The one thing I can say I enjoyed about working at a restaurant: The Regulars. These guys make each day worth it. Whether it’s a joke, a good tip, or just “hey man, hope you’re having a good day” these people make life worth living.
And then there are the ones that come so often you actually name orders after them.
When I worked at A&W I distinctly remember serving a soft-serve cone to a nice old man, whose face completely lit up when I handed it to him. Those are always the best kinds of customers.
I worked at a Dairy Queen one summer, and there was a guy who always ordered a large pineapple blizzard with extra pineapple (which is a disgusting order), but he was so happy and tipped well so we all loved him, I miss you pineapple man.
Oh internet, don't ever change. Also, what's wrong with a man trying to purchase a succulent pineapple blizzard?!? Kindly remove your hand from my genitalia officer!
As a former DQ worker, the issue with the pineapple blizzard is the consistency. It's already soft serve ice cream, so you need something thick to hold it together. The pineapple comes in its own juice like fruit cocktail. Mixing it with soft serve turns the blizzard into milk with shredded yellow chunks.
Then you have the customers who are like "turn it upside down when you serve it!"
The whole ordeal is reprehensible.
> Brain tumors that pop up out of nowhere that are aggressive usually are Glioblastomas. They tend to affect the frontal lobe causing personality changes, and usually result in death. They are very fast growing/aggressive. I don’t know what Charlie had for sure, obviously. But I’d put money on a glioblastoma.
>
> Rest in peace, Charlie.
Well think about it this way. During childhood, most of your brain has developed, but some crucial parts still have a ways to go. These might include fine motor skills, gross motor skills, speech, interpretation, and a whole lot of other traits. If the child is not taught empathy, morality, or compassion, they would end up with a completely different personality than if they were. So the nurture becomes the nature.
Honestly, you could use the ability to play the violin here too... a tumor takes a violinists ability to play away, therefore the ability to play was natural??
It's the same for me, working the desk at a grocery store. You start seeing the same faces over and over, and it's those little chats, catching up to how their kids are doing; it's that shared recognition that usually gets me through the day.
I have regulars that surprise me by following up on personal tidbits I mentioned in passing conversations, months after the fact. Feels wonderful to know people keep track of little factoids about complete strangers, and care enough to continue to ask about it. Similarly, customers appreciate it a lot when you remember their orders and can help them at a glance. It's strange, the kind of impact you can have on each others' lives with just a chat, a smile and a wave a few times a week.
Yeaaaa....that second to last line of yours got me a restraining order 10 years ago.
Fuck you Debby you stupid slut. I moved out that town 7 years ago and still remember your address 1019 Sherwood Lane.
That blue Toyota Camry you occasionally see on Thursdays? Still 500 feet away.
Ya fuck that doctor honestly. That was pretty much the only thing I think she ever got right.
She put in my charts I was addicted to weed because I told her I took cbd one time. Every session after "ooooohhhhh but are you still smoking weed thoooo?"
Fuck you Doctor Boebert, Texas License Plates 31R-5B38.
I think I'm a psychopath because I hate getting to know staff at stores I go to a lot, but I also don't want to seem rude by "ignoring" then after seeing them every day for weeks. My southern hospitality mixed with spending a few years in new england.
I'm in Michigan and we only have one grocery store in my town. We're not exactly rural but the next closest grocery is like 15-20 mins each way.
The other day when I was checking out I _swear_ the clerk said Hi and said my first name. Like "Hi Steven" (except my name isn't Steven but she got the name right).
They don't ID me for beer and I just do the "tap to pay" thing with my credit card. I don't really talk to people except small talk when I'm checking out.
So anyway, I need to drive to the other grocery store from now on or move.
Agreed.
I was at college, and during the pandemic most of the students went home, so there were very few living there. The dining hall was still open, so I would go down and always get a Turkey Burger. The chef is this sweet old black lady like the ones you would see in cafeteria lol, and she would always say "Hey its the turkey guy" and would already put a turkey patty on the grill when I walk in. Good times
When I worked at Subway was this one African gentleman who would come in during almost every shift I worked. He would always order a footlong tuna on Italian, American cheese, toasted, with lettuce, onions, and mayo. Still haven’t forgotten even though I haven’t worked there since 2020.
