It’s no secret being a server is a physically, emotionally, and mentally demanding job. There are long hours on one’s feet, difficult customers, a fast-paced environment that’s prone to mistakes, and a reliance on customers to make a livable wage. That’s why some servers feel pressured to lie in order to secure a good tip. It happens more often than you’d think.
Food & Wine has a list of the most common lies servers tell their tables. Blaming their mistakes on others tops the list at No. 4. This is how one popular New York-based server got a $170 tip from an aristocratic party of 12. He failed to send their orders to the kitchen and then proceeded to blame the kitchen.
TikToker Dean Redmonds (@deanredmonds) has 337,000 followers and often shares storytimes about life in the restaurant industry and bizarre customer encounters. One of his most popular content themes is how he deceives his customers into giving him large tips. Through his lies, he’s said he’s acquired a 40% tip and a $200 cash tip in the past. Because of his high success rate, he continues to lie to his tables.
“Lie to the aristocrats because I was just serving a 12-person bougie brunch and every single one of these women’s purses was worth more than my entire income,” he begins one of his latest videos. It’s already amassed more than 117,00 views.
After refilling the women’s mimosas for the fifth time, he says the group started making demands.
“These women are like, ‘Is our food coming out soon? We’re getting hungry,’” he recalls. “Of course, I’m gaslighting them like, ‘You guys haven’t been waiting that long.’”
However, the order never reached the kitchen, he eventually found out.
“So, this sends me upstairs to check on the ticket. Turns out literally never sent it!” he says, his voice cracking. “I don’t know if it was me or the computer, but that’s not a worthy excuse to the kitchen or to them!”
The Lie That Earned Sympathy
When in doubt, Redmond defaults to lying.
“I think the normal thing to do is lie,” he says.
Then, he says he rushed down the stairs to the party. “‘Something happened in the kitchen,” he recalls telling them.
Immediately, all eyes were on him. “All of them are now putting down their phones, staring at me. They’re like, ‘Is everything OK?’” he recounts.
His voice rose, cracking under the tears with each word. “’One of the chefs had a severe allergic reaction, and we had to call EMS,’” he says he told them.
Unlike most of his lies, these tears were sincere—but for an entirely different reason. “I’m crying as I say this because I’m so nervous I’m gonna get in trouble,” he states.
Since one of the women has a peanut allergy, he uses it to his advantage. “’It was tree nuts, and he’s just not doing well,’” the content creator told them.
“‘You should not be working right now,’” he says one of the women told him.
“‘He was my friend. I just don’t want to abandon the staff right now,’” he says he responded.
“They tipped me an extra $170 on top of their bill and literally sobbed over their food when it came out,” he concludes.
@deanredmonds were they rude on purpose #customerservice #serverlife #bistrohuddy #restaurantstory #restaurantlife
♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
The Lie Is Approved
Many applauded Redmond for doing this, giving it their stamp of approval.
“As a former server, I approve this message lol. You gotta do what you gotta do,” one viewer commented.
“Homie that’s genius! I usually just say that their order got stuck behind a large party’s and it’ll be out “soon,’” a second said.
“PERFECT USE OF LYING SKILLS!!!!!!! 10/10,” a third stated.
Former servers who have a penchant for forgetting to put orders in felt seen.
“OMG, I have totally done that before! Server life,” one commenter shared.
“I’ve done that and the kicker was that it was the item on the menu that took the longest. I was the worst,” another recalled.
What To Do When Someone Has An Allergic Reaction To Nuts
According to Summit Health, 6 million Americans have a peanut allergy, and 4 million are allergic to tree nuts. Nut allergies are serious, and allergic reactions can be fatal. So it’s important to know what to do if you encounter an allergic reaction to nuts. People can exhibit symptoms a few minutes to two hours after consuming the nut.
Cleveland Clinic advises calling 911 in the event a person:
- Experiences difficulty breathing or swallowing
- Breaks out in hives or other skin reactions
- Exhibits a swelling of the face, lips, mouth, or tongue
- Experiences digestive issues, an itchy mouth, or loss of consciousness
BroBible reached out to Redmond via email and TikTok comment.