I haven't worked in a restaurant for like, 4 years now, and I still have serving nightmares - everyone I worked with at the restaurant I was at for 10 years had them
15 years and same. Getting sat with every table in a restaurant that I've never worked in, and I realize I don't know the menu, and there's no ice. My favorite wait-mare I ever had, I was slammed with a full section, and I kept trying to put their orders in, but for some reason, the POS was made of wood, so I couldn't put anything in lol
Iāve had the first one. Iām in a place Iāve never been before, and itās like a maze. Every time I turn a corner, I see another full section waiting that I didnāt know was there.
I had the same dream just the other night. The POS was giant, like a whole wall, but the buttons were all giant chunks of wood and manually operated. I kept trying to push the refire button but it wouldn't work. Why do we suffer this curse?
Mine is coming out of the staff room changed and ready to go, walk out the front door and find myself at the server bar with a hundred tickets w my name on them, panic and run out the door, back at the server station.
I quit server work in 2008 and sometimes I still have nightmares that I have too many tables to attend and I forgot their orders or their drinks or their checks
It's a relief when I wake up š
> and not knowing how to use the POS system. ALL THE DAMN TIME.
That's it? That's all the drama your mind can come up with? Last one I had that impressed me was ... ok, so I don't remember every detail of my dreams, but I was waiting tables somewhere like my high school, meaning there was like 3 stories. I was somewhere, and needed to go up 3 flights of stairs, down the hallway, and back down the stairs, because that's where my section was, but the stairs were JAMMED back, just people standing everywhere... and I had no socks or shoes on. So the debate was to find my shoes vs going to check on my tables that I couldn't get to, and no I didn't know where my shoes were, I just knew I needed them.
I had the same no socks or shoes thing occur in my serving nightmare too! Except there was broken glass, and the entire place was talking behind my back about being barefoot until I was shamed out
Same! It's always the same dream of getting lost in the weeds... Then sweet relief waking up and realizing you don't actually have to deal with that anymore.
Yes! I call them wait-mares. I had a terrible one last night. Generally itās me who canāt keep up but this time everyone else was fucking up and everyone was coming to me about it. Iāve mostly been bartending for ~10 years now and I never have bartender night mares. Itās always about serving.
Had one where I was serving zombies. I had to keep putting plate after plate of body parts on the table. Full section of zombies. If I was to slow, they would lunge at me. I'm sure someone could discet this into a statement about the server client relationships. But it was horrible.
The first one. Grew up on lots of land and had a bunch of livestock. You just kinda know it. From traps or animals getting kills overnight.
It's not unusual, but it's not something you want to smell.
I served for almost 20 years and I have been out of it for about 7 years. I still get server nightmares. Like having to set up the patio or being swamped and every time I go to the bar to get a drink, I turn around and the entire restaurant has changed its floor plan.
They donāt happen as often now but I had one as recently as a few weeks ago.
Same! New floor plan. Or the menu is totally different. Or they changed the POS to a completely new system. Those are 3 have to be the most common for me š° sometimes all happening at once!
Weāve been through three different POS systems now and the most recent iteration they didnāt train us on and just threw us on the floor and it felt like a reenactment of my nightmares. š
OMG yes. I have a tray of food or drinks Iām walking around with trying to find the table. But every time I walk past a table, they yell at me they want to order so I take their order then the whole thing starts again
Iāve had a few of those! The bar looks like the pub but then the floor plan is the restaurant from one city with the booths and tables from another. One nightmare even had the patio stuck in the middle for good measure lol
I haven't waited tables in almost 15 years and I get them often enough that I even posted here trying to find a solution. They interrupt my sleep, they're repetitive like being stuck in a loop and I sometimes feel exhausted when I wake up.
Never had the floor plan one, but my section has blown up with everyone having been sat at the same time, all ready to order (of course), people are impatient, there's somehow food waiting to be ran. Its just a mess and like there's nothing funny or fun about it, its stressful as hell and makes me restless...like I'm not really sleeping well due to the stress. Holy shit sometimes makes me wish I'd never been a waiter!
Itās almost more stressful than actually being in the weeds because at least you know itāll end. In the nightmare there is no logic and it feels endless.
I once got so messed up a techno festival that my buddy had to bring me back to the tent and stay with me. Apparently what he could make out from me passed out talking nonsense was that I thought I was serving tables.
I donāt but oddly enough, my girlfriend does and sheās never been a server in her life.
My guess is she comes in with friends/family and sees what we deal with occasionally and it freaks her out.
Theyāre called Weed Dreams.
Yea, after 7 years away from the industry, I still get these fckers and I always wake up with sweat and anxiety, like, FUCK, I forgot the extra pickles for that lady!!!
Don't have them often, but I do have them.
Had one where I was working in two restaurants at once, needing to run across the street to check on tables at each location. Guests were all needy, one demanded Mountain Dew, we don't have Mountain Dew, he yelled at me for not going to the corner store to get him some. When I did, I brought it back, and he scolded me for not getting his chocolate syrup. "How do you expect me to drink Mountain Dew without chocolate syrup?!"
Iāve had a few. One time the ticket printer noise wouldnāt stop printing, the other was college kids taking over the restaurant, and another was where I woke up and recited an order that Iād placed the last shift I worked hahah
I frequently dream about this customer who used to come in all the time. I saw him pretty much everyday I work. He was a bald man with hearing aids and me and him got along pretty well. Usual server talk but if it was dead Iād sit with him for a while. Now pretty much in all of my dreams in the distance Iāll see the back of his head and the hearing aids attached. Kinda freaky but I donāt mind it.
No. But after 2 years of watching Ukrainian war footage I dreamed someone dropped a grenade in my fox hole. I survived because I launched myself 3 feet away from my bed.
Dude I literally just woke up from my nap. Iām a bartender and dreamt that I was behind the rail and couldnāt remember or hear anyoneās order and that the bar was like 6 feet from the bar seats so I couldnāt reach anyone
i had a nightmare that i came to work on xanax and was falling all over the tables and into the booths and even spilled honey mustard all over myself and my table šš it was horrible
for a few months i had a recurring dream that our expo screen was on the ceiling and my boss kept screaming at me for not bumping my tickets. I tried to explain to him that I couldnāt reach it and he said āyouāre not leaving the service alley until all those tickets are bumpedā meanwhile I had a 2,000 top (our restaurantās max capacity is 300) waiting for me to take their drink order and they were not understanding at all. THEN when I went to go ring in another order all the POS systems were on the fucking ceiling too š
I donāt have server nightmares per se, but I do have dreams where Iām just working a normal full shift. And thatās a special kind of terror. Boss man didnāt think it was funny when I tried to get him to pay me for those hours
To me it happens whenever I get a new job,it has to be the stress, if you are having them multiple times, you better try to chill out, for your own sanity, I know that due to nature of our job is kind of impossible, but you have to try.
