A server took to TikTok to call out a patron’s attitude after he requested to have a single appetizer split between two checks.
The encounter Stephanie (@stephaniiiieann) had with two men who came into the restaurant where she works got off to a bad start as soon as they tried to order cheese sticks. One of the men asked if the appetizer could be split down the middle on their individual checks, she says.
“I said, ‘To my knowledge, I cannot. I can only put it on one check or another,'” she recalls.
She says the man got huffy about it. Stephanie says the man insisted he never had a problem with that before at the restaurant. She says they went back and forth for a bit, with him demanding to know when they stopped offering that option. Then, Stephanie promised him she would go ask somebody else to be sure.
That prompted another wave of arguing, as the man no longer wanted to bother, she says.
“As he was pitching his hissy fit, I just cut him off. And I said, ‘I’ll just go ask,'” she recalls. “Long story short, we can do it. It is just, … they don’t recommend us doing it. It can mess up. We can’t take it off. We can’t move it. Once it’s done, it’s done. Anyway, whatever. It was this whole big thing.”
Apologizing for a friend at a restaurant
Ultimately, Stephanie says the customers got their cheese sticks and were able to split the cost on the bill. But what surprised Stephanie further was that when the man who had been upset with her stepped away to use the bathroom, his friend actually apologized on his behalf.
“His friend was like, ‘Hey, listen. He wasn’t trying to be rude back there. It’s just been a long day. I’m so sorry about him.. .. He didn’t mean anything by it,'” Stephanie continues. “Anyway, it was just validating.”
@stephaniiiieann Like HUH?? LET ME GO SEE FOR YOU SIR DANG. #serverproblems #serverlife #serviceindustry #restaurant #fyp #foryou #foryoupage ♬ original sound – Stephanie
Can you split the check at a restaurant?
Splitting the bill at a restaurant is a common practice, but there are some caveats as well as some standard courtesies. And it’s not always about what’s technically possible—some places may have policies in place related to the specifics, such as how many ways a check can be split.
One thing the men did right was to ask about splitting things up front. That makes things easier for the server, so adjustments don’t have to be made later on.
But getting granular enough that they wanted to split the appetizer cost right down the middle got a side-eye from Stephanie’s viewers.
“If you gotta split those cheese sticks, you don’t need them,” wrote @jessssslivinlife.
“Sometimes I just don’t understand how cheap some people can be! Also why don’t people venmo each other… go to an atm… come with cash… or maybe just pick up the extra 4 dollars,” @woodsybirddesigns agreed.
Several people suggested that perhaps the customers were being so specific because they were involved in some sort of “secret shopper” scenario.
“Walmart does this kind of stuff all the time to see if the employees are doing the right thing or need more training or help with their job,” @johnnyscamper suggested.
Attitude adjustment
Outside of the splitting issue, viewers were still frustrated on Stephanie’s behalf. Server complaints are a popular genre of TikTok video, largely because a lot of people know all too well just how annoying customer interactions can be.
“I serve also and I just don’t get the mentality of some people,” @adc19920 admitted. “People can be so rude and inconsiderate. its haarrdddd …that’s the hardest part of serving for me is biting my tongue.”
“People r soo hateful and rude. like dealing w the public isn’t already hard, stop being so cheap!!!” said @summer_sunbunny.
“I don’t care that he had a long day,” @budgetchick1618 declared. “Learn how to fing treat people.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Stephanie via TikTok comment.
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The post ‘Walmart does this kind of stuff all the time’: Server calls out customers who ask to split the appetizer on 2 separate checks appeared first on The Daily Dot.
