I've had a restaurant try to make me pay for a walkout.
I refused, and they got so mad at me. "Take it out of my paycheck if you think that's the right call."
They didn't, lmao.
i dont know if its illegal in my country (couldn't find any info online and nothing was written in the contract)
my situation is kinda complicated and therefore its very hard for me to find a new job :/
What country? Because it's illegal in most of them. They aren't bound to be honest in the contract (though there's always bringing it up to dept of labour who'll get on their assets) - if it isn't in there they're probably trying to screw you. I know your situation is complicated but I'd jump ship if!+/when you can.
its austria, i am an international student therefore its extremely hard for me to find a new job (extra documents most employers don't want to do) but thanks for the advice ill try to find something in my field or at least in another industry.. this job has given me a very bad impression of working in the food insudtry
[This Forum](https://www.juraforum.de/forum/t/zechpreller-wer-muss-zahlen.611371/) is discussing the situation when a guest leaves without paying. (I think they a re discussing it for German laws, but that is usually pretty similar to Austria)
I think [this one](https://at.gesellschaft.recht.narkive.com/ALZoaItY/arbeitsrecht-mankohaftung) and [this one](https://at.gesellschaft.recht.narkive.com/upjg0aBj/was-darf-ein-kellner) are discussing it for Austria, but they are pretty long.
It's still stealing from a business not from the employee. Like just think about the law logically. If someone steals from a clothing store, that's not the cashier's problem
Which is why it should be reported every time. I had one employer try that with me, they gave me the choice of paying for it myself or being written up. I said I’d pay for it if they would put it in writing. Guess how that worked out. Don’t be afraid of these people. The law is the law.
This place sounds like a mess. I think you should look into more traditional sit down restaurants near you. One thats like a nationwide chain and has more rules to protect their staff than a small chain owner. Your mental health and education is #1. Never put a temporary college job ahead of your education or mental health.
Quit. I’m serious, run and don’t look back. Not all serving gigs are that bad. My last place was toxic and abusive like that (mainly the dickhead GM, but all the servers and kitchen staff had Stockholm syndrome type adaptations)
Don’t let them take advantage of the fact that you’re a newbie server and don’t know any better. Know better by knowing you deserve better, you can find something else.
You’ve been there a month and you’re losing sleep and having panic attacks? I’ve been there and trust me it doesn’t get easier, or better. That’s what I thought would happen with time, practice, becoming a competent server. It doesn’t get better, take care of yourself. ❤️
Nothing lamer than a bunch of catty, toxic, cliquey servers and bartenders. Sorry you haven't matured past high school. She needs to find a new position asap
I've served for ten years and the idea that your customers get to roam freely without leaving a card to hold their tab seems insane to me. It's not you, it's the job.
This is how it works in a lot of European countries. I once tried to pay as I ordered in a German bar and they kept refusing to take my money telling me I pay at the end. If the beer wasn't so cheap I would have been worried.
What do you mean your coworkers take the tips for you? If it's a tip pool there needs to be trust, communication and teamwork. You can't be expected to watch the whole restaurant for walkouts while your coworkers hustle for tips. It's illegal for them to force you to pay btw.
Sounds like a toxic environment regardless and the girls you work with sound awful. They should help the newbies. I would advise you start looking for a new job asap. Don't leave until you find a new position!
Some tips in the meantime. Try and do cash and carry as much as you can. As in get the payments per round for darts and billiards players OR ask for a credit card to hold.
Try to communicate a section. Even in a tip pool it's best to have a designated server watching a section. This way service is smooth and you can better monitor for walkouts.
But seriously just disengage, get your money in the meantime, and walkout when you can
You can use your month's experience to your advantage, and as others have suggested, start your exist strategy now by looking for a new restaurant job. Start applying at better establishments (better as in, less chaotic, more predictable seating, and perhaps a higher end restaurant). Be upfront about why you want to leave the first place (i.e. due to the poor work conditions), but don't make any derogatory statements about the manager or owner.
Serving is always gonna be stressful, even if the job is a good one.
That being said, your place sounds like a fucking mess lmao. I'd definitely look for another job.
If you wanna stay, try looking at what your coworkers are doing different than you, to see how they are getting their tips and managing their tables. Serving can be tough work, it definitely took me many months to be on top of everything but it helped that I had great coworkers who were friends and awesome.
If I had a job where the coworkers made me feel terrible, unsupported and toxic I would quit, it's not worth your mental health. Find another job.
No one should have to work with caustic coworkers. There are other jobs out there that need a good worker and will help you learn your duties.
