A server has gone viral on TikTok after claiming that management at the corporate restaurant she works at saves money by only scheduling servers.
In her video, TikTok user Stephanie (@stephaniiiieann) expresses her frustration about the situation. “At my place of employment, they’re trying to save on labor. I work at a corporate restaurant, by the way,” she says.
@stephaniiiieann Why do I still like it tho #serverlife #serverprobs #fyp ♬ original sound – Stephanie
The worker goes on to explain the problem, saying, “So they won’t schedule a busboy, a host, or a dishwasher, and we also don’t have an expo person.”
This, she says, results in the restaurant’s servers being tasked with tasks such as bussing tables, wiping tables, watching the door, seating tables, running dishes through the dishwasher, and sorting dishes—all while keeping up with their regular serving duties.
On top of it all, Stephanie adds, her manager also yells her name each time an order is ready to go out to a table.
The video has amassed more than 473,000 views since it was posted. In the comments, fellow servers said they’ve experienced the same issue.
One wrote, “It’s truly exhausting. It wouldn’t be as bad if the customers were self aware and noticed what was going on around them and were nice instead.”
Another suggested, “Track all time worked outside of server duties. think there was a a law passed about you being entitled to min hourly pay for that time over 30 min.”
A third joked, “I’d be like roll your sleeves up Steve and start hosing down the plates.”
According to lawyers at Herrmann Law, servers must be paid minimum wage to perform side work and other non-tipped duties such as deep cleaning the kitchen, washing windows, setting tables, and refilling condiments. However, that work is not supposed to exceed 20 percent of the employee’s time on the job.
“This is insane,” one user commiserated. The server replied, “It’s the industry, unfortunately. This is not rare.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Stephanie via TikTok direct message for comment.
