Working in the food service industry isn’t all fun and games. It’s grueling, repetitive work that isn’t always rewarded as generously as it should be. And very often, as a server, you’ll also end up emotionally exhausted after dealing with customers all day long. Some customers are great, sure. But there will always be at least a handful of less empathetic ones who will make you question your choice of career.
To show you some of the challenges these hard-working employees face, our team at Bored Panda has collected some of their top posts and vents about situations they constantly deal with. Scroll down to take a look. If you’ve ever worked at a restaurant, you might find these takes incredibly relatable!
#1 She Knows What’s What
Image credits: AOC
#2 Mine Was Mr. Pickles Because I Asked For Extra Pickles On My Sub
Image credits: ElyKreimendahl
#3 As A Person Who Worked In Retail, All I Can Say Is Very Accurate
Image credits: NotEthanSmith_
The food service industry is absolutely gargantuan in the United States. It encompasses everything related to food prepared outside of one’s home, from full-service and quick-service (e.g., fast food) restaurants to catering, cafes, private chefs, and more. Statista reports that the largest share of employment in the US food service industry came from waiters and waitresses in 2022. On the other side of the scale, private cooks made up the smallest share of employment that year.
In 2022, the American food service and drinking place industry as a whole reached earnings of a jaw-dropping $975.9 billion. That’s just shy of a trillion!
In 2023, that trillion-dollar mark was breached, with the sales in the industry reaching an eye-watering $1.09 trillion, supporting 13.2 million employees. Statista notes that there were over 2.1 million servers in the US in 2022, and more than 2.2 million in 2023.
#4 Nothing Like When The Doors Are Already Locked And They Start Aggressively Tugging On The Doors From The Outside Though
Image credits: katiekml
#5 Silly. You’re Supposed To Balance It On Your Head
Image credits: CharlotteCrook2
#6 Can’t Get Any More Accurate Than That
Image credits: life_iscraZZy
With the size of the industry in mind, it only makes sense to take the workplace issues that the employees in this market face very seriously. Good managers ought to care about their staff’s welfare. Meanwhile, good business leaders know that motivated, well-compensanted, and properly supported employees are loyal and get better results.
Online food delivery is also massive and continues to get ever more popular. The US has the second-biggest online food delivery market after China. In 2023, the size of this market in the US stood at around $270 billion. Grocery delivery brought in $182.9 billion while meal delivery was worth $86.9 billion in revenue.
#7 There’s Multitasking And Then There’s Multitasking
Image credits: corollablunt
#8 Who The Chef Really Is
Image credits: mftwiits
#9 “I’m Scheduled Until 8, So I’ll Probably Be Off Around 10”
Image credits: Callie_Kirkwood
WebstaurantStore reports that nearly 750k restaurants were operating in the US in 2023. An overwhelming number of them—9 out of 10—were small businesses with fewer than 50 staff members. Meanwhile, 7 out of 10 restaurants were single-unit operations. Most American adults (63%) have worked in the restaurant industry at some point in their lives.
#10 Changing One Of Those Bad Boys In A Lunch Rush Is An Extreme Sport
Image credits: beatsbyleet
#11 Truer Words Were Never Spoken
Image credits: phileagle_
#12 The Most Hateful Meal
Image credits: FrinkyNicks
The sad reality is that many servers have to deal with rudeness, disrespect, and entitled behavior on a constant basis. One server and popular content creator, Quinn, previously opened up to Bored Panda about how a customer came in, started filming him, and set up a game for him to play for his tips.
He said that many employees don’t stand up for themselves because they’re scared of getting fired if some of their customers were to complain about them.
#13 The Uselessness Of Signs
Image credits: TheAngryBartender
#14 The True Stupidity Of Earth
Image credits: Ashley_Dill
#15 I Showed This To The 56-Year-Old Who Sitting Next To Me And His Response Was “I Don’t Understand What That Means”
Image credits: REALBURTIIS
“We can’t change how people think, however, if servers realized their job is just a job and stood up for themselves more often and had managers who backed their servers up more often instead of allowing such behavior from these guests, I think we’d see a massive improvement in the workplace of restaurants,” the server told us in an earlier interview.
