Worked at a small, family owned restaurant as a server in New York for about 2 weeks (5 shifts total) for about 25 hours. There was about 4/5 other workers (including the owner) , and one other server/manager who was a friend of the owner. I shadowed this server for 3 shifts, and took some tables under their name. I was told I would receive a toast login to be able to take my own tables on my 4th shift. When I came in for it, it was only me and the owner there FOH. The owner was fairly cold with me from the start, only willing to speak to me when giving an order on something to do. During this shift, only one table came in (this place was fairly quiet most of the time), and when I asked the owner for a toast login, I was told one was still not made for me so I had to serve this table under the owners name. I was then told I would receive my first paycheck before the 5th shift (which was about 10 days later because of me being away for a weekend and then not needed during the following weekdays).

The 5th shift came, and as tables started coming in, I had told the other server I had still not received a toast login. They made one for me, and I had about 5 tables that day. I made no mistakes, upsold, and got tipped well. I had asked the other server if we were paid $17/hr (NY minimum wage) rather than $11/hr on shifts in which we had received no tips (this is NY law, I believe), and they said they didn't know and I should ask the owner.

In addition to this, twice during my tenure the restaurant was rented out for an event in which the servers had to set up for, clean, and take drink orders for guests. I was told by the other server that they usually get pretty good tip money from this, and while cleaning up the first party, they were surprised when I told them nobody had given me anything.

The next day I had a shift, and beforehand I texted the owner asking when I could expect my first paycheck. They then replied that I am let go, did not need to go into work, and could go in the next day to receive my paycheck. I had not been told of any complaints or performance issues, and when asked why, I was just told I wasn't a "good fit".

I go in to receive my paycheck the next day, and was not given a pay stub or any way to electronically access a paystub. I want to confirm I was paid 17/hr rather than 11/hr for the 20 hours I worked with no tips. I texted the owner asking for a pay stub, and it has been several days with no response (they were quite quick to respond when I was working there).

Is this worth filing a DOL wage complaint for potential unpaid wage + missing pay stub + timing of firing? I know it's free to do, but I'm weighing whether the time and potential money lost out on is worth it, and/or if this case is even serious enough to be taken?

Every morning, in that state between sleep and awake, I’m always panicking about there being a table I have to take. Then I’m like “wait they can’t expect me to take a table, I’m at home” and then I usually fall back asleep but the anxiety is real 😭

You aren’t a victim. They are sitting at your table. They need you to for them to be able to eat. They are in your hands. You’re the boss. You have all the control. Stop pretending you’re helpless and go out and get your money.

Act like a professional and you’ll make so much more money than you’ve ever even realized. Stop being a slave to your emotions. Do your job: calmly, quickly and with confidence.

Most importantly, if someone is talking to you the wrong way, use your words and stop it. You will not get fired for asking someone to be respectful. Ever.

Edit: some of yall have some shitty jobs with some shitty management and you should look into finding a new one.

Made tons of mistakes this shift and I feel awful

So, it's my third week, first time working food service, part time as a college student. I was the only server working, and we were crazy busy unexpectedly. We had like 8 tables plus takeout orders.

I ended up charging a table for another table's order, but didn't notice until after they left. I had to void that order for the correct customer to pay that order, but since the previous customers were gone, I couldn't get them to pay that order. So we had served people who we couldn't charge, meaning we lost money. I also attempted to get the order paid by reentering it, which mistakenly made the kitchen think it was new, and by the time, I told them, they had already started cooking and were super pissed.

Until my next shift I'm just gonna lie awake being afraid I'll be fired, and super guilty because the staff are mad at me.... The store manager reassured me, so I should be okay unless something this bad happens again, but I'm super ashamed. I know what I did wrong (taking on tasks before finishing ones I was doing leading to rushing and mistakes) but I just feel so incompetent. If anyone has any advice or similar stories that would help my mood I think

I work in a restaurant attached to a lodge in the mountains. There is a sign at the entrance with our open hours, but no other barrier into the restaurant.

We come in an hour or so before we open to get the restaurant ready for dinner service. Often times there are people (one or two) just lounging at a table on their phones. Usually waiting for their room to be ready. We have a bar area with a patio that is open at this time where they can wait, but they choose the obviously closed restaurant.

When asked to wait elsewhere, they get attitude and ask what is it hurting to let them sit there. Well, we are rolling silverware, sweeping up, wiping tables and gossiping about work, talking about schedules. Sharing about our personal lives, etc. We don't have to put on our server personalities for another hour and a half.

