For many Americans, a meal out has become a luxury. In just the handful of years since the pandemic, the cost of eating out has gone up 30 to 40%. So when we do go out, we really want to make it a great experience.
Good food and the right atmosphere go a long way, but nothing makes or breaks a meal, or a drink, out with friends and family quite like your server. While a bad one can ruin the night, we might remember an especially good one for a long time—maybe even forever.
A series of recent viral posts on Threads asked servers and bartenders to reveal some tricks of the trade—the little one-liners, bits, jokes, and gags they use to get their tables laughing and keep the mood light.
Here are some of the best responses. If you love dad jokes, you’ll love these.
When the restaurant is short-staffed
“I apologize, we are a bit short-staffed this evening but I am trying to get taller.”
When saying farewell
“Hey everyone, if you enjoyed everything please remember my name is Alex, and if you didn’t my name is Mike!”
When someone can’t finish their meal
“Me: you wanna box for that? Them: yes please Me: *strikes old-timey boxing pose*”
When the timing is bad
“If you walk up as their mouths are full, [I say] ‘sorry they train us to do that’”
When the receipt is really long
“My gfs favorite bit is if they end up with a really long receipt she’ll tell them ‘and you also get a free scarf’”
When the server wants a drink
“When they put in drinks I’d say ‘alright so 4 whatever’s for y’all and a margarita for me, I’ll be right back with those’”
When they’re poring over the menu
“My tables used to love when I’d pull up a seat, sit down with them and discuss the menu as if I were a late arriving guest.”
When the plate is hot
“This plate is super hot, be careful.. this one, not as hot, but she has a great personality”
When it’s time for the table to go home
“You have to be able to read a room on this one but a really dramatic ‘why does everyone always leave me’ when they ask for the check is one of my fav bits to keep in rotation”
When people haven’t dined there before
“One of my favorites is asking if people have dined with us before, if they haven’t, I answer with with ‘well I’d love to tell you about how we do things here; you tell me what you want to drink and eat off this list of food, and then I bring it to you, and you pay me’”
When someone spills their drink
“When someone spills their drink, I give them a replacement or their next round in a sippy cup. If it’s a beer, I saran wrap the top and put a straw in it like a sippy cup. Kills every time.”
When they need a clever intro
“I’m sure you’re all wondering why I’ve gathered you here today”
When someone’s looking for the bathroom
“I don’t know, I’ve been looking for it for years”
These silly little jokes and bits tap into something we don’t always notice we’re craving.
Surveys show our face-to-face, real-life interactions are down about 30% since the turn of the millennium. For young people, the drop is even more dramatic.
It’s easy to think of service work as transactional and not a true human interaction. You order, they bring food, you pay, you leave. But the servers and bartenders who develop these little gags understand that hospitality isn’t really about the food at all. It’s about making people feel looked after, even just for the length of a meal. They’re small acts of care, human moments created in real-time, just for us. Even if they are canned or scripted after all, they certainly don’t feel that way in the moment.
That’s also probably why we remember a great server long after the flavors of the meal have faded. Kudos to the hard-working people who make the magic happen.
