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These 36 Server Stories About Celeb Encounters Are A Reminder To Always Be Polite
Interview With Expert
There’s no shame in getting a little bit starstruck when you meet a well-known actor, singer, or athlete. Especially if you’re a big fan of what they do. And if they show up at your place of work? Well, it should be the perfect excuse to get to know them better. At least that’s the theory. In reality, celebrities are just like any other people you’ll meet throughout your life: some are an absolute delight to be around, while a handful are bound to be rude.
Cafe and restaurant workers took part in a discussion on AskReddit to share their best and worst, most awesome and horrifying stories about having served celebrities. We’ve collected their most interesting firsthand experiences, so scroll down to check them out. It’s a reminder that no matter how mighty you are and how high you rise, it’s always best to be kind, authentic, and polite.
We were curious how servers should interact with celebrities when they walk through the door, as well as how to handle any potential rude incidents, so we reached out to entertainment, pop culture, and lifestyle expert Mike Sington. Read on for the insights he shared with Bored Panda.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Opposite. Paul Rudd came into a (very stuffy, boring, and soul crushing) Michelin star restaurant I used to work at. He brought along a battery operated, children’s karaoke machine and proceeded to host the most entertaining shift of my career. He closed out the night by walking up to every single member of staff (every f*****g body, GM to porter) hand them a $100 bill, and GENUINELY thank them for an amazing night.
According to Sington, even though interacting with celebrities at work can be nerve-wracking, what helps is remembering that they're still people! "The best approach is to treat them with the same professionalism and courtesy you would extend to any other client or customer. Focus on doing your job well and fulfilling their needs efficiently," he told Bored Panda.
Something that you probably want to avoid are overly personal questions or excessive fawning. "Keep conversations brief and focused on the task at hand. If they initiate a more casual conversation, reciprocate politely but maintain appropriate boundaries. Remember, your primary role is to provide a service, not to become their friend," Sington explained.
Meanwhile, you should also maintain confidentiality. For example, you ought to avoid sharing details about your interaction with the star on social media or with your friends. "This demonstrates respect for their privacy and reinforces your professionalism. If you happen to overhear a personal conversation, politely ignore it." With all of this in mind, not only do you make the celeb feel comfortable, but you and your workplace also look good.
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#2
Not a horror story but 50 Cent was so nice to me. I had no idea who he was till someone recognized him at the end of his meal (he had requested a back corner booth and I figured he just wanted to be alone). We were talking and joking and he seemed like a genuinely cool dude. Tipped $100 on a ~$40 bill and told me I was going to go somewhere in life and to have a great day. This was a few years ago and it definitely has still stuck with me.
Vanilla Ice on the other hand is my third cousin and he’s a POS who my entire part of the family avoids acknowledging :/.
Earthquake903 2 days ago
Lol, I'd never believe anyone who said vanilla ice wasn't a colossal dipsh*t
#3
I served a local "influencer".
My restaurant was part of a large hotel.
When the dinner was over, she said that hotel manager will "take care" of the bill.
I told her that that were not my instructions and that I wasn't aware of that agreement.She went mad and yelled "YOU KNOW WHO I AM, BOY?" and spilled her drink on me.
I said "yes, a dumb instagram b***h".
Got fired but worth it.
Staying calm and professional are the best tools in your arsenal if someone famous is ever rude to you at your workplace. Sington suggests avoiding taking their behavior personally. "It likely reflects their own issues rather than anything about you. Maintain a polite and respectful demeanor, even if they are not reciprocating," Sington told Bored Panda.
"If you feel comfortable and it's appropriate given the context, you can address the specific behavior calmly and directly using 'I' statements, such as 'I understand you're frustrated, but I feel uncomfortable when I'm spoken to that way.' However, prioritize disengaging if the situation escalates or you feel unsafe."
Sington noted that it's crucial to report the incident either to your supervisor or manager. "They can offer support, guidance, and ensure the situation is handled according to workplace policy." Meanwhile, if you open up to a trusted colleague, it can help you process your feelings about the whole situation.