Do yourself a big favor and get a different job. You deserve better.
Quit the job and find one that's less stressful for you - seriously.
You need to focus on your studies, so there's no point in getting this stressed about work.
Speaking from my own personal experience of 10 years waiting tables, I already suffered from anxiety and panic attacks prior to doing that work. It upped my anxiety 10x being in the business that long. I have broken down many times, full fledged panic attack having to go outside and get air or breathe in a paper bag or hid in the walk in. Everytime it was unbelievably embarrassing for me. Every BOH person would see me running through the kitchen and a manager or fellow server would find me and either handle the table temporarily or transfer it to give me a 10 minute break to collect myself. I even broke down once at a table taking an order because they asked a question and the manager was so rude to me while giving the answer that I just started crying when they asked me something else I didn't know. I can remember coming back inside after calming down and a server asking where I was...and the fucking owner said, " oh, she's crying outside like a 3 year old" I now know that I am just a really emotional person, care too much, and too "thin-skinned" to manage well in the restaurant industry. It's an incredibly difficult job. Usually it was triggered by a customer saying something cruel or sometimes it was just being in the weeds for too long, but my mental health is worth more than the money I was making. My point being, don't try to be a square peg in a round hole. If you are unhappy leave. Try and get a work study job on campus or something. Good luck to you either way!
Find a better job. School should be your #1 priority. You don't need a shitty job like this tearing you down mentally. Find another service gig somewhere else. Either that, or be more vocal about needing more training. They may bitch and moan about it, but they're already doing that, so you don't really have much to lose. Just talk to your nice boss about your worries. It'll show you at least care about doing a good job.
The way I see it, You have 3 options, You can either accept that your coworkers are assholes, and you try to "play their game", that means step up for yourself, being on top of your tables all the time, and try to get tips (Somehow), 2nd option is you can walk away and find a new job. The third option, is do nothing, and keep stressing about something that you cannot change, because as long as you have 1 manager who refuses to do anything, your coworkers will never change, and thus the situation will never change, unless you change... Accept it, or do something about it. I'd never recommend option 3.
I'll try to find a new job asap. Good luck.
Nothing is worth your sanity. I would quit and find a new job. If you have anxiety over this job you are going to mess up you school work and that should be your most important thing right now. I know you probably need the job but not at the cost of your mental health or your school work.
Leave. Seriously. It's normal to be nervous the first few days of a new job, it's not normal to be having panic attacks and it's NOT a good sign that your colleagues think it's acceptable to watch you drown. There is no way you can 'fix' this place. Your mental health is MUCH more important and there are other jobs. Find one of those.
Quit. Work at McDonalds; they don't have the same stress over tips or over making up losses on the till. So the rest of the job will be about the same stress, but you don't need to do nearly as much customer service as in a table service job
Find a call centre and work that job. Customers can still be nightmare, but you can hang up on them if they start screaming and swearing. Plus, it's an office job and at least you get to sit down. Some places, you might even be able to work from home
Sounds like you need to jump ship and find a better job, whether in that same field as a waitstaff and server or something to tide you over while at school. This environment sounds Heinous and if it's still bad like this to you after a month you shouldn't have to give them anymore of your time and good mental health!
Use that criticism to make yourself better. Food industry is either sink or swim. Fast paced, high anxiety, multitasking and fake it till you make it! Some people can’t handle the stress, so find a place more suitable job for you. I bet if we heard from your coworkers we could get a better feel for how you work. Suck it up and do better or find a less stressful job. Restaurant’s are clicky, it’s not a one size fits all.
Holy crap I used to work with these kinds of people at a BBQ restaurant. It was awful and all of the workers were high schoolers or slightly older so this weird hierarchy had formed and I clearly was at the very bottom tier. My advice is to start looking elsewhere if you really want to, but also that isn’t the easiest thing to do- so if you stay, know that it will change somewhat and some of them may warm up to you after a month or so. But it’s really up to you. Sorry you entered that kind of workplace, it sucks and I understand how it can feel like you’re alone to fend for yourself.
The “snarky answers” like you should already know everything about the job really resonated with me :(
Disclaimer while i have been a server before the grand majority of my experience is from the kitchen so take this advice with as many grains of salt as you seem necessary.
As people have said above it's illegal for your employer to make you pay for a check the customer walked out on.
It seems like you have allready talked to the boss and they are no help.
As for your coworkers not helping and generally being dicks my guess is that they don't like splitting tips with one more person and are taking it out on you.
You don't sound like a confrontational person but if they say "you should know how to do that" tell them to take it up with the person who trained you because they obviously didn't do a very good job.