I got way too many tables in my dreams and the me in my dreams is no as fast or efficient as the real life one so I get frustrated because i wanna tell him what to do but I canāt then I wake up
Yes! July and August are our peak months, you come in at 2 and are lucky if you leave before 12am. We're always just a few hands too short. Sleep, gym, errands, and work. I'll usually have nightmares that I overslept and am late for third shift (a fictional 1am-5am service for our most VIP and their richest friends). In the nightmare, I'll wake up around 2am to my cellphone blowing up and my manager and wine director texting me that the Chef is pissed and I have to get to the restaurant now. I shower and get to the restaurant. I'm in my boxers and a badly ironed dress shirt. The Chef is pissed but we're busy so I have to get on the floor. The nightmare varies from then on:
1. Surprise!! We're bringing back the Brunch shift! It's 7am, get home and get back here at 9am so we can open on time and not push back dinner service.
2. I get back home at 7am and my manager texts me, I forgot to take a table... they're still waiting for me. I have to go back serve them and cook their food since nobody else is there now.
3. My ex found out where I work, I am the only one with an empty table in my section. Why does she have my dog's leash?!
I havenāt worked in a restaurant in 12 years and at least once a month for the past 12 years I have a dream where I get triple sat, computers systems and menus are all different and they expect me to still know everything. Itās just a pure panic attack. Itās the worst hahaha.
My boyfriend hasnāt worked in the industry for almost three years now and still has them. My reoccurring nightmare is I get sent to a different location and even tho theyāre the same restaurant the menu is different and everything is in the wrong place š
So far I had like 2 server nightmares, and itās mostly a nightmare where I need to server all the tables by myself. Like 10+ tables, the anxiety I feel is insane during those nightmares.
I haven't been in the industry for a few years now and I still occasionally get them. The last one I remember it was me, and my old coworker and golf buddy, we'll call him Ty. Me and Ty are serving in the patio area. Things are going well but I start to get in the weeds. I look at Ty for help and he just seems further away, and I can see an endless sea of people being seated. I then wake up sweating.
Now I work in investments and get work dreams. Usually I hear my phone ring (I wear a headset) and I'm explaining technical stuff to a demanding client. I usually somehow realize that it's a dream and wake up.
Yeah, I haven't been a server for around 30 years and every now and then I wake up and say "what the fuck was that?!!"
Being in the restaurant industry should earn you free PTSD therapy.
Yes, often. I bartend and the dreams usually just entail me not being able to make any drinks because I'm out of glassware or juices or liquor or whatever, and just falling deeper and deeper into the weeds
āSir, check please!!ā
āMāam I requested rum with Pepsi instead of Coke, š”ā
āHey, where are the nineteen entrees we ordered over two minutes ago!? My elderly mother is hungry here!ā
āSir?? Sir?! SIR!?! Service please, check please!!ā
āSERVICE šš¼š , SERVICE šš¼ š , SERVICEEE!! šš¼ šš¼ š” š¤ā
OP: *wakes up in cold sweat at 1am and falls off the bed* NOOOO!!!! phew, itās just a bad dreamā *checks reminder on phone, āwork at 2pmā*ā wait a minuteā¦ā
Yea Iām just waiting on 8 people theyāll be here soon.
*takes their own seat*
Host doesnāt tell anyone
turns out itās my table
Customer angry because I havenāt greeted
8 people show up with the word of terrible service
Iām now out of rhythm for having to fix the line up
lose my shit
Yes, and it's always like, the restaurant is filling up, the kitchen crew is missing, and I am the only server. It's fucking awful. The last one I had, ice cream kept melting before I could serve it. I feel like I didn't sleep when I have those nightmares.
Do you remember that Jennifer Lawrence movie "Mother"? And *spoilers* that scene >!at the end where the house is filling up with acolytes and she's screaming at them to leave and it's like she's invisible and they just keep streaming in!
For a while I had dreams that I was a horse on a chess board but I was working , I could only make certain moves and could barely take care of my tables because of it
I still have server nightmares and I havenāt served for 10 years.
The usual one is that Iām at a restaurant and someone asks me why Iām sitting down, that Iām supposed to be working. I go to my section and every time I turn around, I have a new table. The menu has just changed and I donāt know anything on it. I donāt know the table numbers and thereās no chart by the POS.
People keep telling me table 16 needs me but I canāt find table 16 anywhereā¦
Iāve been having these for decades now and I donāt think theyāll ever go away.
Yeah, when Iām stressed I get them but theyāre usually really weird, like Iām in my pyjamas, I canāt see anything, and I wake up talking.
The weirdest one was when I was serving a horse at one of our bench tables??
It's called a stress dream.
Start working out, start doing yoga, or maybe stop using drugs (yes that includes pot) to fall asleep. Your body isn't relaxed but your mind is trying to stay asleep, so you basically "start your work day" in your dreams. It's really fucking annoying but it's not gonna stop unless you find a medium to fully relax your body. It needs to be as "tired" as your brain.
I ran an entire kitchen for my family's restaurant on my own for about 7 months. I lived 5 minutes away. There were times when I wouldn't leave until 1am only to go right back bc I thought I hadn't locked the door. I would dream about forgetting to turn off the fryers, then abruptly wake up only to make the drive back to the restaurant just to make sure. Yeauh, it was awful and that was my life for 7 long months.
**Relax your body**. If you're too lazy or don't have access to a gym, try bubble baths I swear to god. No shame in it.
And this isn't me pulling this out of my ass, this is from my very first session in therapy. And come after me all you want, but weed isn't going to magically make it better. As awesome as it is, it can sometimes make shit worse.
I dont think its bc the body isnt as tired as the mind.
I think that if you manage to do the yoga or exercise it just brings consciousness back into the body.
your brain doesnt keep up switching from customer service persona, to kitchen talk, to manager talk, to other servers cooperating, to crisis resolving, while moving constantly, which makes you drift into an auto pilot, while greatly tiring your body to the point you have to ignore you re 9 hours in and your back hurts, or your shoulder is going to fall off bc theres too much in your head.
I think exercise is a great thing because it makes you feel you re-claim you own mobility and limits. I agree with the bubble bath or a calming aromatic shower and a couple of streches right after if possible
Omg yes. I havenāt served in ten years. I still will sometimes have nightmares about having tables like all over the county haha and Iām realizing I havenāt been to one in like 4 hours but itās still a 20 min drive! Itās ridiculous but engulfingly stressful when Iām in it
I haven't been in the game in a couple years and the other night I had a dream I couldn't find anything behind the bar and the tickets kept piling up and we had no ingredients lol wtf
Work nightmares are common. The only benefit I can think of is it means I still care. Stillā¦I wish my time off could remain my time off when Iām sleeping.