"Remember to familiarize yourself with your workplace's policies regarding difficult customers, especially those who are high-profile. Your safety and well-being are paramount, so if you ever feel threatened, seek immediate assistance."
#4
Not at a restaurant, but way back in the early 1990’s, I worked at a pro film lab. (Remember when photos were on film?).
Anyway, Elizabeth Shue came in with one of her friends who was a photographer to pick up some film we’d processed. I guess she’d hired her friend to shoot some pictures of her. The friend did good work (I checked).
A couple of days later, Elizabeth comes back and asks me if she can add money to her friend’s account. When I tell her that’s no problem, she gives me her card and says, “Put $1000 in her account. Don’t tell her it was me.”.
#5
No horror but rainn wilson (dwight from the office) came in with his family, we gave him the private terrace, left him the hell alone, and he tipped really well.
#6
One time I served Robert Irvine but I didn’t know who he was or that he was a celebrity. I was telling him how we make one of the sauces or something and he was like (very kindly) “yeah, I know, I cook” and his friends kind of laughed. I said “oh you dabble?” as a joke and he laughed and said yes I dabble.
I go into the back to put their orders in and my chef (also my boss and the owner of the restaurant) is standing near me and goes “woah that’s Robert Irvine” and I was like who? He explained that he’s a celebrity chef and I was like HAHA oh BOY do I have a funny story for you… I told him the whole thing. My boss just laughed. Robert was super cool about it anyways so it was just funny 😅.
Anyways now I’m realizing you probably meant horror stories as in, the celebrity being an a*****e, not us saying hilariously dumb things as servers, but, oh well.
Bill Walker 1 day ago
I like these kind of stories better. We have enough horror going on, it's to good to reflect on the positive.
The Golden Rule is something that most of us know intuitively, but we all need a reminder sometimes. Essentially, it means that you should treat everyone else how you yourself would like to be treated. For example, if you hate rudeness, lateness, and selfishness, you should strive to be polite, punctual, and altruistic.
You can apply that very same logic to working in the service industry. From a server’s perspective, this might mean being professional, helpful, and understanding as often as you can. But from a customer’s perspective, they have to strive to be kind and patient, too. At the end of the day, all of these things are built on a foundation of respect for other people. If that basic respect is missing, you’re going to have a hard time connecting with anyone in a deeper manner.
The higher your emotional intelligence, the more empathetic you are, and the better you understand the challenges others face, the better you can relate to them.
#7
Yao Ming couldn't fit in any of our chairs 😅.
#8
Is Marco Rubio a celebrity? He never looks up from his phone and tips 0 - 5%. Pre-pandemic he was a regular, but most of the servers refused to serve him.
#9
Zuckerberg and his wife just normal people. Sat in the corner facing away from
Everyone else so no other diners knew he was in the restaurant. Tipped exactly 20% like his AI was programmed to.
According to The Modern Waiter, some of the biggest issues that restaurant servers face at work include long hours, late nights, and high stress levels. Not only are their jobs physically demanding and they constantly have to be on their feet but they also have to handle any disagreements with difficult customers.
One person might be rude just for the heck of it, someone else might have had a hard day so they download their disappointment and anger on you, while someone else might be so entitled they don’t understand the word ‘no.’
#10
Not a horror story, but I served Selena Gomez once. Didn’t know it was her until after she left. I asked her, “Has anyone ever told you you look like Selena Gómez?” and she was like “Yeah all the time.” Tipped 20%. I was hella embarrassed that I asked her that when one of my coworkers was like “Dude that was Selena Gomez and our store is on her instagram story” 💀💀.
#11
Hulk Hogan’s kids. They tipped me a nickel. Jose Canseco, a d****e bag but tipped 20%.
Not horror stories but want to throw props to the really decent celebrities out there:
Nick and Drew Lachey. Nice people, funny, friendly, tip well.