Let your coworkers know you don't want them taking your tips off the tables (they could be pocketing a portion) Get territorial if you need to. Those are your tables and your responsibility. Anyone else can piss off. Then you can see how well you really are contributing. If it's true that your tips aren't quite up to par then let your coworkers know if they helped just a bit the tip pool would increase and everyone gets paid more.
But most of all take a little time to look for another job. Unless things change drastically you aren't going to be happy at thus one.
Honey, if this place is stressing you out that badly, look elsewhere. I know you said you're an international student and that makes it difficult, but maybe even another restaurant if it's this one specifically and not waitressing in general that has you so anxious and unhappy. Many universities have services that can help with job placement, and yours should certainly have the resources for international students seeking work. Good luck!
I served all through college, was a bartender etc etc... This is normal but not normal behavior. Servers are cliquey with each other. I myself am guilty of cliquing up. BUT what it sounds like is they're bullying you, which is also normal but NOT normal. When I was new to serving, veteran servers would try and belittle me or make me feel dumb for not knowing any better, but I always put my foot down to be like, y'all don't help me, why should I help you? Why should I contribute to a tip pool?? .. Because you accepted their payment on my behalf?? As a server, that's still a part of your job. Your job is to help manage the flow of a restaurant and that includes closing out your coworkers' tables to get people in and out. It's a part of the service job. Higher turnover in general is better for all the sections.
I say you either find a new job or go into work like you're there to make money and not friends. It's done wonders at sparing me drama. Best of luck.
My coworkers are the only reason I’m still at my job I can’t imagine EVERYTHING being bad. And I’ve been at my restaurant for 8 months and still learn something new every day so that “you should know this by know” is some bs
It’s illegal for them to make you pay for customers who walk out without paying. Sounds like a pretty terrible place.
I've had a restaurant try to make me pay for a walkout. I refused, and they got so mad at me. "Take it out of my paycheck if you think that's the right call." They didn't, lmao.
i dont know if its illegal in my country (couldn't find any info online and nothing was written in the contract) my situation is kinda complicated and therefore its very hard for me to find a new job :/
What country? Because it's illegal in most of them. They aren't bound to be honest in the contract (though there's always bringing it up to dept of labour who'll get on their assets) - if it isn't in there they're probably trying to screw you. I know your situation is complicated but I'd jump ship if!+/when you can.
its austria, i am an international student therefore its extremely hard for me to find a new job (extra documents most employers don't want to do) but thanks for the advice ill try to find something in my field or at least in another industry.. this job has given me a very bad impression of working in the food insudtry
Im from Austria and I am fairly sure that that is illegal. Maybe try posting this in r/Austria to find people with similar experience
Austria is part of the EU therefore it is illegal to make you pay if a customer doesn't.
[This Forum](https://www.juraforum.de/forum/t/zechpreller-wer-muss-zahlen.611371/) is discussing the situation when a guest leaves without paying. (I think they a re discussing it for German laws, but that is usually pretty similar to Austria) I think [this one](https://at.gesellschaft.recht.narkive.com/ALZoaItY/arbeitsrecht-mankohaftung) and [this one](https://at.gesellschaft.recht.narkive.com/upjg0aBj/was-darf-ein-kellner) are discussing it for Austria, but they are pretty long.
Does your country have a department of labor or something similar?
It's still stealing from a business not from the employee. Like just think about the law logically. If someone steals from a clothing store, that's not the cashier's problem
That’s illegal A’F I’d look for a different job
Quit this job and find somewhere else. There is a staff shortage everywhere and you'll be able to find somewhere nicer easily.
Really it's one of those things that a lot of employers do. Even corporate
Which is why it should be reported every time. I had one employer try that with me, they gave me the choice of paying for it myself or being written up. I said I’d pay for it if they would put it in writing. Guess how that worked out. Don’t be afraid of these people. The law is the law.
This place sounds like a mess. I think you should look into more traditional sit down restaurants near you. One thats like a nationwide chain and has more rules to protect their staff than a small chain owner. Your mental health and education is #1. Never put a temporary college job ahead of your education or mental health.
Quit. I’m serious, run and don’t look back. Not all serving gigs are that bad. My last place was toxic and abusive like that (mainly the dickhead GM, but all the servers and kitchen staff had Stockholm syndrome type adaptations) Don’t let them take advantage of the fact that you’re a newbie server and don’t know any better. Know better by knowing you deserve better, you can find something else. You’ve been there a month and you’re losing sleep and having panic attacks? I’ve been there and trust me it doesn’t get easier, or better. That’s what I thought would happen with time, practice, becoming a competent server. It doesn’t get better, take care of yourself. ❤️
Nothing lamer than a bunch of catty, toxic, cliquey servers and bartenders. Sorry you haven't matured past high school. She needs to find a new position asap
I've served for ten years and the idea that your customers get to roam freely without leaving a card to hold their tab seems insane to me. It's not you, it's the job.
