A Texas Roadhouse server who goes by @falbigailfartin on TikTok has been uploading videos instructing folks on how to avoid annoying their servers when dining out.
Previously, she delineated the do’s and don’ts of bringing your own cake to a restaurant. Now, she’s advising folks on the best way to send food back to the kitchen if they’re unsatisfied with how it came out.
@flabigailfartin #serverproblems #servertiktok #waitressproblems #waitresslife #fypシ #sendingfoodback ♬ original sound – a silly goose :), J.D.
At the beginning of the video, she tells folks that they should never feel inhibited about sending a meal they aren’t completely satisfied with back.
“So many people are afraid to send their food back, but the thing is, as long as you are kind and logical in the way that you do so, your server will never be upset with you,” she says.
The TikToker acknowledges that some servers may be annoyed with customers no matter what they do, but she assures viewers that these folks are few and far between. She says the most likely reason a server is annoyed by a patron sending food back is because of “how you talk to them when something is cooked wrong.”
So, what’s the proper way for patrons to bring up an issue to their server? According to @falbigailfartin, customers should be “logical” and “kind” when expressing their gripes with their improperly cooked food.
“The first question you ask yourself is whose fault, if any, is it that this food is cooked wrong?” she says. “‘That dang server.’ Nope. ‘That dang person who brought out my food that isn’t even my server.’ Nope. The cook? Yeah, probably.”
The next suggestion may seem like an obvious precursor to asking a server to send your food back, but the TikToker points it out nonetheless: Stop eating your food as soon as you realize there’s a problem.
“There is nothing worse than coming to an empty plate and having the person say, ‘This was wrong; this was wrong; this was wrong” because now there is nothing I can do for you, and I think that all you want is free food,” she says.
The TikToker also notes that guests should direct any complaints to their server first and hold off on asking other restaurant staff members to assist with a problem unless their server is nowhere to be found.
She then finishes her video by stating that any requests to save money on a meal bill shouldn’t be directed toward servers because such decisions are entirely up to managers.
In the comments section, viewers shared some of their gripes with customers who weren’t happy with their food.
“Yup as a food runner, definitely DO NOT tell a random worker walking through the restaurant what you need or want. It’s really freaking inconvenient,” one user wrote.
“I can’t stand when I go to a table and ask how their food is and they say great only to complain 10 minutes later to a manager,” a second shared.
“I’ve had a customer scream at me telling me their steak is not the right temperature and proceed to pull up a picture on their phone to show me,” another said.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @flabigailfartin via TikTok comment and Texas Roadhouse via email for further information.
