Sometimes, being a customer can put folks into an uncomfortable position when the surface-level conversation between one’s self and a service industry employee wanders into serious territory.
The way a customer chooses to respond to more serious topics mentioned can make or ruin someone’s day, and best practices for these kinds of responses will differ from person to person.
One man’s response to a server at his local Waffle House has viewers split on whether it was the right way to handle the situation.
In a video posted to TikTok by @chaotic_hungry, he says that an exchange with a waitress complaining to him about her co-workers felt like she was doing so because she thought he would be a safe person to say something out of pocket to, based on his physical appearance.
“My favorite part about being a white person in the South is that white people will just come up to you and say the most out-of-pocket sh*t because they think that you’re one of them,” he begins.
“I was at Waffle House this morning having breakfast because I woke up really early, and the server who was in her late 60s, she came to me—and they were very busy—she says, ‘Man, everybody called out today, nobody wants to work, ain’t that right?’ I was like, ‘Well, how much y’all paying them?’ She kind of looked at me, she’s like, ‘Well, they’re getting paid plenty, promise you.’ I looked at her and I said, well, if they were getting paid enough, they would be here. She kind of goes, ‘Well, I’ve been working here 40 years and I do just fine.'”
In response, he says he pointed out that no one in the restaurant was likely paid enough to be doing well, especially if an elderly woman could not afford to retire.
“I said to her, ‘If you were doing just fine, you wouldn’t have to be working in your late 60s,'” he says. “‘If you were doing just fine you would have been able to retire by now.’ She says, ‘Let me go get you some more coffee.’ I love how unsettled they get. Anyway, this is your reminder to cause havoc.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to @chaotic_hungry via TikTok direct message regarding the video.
Some viewers took issue with the way he responded, writing that it was a bit harsh to highlight her perceived misfortune.
“So ya go around starting shit with elderly waitresses and think you’re doing some impressive shit?” one commenter wrote.
“You have no sympathy for how hard that old woman had to work that day,” another said. “Hope you tipped 50 %”
“You do realize alot of older people still work because they need the money or they just work because some are alone,” a further user said. “They work to be around other people. Not because of your sly remark you made.”
@chaotic_hungry The cognitive dissonance is cognitive dissonancing #southernleftists #livablewages ♬ original sound – Chaotic🍉Hungry
Others were supportive of the poster’s methods, writing that they had their own experiences with older folks who think they are a safe person to vent to.
“My favorite line is ‘wow what a weird thing to say to a stranger,’ whenever the lead toxicity makes them open their mouth to me like I’ll just agree,” a commenter wrote.
“This was me yesterday with my boomer family sitting at a diner with only a few workers,” another commented. “They think it’s just ‘kids these days got no work ethic’ and just won’t even consider low pay as the problem.”
“I recently dyed my hair my natural color instead of my typical various shades of the rainbow, the way people feel so comfortable saying THE MOST out of pocket things to me now,” a third said. “Buying color asap atp.”