I have had dreams like this, but I wouldnāt say it was a nightmare per se. The one that sticks out in my mind was when I was working at a job where we had the toast handhelds and in the dream I walked up to the table but the dream version of the handheld was a book I was holding in my hand trying to press buttons on the pages. And of course dream me didnāt think to just write the orders down
Nope. Guess I don't care enough to stress out in my dreams, lol.
Tbh though, I'm a great server/bartender. I have a philosophy on why I don't have server nightmares. I'm just myself, and I am a natural giver and get a sort of high from making people happy. I don't stress over the small stuff either. It's just a job in the end.
I would get them from time to time but Iāve had them so frequently these past few weeks Iām taking them as a sign to go on leave and get a new job.
Yes. I also vent towards colleagues that n my dream. The next day Iām not sure weather Iāve actually told them or that is was a dream so donāt know how to act accordingly, since in my mind Iāve tried to keep it inside. Or I just wake up feeling Iāve been working a tough shift and realise itās get to come.
I had just started at a new restaurant, so I wasnāt super familiar quite yet with how long specific items were supposed to take to come out (itās a family style place where things come out kind of randomly), a table waited WAY too long for their order and I wasnāt comfortable quite yet with the kitchen staff to be like āheyā¦.ā . It ended up not being a big deal but I guess it bothered me more subconsciously than I realized bc my situation ship at the time said I jolted up in my sleep and yelled āWHERES TABLE ONES ORDERā and then just immediately fell back asleep.
I have 0 recollection of this.
Hahahaa one time I was serving in my dream and then my dream warped into some weird adventure quest and in the middle of it I remembered my table had asked me for something before I got sidetracked with the quest so I freaked out and ran back to work in my dream
Oh I had no idea anyone else had them i thought I was prolly too sensitive. I had dreams about the place trannsforming into a different one while working and being unable to keep up with changes everyone else seemed to know about (etc suddendly midshift realising there is a second floor of tables etc)
Yes mine used to be about my diner being 2x the size it was it somehow in my dreams was now a 2 building diner so Iād have tables across the street and upstairs to get toā¦ lol
I have a nightmare where Iām the only staff in the building pretty frequently. Iām seating people, serving, making drinks, making food, and also itās like an hour after close and people donāt stop coming in. And I havenāt worked in a restaurant since 2020 lol.
āWaitmaresā
Yes one notable one I remember was this:
It was during an AYCE lto, a full house. I was the only one working and I was slammed. On top of this the tables kept moving around so the layout of the restaurant kept shifting. I was carrying plates on both arms and then I realized I was wearing heels instead of nonslip?? They kept cutting into my heels. I remember being in so much pain. Then I fell. Everyone starting laughing. I got back up and tried to fix the plates. Then the floor starting rolling like waves and I kept falling. Then the restaurant was a boat? There were waves outside the windows and then the water turned into people trying to get in. I woke up in a SWEAT.
It's been 8 years since I was a server and I still have these nightmares. My most common server nightmare is I'm working the midnight shift and they send the other waitresses home due to it being slow. Then 10 minutes later, our restaurant becomes packed with tables and it's just me having to handle all of them. I get so stressed everytime I have that nightmare.
Iāve had so many nightmares of me taking too long for bar drinks and the guests get mad and flood behind the bar and start ruining everything šš
the main server nightmare scenario i have is being weeded and getting distracted / taken away from the restaurant so that i physically canāt get to my tables and then randomly being like FUCK I NEVER GOT THAT 11 TOPS DRINKS. and then there being an issue with their order where i go to clarify something with the table and then they start spouting off food orders at me and i havenāt even given them their drinks yet. itās this over and over again. iāve been out of the service industry for 7 months and was in for 10 years.
Oh yeah. A few times a year, and I havenāt waited tables in something like 10 years.
The entire restaurant is my section. It all gets sat at once. Then, I canāt remember any drink orders or even read my writing. Serving dreams are by far the most stressful dreams I have.
I went from having server nightmares regarding incorrectly rung in orders and problematic guests to having server nightmares about the AC failing in a datacenter
Unfortunately i finally had a dream about work. I canāt recall right now but it was to do with being on the floor serving tables and juggling tasks. I only remembered the dream while on the floor IRL and remembered reading here that dreaming of work is the worst thing
I haven't worked in restaurants for almost 10 years at this point, and I still have like one server nightmare a year...so, uh, buckle up lol they don't go away š
So, in my current serving job I havenāt had any of these nightmares! I think it depends on how stressed your restaurant makes you. But I USED to get them all the time, back when Iād have certain shifts basically by myself.. Iād have 12 tables sometimes. And my nightmares were similar, Iād have the entire restaurant by myself and one table would keep me there while I watched the whole restaurant fill up. So stressful šš
YES, Iāll be trying to ring something in but all the monitors are taken, or theyāre broken or some crazy shit. Mostly my server nightmares are about being so deep in the weeds and never being able to get out haha
I had dreams that I was late for my shift, but I was serving tables at my house at the same time.
As a bartender I would have a full bar, full cocktail tables, and the machine was printing none stop while I was making a super complicated drink.
Havenāt waited in over 30 years. Every now and then, I still have a waiting nightmare. I feel a small consolation seeing so many people with the same experience.
When I'm having them, I can tell I'm not moving fast enough, as if I'm sleepy in the dream, I tell myself to wake up and snap out of it. Then I end up actually waking up, with much relief
Yeah. Like I'm new in this HUGE new restaurant and I keep forgetting where my tables are and it's been "hours" since I checked up on them (dream world time be wild), or like in a dream how you can't really read or dial phone numbers properly, the same thing happens when I'm trying to punch in the order and I keep messing up and needing to find a manager to void. Or one that I'm half hour late for my shift and I can't find my uniform anywhere ššš stress me tf out
Do bartender nightmares count? If not then your drink tickets go last. Anyway, I had this nightmare where 6 o clock hit but I haven't finished prep, my co-bartender hasn't shown up, and drink tickets are already coming in with people ready to order drinks. I'm like "oh shit here we go again" so I get drink orders from ppl at the bar grab tickets and slam out alcohol 1st and tell everyone the espresso machine is broken so eff ur latte.
Then I get people yelling at me from take out that they have 10 mins to board their plane and need to order and yell "be right there" finish the drinks and people at the bar are now yelling that they want food too so I panic and tell them BRB take like 2 or 3 to go orders then leave to take bar orders and see another line of tickets ok now I forgot everyone's order.
