Woman has internet hooked with her horror stories from life as a server

People who work in customer service roles may argue that they’ve seen and heard it all. Every day is certainly different when dealing with members of the public—from excellent experiences to extremely poor—and one woman has built a network based on the highs and lows of hospitality.

Sydney Akgun, 28, a former travel agent and food service employee, has amassed a following of 298,500 people online by reenacting scenarios that show difficult situations servers are often forced to face—often for minimum wage and no tips.

Akgun, from Boston, Massachusetts, regularly goes viral on TikTok where she posts under the name @poorandhungry, racking up millions of views.

“The goal for my content is for people to relate and feel that they aren’t alone when customers are irrational or cruel to them,” she told Newsweek.

A February 23 video captioned “Yes, this actually happens ALL THE TIME” got Akgun 1.5 million views. The clip shows Akgun wearing a pink sweater while acting as the front of house and a customer who has turned up at a restaurant in the evening despite making a reservation for the next morning.

She puts on a pair of glasses while pretending to be the customer and says, “I can’t help that I am early.” At the time of writing, the video has amassed over 211,000 likes and plenty of shocked comments.

One TikTok user said: “As someone in customer service, I DO BELIEVE YOU!!! The audacity some people have has me actually speechless.”

“I can’t believe so many people don’t understand what a reservation is!” another person commented.

Akgun began sharing a series in 2021 about the travel industry based on her experiences and it wasn’t long until the videos started to gain a lot of attention. She then went on to create hospitality-inspired videos—and the rest is history.

Now working in tech sales, Akgun dedicates a few minutes per day to acting out scenes that involve awkward customers.

“My content really gained mainstream popularity in 2023,” she told Newsweek. “The restaurant videos resonated with a much larger audience, both negatively and positively.

“All of my videos and posts are based on authentic interactions that have occurred to me, a colleague, or guest submission which is noted in the caption.”

The federal minimum wage in the United States is currently $7.25 per hour for the majority of workers. Employers may choose to pay employees who “customarily and regularly” receive at least $30 in tips per month as little as $2.13 per hour in direct pay—as long as those employees also receive tips totaling at least $5.12 per hour.

Akgun explained that her story-telling videos aim to help raise awareness of the treatment servers have to endure. She also hopes to encourage customers to tip or think twice about eating out, as mentioned in this video that has 1.2 million views.

At the start of the video, she begins by stating the scenario has happened “in real life” many times before. She asks the “customer” (herself) what they’d like to start with, and they ask for a round of water before pointing out they will not be tipping. They said that they are happy to accept any sort of service.

Akgun then points out that the tip is a service charge for sitting in the dining area and having a service provided, therefore the order must be changed to a take-out.

The video, shared on February 5, has divided the internet with some people saying that they believe tipping should be optional.

“This is the best way I’ve seen it explained. I always say tipping is like a service fee,” one TikTok user said.

Another person commented: “Tipping as a service charge, I wouldn’t go there. I tip according to service, good service good to bad service bad tip period.”

A third commenter said: “These videos remind me of why i stopped being a server. i was MISERABLE bc it feels like I’m begging for money, specially after reading these comments.”

Pew Research Center revealed in November 2023 that 21 percent of U.S. adults say that tipping is more of a choice, while 29 percent said tipping is more of an obligation and 49 percent said it depends.

“Tipping culture is a very small component of what I create,” Akgun told Newsweek. “My goal is to share that tipping is mandatory, not optional, and if you do not agree to take your patronage to an establishment without gratuity.

“As a former service worker, we do not want economic reform to replace tipping culture, but requirements for employers to offer healthcare and benefits.”

Some establishments work out the service charge for you and others leave the patron to make their own minds up. But what is a reasonable tip?

Pew Research Center found in the November survey that a 15 percent tip is widely deemed the minimum acceptable tip for restaurant service, and 18 to 20 percent or beyond is frequently advised.

Akgun told Newsweek: “The best way for someone to educate themselves on tipping culture (since it sounds like being a basic human being that treats service workers with respect would be out of the question or their capacity) would be to work a month or two in a restaurant or tip-reliant job to fully understand the impact.

“Most of the consumers that struggle to grasp the importance of tipping do not realize that service workers do not make a standard minimum wage and that the tip is not ‘on top.’ I’ve found reasoning and education have not resonated with this population.”

Other videos include underage drinking attempts, intoxicated patrons and more server horror stories. While Akgun left the hospitality in 2020, the memories still haunt her to this day.

She told Newsweek how she managed to keep her cool when dealing with rude customers.

“At the end of the day, it’s much more satisfying and a better brand image to ‘kill with kindness.’ When I’m able to maintain an incredibly calm and somewhat indifferent tone, it can help diffuse escalating situations (people quickly realize they sound like the crazy one),” she said.

“Even when someone is being very rude, I remind them we’re all on the same side and I’m here to give a good experience. If I’ve remained calm and the customer escalates or becomes violent or profane, it’s always acceptable to end the call or ask them to leave.”

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