#16 At Least He Took It Well
Image credits: __BigO__
#17 As A Server, I Promise You We Noticed Everyone That Makes Our Restaurant Their First Date Spot
Image credits: PhilosophyTube
#18 If You Have Ever Picked Up One Of These With Your Bare Hands, You Don’t Need To Worry About What’s In The Vaccine
Image credits: desertcart.co.zw
“Servers are people and just because they’re in the industry doesn’t mean they’re beneath you. In fact, some A-list celebrities used to be servers: Chris Pratt, Chris Rock, Lady Gaga, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Aniston. A lot of important people used to be in the service industry, not just celebrities, people in science, people in our justice system, and doctors. Just treat them for who they are—PEOPLE.”
#19 It Really Is
Image credits: JustSarahJay
#20 And Salt
Image credits: mariana057
#21 Got Your Back
Image credits: erinsewelll
Not all rude customers are alike. Some folks are decent but they’ve had an awful day, and they snap (even though they shouldn’t). Others are used to always getting their way, so they resort to bullying and manipulation.
Servers with lots of experience can often instinctively tell who’s who, and how to deal with each category of people.
#22 Better Not To Know What Is Happening Behind The Scenes
Image credits: callmeAl_
#23 Bit Harsh
Image credits: _Pray_For_Mojo_
#24 Asked For These To Be Sliced In Half For Hot Dogs… Didn’t Know I Needed To Specify
Image credits: chuckz0rz
Often, unhappy customers just want to be heard and their criticism shouldn’t be taken personally. A dash of empathy and some active listening from the server’s side can work wonders in these situations.
It can be a ton of help if your manager roleplays with you and walks you through some potential scenarios with rude customers. Meanwhile, managers should always be available to support their newer staff members and step in if they have trouble handling negative and entitled people.
#25 They Are So Bad At Reading The Room
Image credits: theereal_one
#26 The Highest Quality Speakers
Image credits: thaeox
#27 Hahahah, Why Do I Relate To This Back On My Old Sales Days
Image credits: nickhansonMN
Have you ever worked in the food service industry, dear Pandas? Do you have a lot of experience as a server, chef, or bartender? What are the weirdest situations you’ve ever been in with customers?
What advice would you give anyone who’s completely new to working at a restaurant? We’d love to hear all about your job stories, so if you’re taking a coffee break, share your experiences in the comments at the bottom of this list.
#28 The Least Welcome Version Of Small Talk
Image credits: taylor_mccowenx
#29 Using Your Coworkers As Free Therapists
Image credits: kylieamurphy
#30 Every Time, All While Saying “Sorry, Sorry, Sorry”
Image credits: MuireannO_C
#31 The Struggle Is Real
Image credits: DavisRiar
#32 The Reasonable Requests
Image credits: lucia_attanasio
#33 That Is How
Image credits: kkcccccc
#34 If You’re Having A Bad Morning. I Just Spilled 4 Liters Of Extra Reduced Down Lobster Stock We Badly Needed. And It Was The First Thing I Touched. It’ll Be Alright, Folks
Image credits: Guyzor-94
#35 That’s Today’s Society For You
Image credits: growupdan
#36 Oops
Image credits: sugarpockets
#37 Guess I’ll Have To Struggle Along Without Their One Weekly Latte Purchase
Image credits: cyfy_
#38 The Staff Have Got Enough To Do And We Clear Our Own Mess
Image credits: MGallIBF
#39 An Inspiration To Us All
Image credits: JakeWoody
#40 Only One Worst Scenario Would Be All Cash That All Needs Change
Image credits: LukewarmLatte
#41 The Generational Difference
Image credits: aaAyeyaaa
#42 Accurate
Image credits: emmajaynefrost1
#43 The Honest Truth
Image credits: MayorFunkytown
#44 Been There
Image credits: phileagle_
#45 I Screwed Up Today
Image credits: Justarandomperson556
#46 The List Of Allergies A Table Handed Us On NYE (The Set Menu Was Surf & Turf)
Public service announcement: “If you have life-threatening dietary restrictions please check the menu beforehand and contact the restaurant to ensure accommodations can be made. Thank you”.