Dave Bautista and John Cena, Keep to themselves but are wonderful to the staff and tip very well.
Bill Bellamy, real nice guy. Good tip.
Kenan Thompson, an angel. Super friendly and tips very well.
Hats off to the celebs that aren’t too high and mighty to be nice to everyday folks that are just trying to do their job.
Roythomass@hotmail.com 2 days ago
I still don't get the whole tipping thing. Just pay your employees properly
#12
The Golden State Warriors bought out the restaurant where I worked at the time. The host of the group negotiated that there not be an included grat because they would totally "take care of us." They were incredibly obnoxious, trashed the place, and then left something like a 5% tip. lol The staff was going to mutiny, so the owners just gave each of the staff a few hundred dollars to make the event worth their time.
Nimitz 2 days ago
I used to be KM at a decent place next to the highway in a university town with a baseball team. We'd have team busses suddenly pull in an hour before closing often during the summer. The rule was take out only and automatic 20% tip split evenly by everyone on shift, FOH and HOH. We had to set that rule after the nth time some random team showed up and trashed the place. Food was good though, so they still kept coming. But when it's 40 C in the kitchen and 1 AM, the extra $20-40 wasn't really worth opening up every line again
A good rule of thumb is to stay calm, cool, and collected no matter what happens. If the situation escalates or you don’t know how to handle it, ask your colleagues or your manager to step in.
Otherwise, enforce healthy boundaries, don’t take any abuse, but also don’t respond to rudeness with rudeness. At the end of the day, be the bigger and better person.
#13
Both Hugh Jackman and Chris Rock were really great in there own ways. I know that’s not what the post is for but good guys.
#14
A friend works at a very popular very in the media restaurant in LA that celebrities frequent, some things he’s told me:
khloe kardashian is a drunk and spills drinks everywhere because she will talk with her hands, she tips like s**t too
playboi carti’s entourage tried to dine and dash and he refused to put up the 1200 dollar bill for everyone else until the police were almost called
(this was back in 2014/15) kanye west walked out on kim kardashian and their kids and sat in the parking lot the entire time in a car surrounded by security guards physically standing outside of it
the guy who plays shane on twd/punisher was a total f*****g creepazoid and wouldn’t leave the 19yo hostess alone the entire meal.
#15
I briefly worked at a Friendlys decades ago and James Gandolfini would come in semi-regularly. He was a seriously s****y person who thought he was actually a mob boss. His sister is the exact opposite; super sweet, nice, and generous. When Gandolfini would walk through the door no one wanted that table. This is just outside of his home town, and all the restaurants that have served him in the area felt the same way. IN his home town there's a really good diner where they've got pictures on the wall of celebs who've eaten there, two of which were of Gandolfini. In the pictures he's smiling along with one of the owners. In reality, everyone there, including the owners, hated him. He was loud, demanding, rude, flat out mean, obnoxious, and cheap as f**k. He'd go to places with an entourage, put the staff through hell, rack up relatively large bills, and tip like 2-5% if you were lucky.
kiteman 2 days ago
If you read about his personal life, he basically did live like Tony. D***s, booze, hookers. The show was consistently delayed days during production because he would be so hungover. And even one time his family had an intervention for him and when he walked in the house he apparently said “f you” and turned around and left.
Have you ever had a celebrity come to your place of work, dear Pandas? Have you ever served a star at a cafe or restaurant? What are the very best and worst interactions you’ve had with famous people?
Who would you love to have an informal chat with if you could? Let us know in the comments! We’d love to hear about your own experiences.
#16
OMG I FORGOT I HAD ONE!
John Mellencamp tips well, but he loves to harass young women. His whole family are POS.
#18
I waited on Tyler Perry once and was brand new to serving at a nicer place so I was super nervous. He spoke so quickly and had a lot of mods to his table's order and I totally mixed everything up so badly that I almost got fired on the spot by my manager. He was super gracious about it though and left me a $100 tip on a comped meal!