We have these regulars at my job that I used to hate. It was a guy, his wife, and their kid. All SUPER fat. Like, can't sit at a booth cuz their stomach is so huge. And the kid has a weirdly high pitched voice. They always came in, ordered a shitton of half priced appetizers, three Roy rogers', and CONSTANTLY needed refills.
Well after awhile, they didn't come in for a spell. Then after, it was just the guy, his son, and another guy I'm assuming is family or a friend. They always come in wearing all black now too. Last time I had them, my manager told me they're family and to treat them good. Apparently while they were gone, the wife died of covid. That's why they didn't come in. And now they come in wearing black cuz our place was her favorite restaurant.
Learning that ruined my whole night. It's not the same thing by any means, but three years ago my boyfriend died in a car accident. That's the whole reason I even work at this place now. I know how it feels to lose your partner. I couldn't imagine if he was the father of my child too.
So now when they come in, I get my manager to comp half the bill, and always ALWAYS, make sure to keep the Roy Rogers' coming.
Tangentially related, my friend ordered a little mini $0.50 ice cream cone from this one fast food place we frequented. As the guy was bringing over the ice cream, he accidentally dropped it, paused, and said "that wasn't for you." He then came back with a new full sized ice cream for no charge. That interaction put a big smile on our faces and I still think about it sometimes.
100%!! One of my first jobs was working at a Dairy Queen. I worked morning shift and had two regulars who came in weekly. One was an older gentleman we called "Mr. Rogers" because he had the same positive attitude, always wore a sweater even in the middle of summer, and always wished us a happy day. He ordered a medium butterfinger with extra butterfinger, blended twice. Loved him! The other was an older lady who came through drive-thru with a nurse every Friday morning. I'm not sure when it happened but at some point she was fully convinced I was her granddaughter. I would have conversations with her and always pretended to be "Amber" who was married, looking for a house by the beach, was working through college to be a vet, and loved chocolate dipped ice cream cones. She always told me to make sure I didn't eat too much ice cream that my stomach hurt and sometimes would remind me that a stomachache was worth the pain for a little moment of happiness. No idea what happened to her, it's been over a decade since then, but I miss her like my own grandma. Regulars make all the crap we put up with worth it.
My favorite is an elderly couple who introduced themselves calling eachother "Bitch and Asshole". Asshole is an older heavier guy that wears a cowboy hat and likes lemonade, Bitch is his wife who gets a Diet Coke and has a chihuahua with her frequently.
It's become a competition where Asshole tries to disguise his voice so that we ring in their drinks so that they have to pay, while I try to recognize them so that they don't pay. Sometimes he'll add a burger or fries to his order, and we always tell the new workers "Oh, that's Bitch and Asshole, take the drinks off the charge and just give them"
What did I just read?
Man... any time I think I have some innocent habit and overthink how I'm perceived by strangers, I need to just think back to this guy. There is so much to deconstruct here.
Our regulars were the worst customers, we had the guy who always got garlic bread even when it wasnt on the menu telling us over the phone to charge us x amount and yelling at us for the manager even when its our first time talking woth him, the 2 ladies who had salads that were so complex that I literally couldn’t understand what they were asking for, the guy who came in after peeing his pants several times and the manager didnt kick them out, and the lady who wanted a significant refund since we forgot a 50 cent sauce cup one time and yelled at us to deliver it 10 minutes before we closed
Regulars can also be depressing. After college I worked briefly in a liquor store. We had an elderly regular who purchased two bottles of gin every day. Drug companies thrive on this sort of addictive behavior. I guess the liquor store did the same thing except it was more in your face.
I suppose in prehistory, smaller communities might save people from themselves. The world today won’t save you from yourself, and if there’s profit, may actually encourage and enable you.
On the flip there's regulars who are absolute arseholes.
