Server reads back a chicken and salad order. Then hunger takes over and she has to apologise for the drool on the POS screen: ‘mortifying’

Everyone who’s worked in the service industry likely has a horror story or two relating to an embarrassing interaction with customers. While it’s funny to look back on such stories and laugh, in the moment they can be mortifying and cringe-inducing. One influencer on Instagram, who had such an experience, decided to share her story with her followers, and it was so bad that those who watched it could feel the second-hand cringe through their screens.

Influencer and service worker “Kenzie.gross” shared her “mortifying server experience” with her followers on TikTok and Instagram. According to Kenzie, her embarrassing ordeal began when she approached a table of customers to take their order. “I was taking an order at a table. I hadn’t eaten anything in several hours, so I was, creaky bones.” She explained.

Disaster struck while she was reading back the order to the table. Upon reading the chicken and salad order, Kenzie confessed that she drooled right onto the tablet, in front of the whole table. “Drooled like the biggest pig in the pigsty,” she joked, “Like the biggest house on the block, dolled on my POS, and I said ‘so sorry about that fellas, can you tell I’m hungry?’”

Honestly, Kenzie’s horrified expression when recounting the embarrassing story is what truly sells it, but most people who have worked in the industry understand her pain.

Embarrassing server stories are actually pretty common

Unsurprisingly, the comments on both Instagram and TikTok were a goldmine of people sharing similar experiences, partially to help Kenzie feel better about her own story, and partly to just get it off their chests. “One time I had this little tiny crumb on my tongue and a customer made me laugh. The crumb landed on him. Straight on his arm. And he knew,” claimed an Instagram commenter.

The embarrassing stories didn’t stop, with another person claiming, “Once I spit out my cough drop onto the counter right in front of a customer.” Meanwhile, others simply laughed at Kenzie’s story: “This genuinely has me in tears.” A commenter on TikTok tried to find the silver lining: “At least they know the food probably good if it got you like that.”

Kenzie says that the people at the table “were super nice about it and offered to leave me some of their food. They didn’t but it was a nice gesture.” In the end, the embarrassment will pass, but the funny story will remain forever. In reality it probably wasn’t as bad as she felt it was, although it’s doubtful she’ll be getting a tip.