Also waited on Ciara and her friend once. They were nice enough and I didn't recognize her until they left and my fellow servers were asking me how she was.
Caitlin Youngquist 2 days ago
Comped meals should always be tipped, and on the full cost of the meal. If someone gets a $500 meal for free, they should still tip $100. A comped meal covers the food and labor of the kitchen staff, but not the work of front-of-house staff.
#19
Not a server but work at a restaurant in LA. Apparently most NBA players tip horribly.
#20
Oh, yes. My god yes.
I used to work in a very popular complex in a very large city. This complex was so popular because alongside all the bars and shopping was the training facility for an NFL team with a fantastic kicker that will go unnamed, let’s just call them The Shmow Shmoys.
The bar I worked at closed at 2 am all nights except Sunday and Monday, when we closed at 12. This was a Monday night.
At 11:57pm the phone rings and my 8-month pregnant tiny gorgeous blonde bartender answers the phone. The following conversation happens;
Bartender: hello?
Phone guy: YO. IM COMIN IN FOR SOME WINGS. HAVE A TABLE READY.
B: I’m sorry sir but we are actually closed.
P: B******T. I know for a FACT you close at 2!! I’m coming in!
B: sir actually we close at 12 on Monday, and either way the kitchen closes at 9pm. So we have no food.
P: F**k that and f**k you, I’m about to be there, so be ready!!
B: excuse me? Who do you think you are???!
Now for legal reasons im not going to type out the actual name he gave. Let’s just go with….
P: IM SHMSMARCUS SHMLORENCE
it’s important to note here that this bartender did *not* follow sports. Not even the people of the team we were constantly catering to. So she replied, with the most sarcastic tone she could muster;
B: Okay, * SHMSMARCUS SHMLORENCE*, good for you!
And she hung up.
About 2 minutes later, Mr. S arrived at the restaurant, doors locked, with only little pregnant bartender and our 100 pound bar back present in the building. He proceeded to shake the doors *literally* almost off the hinges, screaming through the cracks while he was banging “I WILL FU**ING K**L YOU YOU PREGNANT C**T”
She was understandably terrified and called the cops. He continued screaming and pacing for a few minutes before running off just before the complex security showed up (it is a well known “rumor” that the franchise owner, Shmerry Shmones, paid off the actual cops to stay out of that area to keep the reputation good.)
Pregnant coworker is understandably upset, tells her entire story to the security guard, and she she gets to the name, he chuckles and walks off to talk on the radio. He comes back saying “it’s all good”
“He’s arrested already?” She asks. “No, he’s just a few bars down l, he found food, he’s good.”
“Uhm, excuse me?!?! How is that good?!?!”
“Honey… that’s a Shmow Shmoys player. “
And that was the end of that.
..
Two days later. A PR rep comes to find that bartender at work. Extremely concerned about her story and the excessive video footage of that event getting out.
PR:”How much will it take for you to say nothing?”
This was the moment. The “my babies college is paid for and I’m outta this industry” payout moment we all dream of. She had it MADE.
B: oh, I won’t say anything!
PR: great. Sign here.
She really shmucked that one up.
Robert Beveridge 1 day ago
I too do not follow sports and have no idea who we're talking about here.
#21
I waited on Sylvester Stallone - well, that’s not entirely accurate. Sly sat in my section, but I wasn’t allowed to approach him or talk to him. I had to do everything through his PA. It was so awkward.
Violet 2 days ago
There's actually a YT short on Rosanna Pansino's channel (youtuber/businesswoman) about him - She was at a buffet at the Expendables premiere and grabbed a mini slider, and a woman came up to her and said "excuse me but my client has a really strict eating schedule and is going to need that slider", Rosanna said she took a bite in front of them lmfao
#22
I served Evan Rachel Wood once at a dive bar. She was super sweet and genuine. Ended up getting hammered with her.
