Server Shows Exactly How She Wants Customers To Clean Their Tables & Stack Dishes After Eating At A Restaurant
It makes restaurant employees' jobs easier.
TikTok Among the many perks of going out to eat is one that stands tall as the best advantage — no dishes to clean up.
But, anyone who has worked in the restaurant and bar industry knows that having to linger at a table while gathering up all the dirty dishes is one of the more tedious aspects of the job.
While eating out at restaurants, most patrons don't think twice about attempting to clean up the table to make servers' and bussers' jobs easier.
However, one restaurant employee is showing off the correct way that customers should clean their tables after eating out at restaurants, and how helpful it can truly be to service industry workers.
A server shows how customers should clean up their tables and stack dishes after eating out at restaurants.
In the TikTok video, a server replied to a comment from a user asking how restaurant employees would "prefer to have done with stacking dishes post-meal."
Happy to oblige, the employee started out by scraping all of the leftover food into one single bowl.
After carefully scrubbing all of the leftover food into a single plate and bowl, she'd stack the empty dinnerware on the bottom, leaving all of the cutlery placed at the top.
Next, she stacked all of the empty mugs together, placing the small plates they were situated on underneath, and finally, the dirty napkin used during the dinner was situated on top to be discarded.
"My preference of stacking for easy clean up. Had training going on so perfect timing! Of course, this is all my opinion and preference," the server wrote in the caption of her TikTok video.
"Cups you do not stack together to avoid suction and getting stuck. Some people prefer stacking, some don't. All depends on the person. Hope this helps!"
Several TikTok users agreed with the method and pointed out that it's common courtesy to clean up.
"I’ve always done this. I’ve frequently been told by my friends not to do it bc it’s their job. I could never be that rude, inconsiderate, or elitist," one user wrote.
Another user added, "I have always done this and one day a family member said people get paid to do this and I was like well I raised myself to clean a dirt table."
A third user chimed in, "Doesn’t always have to be this well done; but an effort is always appreciated."
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However, other users pointed out that it's not their job to clean up their tables once they're done eating.
One user pointed out that the "enjoyment of eating out" is not having to do anything for yourself.
"I believe part of the enjoyment of eating out is not having to do anything, especially scraping plates...I have been a server and still believe this!"
Another user compared the request to participating in self-checkout at the grocery store, writing, "This is giving me Walmart self-checkout vibes…"
"When I waitressed, I preferred the customers not pile dishes! Leave them be! I have a system!" a third user added.
"I was a server for many years, this is literally the server's job, not the guests," a fourth user claimed.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.