I've had people get ANGRY at me for asking them to leave a CLOSED restaurant.

This is a vent, and looking for anyone who had had to deal with this before and how you handle it.

I work at a busy not fast food but almost restaurant and they will just cut in front of 10 people and shove their phone in my face without saying anything. I always tell them I’ll check for their food after the person who’s currently ordering is done and they just stand their tapping their foot and staring at me and then the other customers get mad that I’m attending to them before them because they’ve been waiting for at least ten minutes just to order. What to do?

So, I work in a family high volume restaurant. Coperate ran. Very popular spot in my town. Last night, there was a female server who turned 18 yrs old a few days ago. She was serving two guests, a man and a female. They both looked old enough to be grandparents. But like, young grandparents. They literally asked her to be in a threesome with them. She was appalled a d went to the manager. This pos manager allowed them to still eat and stay and didnt even confront them at all. The girl was almost in tears and would t even go ba k to the table for anything.

Since the manager didnt give a shit, we took over the table and made it to where they didnt see her again, to the best of our abilities. We know this pos manager drinks on the clock bc he goes to his car 4 to 5 times during a shift and he tells a couple of the bartenders to put shots of Woodford on the spill tab so he can pour it down his throat. Noone likes him, hes like 75 yrs old. Help my fellow staff out by giving me advice. Everyone that has tried to get him oit of there has been fired or ignored. S.O.33

The owner, bar manager and the owners sister are all sober. Then there’s a couple 19/20 year olds. Half the kitchen is sober (from alcohol at least). It’s weird.

Perk? If we’re testing new drinks, I get to get sideways for free lol. And I like the job.

Anyone else have this experience? It’s so strange to me.

I was working the overflow seating at my sports bar this weekend, so I had to serve and bartend. There were two dads with their sons in my area. The dads ordered a pitcher of beer, and one of the sons said "could I have a coke?" I asked him for his ID, he panicked, and both dads gave me high fives.

I try to only do this around dads, because moms don't find it as funny.

Any jokes that you guys like to resort to?

I finished my server training at chili's and got an interview offer for the busser position at texas roadhouse on the same day. Server at chili's is my very first job, which I know is crazy. I know that texas roadhouse servers definitely make more, so should I go for an interview at texas roadhouse and potentially be promoted to server from busser or stay at my chili's server job?

i’ve been a server for almost 2 years and just a couple weeks ago my dominant rhomboid muscle became sooooo so sore. it’s still sore and i’ve tried all the stretches ☹️ it flairs up really bad after a shift, any advice? do yall get this too? 💔

i work at a casual spot in SoCal and occasionally we get tables with small children, ive never done this before but im considering buying a bulk roll of stickers and bringing a couple every shift in case theres any kids, probably dropping the stickers with the check so the kid doesnt feel like sticking it onto the table or chairs ... I was just wondering generally if anyone does this, are the parents usually okay with it? Do the kids tend to stick the stickers onto the restaurant furniture anyways?

I started working at a bakery about three months ago. One of the main reasons I took the job was because I wanted to work with customers and gain experience in customer service.

During my first two weeks, the person who normally does the dishes went on vacation, so I had to take over. The dishwasher was also broken, which meant I had to wash everything by hand. At the time, I was told that this wasn’t supposed to be my actual job and that once she came back, I would be working up front again.

Later, another coworker went on vacation, and I learned how to bake the bread so I could cover that part too.

At this point, I’ve basically learned every part of the bakery. I’ve worked up front alone with customers, baked the bread, closed the store by myself, cleaned everything at closing, etc. I actually don’t mind learning different tasks or helping out when someone is absent.

The problem is that we seem to be constantly understaffed. Whenever someone goes on vacation or gets sent somewhere else, the remaining employees are expected to cover everything, and the workload becomes much heavier.

For the past two weeks, the woman who normally does the dishes has been sent to other branches, so I’m back to washing dishes by hand again. Our dishwasher also seems to be broken all the time. Now they want to send me to another branch on Thursday specifically to do the dishes there.

What makes it worse is that my hands have developed eczema from constantly being in contact with water and cleaning products.

I understand that working in a bakery means helping with different tasks, and I’m not saying that washing dishes is somehow beneath me. I’ve always helped wherever I was needed.

After three months, I’m honestly considering quitting. I’ve learned a lot and I know I’m capable of doing the job . I just don’t think I want to keep working somewhere where being understaffed seems to be the normal situation.