#23
Kenny G came into a famous French Michelin star restaurant at closing with a woman who was not his wife & tried to speak French to everyone like a complete d****e. He kept everyone there until 4am & left 15%. F**k Kenny G.
#24
Not horror, but i served andy samberg when we were doing side work in preparation for the dinner service (so it was totally empty save for him and the staff) and he was extremely cool. i was just a food runner, so i’m not sure how much he tipped exactly.
#25
Served half of the Baltimore Ravens and their wives/side peices a couple years ago. Destroyed that section of the restaurant, pissed off everyone around them and tipped absolutely NOTHING. Everyone who waited on them were pissed.
Sounds like pro athletes are notoriously bad tippers though so that's what I was expecting.
Chris Landrum 1 day ago
there is a story about a time in Vegas where M. Jordan was playing cards with Wayne Gretzky. Jordan tipped the waitress with a $5 tip and Gretzky grabbed it back and took a $100 chip from Jordan and said, "this is how you tip in Vegas"
#26
Sorry to flex, but no horror stories here.
One of the impractical jokers tipped me specifically $100 at a private party that already had auto grat.
Miley and Liam were regulars of mine (when they were together). Always tipped generously.
Hayley Williams is also super nice and a good tipper.
A friend of mine has served multiple "a-list" country music stars, all of which were horrible. I guess I'm lucky.
#27
Kat Von D and her husband wrote a tip then crossed it out and put zero. Not surprising from her though.
#29
Drake likes to stay hours after closing time 😐 tips well though. we all left at 1 am when we normally get out by 10pm.
#30
Served Dave Matthews and had no clue who he was. He was pretty smug through the meal, drank coffee with two buddies at the diner I worked at and I truly did not know who this guy was until our host lost her s**t and started yelling about how he was in the restaurant. He seemed really satisfied with that reaction and tipped a normal 20%.
#31
Bryan Cranston was very friendly and tipped super well. Barry Bonds is a d****e bag. Won’t even look you in the eye and tips 5%. Michael Bublè is a self centered p***k who yells at the staff and tries to use his name to justify anything. He looked at me and said “do you know who I am?” I just said “nah..” I worked at really high end restaurants on Maui and basically got to meet every famous person that goes there for vacation.
#32
I waited on kasey musgraves, and her and her boyfriend were so incredibly nice. i didn’t even make the connection it was her until one of the hosts told me. when they had two more people joining them, they walked over to me and asked me if it would be okay. we weren’t even serving them at an official table, it was more like a couch and low table. we were just so busy, but she was fine carrying out her meal there. ordered some of the most expensive things on the menu and then she tipped 20%.
#33
I was told a girl waited on a wrestler..pretty famous don't wanna mention names BUT he also has a reality show with his wife..NO TIP AT ALL f**k him.
#34
TLDR: I waited on Jeff Lowe from Tiger King, his wife Lauren, their children, and stepchildren, as well as their attorney John Phillips - the one who was over-the-top-obsessed with Carole Baskin killing (allegedly) her husband, Don Lewis. This was sometime in mid-to-late May, 2021.
I am one of the two closing servers and it's 9:50 on a Thursday (we close at 10). 8 top sits down. I don't recognize them at first, well I recognized the wife at first, but I thought she was a woman I'd waited on a few days ago but I didn't wanna say that because she wasn't with the person she was with that night. Couple of people order drinks and ID the ones who don't clearly look over the age of 40, so everyone there except for the lawyer and Jeff Lowe. Jeff Lowe is dressed exactly how he's dressed every other time you've ever seen him: skull cap, harley davidson jacket, blue jeans, bunch of stupid useless bracelets, necklaces, earrings and sunglasses inside. Everyone else looked relatively "normal" but Jeff Lowe looked like deflated, graying, shrunken, Hulk Hogan out in public. When I didn't ID Jeff, he made a joke about looking too old and changed his order from a Michelob to diet coke. I laughed the way someone does when the guest has said something unfunny and grab him the diet coke. Jeff did, however, go out of his way to point out his son - another guy at the table wearing a bunch of gold and "iced-out" chains/necklaces - was older than his wife, pointing to the lady I recognized out of everyone at the table but couldn't place.
