1. The customer who can't read. the. menu. that. is. right. in. front. of. them.

"What comes on the bacon cheeseburger?" Well, if you looked at the menu that is two inches from your face, you would know that the bacon cheeseburger comes with bacon... cheese... and the typical lettuce, tomato, onion. That must be difficult to decipher, even though there is a picture of the burger right next to the description.... with bacon... cheese... and LTO displayed on the sandwich itself. But since you asked, I am going to waste your time and mine by telling you that the bacon cheeseburger comes with bacon... cheese... and LTO. And after all of this, about 5 times out of 10, the customer orders a salad instead. Why, people, why?

2. The customers who don't remember what they ordered.

Whether you are having a super busy night, or you are running food for another server, nothing is worse than getting to the table, saying the first order, and having ten blank faces staring at you like you're speaking a foreign language. Or, even better, someone taking the food, then shoving at back at you saying, "Um this is not mine," like you are supposed to know their exact order. IT IS NOT THAT HARD. If you ordered boneless wings in medium sauce, then only claim that food when it is read off. If you can't remember that you ordered mac n cheese, then maybe you should get your memory checked. We are not mind readers!

3. The customers who say they are ready to order, then go around the table deciding what everyone is ordering.

We all know these people. The worst are families with small kids, but it happens all over the place. You have given the table an appropriate amount of time to look over the menu. Once the menus are closed, it is GO time. You walk up, prepared to take this order as soon as possible, as you watch the host seat you another table. You ask if they are ready, they say yes, and then this happens, "Jimmy, what do you want to eat? The chicken? A cheeseburger? They don't have mini corn dog- no Jimmy you can't eat cake for dinner..."

Are. you. joking.

Ten minutes later, you finally have a food order, and the table sat at such an unfortunate time now hates you for taking so long to get to them. Great.

4. "Where's my ranch?"

You are on fire tonight. You bring out the tray full of food, knowing confidently that you rang everything in right and it is all perfect. You made all of the adjustments and brought out everything each guest asked for. After everything is set down, you ask the typical, "Everything look alright?" And then...

"Where's my ranch?"

Well, sir, I asked you if you wanted any ranch, along with the five other people sitting next to you. You told me you did not need ranch, and never mentioned it when I asked everyone else. Therefore, I did not bring you ranch.

You don't say this, however, because that would be devastating to your tip. So, you throw on a smile, apologize, and make the extra trip to the kitchen to get one cup of ranch. Awesome.

5. Trying to answer the question, "What time do you get off?"

Telling a friend or family member what time you go in to work is easy. Then, they ask, "When do you get off?" That's a good question, because you have absolutely no idea. The schedule says five to ten p.m. but that really means five to whenever your boss decides they don't need you anymore. Could you be off at ten? Maybe, not likely. Odds are, you are going to get stuck there until two a.m. because that's just how the serving life really is.

And on the off chance you do leave work at a reasonable hour, any potential plans are basically ruined because there is no covering up the stench that is your work place. No one wants you to show up smelling like buffalo sauce, ranch, and booze. If there is no time to take a shower, then basically, you are screwed.

6. The true feeling of terror when a party of prom kids are being sat in your section.

It's 11:30pm on a Saturday night, and you see the manager looking at the floor chart. You know it's coming... those words ever server anticipates from the minute they walk in to door, "You're cut." You can almost feel your head finally resting on your pillow, and then... it happens. Suddenly, the lobby is filled with high school kids in huge dresses and heels they don't know how to walk in. Kids with the $20 their parents gave them to entertain their date for the evening, knowing they would order $19 worth of food. You can feel the anxiety and disappointment build up as you watch the host eyeing your empty party table. You might even be on the verge of tears when they are seated at your table, and you watch in horror as they get up and switch seats five times each.

You start preparing waters and lemonades before even approaching the table. You can't wait to spend the next hour and a half waiting on minors and making less money in tips than you do per hour.

7. The urge to quit is so real... until you count your tips at the end of the night.

"I'm quitting." Not a shift goes by without hearing this specific phrase from at least three of your co-workers, not including yourself. The stress, the rude customers, the sassy kitchen... no matter how hard you try to not let it get to you, sometimes it does. Especially when those prom kids come in when you have plans to go home and snuggle with your boyfriend, and by boyfriend, you mean your cat. You have imagined so many dramatic scenarios of you walking out those doors and never looking back. At the time, it sounds fantastic.

Then, you run your check out, tip out the bar, and find your manager. You are tired and cranky, and you are debating showing up for your shift in the morning. You do the paperwork, your manager gives you the money, and tells you to have a good night. Before you leave, you count your tips... and you made $200 in eight hours. That is almost half of your monthly rent... or your car payment for the month... or the exact amount you owe to your friend for your spring break trip to the beach...

Maybe this job isn't that bad after all.

8. Ever restaurant has at least one creepy manager/customer.

While this could be true for both males and females, this one is more directed towards the ladies. You all know what I'm talking about- that 50ish year old manager who stands a little too close to you and asks you some weird questions. Or the customer who comes in on the reg and stares at all of the female servers for hours on end, and finds any excuse to make conversation. Both uncomfortable situations are difficult to deal with, because of the issue between being friendly and also maintaining a positive relationship with either party because, well, one signs your paycheck, and the other contributes to your main source of income. There is one strategy that seems to work best in all scenarios- the smile, laugh, and walk away. It works like a charm.

9. How messy work relationships can get.

Most of us have been there. It is incredibly common for co-workers to fall for each other- it's so easy. You spend so much time with each other, and somewhere between all the late nights and random work conversations, feelings arise. Now, not every situation is a complete failure. Some of those relationships actually work out, and that's great. It's the ones that completely explode in everyone's faces that are the worst. Whether it be one person not feeling it and having to awkwardly end it, or something not working out and then one party starts flirting with a different co-worker, etc. Really, the combinations of all of the things that could go wrong is endless. And the worst part is, once one person at work finds out, EVERYONE finds out. Suddenly, everyone wants to know what is going on between the two, and then everyone knows their business, and that's when problems arise. ESPECIALLY when it is a manager-employee situation. Nine times out of ten, any kind of relationship involving someone in power and a plain old employee is going to be devastating for everyone. Jealousy, favoritism, rumors- you name it. The best option for work relationships would be to a. not have them or b. not tell a SINGLE soul until both people are serious about each other.

10. The work friendships among servers are strong ones.

There is a special kind of bond servers have with each other. We have seen each other laugh until we have cried, and seen each other cry because of the complete mental breakdowns that happens to the best of us. It's easy to become friends with people who work the same insane hours as you, and people who love to hear your work problems because, well, those are their problems too. Those late night trips to the bar in your work uniform, staying until close, grabbing a drink to take an edge of the stressful night you all had.