soon as she approached the woman’s table, the complaints rolled in.

“‘Oh, my god. I’ve just been sitting here so parched. I had to sit back and watch my family enjoy their beverages and I’m sitting here with no beverage,’” she recalls the woman saying. “‘No one’s paying me any mind. All I really wanted was a Diet Coke. Is that too much to ask?’”

But the lengthy monologue didn’t end there.

“‘I’ve been timing it because I wanted to see how long it would take for him to notice that I wasn’t enjoying my beverage,'” the customer continued. “‘I’ve been waiting here for 20 minutes.'”

Despite exaggerating the wait time, the content creator acknowledged the error. “Mind you, it wasn’t 20 minutes on the phone. It was six minutes and some change,” she stated. “But I understand we made the mistake.”

How Did She Try To Remedy The Problem?

To appease the customer, Kellie switched to damage control by proposing other additional drinks, which didn’t work.

“She’s still being dramatic. She’s like, ‘Just a Diet Coke cause I’m just so thirsty,’” she recalls the woman saying, mimicking the embellished, raspy, dehydrated tone.

Although Kellie delivered the Diet Coke, it still wasn’t sufficient.

“‘I just want to be treated with respect. I’m just as important as everyone else here,'” she remembers the lady saying.

In a bid to reassure the customer and fix the honest mistake, the manager requested that the original server apologize and offer to pay for an appetizer, though she says she would foot the bill herself.

Instantly, the attempt to win the woman over backfired.

“He goes and does exactly what I told him to do and she starts going off again,” the content creator says. “And she’s saying all types of crazy stuff. Like, she’s really taking this personally.”

Since the server was at his wits’ end, Kellie decided to fill in for him.

“I go over to the table, and she immediately starts fussing again. She’s like, ‘I don’t appreciate how he came over here and told me what he was gonna do for me just to shut me up,’” she recounts.

The Final Customer Blow Up Against The Server

“‘I don’t think that he was saying it like that. I think he just really felt bad and wanted to buy you an appetizer,'” Kellie responded. “You don’t have to take the appetizer if you don’t want to. I’m gonna be your server and take care of you for the rest of the night.”

From there, the lady’s demeanor seemed fine and dandy–until she noticed the same server pass by later.

“What is he still doing here?” the woman reportedly said. “After all that I told you, he is still allowed to work here? Forgetting a Diet Coke. Isn’t that enough [to get fired]?!”

Then, she proceeded to lash out at the manager, “So, everything you told me about having a good experience was just a lie?!”

Finally, Kellie drew the line in the sand and had enough after she kept berating the server.

“Ma’am, you have gone too far over a Diet Coke. It’s not this serious. I’m not going to allow you to verbally abuse my team member over a mistake,’” she reportedly told the woman. “If you were upset when you were thirsty, wait till you go home hungry because if you keep up this behavior, I’m gonna ask you to leave.”

The lady gathered up her things and did, in fact, leave the establishment.

“I attributed it to her already having a bad day and then the Diet Coke sent her over the edge. It was nuts,” Kellie says. “But there’s no way I’m ever gonna fire a team member for a simple mistake like that.”

What Did Viewers Think?

In the comments section, many were stunned by how the customer reacted to a Diet Coke.

“Wanting someone to lose their job because they forgot something is insane. Literally everyone has forgotten something at work,” one viewer commented.

“People be crazy over a Diet Coke,” another stated.

“Baby, I would’ve been asked her to leave,” a third remarked.

Meanwhile, others praised her for never wavering.

“Thank you [for] protecting your worker. Wanting him to lose his job his livelihood bc he forgot her drink is astronomical,” one commenter applauded.

“You’re a great manager! Protecting your team and very much in control of the situation,” a second complimented.

@ambryrae

Now if it were over a Dr.Pepper, I’d understand ??

♬ original sound – Kellie With A *IE*

The Mary Sue reached out to Kellie via TikTok comment and direct message.

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