Imagine, If You Will
You’re at dinner enjoying a wonderful night out. As it often does during a meal, nature calls. You’re waiting in line to use the restroom, and just when it’s your turn to go in, a cranky old man butts in front of you and then berates you, assuming you are restaurant staff.
How do you react? What is the best possible course of action?
Redditor pdxcranberry tells the story of being mistaken for a restaurant waitress while waiting for the bathroom and, after being berated, how she responded to the rude guest. It is incredible. Check out the story!
Our Story Begins
Our hero is a young woman who is out for a lovely dinner with her friend. A fancy French restaurant at that, with many waiters and waitresses afoot.
For some backstory, our protagonist used to work as a server in the restaurant industry for 17 years. She is a seasoned veteran in dealing with all kinds of people, and it shows on her face, which she describes as such:
“I just have that look.”
On this particular night, since they were out at a nice restaurant, she decided to dress the part and made herself look her best.
Nature Calls
As one often does during dinner, she got up to go to the restroom, describing the scenario as such:
“This particular restaurant has a well-known chef who typically works at a station plating where everybody can see him. It’s also near the door to the only washroom and the server station. It’s a huge restaurant, and with only the one washroom, there was a bit of a line. I waited and waited, and at one point I think the chef and I exchanged a few pleasantries.”
Just being polite, right? Little did she know she had just sealed her fate.
“When I was next in line, a middle-aged man in a Portland-issue plaid button-up and jeans got in line behind me. He had cranky energy and was shifting from foot-to-foot. It didn’t seem like he had to go badly, just that he was impatient. I had been waiting much, much longer than him and found his constant sighing and scoffing irritating.”
Let The Battle Begin
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After what seemed like an eternity, it was her time:
“When it was my turn, I reached for the door only to have this awful man push in front of me and nearly knock me over shoving himself into the open door. I was so taken aback I just sort of froze and said, ‘Excuse me, I was next.'”
Never mess with an angry man who has to pee:
“Which is when he wheeled around and started YELLING about how he wasn’t about to wait while ‘some waitress changed her tampon.’ And then yelled at the chef that he should have a staff bathroom because it’s ‘disgusting’ that the staff use the same bathroom as guests and implied he might not pay for his meal because of it.”
Just awful. The restaurant staff apologized to our hero. As she stood there in shock and waiting an obnoxiously long time for the man to finish his business, she decided to take action.
In The Doghouse He Goes
As soon as the man opened the door, she went in on him!
“When he came out, I used my entire body to block his path out of the bathroom and gave him a stern, but quiet lecture about how I wasn’t an employee and that there was nothing wrong with sharing the bathroom with the staff. I went on to tell him that he had ruined what should have been a special night out.”
To add salt to the wound, she berated him in full view of the whole restaurant.
“I hadn’t realized it at the time, but this jerk was seated directly next to my friend at the banquet. His female dining companion was sitting next to me.”
Our hero then decided the best possible course of action:
“I loudly explained what happened while gesturing to the awful man and making pointed eye contact with the woman. The man looked furious, and the woman just silently glared at him.”
Justice Is Served
The man knew he had been defeated at this point. Both parties returned to their tables, but it didn’t take long for things to continue further:
“After a few minutes, the waiter wordlessly dropped their check. They were mid-meal and hadn’t been offered dessert. It was a very pointed, but polite, ‘screw you, get out’ from the staff after his rant.”
Shortly after the couple ran off in with their tails between their legs, the restaurant rewarded our heroes.
“We got a cheese plate and glasses of sparkling rose as a gift from the restaurant. Cheers!”
The Aftermath
After this story was posted to Reddit, many people chimed in with their praise of our hero’s actions.
“Often I think about how jerks get their way and ruin other people’s time.
“This is one of those reminders that usually they are living in their own personal bubble where they are never happy,” said user AsymptotesMcGotes.
Another user, Superior91, gave praise to the wait staff: “Haha, awesome response from the wait staff! Thumbs up”
The story is a testament to standing up in a situation where you are being wronged, and doing so will often yield great results. Good always beats evil in the end!