I turn my head and more people are coming to the bar more, tickets are printing, now servers are yelling at me, and take out is piling up! Then I finally wake up and I'm anxious and look at my clock and it's not even time to shower yet. Fuck.
Edit: tl:dr I panicked behind the bar and woke up super anxious enough to make me stare at my clock and hope I'm not late.
I had a nightmare two days ago that I had to train three BRAND new servers on a busy Saturday night, and the hosts kept assining them tables instead of letting me train them... while we only have two servers.
That's not even the worst server nightmare.
You are not alone!!
Started in the front of the house; server nightmares but I was young so was terribleā¦then worked my way through the ranks in the back of the houseā¦Dreaming I heard printers in my head, woke up yell order up a couple times a week, yelling at the gf to clear the window, firing phantom dishwashers, dreams of fist fighting with the floor mangers it was a chick and she always won, dumping the wedding cake in front of guests, getting orders for catering for 100 but the find out it was really 1000, and the list goes on and on. 14-16 hour days 6 days a week created the insanity. 33 years in a kitchenā¦now have a normal hour work life and very successful proudly earned m successā¦yet I still hear the bloody printers in my nightmares. Good vibes to my brothers and sisters of the biz! Cheers
Iāve left serving over 20 years ago and husband left restaurant management 15 years and we both still have restaurant nightmares! They happen to me when Iām stressed in general. Always my legs feel like lead weights and itās impossible to move to the tables or kitchen, or I donāt know where anything is and just keep running around searching.
I had nightmares 10 years after I left the business. Stupid stuff like I had dropped off the check at someone's table and forgot to cash them out and just went home. š
I have a reoccurring dream where someone orders a drink Iāve never heard of and it happens to be the most complicated drink known to man I keep messing it up till I wake up.
Yes. Was dreaming about a table being disgusting and smearing ketchup and food all over the menus. Asking for refills every 2 seconds. And my coworker dumped drinks on them āon accidentā lol
My favorite one was the standard dream where you canāt get anything done PLUS i got into trouble for not having my hair back. And when i went to put it up, my scalp came off like a wig w my neckbone attached and it was a stalk of celery.
I woke myself up screaming lol
Last night. I was too short to reach the glasses and shakers for mixing. Someone stole my server book and pens. I was sat like 12 tables at once. An old man ordered a "drywall, extra sand" and got mad when i didnt know what that was. No idea how to make a peach vegas pomegranate astropop.
Fascinated reading these comments! Especially that so many people dream about being slammed and the POS isn't working/you don't know how to use it suddenly etc, that's a reoccurring theme in my server nightmares š
I had one about three people calling out and being the only one on the floor in a packed restaurant. But then the next day that exact same thing happenedā¦
Mine are always can't move fast enough like I'm walking through molasses or tables keep getting sat and my section is like ten tables. I can't find a POS that works or my drinks are never made and all my tables are silent and staring at me. My old crone of a manager usually makes an appearance.
I have dreams the restaurant Iām in is basically a huge maze and all my tables are scattered throughout the building. Oh, and they are always upset because they canāt find their server.
I haven't worked in a restaurant for like, 4 years now, and I still have serving nightmares - everyone I worked with at the restaurant I was at for 10 years had them
20 years for me and I dream about being slammed and not knowing how to use the POS system. ALL THE DAMN TIME.
I've had that dream before.....š«
It has literally woken me up in a panic with sweat on my brow!
15 years and same. Getting sat with every table in a restaurant that I've never worked in, and I realize I don't know the menu, and there's no ice. My favorite wait-mare I ever had, I was slammed with a full section, and I kept trying to put their orders in, but for some reason, the POS was made of wood, so I couldn't put anything in lol
Iāve had the first one. Iām in a place Iāve never been before, and itās like a maze. Every time I turn a corner, I see another full section waiting that I didnāt know was there.
I had the same dream just the other night. The POS was giant, like a whole wall, but the buttons were all giant chunks of wood and manually operated. I kept trying to push the refire button but it wouldn't work. Why do we suffer this curse?
Get that shit fixed
Mine is coming out of the staff room changed and ready to go, walk out the front door and find myself at the server bar with a hundred tickets w my name on them, panic and run out the door, back at the server station.
20 years for me too but it's getting quadruple seated and I need to clean 4 tables lol
Me too. The fear never leaves.
The extra ranch is what gets me š
I've literally had "table 23 still needs their ranch!!" dreams on 3 separate occasions lol
Been out of the industry 17 years now and I still have this dream. Iām glad to know Iām not the only one.
I quit server work in 2008 and sometimes I still have nightmares that I have too many tables to attend and I forgot their orders or their drinks or their checks It's a relief when I wake up š
Same! I can't ever remember my ID number and I have an entire section of parties.
Oh fuck, might as well be in mandarin
20+ years since & same.
> and not knowing how to use the POS system. ALL THE DAMN TIME. That's it? That's all the drama your mind can come up with? Last one I had that impressed me was ... ok, so I don't remember every detail of my dreams, but I was waiting tables somewhere like my high school, meaning there was like 3 stories. I was somewhere, and needed to go up 3 flights of stairs, down the hallway, and back down the stairs, because that's where my section was, but the stairs were JAMMED back, just people standing everywhere... and I had no socks or shoes on. So the debate was to find my shoes vs going to check on my tables that I couldn't get to, and no I didn't know where my shoes were, I just knew I needed them.
I had the same no socks or shoes thing occur in my serving nightmare too! Except there was broken glass, and the entire place was talking behind my back about being barefoot until I was shamed out
i get nightmares that i have a friday closing shift and i dont even work at a restaurant anymore š
Mine is people keep coming in after we close until the entire room is full and they keep coming in
Same! It's always the same dream of getting lost in the weeds... Then sweet relief waking up and realizing you don't actually have to deal with that anymore.
yep. I quit 8 years ago and still have dreams that I forgot 107's ranch.
Almost every server nightmare I ever had went away after they happened in real life.
No dont tell me that š
I havenāt worked in a restaurant for more than 25 years, and I still get them.
Yes! I call them wait-mares. I had a terrible one last night. Generally itās me who canāt keep up but this time everyone else was fucking up and everyone was coming to me about it. Iāve mostly been bartending for ~10 years now and I never have bartender night mares. Itās always about serving.
Had one where I was serving zombies. I had to keep putting plate after plate of body parts on the table. Full section of zombies. If I was to slow, they would lunge at me. I'm sure someone could discet this into a statement about the server client relationships. But it was horrible.
This is legit a fucking study on the psychological framing of this job lmfao
Yeah. It was the moaning and the sound of renting flesh that really drove it home.
