The Social Server

Regardless if you tipped your server 20% of the bill or stiffed him the last time you dined out, it is more than likely that your server said something to the effect, “Thanks! Have a great day,” as you left the restaurant.

Although your server will never admit it to your face- unless they want to lose their job- your server has a love/hate relationship with you. Especially if a customer exhibits annoying or jerky behavior, servers are not afraid to share this information on various social media channels.

A New York food server who goes by the name “Bitchy Waiter” (BW) runs a popular blog located at bitchywaiter.com, where he discusses his serving-related problems, including “annoying” customers such as “The Crazy Mashed Potato Lady” and “The Hooker and The Handyman.”

On his Facebook page, BW invites his 200,000 plus followers to “bitch” about their similar experiences and send in questions they have about serving and tipping practices.

One angry Facebook user posted to the fan page, “So, worst tip of the night: $2 tip on $60 check. Thanks a lot, assholes – I actually OWE money for your dinner after tip out.”

Although not all servers post about customers’ behaviors’ online, many of them follow along because they love the truth and camaraderie they find on such forums.

Lizbeth Iraheta, a college student who waits tables at a burger chain, says, “I don’t follow any server social media pages, but I have seen a number of them and have ‘stalked’ their page laughing at all their absurdities and how some of the posts are true.”

Another well-liked page on Facebook, “Why Bartenders and Servers Hate People,” has over 300,000 fans. Much like the Bitchy Waiter page, this one posts internet “memes” and

articles that are relevant to servers’ work and encourages servers to comment on the page when they have good or bad customer experiences to share.

A food and beverage worker on this page shared a picture of her tip of several bills stacked high in the shape of a pyramid.

“From a wonderful guest!!! Tip Tower,” read the caption of the excited waitress’ photo.

Some servers have taken to making rant and parody videos to deal with the various bad experiences they have while waiting tables.

Dain Miller talks about his serving pet peeves in the video, “How to Piss Off Your Waiter,” on the YouTube channel, Wake Up Fast Films.

“When I ask people if they want something to drink, and they say, ‘No thanks. Just water.’ What the f*ck are you doin’ with that water?” Miller wonders in the video. “Unless you are a smoking hot chick in a white t-shirt, the only thing I want you to be doing with that water is drinking it.”

Just like any other Americans, servers have freedom of speech, even though they may risk putting their jobs on the line by publicly broadcasting their worktime mishaps. So the next time you find yourself eating at a restaurant, please be nice to your server; or else they may blog about you when their shift ends.