Price is whatever I make it: Olive Garden server shares how she gets back at tables she doesn’t like

Photo by@lillianstrauch/TikTok Renee/Adobe Stock Monkey Business Images/ShutterStock

"That .75 add up". It’s always nice when you’re out eating and your bill comes out to less than you were expecting to pay. Scanning the receipt, you may notice that some items you ordered aren’t present on the tab. The soft drinks you ordered? Gone. One of the appetizers you asked your waitress about? Missing.

Should this occur, it's likely that your server enjoyed serving your table throughout their shift and wished to inform you. Therefore, consider expressing your gratitude to the gods of sit-down dining and share a portion of the savings with the staff.

On the other hand, this situation also has its downside. This point was highlighted by a TikToker and an employee at Olive Garden, Lillian (@lillianstrauch), in a video that has gained over 42,000 views. In her video, she states that customers will not be getting any discounts on their food bills from her.

Rude diners pay full-price

“Pov me ringing in every single refill and side to rude tables,” a text overlay in the video reads. In the clip, Lillian taps the POS screen at the restaurant with a slight smile on her face.

Often, servers will offer freebies to customers if they have a strong connection. There's an unwritten guideline about these kind gestures: you should also tip the food service worker more than usual. This hidden "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" deal is broken, however, if a table is disrespectful.

Lillian’s post highlights how waiters and waitresses can often tell when they’re going to get a difficult patron. Veteran food service employees have relayed tell-tale signs they’ve clocked in diners to determine if they’re difficult. Customers who are problematic and pedantic aren’t usually magnanimous when it comes to gratuity, either.

Non-tippers

Redditor u/Repulsive-Ad-6491 penned in a viral post to the site’s r/TalesFromYourServer sub, that they could smell a non-tipper from a mile away. “Sometimes you can tell who won’t tip…” they wrote in the title of their brief Reddit blog.

They mentioned that two unruly young individuals ended up with a $105 bill. When the server handed them the invoice, they noticed the customers were chuckling. This laughter, they believed, signaled to the staff that they wouldn't be getting any tips. Confirming their suspicions, their colleagues later confirmed it was true. To make the situation even more unpleasant, the customers scribbled “$0.00” on the tip line as if to mockingly add to their disappointment.

In the same story, a Reddit user shared that tips often suffer as a result. They recounted an incident where a colleague got a note saying “You Wish” on the tip line from a big group of customers who were unhappy with their seating.

The issue was beyond the server's control: it seemed the customers were displeased with their assigned table. Additionally, they kept changing their preferences for splitting the bill at the meal's conclusion. This led them to express their dissatisfaction with the restaurant's decor choices, which in turn affected the server's potential earnings.

Commenters agree

Several viewers of Lillian’s video said they follow the same philosophy.

One person noted that servers have more control over item costs than people realize. “Biggest thing i’ve learned that price is whatever i make it,” they wrote.

Another said that they’ll go out of their way to make sure rude customers pay extra for the same meals. “My personal fav is ringing up extra soups or salads as apps instead of sides,” they added.

Condiments, according to this user on the app, aren’t safe from price surcharges either. As one user said, “No fr charging for ranch and sauce that .75 add up.”

This one also engaged in salad price spikes: “Nahhh when i worked at OG and they wanted a salad as their meal and i charged for like “add salad” which was $5 instead of the ‘garden salad’ for like $7 bc i thought they were chill but they WERENT.”

Others said that they receive gratification from clapping back at rude customers with high priced tabs. “Yep, when working a table and then you prove their expectations wrong. It’s so nice,” one user wrote.