Server waits on man who treats her so terribly, that the date he’s with ends up doing something shocking: ‘She knew what she was doing’

Working as a server is not for the faint of heart. It’s a physically demanding job that often requires you to stand for hours on end. On top of that, servers deal with the emotional stress of inconsistent schedules, inconsistent paychecks, and, of course, rude customers.

Nowadays, many servers share some of their worst customer encounters on TikTok. One server and creator, @housecatchronicles, did exactly that in a recent video that got over 312,700 views.

What Did the Rude Customer Do?

The server says she waited on a couple at work, a man and a woman who appeared to be in their mid-50s to early 60s.

“They were nice to me initially,” she says. “Although there seemed to be some tension between them.”

But the meal started normally, with the couple ordering an appetizer and two entrees. She says the food came out after what she describes as an appropriate amount of time.

When he returned to check on them, the woman was eating. The man was not.

“I ask, ‘How is your food?’” she says. “The woman says, ‘Everything’s fine.’ The man says nothing.”

The server says she noticed the man’s plate was either completely untouched or barely touched at all, so she asked again.

“He picks up his plate, he thrusts it at me, and he says, ‘Get it out of here. Now,’” the creator recalls.

At first, she thought maybe she had made a mistake. “Did I order the wrong thing?” she says. “So I look down at the plate, and sure enough, it’s exactly what he ordered.”

The server asked whether something was wrong with the entree, but the man still wouldn’t give a clear answer.

“Get it out of here. Just give it to the chef,” the man allegedly said. “Let the chef eat it. He can eat this.”

The server says the man sounded so disgusted that she looked closer at the plate, expecting to see something seriously wrong with the food.

“I said, ‘Sir, is there a specific issue with your food?’” she recalls. “’Would you like me to have it remade? Is there something else I can get for you?’”

But the man allegedly kept repeating that he wanted the plate gone.

The Woman Came Over to Apologize

The server says she took the plate, went straight to the manager’s office, explained what had happened, and showed him the food. After that, she threw the entrée away and returned to the server station.

That’s when the woman from the table approached her.

While the man had been berating her, the server says the woman seemed to be ignoring what was happening.

“She had her head down, fork in one hand, knife in the other, eating her food as if none of this was happening a foot away from her,” she says. “She approaches me, and she says, ‘Excuse me, did he just yell at you to get away from the table?’”

The server confirmed that he had. “I said yes,” she says. “Again thinking, how did you not hear any of this?”

Then the woman apologized.

“I don’t know what his problem is. I don’t know what his issue is,” she allegedly told her. “It was completely inappropriate. He had no business talking to you or yelling at you like that.”

Then she walked away. At first, the server assumed she was going to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, she realized that was not where she had gone. “No, that woman left the building,” she says.

The server says that is what people should do when someone they are dining with mistreats a worker.

“You don’t just sit there while the man you’re with yells at a server for no reason,” she says. “You don’t ignore what’s happening just because you want to continue to have a good time at dinner.”

Instead, he says, the woman did exactly what needed to be done.

“You grab your cardigan, you put it on, you grab your purse, and you walk out the door,” she says.

Commenters Loved Her Exit

In the comments section, viewers were fully on the woman’s side.

“She knew exactly what was happening – she just wanted to finish her food first,” one user wrote. “I love her.”

“I’m glad she ate,” another said.

Others shared their own experiences calling out family members who were rude to service workers.

“My dad was rude to a server once and I said ‘You are embarrassing me right now,’” one commenter wrote. “And he apologized to me. I said ‘Don’t apologize to me, apologize to her. She is just trying to do her job.’ and when the server came back around he did apologize.”

What Should You Do if Someone You’re Dining With Is Rude to Staff?

Many people view rudeness to service workers as a big red flag. In fact, it’s often seen as a sign of a bad first date, for example. We’re taught that if a diner mistreats staff, it’s indicative of poor character.

The best way to handle that kind of situation depends on the circumstances, but it’s generally a good idea to address the behavior with your dining companion if it’s an informal relationship.

According to Redditors, it’s enough to end a relationship. In one r/AskWomenOver30 thread, several users said they would limit or completely break contact with a friend who talked down to waitstaff. One commenter wrote, “How people treat service people says a lot about them.”

@housecatchronicles #restaurant #customer #behavior #storytime ♬ original sound – not a quick question

The Mary Sue has reached out to @housecatchronicles via TikTok messages for comment.

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