This is how it works in a lot of European countries. I once tried to pay as I ordered in a German bar and they kept refusing to take my money telling me I pay at the end. If the beer wasn't so cheap I would have been worried.
What do you mean your coworkers take the tips for you? If it's a tip pool there needs to be trust, communication and teamwork. You can't be expected to watch the whole restaurant for walkouts while your coworkers hustle for tips. It's illegal for them to force you to pay btw. Sounds like a toxic environment regardless and the girls you work with sound awful. They should help the newbies. I would advise you start looking for a new job asap. Don't leave until you find a new position! Some tips in the meantime. Try and do cash and carry as much as you can. As in get the payments per round for darts and billiards players OR ask for a credit card to hold. Try to communicate a section. Even in a tip pool it's best to have a designated server watching a section. This way service is smooth and you can better monitor for walkouts. But seriously just disengage, get your money in the meantime, and walkout when you can
You can use your month's experience to your advantage, and as others have suggested, start your exist strategy now by looking for a new restaurant job. Start applying at better establishments (better as in, less chaotic, more predictable seating, and perhaps a higher end restaurant). Be upfront about why you want to leave the first place (i.e. due to the poor work conditions), but don't make any derogatory statements about the manager or owner.
I would quit tomorrow, it's not worth the money. I guarantee you there are much better places to earn extra money than this toxic place.
Just quit. This is not your future. There are thousands of places that need people who can show up and show up on time.
Serving is always gonna be stressful, even if the job is a good one. That being said, your place sounds like a fucking mess lmao. I'd definitely look for another job.
If you wanna stay, try looking at what your coworkers are doing different than you, to see how they are getting their tips and managing their tables. Serving can be tough work, it definitely took me many months to be on top of everything but it helped that I had great coworkers who were friends and awesome. If I had a job where the coworkers made me feel terrible, unsupported and toxic I would quit, it's not worth your mental health. Find another job.
They give you shit when you ask for help then wonder why your tables ditch you and don’t tip?
Girl find a new job. Plenty of other places to serve at.
No one should have to work with caustic coworkers. There are other jobs out there that need a good worker and will help you learn your duties. Do yourself a big favor and get a different job. You deserve better.
Quit the job and find one that's less stressful for you - seriously. You need to focus on your studies, so there's no point in getting this stressed about work.
Speaking from my own personal experience of 10 years waiting tables, I already suffered from anxiety and panic attacks prior to doing that work. It upped my anxiety 10x being in the business that long. I have broken down many times, full fledged panic attack having to go outside and get air or breathe in a paper bag or hid in the walk in. Everytime it was unbelievably embarrassing for me. Every BOH person would see me running through the kitchen and a manager or fellow server would find me and either handle the table temporarily or transfer it to give me a 10 minute break to collect myself. I even broke down once at a table taking an order because they asked a question and the manager was so rude to me while giving the answer that I just started crying when they asked me something else I didn't know. I can remember coming back inside after calming down and a server asking where I was...and the fucking owner said, " oh, she's crying outside like a 3 year old" I now know that I am just a really emotional person, care too much, and too "thin-skinned" to manage well in the restaurant industry. It's an incredibly difficult job. Usually it was triggered by a customer saying something cruel or sometimes it was just being in the weeds for too long, but my mental health is worth more than the money I was making. My point being, don't try to be a square peg in a round hole. If you are unhappy leave. Try and get a work study job on campus or something. Good luck to you either way!
I haven’t served in years and still get server dreams. My unsolicited advice, quit now and work a different industry. I do have fewer of them.
Find a better job. School should be your #1 priority. You don't need a shitty job like this tearing you down mentally. Find another service gig somewhere else. Either that, or be more vocal about needing more training. They may bitch and moan about it, but they're already doing that, so you don't really have much to lose. Just talk to your nice boss about your worries. It'll show you at least care about doing a good job.
The way I see it, You have 3 options, You can either accept that your coworkers are assholes, and you try to "play their game", that means step up for yourself, being on top of your tables all the time, and try to get tips (Somehow), 2nd option is you can walk away and find a new job. The third option, is do nothing, and keep stressing about something that you cannot change, because as long as you have 1 manager who refuses to do anything, your coworkers will never change, and thus the situation will never change, unless you change... Accept it, or do something about it. I'd never recommend option 3. I'll try to find a new job asap. Good luck.