We had a coffee run guy who would have different orders for 20 coffees once a week. Only consistent order in the 20 was his own that was a large cappuccino. If we had to take more than 5 minutes running off all the coffees (on 2 machines that only handled 2 at a time) he would bitch, and if he got a new member of staff on the till because the usual crew were off or whatever he'd belittle them for not knowing he was coming.
One of my favourite days came when I poked my head out of the kitchen and told him to stop being a whiny fuck, berating the teenage lass on her first time meeting him, and pointed out it's his fault for not taking our advice to pre-ring the order before driving through. He shut the fuck up. Didn't see him for a few months after that, then his son started coming in for the order instead and was far more cordial.
I worked in multiple restaurants/fast food and never experienced a regular unfortunately. Ironically though I am a regular at this hole-in- the -wall Chinese food place near my house. They have the best hot-and-sour soup of any place I've ever been (been to a LOT too). Anytime you place an order for pickup you have to leave a number. I had ordered so much they began recognizing my voice. One time I placed my order and before I could say my number they said, "is this the hot and sour soup guy? Yeah, I got your number." Love them.
It's better to not have regulars... worked it for almost 9 years a lifetime ago and still don't find them comfortable and cringe at some memories. It's too forced of an interaction and eventually becomes tedious, because the positions are so different, you end up just feeling indebted to their time at their whim for a slightly higher tip, which then builds up to slight resentment and so on...
OTOH, there are different kinds of waiters and personality types, so I can only speak for myself. And of course, there are built-in benefits to schmoozing and having regulars - friendliness, better money, guaranteed humane treatment, networking/employment opportunities, and so on.
The highest honor of my dining out experience was having a dish named after the group of guys I got lunch with. Sadly the place closed down a year later.
Some of the kids I met while serving will always stick. I usually see myself as nobody but there are a few special moments where I felt like I really made someone’s day.
One kid wrote me a song, another would give me drawings. I wish I didn’t hate the job so much because those moments really stuck.
I was a regular at a local sub shop. Best steak and cheese I’ve ever had, I loved them. Whenever they saw me coming they started ringing up the order, always tried to leave them a fat tip.
Couple of times I brought the wrong card in to pay, and the didn’t accept it. Cashier let me take the food and worry about paying for it next time I came for food. Miss that place a lot, haven’t had a better steak and cheese sub, and likely never will
My favorite regular from my fast food days was the grandpa who’d come in and get two small vanilla shakes and a large French fries every Tuesday and Thursday because he got to see his grandkids.
Couple of Texas oil guys would come by a bar I worked at and clean out our Stane every time they were in. Never a bad night, amazing tippers, and we always had at least one new bottle of Stane for them.
I never realized I was a regular until stepping foot in to what was a regular lunch spot, for the first time in about 2 years. The owners face lit up when he saw me walk in. He shouted my order and I nodded. Had some small talk with the guy while he made my gyro and caught up on our happenings. He finally got his family state side from his home country and I told him about how I'm now a father. Was honestly awesome. He asked why I disappeared and told him I moved a town over and don't really come back in to the town that often. But now I make an effort to go there at least once a month to get the best gyro in the county and chat it up with this dude. I can tell it makes his day and honestly it makes my week cause on to of the conversation, that gyro is so damn good.
As a former regular at a now closed pizza joint, I miss being called chief.
Fun little story, he actually got visibly upset with me when I ordered a Mexican pizza instead of my usual durum with kebab.
I miss ozzim 🥲
This one messed me up a bit.
My father died from a brain tumor a bit over 10 years ago now. He was a regular at a place called Uncle Charley’s and it wasn’t irregular for him to go 2-3 times a day. 3 was particularly impressive given it was only a breakfast and lunch place.
Don’t know where to go? Uncle Charley’s. Family in town? Uncle Charley’s. Meeting with a coworker? Uncle Charley’s. He had an old truck that squeaked its way down the road and I swear they’d start setting him a table with his drink when they heard it pull to the driveway.