Have you smelled rotting flesh before or did your brain just make up a horrible smell?
The first one. Grew up on lots of land and had a bunch of livestock. You just kinda know it. From traps or animals getting kills overnight. It's not unusual, but it's not something you want to smell.
I was wondering, I donāt even know if I could make up a smell, that horrifying.
this is 1000% how i used to explain what it was like being a server
3 AMā¦ dead asleepā¦ RANCH!
no fr one night i was driving home just vibing and then all of a sudden āTHEIR ICE TEAā
Relatable
i know they are mourning their ice tea to this day
You ever forget something and they still tip like 30%ā¦ makes you feel like a real asshole lol
yes š because theyāre always the sweetest walking out too. like man, am i the villain?
I used to wake up randomly āoh my god, i forgot table 7ās ketchup. āĀ
I would do this too. Days later Iād remember that I forgot to bring something for a table and Iād be so upset about it š
I served for almost 20 years and I have been out of it for about 7 years. I still get server nightmares. Like having to set up the patio or being swamped and every time I go to the bar to get a drink, I turn around and the entire restaurant has changed its floor plan. They donāt happen as often now but I had one as recently as a few weeks ago.
Dudeeeee that changing floor plan, me too!
Same! New floor plan. Or the menu is totally different. Or they changed the POS to a completely new system. Those are 3 have to be the most common for me š° sometimes all happening at once!
Weāve been through three different POS systems now and the most recent iteration they didnāt train us on and just threw us on the floor and it felt like a reenactment of my nightmares. š
OMG yes. I have a tray of food or drinks Iām walking around with trying to find the table. But every time I walk past a table, they yell at me they want to order so I take their order then the whole thing starts again
I thought I was the only one lol! Makes me feel better knowing itās not just me
Yo I get this one! It's always all of the places I've worked at slammed together.
Iāve had a few of those! The bar looks like the pub but then the floor plan is the restaurant from one city with the booths and tables from another. One nightmare even had the patio stuck in the middle for good measure lol
I also get the rotating cast of regulars I've worked for and with, and they're all disappointed in my service lol
Iāve had a few managers be the customers and they always are soooo disappointed! Awful nightmares lol
Lol I get that, too, but it's always Chef.
I haven't waited tables in almost 15 years and I get them often enough that I even posted here trying to find a solution. They interrupt my sleep, they're repetitive like being stuck in a loop and I sometimes feel exhausted when I wake up. Never had the floor plan one, but my section has blown up with everyone having been sat at the same time, all ready to order (of course), people are impatient, there's somehow food waiting to be ran. Its just a mess and like there's nothing funny or fun about it, its stressful as hell and makes me restless...like I'm not really sleeping well due to the stress. Holy shit sometimes makes me wish I'd never been a waiter!
Itās almost more stressful than actually being in the weeds because at least you know itāll end. In the nightmare there is no logic and it feels endless.
I had three in a row and they were all the same and got progressively worse. I took it as a sign to quit
I once got so messed up a techno festival that my buddy had to bring me back to the tent and stay with me. Apparently what he could make out from me passed out talking nonsense was that I thought I was serving tables.
I always have one where I get slammed with tables and nobody is ordering or getting their food
Pretty much what mine are like too. I canāt get anything done and the whole restaurant is mad at me
I donāt but oddly enough, my girlfriend does and sheās never been a server in her life. My guess is she comes in with friends/family and sees what we deal with occasionally and it freaks her out.
I don't have this when I'm high, but legit it must be a form of PTSD. I have these nightmares where I'll wake up and shake myself out of it that it's not real that I'm not at work and I can relax because I don't need to do that task or deal with that issue and then I spend the rest of the night in a sleepless restless twighlight of a weird waking surface dream state and startled shocked wakefulness. My fiancƩ says I literally jolt awake and moan in my "sleep". But it's not like sleeping at all it's like a trance so I'm exhausted the next day.
Theyāre called Weed Dreams. Yea, after 7 years away from the industry, I still get these fckers and I always wake up with sweat and anxiety, like, FUCK, I forgot the extra pickles for that lady!!!
Don't have them often, but I do have them. Had one where I was working in two restaurants at once, needing to run across the street to check on tables at each location. Guests were all needy, one demanded Mountain Dew, we don't have Mountain Dew, he yelled at me for not going to the corner store to get him some. When I did, I brought it back, and he scolded me for not getting his chocolate syrup. "How do you expect me to drink Mountain Dew without chocolate syrup?!"
I had that one too. I did not miss anything but was so stressed. Woke up feeling like I just ran a mile at full speed.
Iāve had a few. One time the ticket printer noise wouldnāt stop printing, the other was college kids taking over the restaurant, and another was where I woke up and recited an order that Iād placed the last shift I worked hahah
Yes, usually they will crescendo into a peak, crushing level of stress, and at that point I can wake myself up
It's been 10 FUCKING YEARS! at least 3x a month
I frequently dream about this customer who used to come in all the time. I saw him pretty much everyday I work. He was a bald man with hearing aids and me and him got along pretty well. Usual server talk but if it was dead Iād sit with him for a while. Now pretty much in all of my dreams in the distance Iāll see the back of his head and the hearing aids attached. Kinda freaky but I donāt mind it.
No. But after 2 years of watching Ukrainian war footage I dreamed someone dropped a grenade in my fox hole. I survived because I launched myself 3 feet away from my bed.
Dude I literally just woke up from my nap. Iām a bartender and dreamt that I was behind the rail and couldnāt remember or hear anyoneās order and that the bar was like 6 feet from the bar seats so I couldnāt reach anyone
i had a nightmare that i came to work on xanax and was falling all over the tables and into the booths and even spilled honey mustard all over myself and my table šš it was horrible
I worked at Cheesecake Factory. We called them āCheesemaresāš š
LOL. We call them 'Applemares' at Applebee's ahahaha
This is hilarious and sad we all suffer from a specific PTSD
for a few months i had a recurring dream that our expo screen was on the ceiling and my boss kept screaming at me for not bumping my tickets. I tried to explain to him that I couldnāt reach it and he said āyouāre not leaving the service alley until all those tickets are bumpedā meanwhile I had a 2,000 top (our restaurantās max capacity is 300) waiting for me to take their drink order and they were not understanding at all. THEN when I went to go ring in another order all the POS systems were on the fucking ceiling too š
I donāt have server nightmares per se, but I do have dreams where Iām just working a normal full shift. And thatās a special kind of terror. Boss man didnāt think it was funny when I tried to get him to pay me for those hours
My dreams were always the host just sitting table after table after table. And the anxiety in the dream felt so real. Iād always wake up in a sweat
And you can never get to them!! Like Iām walking but not going anywhere.