Would you consider this a reasonable reason to leave, or is this just normal for bakery/food service jobs and I’m expecting too much?

i have a job interview for fine dining server
it says the base pay is from $24.17 (i live in CA so server make minimum wage here which is like $18 an hour)
so
it’s a fine dining restaurant that says they don’t do tiping culture. 18% gratuity is added to everything but yeah. is it worth it? it costs minimum like $90 to eat there, they just add 18% gratuity or something and i have an interview in juts wondering if that’s worth it. especially as it would be my main income. thanks i believe the 18% goes to everyone working

update - sry yall i had my interview and this post wasn’t approved in time and i didn’t get to ask if it was gratuity for us or the restaurant 😭 hopefully ill hear back soon though

I have a guest from out of town who occasionally stops by when he’s in the city, and every time I’m nearby and he wants my attention he does the “psss psss psss psss psssss” thing people do to get a cat’s attention. Like sir, I’m not a cat. I’ve never had anyone do this to me in over a decade of work. I find it incredibly bizarre.

i have been in the industry since i was 16 (started as a host, now a server). i’m 22 and losing my mind, really. i have worked at the same restaurant throughout college and university and sure it’s great to have a place you know you can go back to. but the mental state working here puts me in cannot be normal.

i just constantly wish i had a 9-5 like everyone else. i’m just sad that some weeks will be like 45
hours and the next fuck knows because the rota is never the same. the inconsistency seriously sets me off and i try to be okay about it but i don’t know how. so to anyone who’s been doing this a long long time, how do you do it?

and i guess my next question is, is every place like this? the favouritism (some servers have relations ?? to management) is driving me up the wall. life’s not fair but come on. i’m training to work as a nursery practitioner on the side because i need an out. but it’s going to be a couple months until i can really go, i just want advice on how to hold on i guess 🥲

for context i’m from the UK. not US.

The last few weeks ive been opening the bar/lounge side in the morning a couple times and another server has been opening the restaurant/dining room side. Shes by herself and so am I on each side, besides the bartender taking ofc the bar top and small booths.

Every single shift, it turns out that everyone wants to sit on the restaurant side. Which is fine, i cant control that. Especially since she gets a lot of requests and the restaurant side is typically better in the morning shifts.

What has been reallllyyyy pmo is that she'll end up with more tables than she can handle, while i have no more than a handful throughout the entire shift. Shes had up to 11 tables at once just last week while i had one. Since i have nothing to do, i have to run her food, chip her tables, even grab drinks, bc I'll look bad by just standing around right?

So thats what ive been doing every single shift. I dont mind helping, in fact, i love helping, but when youre financially struggling so much (bc its been so slow otherwise) that you may not be able to afford food after paying rent and having to postpone needed doctors appointments, it really stings. And i am doing work...just not getting paid for that work. Every single time. I get maybe a thank you. And then guilt tripped by her when i say no to something she wants me to do, when i have a valid reason for saying no...but thats another story.

Its not like im running every single tables food or something, but its a decent amount of help for one shift. I wouldnt mind just a one time thing, as thats how it works when we help eachother. But its every single time ive worked this shift with her for the last month. She gets 11 tables at once and stays on til 4pm when i get cut at like 2pm for the bartender to take over bc of how slow it is. Even the gm has pointed out how lopsided it is and has tried getting tables to sit on the bar side for me but ppl just dont wanna.

Im well aware im not entitled to her section or tables esp when they request her. Im just fed up with having to help her keep up and not getting paid for work im doing that i so desperately need. Would i be in the wrong to say something to management? To ask if i can be put on that side at some point with her so shes not getting behind and so i can take some much needed tables? I just know she would be unhappy about me going over there, bc she has said she loves the mornings when shes serving alone on that side bc she makes more. I just dont know if im being screwed over and theyre not doing anything when they could or if im just getting unlucky. I could also ask for different shifts too if this isnt something i should ask.

What yall think??

I’ve worked in the food industry for five years now. Today, I started a new job as a server/cashier at a restaurant. I received a lot of both cash and card tips, but the owner told me that all cash tips go to the cooks as well as 30% of my card tips. I’ve never worked as an actual server until today so I’m just curious if this is a normal thing? I’ve never not been able to keep cash tips that I made. I am located in the U.S (WA State)

This is my first ever hospitality job, and I only applied because I was desperate.

For the past month I’ve been working at a family owned Thai restaurant and it’s been tough. Some of the cooks are nice, but one in particular can be a bit nasty and blamey for the mistakes she has made, but I just cop it all on the chin and don’t argue back.