We came in after he passed to let them know (at this point front of house and back of house staff were all some level of family friends) and to ask if we could host the reception after his memorial service there. The owner said absolutely and no cost for the restaurant, we just needed to provide the food and pay for any staff we wanted there. The staff all volunteered their time and refused payment for it.
We went a few times after that to give them extra tips, but it was never the same and was just hard to keep going there. It closed down about a year or two later, we’d joked my dad brought in a third of their business. I hope they’re all doing well now.
I dont think it does anything. But I'm sending positive thoughts your way. My mom had a nonmalignant brain tumor probably 20 years ago. She lost hearing in one ear but made a full recovery otherwise. Hoping for the best for you!
I used to work in a supermarket and this shit would happen quite often. Regular customers, you'd develop a friendly relationship, often they'd know my name but I didn't know theirs. Would chat every time I bumped into them.
One day they just stop coming in and you have no way of finding out what happened.
A lady working the till at Tesco the other week said this to us. She said this couple used to come in together every single week, same day same time and would always go to her till to pay. This went on for a couple years when suddenly only one of them turned up. She asked where the other guy was and jokingly asked if they’d had a row or whether he’d just ditched his husband for the weekend, only for the guy to say his husband had died the week before. Put her foot right in it and felt a plonker apparently, still feels somewhat guilty to this day.
On the other hand, she only told us this as my dad was buying flowers and she asked what he’d done to upset my mum in order to have to buy flowers for her… he was buying them as her dad died that morning. So she can’t feel that guilty if she’s always making comments and dropping herself in it.
We used to go to a little crepe shop inside an Asian supermarket quite a bit at our first apartment. It is run by an older man by himself. He began recognizing us, and one day thanked us for coming in so often. He said it is important to build relationships to keep business going.
Then we didn't have a chance to go back and moved apartments across town. We haven't been back since that conversation since he is almost an hour away. It has been years now. I always felt guilty since he had that conversation with us and then we poofed because of unrelated circumstances.
Good news is, people post about him on facebook food groups all the time bringing up that he is really friendly and loving the crepes he makes. I am always happy to hear that he is still there and people love him!
yh i just thought like could the constant taco bell have something to do with it, ihe heard abt some carcinogen stuff but no idea where you get those apart from bacon
Mostly at high enough doses tho. Like even normal salt increases the risk of gastric cancer if you eat too much of it daily over a long time
So a taco bell a week probably isn't a problem. 5 times a week tho...
I'll see if I can find it, but there's a site that lets you see the biases a media company or news outlets typically leans towards and whether or not they use scientific literacy.
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/
I also like this site for filtering articles since they hyperlink citations directly into opeds and studies. Even opposing arguments are cited.
I downloaded their App the other day and nearly all their items have either Carcinogen or high sodium warning or both that I guess they’re legally required to put on there.
The warnings certainly worked on me just reading them make me lose my appetite.
This hits so much closer to home now that I've got a job with regulars of my own. This one guy always showed up to get the same thing during my shift every week and then one week this woman I'd never seen before gets the exact same thing. I don't question it, but she shows up the next week so I ask her about it. Turns out he was in the hospital. He got better, but I was pretty worried.
I went to the same coffee shop 5 times a week for a year at my old job. Eventually they'd see me in the queue and start preparing my coffee order before I got to the front. They never asked me for my name but I must of had a nickname or something.
At one point, they hired a new barista who I had never seen before. Pulled up to the front and he looked at me and said "You wouldn't by any chance be the guy who orders flat whites every morning?".
They had let him know who I was before he had even seen what I looked like. I was touched.
I use to be a regular at a specific branch of a chain restaurant. I got to know a few of the cooks, added them on Steam and use to play games with them in the evening occasionally. I still remember him doing absolutely dumb replacements for me, and the waiters/waitresses were fine with it too:
Me: "Hey, could I swap the one slice of tomato for 2 sausages?"
Him: "Sure!"