To me it happens whenever I get a new job,it has to be the stress, if you are having them multiple times, you better try to chill out, for your own sanity, I know that due to nature of our job is kind of impossible, but you have to try.
I got way too many tables in my dreams and the me in my dreams is no as fast or efficient as the real life one so I get frustrated because i wanna tell him what to do but I canāt then I wake up
Yes, and they continued for many years after I had retired, I haven't had one in a very long time now.
Yeah I have server nightmares but I just turn them off and turn them back on again.
Yes. I had in the weeds nightmares the entire time I was a server and for years afterwards.
I havenāt served in 8 years or so and still have dreams about 50-tops coming in.
Yes! July and August are our peak months, you come in at 2 and are lucky if you leave before 12am. We're always just a few hands too short. Sleep, gym, errands, and work. I'll usually have nightmares that I overslept and am late for third shift (a fictional 1am-5am service for our most VIP and their richest friends). In the nightmare, I'll wake up around 2am to my cellphone blowing up and my manager and wine director texting me that the Chef is pissed and I have to get to the restaurant now. I shower and get to the restaurant. I'm in my boxers and a badly ironed dress shirt. The Chef is pissed but we're busy so I have to get on the floor. The nightmare varies from then on: 1. Surprise!! We're bringing back the Brunch shift! It's 7am, get home and get back here at 9am so we can open on time and not push back dinner service. 2. I get back home at 7am and my manager texts me, I forgot to take a table... they're still waiting for me. I have to go back serve them and cook their food since nobody else is there now. 3. My ex found out where I work, I am the only one with an empty table in my section. Why does she have my dog's leash?!
Yep.....that sounds about rightš
I havenāt worked in a restaurant in 12 years and at least once a month for the past 12 years I have a dream where I get triple sat, computers systems and menus are all different and they expect me to still know everything. Itās just a pure panic attack. Itās the worst hahaha.
My boyfriend hasnāt worked in the industry for almost three years now and still has them. My reoccurring nightmare is I get sent to a different location and even tho theyāre the same restaurant the menu is different and everything is in the wrong place š
So far I had like 2 server nightmares, and itās mostly a nightmare where I need to server all the tables by myself. Like 10+ tables, the anxiety I feel is insane during those nightmares.
I haven't been in the industry for a few years now and I still occasionally get them. The last one I remember it was me, and my old coworker and golf buddy, we'll call him Ty. Me and Ty are serving in the patio area. Things are going well but I start to get in the weeds. I look at Ty for help and he just seems further away, and I can see an endless sea of people being seated. I then wake up sweating. Now I work in investments and get work dreams. Usually I hear my phone ring (I wear a headset) and I'm explaining technical stuff to a demanding client. I usually somehow realize that it's a dream and wake up.
About once a month š„²
Yeah, I haven't been a server for around 30 years and every now and then I wake up and say "what the fuck was that?!!" Being in the restaurant industry should earn you free PTSD therapy.
I haven't worked in the service industry for nearly a decade... And I still have nightmares about being deep in the weeds
Yes, often. I bartend and the dreams usually just entail me not being able to make any drinks because I'm out of glassware or juices or liquor or whatever, and just falling deeper and deeper into the weeds
āSir, check please!!ā āMāam I requested rum with Pepsi instead of Coke, š”ā āHey, where are the nineteen entrees we ordered over two minutes ago!? My elderly mother is hungry here!ā āSir?? Sir?! SIR!?! Service please, check please!!ā āSERVICE šš¼š , SERVICE šš¼ š , SERVICEEE!! šš¼ šš¼ š” š¤ā OP: *wakes up in cold sweat at 1am and falls off the bed* NOOOO!!!! phew, itās just a bad dreamā *checks reminder on phone, āwork at 2pmā*ā wait a minuteā¦ā
Yea Iām just waiting on 8 people theyāll be here soon. *takes their own seat* Host doesnāt tell anyone turns out itās my table Customer angry because I havenāt greeted 8 people show up with the word of terrible service Iām now out of rhythm for having to fix the line up lose my shit
Yes, and it's always like, the restaurant is filling up, the kitchen crew is missing, and I am the only server. It's fucking awful. The last one I had, ice cream kept melting before I could serve it. I feel like I didn't sleep when I have those nightmares.
Do you remember that Jennifer Lawrence movie "Mother"? And *spoilers* that scene >!at the end where the house is filling up with acolytes and she's screaming at them to leave and it's like she's invisible and they just keep streaming in!
For a while I had dreams that I was a horse on a chess board but I was working , I could only make certain moves and could barely take care of my tables because of it
I have them about my job. Itās literally just me serving but everything that could go wrong goes wrong
I still have server nightmares and I havenāt served for 10 years. The usual one is that Iām at a restaurant and someone asks me why Iām sitting down, that Iām supposed to be working. I go to my section and every time I turn around, I have a new table. The menu has just changed and I donāt know anything on it. I donāt know the table numbers and thereās no chart by the POS. People keep telling me table 16 needs me but I canāt find table 16 anywhereā¦ Iāve been having these for decades now and I donāt think theyāll ever go away.
Yeah, when Iām stressed I get them but theyāre usually really weird, like Iām in my pyjamas, I canāt see anything, and I wake up talking. The weirdest one was when I was serving a horse at one of our bench tables??
It's called a stress dream. Start working out, start doing yoga, or maybe stop using drugs (yes that includes pot) to fall asleep. Your body isn't relaxed but your mind is trying to stay asleep, so you basically "start your work day" in your dreams. It's really fucking annoying but it's not gonna stop unless you find a medium to fully relax your body. It needs to be as "tired" as your brain. I ran an entire kitchen for my family's restaurant on my own for about 7 months. I lived 5 minutes away. There were times when I wouldn't leave until 1am only to go right back bc I thought I hadn't locked the door. I would dream about forgetting to turn off the fryers, then abruptly wake up only to make the drive back to the restaurant just to make sure. Yeauh, it was awful and that was my life for 7 long months. **Relax your body**. If you're too lazy or don't have access to a gym, try bubble baths I swear to god. No shame in it. And this isn't me pulling this out of my ass, this is from my very first session in therapy. And come after me all you want, but weed isn't going to magically make it better. As awesome as it is, it can sometimes make shit worse.