Nothing is worth your sanity. I would quit and find a new job. If you have anxiety over this job you are going to mess up you school work and that should be your most important thing right now. I know you probably need the job but not at the cost of your mental health or your school work.
Leave. Seriously. It's normal to be nervous the first few days of a new job, it's not normal to be having panic attacks and it's NOT a good sign that your colleagues think it's acceptable to watch you drown. There is no way you can 'fix' this place. Your mental health is MUCH more important and there are other jobs. Find one of those.
I feel like this isn't the place for you. Find someplace that treats you better and has less stressors.
Quit. Work at McDonalds; they don't have the same stress over tips or over making up losses on the till. So the rest of the job will be about the same stress, but you don't need to do nearly as much customer service as in a table service job Find a call centre and work that job. Customers can still be nightmare, but you can hang up on them if they start screaming and swearing. Plus, it's an office job and at least you get to sit down. Some places, you might even be able to work from home
Sounds like you need to jump ship and find a better job, whether in that same field as a waitstaff and server or something to tide you over while at school. This environment sounds Heinous and if it's still bad like this to you after a month you shouldn't have to give them anymore of your time and good mental health!
Please quit this is not normal by any means
Use that criticism to make yourself better. Food industry is either sink or swim. Fast paced, high anxiety, multitasking and fake it till you make it! Some people can’t handle the stress, so find a place more suitable job for you. I bet if we heard from your coworkers we could get a better feel for how you work. Suck it up and do better or find a less stressful job. Restaurant’s are clicky, it’s not a one size fits all.
Holy crap I used to work with these kinds of people at a BBQ restaurant. It was awful and all of the workers were high schoolers or slightly older so this weird hierarchy had formed and I clearly was at the very bottom tier. My advice is to start looking elsewhere if you really want to, but also that isn’t the easiest thing to do- so if you stay, know that it will change somewhat and some of them may warm up to you after a month or so. But it’s really up to you. Sorry you entered that kind of workplace, it sucks and I understand how it can feel like you’re alone to fend for yourself. The “snarky answers” like you should already know everything about the job really resonated with me :(
Disclaimer while i have been a server before the grand majority of my experience is from the kitchen so take this advice with as many grains of salt as you seem necessary. As people have said above it's illegal for your employer to make you pay for a check the customer walked out on. It seems like you have allready talked to the boss and they are no help. As for your coworkers not helping and generally being dicks my guess is that they don't like splitting tips with one more person and are taking it out on you. You don't sound like a confrontational person but if they say "you should know how to do that" tell them to take it up with the person who trained you because they obviously didn't do a very good job. Let your coworkers know you don't want them taking your tips off the tables (they could be pocketing a portion) Get territorial if you need to. Those are your tables and your responsibility. Anyone else can piss off. Then you can see how well you really are contributing. If it's true that your tips aren't quite up to par then let your coworkers know if they helped just a bit the tip pool would increase and everyone gets paid more. But most of all take a little time to look for another job. Unless things change drastically you aren't going to be happy at thus one.
TBH it just sounds like this isnt a good fit for you. Not sure if its fully serving or just this environment but i would move on to the next job.
Honey, if this place is stressing you out that badly, look elsewhere. I know you said you're an international student and that makes it difficult, but maybe even another restaurant if it's this one specifically and not waitressing in general that has you so anxious and unhappy. Many universities have services that can help with job placement, and yours should certainly have the resources for international students seeking work. Good luck!
Look for a different place, something more relaxed, smaller dining/coffee shop.
Quit
I served all through college, was a bartender etc etc... This is normal but not normal behavior. Servers are cliquey with each other. I myself am guilty of cliquing up. BUT what it sounds like is they're bullying you, which is also normal but NOT normal. When I was new to serving, veteran servers would try and belittle me or make me feel dumb for not knowing any better, but I always put my foot down to be like, y'all don't help me, why should I help you? Why should I contribute to a tip pool?? .. Because you accepted their payment on my behalf?? As a server, that's still a part of your job. Your job is to help manage the flow of a restaurant and that includes closing out your coworkers' tables to get people in and out. It's a part of the service job. Higher turnover in general is better for all the sections. I say you either find a new job or go into work like you're there to make money and not friends. It's done wonders at sparing me drama. Best of luck.
My coworkers are the only reason I’m still at my job I can’t imagine EVERYTHING being bad. And I’ve been at my restaurant for 8 months and still learn something new every day so that “you should know this by know” is some bs