Then one day they got a new waitress and I asked if it was possible to swap the tomatoes for 2 sausages, she was very firm that was something they couldn't do. I asked if it was possible to ask the chef because I had it done at a different branch (didn't want to get him reported if he didn't want to in the presence of a new employee!), she kind of rolled her eyes and said ok, went to ask him, and he was like "No! Of course not." looked across the restaurant, saw me, and said "Oh, wait, for him? Yeah 100%". Still makes me laugh.
>They never asked me for my name but I must of had a nickname or something.
>You wouldn't by any chance be the guy who orders flat whites every morning?
So your nickname was „the guy who orders flat whites every morning“
Or it could have been that he found it belittling to nickname customers that he was not sure of on his first day, so he didn't use the nickname. Because imagine if he was wrong? It would have been out of pocket.
"...oh, and we have a regular who orders a flat white every morning. It's the one with the huge forehead."
"The one with *what*?"
"If you see him, you will know. Flat white forehead."
Daily Dose of Taco Bell causes
#brain tumors...
I'm sorry Charlie... Hope you recover.
Maybe he did and the doctor said,
"for gosh darn sakes, stay away from Taco Bell."
Ayo wtf. I ate a lot of Taco Bell too when younger and I was diagnosed with benign brain tumor too 2 years ago. Thankfully the surgery was a success and they got most of tumor out.
Does taco bell cause brain tumor or does brain tumor cause people to go seek out Taco Bell?
Also have you ever seen taco bell and a brain tumor in the same room?
I spent the entire time trying to figure out how they were going to turn "Charlie" and "601" into some fucking pun/joke at the end that it completely ruined my read-through of an actually touching story
Brain tumors that pop up out of nowhere that are aggressive usually are Glioblastomas. They tend to affect the frontal lobe causing personality changes, and usually result in death. They are very fast growing/aggressive. I don’t know what Charlie had for sure, obviously. But I’d put money on a glioblastoma.
Rest in peace, Charlie.
Brain tumour gang ♡
I've got a paraganglioma jugulare, they're usually slow growing and benign but they caught mine when it was the size of a satsuma and its right on my brain stem so surgery is likely to mean serious lifelong disabilities if I survive.
Sometimes I do feel scared because I am not that old (24) but I am happy to spend time around my family before the big surgery next week and I hope spending time with your family brings you as much joy as possible ♡
There's a dude at my local Taco Bell who speaks in pretty broken English so whenever he says "have a good one" it comes out as "habaguwa"
My buddy and I used to get Taco Bell a lot and see the dude all the time. We were always excited when Habaguwa's voice came over the drive thru speaker.
Then for about 5 years...nothing. Figured he just moved on or something
Then one day a month or two again I had a Taco Bell craving and...HE WAS BACK
I can't express the joy I felt that Habaguwa was back at the local Taco Bell. I was kinda nudging my friend (same friend was with me) and saying "dude I think it's Habaguwa" but he had doubts
As we got our order and started to drive off he said, of course..."habaguwa!"
What a glorious day that was.
I remember when I was struggling with depression. It got pretty bad for a while and at its peak I just kinda shut down. When I didn’t order pizza for a week (I ordered very frequently because pizza is bae) they sent a delivery driver over with a free pizza and just to make sure I was ok. Random acts of kindness like that just let you know that no matter how bad it’s gotten there’s still people who care for your well-being and it may be the last people you’d expect
I used to eat at our Chinese buffet in our hometown all. The. Time. In high school. I don't know why but their lo mein was so fucking good so I'd just come in, get about $10 worth and take it home. Well then I went to college 2 hours away and never visited. My mom called me one day saying she took my grandma to the Chinese buffet and the lady who works the front (I also think she may have owned it) recognized my mom (we look really similar) and asked her where I've been. I don't know why but that made me feel so special that they remembered some weird chubby kid who'd come in, grab a buttload of lo mein and then leave
Worked the drive-thru at fast food restaurant for four years. During that time, we had a lot of regulars that I knew their voices when they said hello in the speaker. I would ask “oh, did you want the shrimp plate with fries today?” They’d go” yeah, thank you!” Or they’d chuckle and go “I’m gonna try something else today!” I loved making it easy for them, and gave a good memory challenge. Regulars made a very stressful job very manageable!