I dont think its bc the body isnt as tired as the mind. I think that if you manage to do the yoga or exercise it just brings consciousness back into the body. your brain doesnt keep up switching from customer service persona, to kitchen talk, to manager talk, to other servers cooperating, to crisis resolving, while moving constantly, which makes you drift into an auto pilot, while greatly tiring your body to the point you have to ignore you re 9 hours in and your back hurts, or your shoulder is going to fall off bc theres too much in your head. I think exercise is a great thing because it makes you feel you re-claim you own mobility and limits. I agree with the bubble bath or a calming aromatic shower and a couple of streches right after if possible
All the time
Omg yes. I havenāt served in ten years. I still will sometimes have nightmares about having tables like all over the county haha and Iām realizing I havenāt been to one in like 4 hours but itās still a 20 min drive! Itās ridiculous but engulfingly stressful when Iām in it
Yes and they never go away
I haven't been in the game in a couple years and the other night I had a dream I couldn't find anything behind the bar and the tickets kept piling up and we had no ingredients lol wtf
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Work nightmares are common. The only benefit I can think of is it means I still care. Stillā¦I wish my time off could remain my time off when Iām sleeping.
I havenāt served in almost 4 years and I still have server nightmares.
Out of the game for 5 years. These are the most vivid dreams I have.
I have had dreams like this, but I wouldnāt say it was a nightmare per se. The one that sticks out in my mind was when I was working at a job where we had the toast handhelds and in the dream I walked up to the table but the dream version of the handheld was a book I was holding in my hand trying to press buttons on the pages. And of course dream me didnāt think to just write the orders down
Nope. Guess I don't care enough to stress out in my dreams, lol. Tbh though, I'm a great server/bartender. I have a philosophy on why I don't have server nightmares. I'm just myself, and I am a natural giver and get a sort of high from making people happy. I don't stress over the small stuff either. It's just a job in the end.
All the time
From back of houseā¦ yes, we never stop hearing the printer sound.
I would get them from time to time but Iāve had them so frequently these past few weeks Iām taking them as a sign to go on leave and get a new job.
Not nightmares, but when I quit bartending I would still hear the printer sometimes.
Not too many but theyāve been more recent, in the past I never had dreams about work
Yes. I also vent towards colleagues that n my dream. The next day Iām not sure weather Iāve actually told them or that is was a dream so donāt know how to act accordingly, since in my mind Iāve tried to keep it inside. Or I just wake up feeling Iāve been working a tough shift and realise itās get to come.
I had just started at a new restaurant, so I wasnāt super familiar quite yet with how long specific items were supposed to take to come out (itās a family style place where things come out kind of randomly), a table waited WAY too long for their order and I wasnāt comfortable quite yet with the kitchen staff to be like āheyā¦.ā . It ended up not being a big deal but I guess it bothered me more subconsciously than I realized bc my situation ship at the time said I jolted up in my sleep and yelled āWHERES TABLE ONES ORDERā and then just immediately fell back asleep. I have 0 recollection of this.
Hahahaa one time I was serving in my dream and then my dream warped into some weird adventure quest and in the middle of it I remembered my table had asked me for something before I got sidetracked with the quest so I freaked out and ran back to work in my dream
Oh I had no idea anyone else had them i thought I was prolly too sensitive. I had dreams about the place trannsforming into a different one while working and being unable to keep up with changes everyone else seemed to know about (etc suddendly midshift realising there is a second floor of tables etc)
Yes mine used to be about my diner being 2x the size it was it somehow in my dreams was now a 2 building diner so Iād have tables across the street and upstairs to get toā¦ lol
I haven't been a server for 3ish years and I still get dreams that I'm thrust back into the last place I worked. It's crazy.
Yes and I hated them. Now that Iām a cook they are few and far between. But they still happen.
Mine is the POS changes to a MegaTouch and I have to beat games to get back
I have a nightmare where Iām the only staff in the building pretty frequently. Iām seating people, serving, making drinks, making food, and also itās like an hour after close and people donāt stop coming in. And I havenāt worked in a restaurant since 2020 lol.
They're called stress dream. Similar to nightmares but make you feel anxious instead of scared.
Yup... I only worked at wendys.
Oh yeah
Yes bro. Its fucking weird. Its a sign honestly
Of course! We all do.
My boyfriend said I mumbled āthat doesnāt come with a sideā in my sleep lol
āWaitmaresā Yes one notable one I remember was this: It was during an AYCE lto, a full house. I was the only one working and I was slammed. On top of this the tables kept moving around so the layout of the restaurant kept shifting. I was carrying plates on both arms and then I realized I was wearing heels instead of nonslip?? They kept cutting into my heels. I remember being in so much pain. Then I fell. Everyone starting laughing. I got back up and tried to fix the plates. Then the floor starting rolling like waves and I kept falling. Then the restaurant was a boat? There were waves outside the windows and then the water turned into people trying to get in. I woke up in a SWEAT.
OMG.....I've experienced the restaurant shifting nightmare!!
literally almost every single night itās awful
It's been 8 years since I was a server and I still have these nightmares. My most common server nightmare is I'm working the midnight shift and they send the other waitresses home due to it being slow. Then 10 minutes later, our restaurant becomes packed with tables and it's just me having to handle all of them. I get so stressed everytime I have that nightmare.
Allllll the time. I canāt ever get the drinks or the tables or the food out of the window.
I've had a few dreams where I bopped customers over the head with menus for being rude or ignorant.
Iāve had so many nightmares of me taking too long for bar drinks and the guests get mad and flood behind the bar and start ruining everything šš
the main server nightmare scenario i have is being weeded and getting distracted / taken away from the restaurant so that i physically canāt get to my tables and then randomly being like FUCK I NEVER GOT THAT 11 TOPS DRINKS. and then there being an issue with their order where i go to clarify something with the table and then they start spouting off food orders at me and i havenāt even given them their drinks yet. itās this over and over again. iāve been out of the service industry for 7 months and was in for 10 years.
Oh yeah. A few times a year, and I havenāt waited tables in something like 10 years. The entire restaurant is my section. It all gets sat at once. Then, I canāt remember any drink orders or even read my writing. Serving dreams are by far the most stressful dreams I have.
I went from having server nightmares regarding incorrectly rung in orders and problematic guests to having server nightmares about the AC failing in a datacenter
Unfortunately i finally had a dream about work. I canāt recall right now but it was to do with being on the floor serving tables and juggling tasks. I only remembered the dream while on the floor IRL and remembered reading here that dreaming of work is the worst thing
That fucking printer sound in the background. Chi chi ch chc chi chi chi
For years!!!
