Woman says she was shamed by server for ordering soup and a salad and she's not the only one

Customers usually expect servers to be kind and non-intrusive when one is eating out and if they are not, the customers tend to hesitate to go back to eat at the same place again. A woman, @ashleymkenney, shared on TikTok her experience with a server at a restaurant after she ordered a soup and a salad. 

Ash filmed a video as she was eating her food at the restaurant. One could see a half-eaten salad, soup, and a glass of cold drink. She looked awkward while smiling at the camera while her caption reads, "Imagine you get a soup and salad and the food runner says, 'There are both for you? You're going to finish them both?!" The overlay text also read, "What do I say when she brings me out my 16oz steak?" According to Ash, the waiter was confused by the size of the order.

However, she also clarified in the caption that the restaurant worker was "very sweet" and probably didn't realize how she was coming across. She wrote, “To be clear, she was very sweet. I don’t think she meant anything bad by it, but it did not translate well lol,” and added, “And I didn’t even order the bread, they just bring it over!”

The video went viral with 269k views. People on the social media platform shared similar experiences that they have had. @freed.brittany commented, "I had a tomato bisque and grilled cheese. The waiter came back and said, 'WOW! You ate it all. You must have been hungry!' Used to be my favorite restaurant. Haven’t been since." @ellieduvell wrote, "I had a waitress at a Thai restaurant refuse to serve me two entrees because it was too much food, I told her that’s what I wanted and that I’d eat it all and pay and she refused to serve it to me."

@solgrovejewelry shared, "I once ordered garlic knots and the waitress said, 'But you ordered an entree too. That’s SO much food!'" @christinashow356 said, "This happens to me a lot! Then if I order drinks, they always try to give the stronger drink to my mom, or if I'm with a guy friend and we have to switch."

Customers also have good experiences at restaurants. A waitress, Meghan King, shared on X a note that an elderly lady left for her. "This older woman came in on a busy Sunday, and about halfway through her meal, it started to slow down. We chatted for a few minutes. Small talk, nothing too deep," King explained. The woman had a devastating loss and King helped her to feel at ease. Also, she shared that it had been a while since she had gone out to eat. King said, "She was very low maintenance and she left just as quietly as she came. When it came time to bus her table, I was surprised that she'd left a note."

It read, "Thank you very much for your kind service. This was my first time eating out alone since my husband passed. I was hoping I could get through it." King was moved by what the woman wrote for her. "As soon as I read that she'd lost her husband I lost it. I had to use the restroom to get myself together enough to tend to my other tables even though I really didn't have time to take a rest," she said. 

You can follow Ash (@ashleymkenney) on TikTok for more content on travel.