A server went viral on TikTok after sharing how customers she’d forgotten to seat proceeded to follow her around the restaurant.
Cel (@celgrce), the server, filmed the short clip in her car after a shift.
“When I was 10 mins into doing my rounds in the restaurant and realized the people I was supposed to be seating were STILL following me bc I forgot abt them,” she wrote via text overlay.
Sitting in her car, she mumbled, “Oh, my God.”
@celgrce ♬ OH MA GAWD – meg💌
The Daily Dot has reached out to Cel via TikTok comment for more information. As of Tuesday morning, her video had over 287,700 views, with many users asking the server for additional details.
“How did they not say anything?” one viewer asked.
“THERES NO WAY,” another added.
Other servers, meanwhile, shared their own experiences seating customers.
“one time I was seating ppl and after was checking tables for 10 mins w out realizing a dif group was following the whole time,” one worker shared.
“Me when I started walking into the kitchen because I forgot I was seating,” another wrote.
“this is something I would accidentally do,” a third server said.
Then there were those who joked with Cel over her mistake.
“You just got a taste of the power you can hold over people,” one user said. “Please use it for good.”
“I would be that person following… because who am I to question you,” another responded.
It’s possible, of course, that burnout contributed to Cel’s oversight. The restaurant industry has faced staffing shortages since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the National Restaurant Association, 87% of restaurant owners were looking to hire more staff in 2023.
Though 3.5 million restaurant workers returned to the workforce in 2020, many chose to change career tracks—leaving more than 500,000 positions open. In 2021, heightened worker demand caused a jump in wages, but open positions remained high. To attract talent, restaurants have started offering incentives like mentorship programs, paid time off, and health benefits. In the meantime, owners have streamlined their services. Some restaurants, for example, now implement digital ordering which allows servers better focus on in-house guests without becoming overburdened.