Go back to work on shutting down for the night, running out refills, and apps, checking on them probably 3x in the 20 minute period it took to get drinks, apps, and entrees out. As I talked to them more and more, Jeff Lowe started looking familiar but again, I thought that he was just a guy who came in regularly and I couldn't place him. Finally, I'm boxing up their food and collecting payment when Jeff just blurts it out: aren't you gonna ask us about Tiger King? I'm taken aback for a second then it clicks: holy s**t, these are the (some of) the antagonists from the first season of Tiger King. I'm grossed out by the entire business of buying and keeping big cats and private zoos so at this point I'm just trying to not say anything thats gonna keep me from getting a decent tip on this $280+ bill. I say something about how I feel bad for Joe Exotic. All of them looked like I'd pitched them on paying triple for their food when I said this and I back tracked into something about how anyone who acted like that must clearly have something wrong with him. I'd watched the show a year ago, but I was, like many other people, freaking out about other stuff going on in the world so most of what happened on the show eluded me out at the time.
That was that, the lawyer, who I didn't talk to at all the entire night except to take his food and drink and refill order, paid and tipped me 20%. I was content. The wife, Lauren, kept telling me a new season would be coming out in the fall and told me to watch it. I told them I would, and I actually did. I went on a bit of a Tiger King kick after that because like 2 days later Jeff Lowe was all over the news for being arrested by the FBI for having a bunch of dead cats or something like that. Everyone involved with GW Park in that show, with the exception of Rick Kirkham, who is the ultimate r/donthelpjustfilm proponent, is a complete garbage person on screen in that show. It clicked when the season came out later that year that Jeff Lowe and co. were in the midst of filming their story for the second season when they came in. I don't mean that they filmed in our restaurant, I mean they'd just started their relationship with Phillips as their lawyer. Not a horror story in terms of how they were with me - they were perfectly nice to me, if not totally full of themselves. Jeff Lowe is probably the worst person on the Tiger King and that is saying something.
#35
No horror stories, but let me tell you, Anthony Rizzo can f*****g *eat*.
There was the time I made a a fool of myself in front of John Carter Cash, I suppose. Or the time I didn't recognize Mae Jemison... during Black History Month... after having spent a quarter-hour reading about her the previous evening.
#36
I recently waited on Kyle Rittenhouse’s defense attorneys 🤮.
What do you think ?
Pencil 1 day ago
Click on the three horizontal lines to the left of the panda at the top of the page. Scroll down to the bottom middle-right of the drop-down menu. Notifications are there.
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Bernd Herbert 2 days ago
I really can't understand how you can be a s****y tipper when you have tons of money.
Robert Beveridge 1 day ago
My mother always used to say that rich people got rich by not spending a cent they didn't have to. I don't think she was RIGHT, necessarily (after all, Bezos, as just one example, got rich by being in the right place at the right time), but the sentiment did rub off on me after all those years. Which makes it all too easy for me to understand that.
Load More Replies... Pencil 1 day ago
Click on the three horizontal lines to the left of the panda at the top of the page. Scroll down to the bottom middle-right of the drop-down menu. Notifications are there.
Load More Replies... Bernd Herbert 2 days ago
I really can't understand how you can be a s****y tipper when you have tons of money.
Robert Beveridge 1 day ago
My mother always used to say that rich people got rich by not spending a cent they didn't have to. I don't think she was RIGHT, necessarily (after all, Bezos, as just one example, got rich by being in the right place at the right time), but the sentiment did rub off on me after all those years. Which makes it all too easy for me to understand that.
Load More Replies... You May Like 30 Times People Encountered A Celebrity And It Was An Absolute Pleasure 36 Netizens Spill The Tea About Famous People They’ve Met And What They Were Like
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