Image credits: yaremaa_
#47 Whole Table Of Boomers Just Sitting An Hour After Closing
Image credits: fluffy_log
#48 Not To Mention We Had A Solid 50 Other People Ordering Food
Image credits: MeghanPectol
#49 Time Works Different There
Image credits: VoteJaffro
#50 Opening The Box Was The Hardest Thing For Me
Image credits: omarichozen
#51 Definitely Know That Annoying Person
Image credits: karluizballer
#52 Yes, And You Have 0.7 Or Less Seconds To Complete Their Order With Perfection, Or You Will Be Immediately Thrown Into A Vat Of Acid In The Back
Image credits: valeriehell1
#53 It Makes You More Patient With Stupid People And Also Makes You Way Less Irritable When Places Are Running Behind/Messing Things Up
Image credits: kirstynhippe
#54 I Always Say Sorry I Left My 3rd Arm At Home Today
Image credits: _raqueeelllll
#55 The Intense Heat
Image credits: harriet_wrightx
#56 Those Wonderful Greetings
Image credits: Southphillyzeem
#57 And It’s Never The Teens Or Kids Who Will Argue And Be Rude It’s Always The Parents
Image credits: lauren_furno
#58 How To Really Train Someone
Image credits: ssoulofserenity
#59 Not To Be Dramatic But
Image credits: PiscesStellium
#60 I Work In An Upscale Seafood Restaurant And Get Order Like This All Day
We only had 58 covers today and I’ve already seen 3 different tickets like this. Almost every station contains fish. I don’t understand the logic of choosing to go to a seafood restaurant with a severe allergy like this.
Image credits: PBR4Lunch
#61 They’re All Trying To Decide Which Appetizer To Get. I Don’t Know What You Have To Say Until The Boss Confirms The Final Answer
Image credits: katttesquad
#62 Pretty Sure The Smoke Breaks Are Listed Under “Essential Duties”
Image credits: itsmyrealname10
#63 I Watched It And It Was Accurate
Image credits: dadd_ilf
#64 I Was Offered A Margherita, Canadian Bacon Sauerkraut, And Sausage Pizza
Image credits: lamictalspo
#65 Anything For Better Tips
Image credits: squiddyshades
#66 What Actually Goes Down
Image credits: N0RES
#67 Simple Timetable
Image credits: its_planty
#68 Newbies vs. Old Vets
Image credits: cowboydeanwinchester
#69 Temptations Everywhere
Image credits: kaileighnl
#70 The More You Know
Image credits: jordandaballa24
#71 I Mean He Ain’t Wrong
Image credits: cleaverandblade
#72 This Actually Looks Really Cool
Image credits: x.com
#73 The Customer Is Not Always Right
Image credits: lesbrains
#74 I Was Hungry A Lot But Caffeine Is My Favorite Appetite Suppressant
Image credits: mirubunnie
#75 I Feel Like There 100% Should Be Laws About This
Image credits: frapposting
#76 I Totally Agree With You
Image credits: skinnyprinsess
#77 When They Say “It’s Their Job” I Genuinely Start Tweaking
Image credits: asifiwereasleep
#78 Have To Slow It Down
Image credits: hezroniii
#79 The Nicknames
Image credits: facebook.com
#80 This Is Where The Real Tea Gets Spilled
Image credits: 86SeparateChecks
#81 Yup. That’s The Struggle Of Being A Short-Order Cook
Image credits: galaxygoodvibes
#82 Sorry This Happened To You
Image credits: thereidfeed
#83 Facts
Image credits: kaitlynirene__
#84 I Am Tired Of Working In Food Service
Image credits: hymnburgers
#85 Made Me Giggle. Coworker Tried To Offer His Shift And Other Coworker Offered To Take It… A Day Later
Image credits: whipplecream
#86 Had To Get It Off My Chest
Image credits: alexdanielsxo
#87 Customer Always Right
Image credits: Yettiskitchen
#88 Manager Took A Walk-In Party Of 100 With No Warning To The Kitchen
Image credits: Send_Help_Or_Memes
#89 Hypothetically, You Should Be Empathetic All The Time
Image credits: jessicalou1027
#90 Foodservice In A Nutshell
Image credits: CameronGhering
#91 I Work As A Server. This Is One Page Of My Notepad Working There. I’m Only Half Sure On Most Of It. I Tend To Write Faster Than I Think
Image credits: Red_Micro