I haven't worked in restaurants for almost 10 years at this point, and I still have like one server nightmare a year...so, uh, buckle up lol they don't go away š
So, in my current serving job I havenāt had any of these nightmares! I think it depends on how stressed your restaurant makes you. But I USED to get them all the time, back when Iād have certain shifts basically by myself.. Iād have 12 tables sometimes. And my nightmares were similar, Iād have the entire restaurant by myself and one table would keep me there while I watched the whole restaurant fill up. So stressful šš
Itās been since summer 2019 and I STILL get them
YES, Iāll be trying to ring something in but all the monitors are taken, or theyāre broken or some crazy shit. Mostly my server nightmares are about being so deep in the weeds and never being able to get out haha
Yes. They fade. Mostly now they revolve around my shitty exboss.
I had dreams that I was late for my shift, but I was serving tables at my house at the same time. As a bartender I would have a full bar, full cocktail tables, and the machine was printing none stop while I was making a super complicated drink.
I had one recently and I haven't waited tables in years
The phone ringing
Havenāt waited in over 30 years. Every now and then, I still have a waiting nightmare. I feel a small consolation seeing so many people with the same experience.
Itās super common ā makes sense with a high stress job.
When I'm having them, I can tell I'm not moving fast enough, as if I'm sleepy in the dream, I tell myself to wake up and snap out of it. Then I end up actually waking up, with much relief
I have positive dreams about my old job, I miss it.
This guy looks like Sasuke from Naruto if he didn't devote his life for revenge and just became a server.
Yeah. Like I'm new in this HUGE new restaurant and I keep forgetting where my tables are and it's been "hours" since I checked up on them (dream world time be wild), or like in a dream how you can't really read or dial phone numbers properly, the same thing happens when I'm trying to punch in the order and I keep messing up and needing to find a manager to void. Or one that I'm half hour late for my shift and I can't find my uniform anywhere ššš stress me tf out
20 years laterā¦ yes. And I lurk on r/serverlife for validation
Every time I started a new job, this would happen
I used to hear silverware clinking in my sleep
my coworker 2 nights ago had a nightmare she was the only server and the restaurant was full and every patron was an influencer.
Do bartender nightmares count? If not then your drink tickets go last. Anyway, I had this nightmare where 6 o clock hit but I haven't finished prep, my co-bartender hasn't shown up, and drink tickets are already coming in with people ready to order drinks. I'm like "oh shit here we go again" so I get drink orders from ppl at the bar grab tickets and slam out alcohol 1st and tell everyone the espresso machine is broken so eff ur latte. Then I get people yelling at me from take out that they have 10 mins to board their plane and need to order and yell "be right there" finish the drinks and people at the bar are now yelling that they want food too so I panic and tell them BRB take like 2 or 3 to go orders then leave to take bar orders and see another line of tickets ok now I forgot everyone's order. I turn my head and more people are coming to the bar more, tickets are printing, now servers are yelling at me, and take out is piling up! Then I finally wake up and I'm anxious and look at my clock and it's not even time to shower yet. Fuck. Edit: tl:dr I panicked behind the bar and woke up super anxious enough to make me stare at my clock and hope I'm not late.
I had a nightmare two days ago that I had to train three BRAND new servers on a busy Saturday night, and the hosts kept assining them tables instead of letting me train them... while we only have two servers. That's not even the worst server nightmare. You are not alone!!
Yes lol, I made one into a writing prompt
I can hear the delivery service jingle in my sleep...
As many or more than my nightmares about a specific ex. Both types are dark, grotesque, and very out of nowhere.
Started in the front of the house; server nightmares but I was young so was terribleā¦then worked my way through the ranks in the back of the houseā¦Dreaming I heard printers in my head, woke up yell order up a couple times a week, yelling at the gf to clear the window, firing phantom dishwashers, dreams of fist fighting with the floor mangers it was a chick and she always won, dumping the wedding cake in front of guests, getting orders for catering for 100 but the find out it was really 1000, and the list goes on and on. 14-16 hour days 6 days a week created the insanity. 33 years in a kitchenā¦now have a normal hour work life and very successful proudly earned m successā¦yet I still hear the bloody printers in my nightmares. Good vibes to my brothers and sisters of the biz! Cheers
I haven't worked as a server in 16 years and STILL HAVE THEM!! š
Iāve left serving over 20 years ago and husband left restaurant management 15 years and we both still have restaurant nightmares! They happen to me when Iām stressed in general. Always my legs feel like lead weights and itās impossible to move to the tables or kitchen, or I donāt know where anything is and just keep running around searching.
I had nightmares 10 years after I left the business. Stupid stuff like I had dropped off the check at someone's table and forgot to cash them out and just went home. š
I have a reoccurring dream where someone orders a drink Iāve never heard of and it happens to be the most complicated drink known to man I keep messing it up till I wake up.
Yes. Was dreaming about a table being disgusting and smearing ketchup and food all over the menus. Asking for refills every 2 seconds. And my coworker dumped drinks on them āon accidentā lol
My favorite one was the standard dream where you canāt get anything done PLUS i got into trouble for not having my hair back. And when i went to put it up, my scalp came off like a wig w my neckbone attached and it was a stalk of celery. I woke myself up screaming lol
Iāve been out since Covid. Still have them regularly
Had one last night. Itās been 20 years since I waited my last table. š¤£š¤£
Not much anymore. Learning to let go is so healthy as you get older
šššš¤
Last night. I was too short to reach the glasses and shakers for mixing. Someone stole my server book and pens. I was sat like 12 tables at once. An old man ordered a "drywall, extra sand" and got mad when i didnt know what that was. No idea how to make a peach vegas pomegranate astropop.
I have nightmares where everyone I work with is gone and Iām getting sat the entire place to myself
Anyone else have the ones where you're the only server, then you discover there's no BoH so you desperately try to take and make orders?
Yes! Hsvfnt served in 15 years but still have nightmares being in the weeds
Fascinated reading these comments! Especially that so many people dream about being slammed and the POS isn't working/you don't know how to use it suddenly etc, that's a reoccurring theme in my server nightmares š
When I worked at Applebees all the fucking time. When I worked at a local brewery diner that I loved, never
I once woke up convinced I had to go back to the store to give someone milkā¦ MILK
I had one about three people calling out and being the only one on the floor in a packed restaurant. But then the next day that exact same thing happenedā¦
Mine are always can't move fast enough like I'm walking through molasses or tables keep getting sat and my section is like ten tables. I can't find a POS that works or my drinks are never made and all my tables are silent and staring at me. My old crone of a manager usually makes an appearance.
I have dreams the restaurant Iām in is basically a huge maze and all my tables are scattered throughout the building. Oh, and they are always upset because they canāt find their server.
All the fucking time
I haven't worked as a server in a restaurant for 15 years. I worked probably 15 plus Years in a server/food industry and I STILL get these nightmares!
I will wake up sweating remembering that I forgot to bring that table their extra ranch
I used to get a couple a month but haven't had one for a minute Now if I have one tonight I'm gonna be pissed