‘Managers are never your friend’: Server says manager told her to use military discount to increase tips. It got her fired

A server's story about getting fired from her job at a restaurant is serving as a harsh reminder of the hierarchy at these workplaces.

User Annie (@ann.with.an.ie) had been at the same job for four years and had been such an exemplary employee that she had even been named employee of the month. In a series of TikTok videos, she explains that things went sideways when she became friends with a new, “chill” manager.

The TikToker says it began when she and her co-worker were complaining about the low tips they were receiving amid the slow season. "We weren't making money," she says.

In response, Annie claims her manager "offered and insisted" that they could use her manager card to give tickets a military discount—even though they weren't military customers.

"All this would do is it would give us a couple extra dollars in tips," she adds.

@ann.with.an.ie pt 1 of how i got fired from my last job #fired #server #restaurant #restaurantlife #serverlife #waitress #customerservice #hospitality #fraud #theft #story #storytime #fyp #discount #quit ♬ Pacman - Stepz & Fizzler

According to Annie, sometimes the servers asked to use the discount, and sometimes the manager just did it for them. Although she says the amount extra she got from this over time totaled up to less than $100, it eventually drew the attention of managers higher up in the company, who called her into a meeting.

“He has the receipts physically in front of him, and he’s like, ‘I could embarrass you and go tell everybody what you did, but because you’ve been here for so long, I’m going to be nice and I’m just going to fire you,’” she recalls in the clip.

The manager ultimately got fired as well, she says, but none of the other people who had been pulling the same stunt got into any trouble, partially because Annie refused to name names. 

“They just wanted to make an example out of me,” she claims. “And I’m like, bro, what? Like, all these other people in here are like, getting high in the bathrooms, drinking on the job, and stealing other things. And I was the only person who got fired from this particular incident… I just put way too much trust in that manager who said it was okay.”

@ann.with.an.ie I had the privilege of being able to pick up shifts whenever I wanted since I had already quit to focus on school so the “firing” was basically just removing that privilege….still sucked big time 🥲#k18results #fired #server #restaurant #restaurantlife #serverlife #waitress #customerservice #hospitality #fraud #theft #story #storytime #fyp #discount #quit ♬ Psycho Killer - Talking Heads

Annie's video has received over 73,000 views since it was shared Wednesday. In the comments, several viewers claimed that their managers actually do similar things to increase the tips of their employees, prompting Annie to remark that “it’s unsurprisingly super common.” 

Others pointed out that it is still technically a form of stealing, but people were more focused on seeing this whole tale as a reminder not to take the word of management, because that can’t protect you if someone higher up has a different take on things.

“Managers are never your friend,” wrote one user.

Another said Annie's story “sounds like following instructions of your manager not misconduct.”

A further TikToker suggested to not “ever care that much about a job. They’ll never care about you.”

Others pointed out the underlying problem. “Maybe we need to stop tipping and PAY people a decent wage!” one said.

The Daily Dot has reached out to @ann.with.an.ie via TikTok comment.

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