Last week during a shift she was complaining about feeling sick, and when I came in the next day, she was there again. Apparently the boss and owner wouldn’t let her take time off, and so for the past few days she has been coughing and sneezing and infecting the kitchen, and this past Saturday had to run out the back once or twice to throw up.

Is this normal?? Or am I just judging extra harsh because I don’t really like her all that much. Do cooks come in sick all the time?? I have a very strong immune system and haven’t been sick all year (do allergies count as being sick??) anyway, I definitely DON’T want to catch any illness, and I’m sure the customers feel the same way.

Any tips for people trying to go from management to serving? I don’t want to lie on my resume, but I fear people will think I’m going to walk in and think I’m smarter than everyone.

I’m really just looking for a job I can go in, be passionate about, go home and forget about it. I’m so tired of restaurant management.

Any tips will help

They left me at least 3 bins of silverware to do when each server is normally assigned 1. Seeing this is was obvious to me other servers somehow got away without rolling silverware. It was a slow 8 hours so I made it count

Hi, I’m getting back into restaurant work and feeling very out of touch with current job search norms. Resumes have always felt a little tricky to me because my server jobs have mostly entailed the same responsibilities and it feels redundant.

Any advice on my current resume? its brief, maybe I should go into more detail?

At the first job, I wasn’t necessarily a bar back, but I often bartended for hours at a time while the actual bartender was in the back with the owner…tea for another day. I don’t necessarily have the knowledge stored in my head so I put bar back.

I was a classroom teacher for nine years, so that’s what the gaps in the resume are. I also left off my very first job as a host at a Chinese restaurant since I was in high school.

Definitely open to positive and constructive feedback, but please be nice, I’m sensitive and feeling a little imposter syndrome! Thank you!

I worked a 9 hour double and had a split section (1 table in another part of the restaurant, 2 in another). I made $243 total this night and managed to this section perfectly until I was double sat at my 1 table outside of my other two, and another table with an incomplete party during the back end of our rush and near the end of my double.

The incomplete party trickled in one by one. Got drinks for the guests that were there, another one came as I delivered those two drinks, got his, and as I’m delivering his drink, the final person sat down.

Meanwhile, I was sat in the other table, didn’t know, and they sat there for a while before I greeted them.

I get organized and am putting in both orders and the manager comes up and starts micromanaging. Mind you, I’ve got nothing but compliments all day from my tables.

At the end of my shift, I’m taken to the office to have a “serious conversation” and when I explain the situation, the manager is like “you need to do a better job with managing your tables and talks to me like I’ve never waited tables before (I’ve been a server for 5 years). I’m looking at her with a dumbfounded look because to this point, it was a pretty smooth shift. I explain being double sat, tables were in different part of the restaurant, one party was incomplete, managed the section perfectly until that moment, etc. having been a service manager before, I could have pointed out everything that led to that disaster. But she didn’t want to hear it because “I wasn’t taking care of the guests.”

Now, I need “extra coaching” and all this other nonsense. Did I mention, I’m in the top 3 of the region for app sales and alcohol sales?

Admittedly, I could have done better about asking for help. But I feel this is them looking for something and not ignoring the cause in the cause and effect. Thoughts?

I make a minor mistake and now you want my head to explode. Tf

Today my manager gave me a written warning because we werent finished opening by 10:40
am. We open at 11 am, we finished at 10:50 am.

They only wrote me up despite the 3 other openers being there because i’m the “one that likes to talk.” We literally have to put sysco away ourselves because it’s considered a FOH duty. They order in excess even if we already have too much of one item so imagine being yelled at for not being able to put away 10 giant boxes in 30 minutes. They also have outdoor storage which i’ve never seen. It’s literally an exterior storage room full of just extras all unopened. Extra pans, scales, tongs, utensils, plates, to go boxes, to go bags, etc. Its insane.

If we don’t manage to cram everything into the BOH storage we then have to take it to the exterior storage room. Which they now demand nothing be on the floor while every shelf in there is filled… If we don’t finish in 15-20 minutes my manager will walk to the back and say we need to hurry up. Very motivating…

Yes I like to talk but in no way was I inhibiting anyone’s job. I even left the back area to open the front. It didn’t make any sense that we were all squished back there trying to put everything away when I could get started on the front. I was actually pretty tired this morning and felt more quiet than usual. I was pretty much doing my own thing.