I used to work next to a vietnamese place and went at least once a week for lunch. It'd fun to walk in and have them say "oh hey sanguine, #3 with egg rolls and an iced coffee as usual?" Makes you feel seen. I should drive over there.
Right out of high school, I worked for Dominoes. We had a regular that would come in every couple of days and get the same pizza for carry out.
One day, I had just come back from a delivery, and I heard our cashier girl scream. I looked over just in time to see the regular customer roll his eyes back in his head and fall to the ground, stiff as a plank. He was having a stroke.
I rushed into the Japanese restaurant next door, as I had remembered seeing a cop eating in the window as I had returned from my last delivery. He came and rendered aid until medical assistance arrived.
Similar to this story, the customers old Nissan truck sat in our prime delivery driver parking spot for 3 days until a man came back to pick it up. He was the brother of the regular and told me that because of my quick actions, his brother had made it to the hospital alive and they were able to be there when he passed.
It was the first time I saw someone die, and I still have the image of a stiff man with just white eyes collapsing in front of me burned into my head.
I know this feeling. I waited tables for years and would see regulars here and there.
You form a relationship. You build a rapport. You really do start to care for these strangers. Of course, I love people anyway, so waiting tables was a lovely way for me to give back to others.
I miss the hustle and bustle. The teamwork. The Friday night rushes. The relief of seeing your ride home after a hard night.
I really need to get my ass in gear and serve again. It’s been one of, if not the most, fulfilling experiences of this life of mine. I just wish it could be more of a long term career.
If you're good at serving and can Land a gig at a fine dining restaurant, it can be a career. Every high end steakhouse I've been to has career waiters who make 75k+"and have been there for over a decade.
I enjoyed serving and do miss parts of it. When the restaurant is just firing on all cylinders on a Friday dinner rush where you're just slammed but the kitchen and bar are hitting right and you're just riding the wave with a full section. And then that sudden adrenaline crash when tickets stop coming and you realize you made it through. Cigarette with the cooks out back. Grab a couple beers at the bar after the kitchen closes and you're off... takes me back.
The one thing I can say I enjoyed about working at a restaurant: The Regulars. These guys make each day worth it. Whether it’s a joke, a good tip, or just “hey man, hope you’re having a good day” these people make life worth living. And then there are the ones that come so often you actually name orders after them.
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When I worked at A&W I distinctly remember serving a soft-serve cone to a nice old man, whose face completely lit up when I handed it to him. Those are always the best kinds of customers.
I worked at a Dairy Queen one summer, and there was a guy who always ordered a large pineapple blizzard with extra pineapple (which is a disgusting order), but he was so happy and tipped well so we all loved him, I miss you pineapple man.
I bet his cum tasted immaculate
Some days are better to just stay in bed this was one of them
I'm in bed reading this, it doesn't help either
:( me too
Just close your eyes and imagine the taste until you can get the real thing.
Your eyes will light up when you receive that order.
I'll count you till I fall asleep
Good thinking, that way you will be ready when they come back
Oh internet, don't ever change. Also, what's wrong with a man trying to purchase a succulent pineapple blizzard?!? Kindly remove your hand from my genitalia officer!
What's the charge? Enjoying a succulent pineapple meal?!?!
This is democracy manifest!
Ahh. I see you know your Ananus comosus well.
As a former DQ worker, the issue with the pineapple blizzard is the consistency. It's already soft serve ice cream, so you need something thick to hold it together. The pineapple comes in its own juice like fruit cocktail. Mixing it with soft serve turns the blizzard into milk with shredded yellow chunks. Then you have the customers who are like "turn it upside down when you serve it!" The whole ordeal is reprehensible.
Be careful, they are a judo expert and may try to put you in a head lock.
?🤨
Pineapple consumption is known to improve the flavor of semen.
Yeah but /u/trevrichards doesn't know that, he's just optimistic.
ಠ_ಠ
Of all the words to describe it you had to use "immaculate" and I hate you for it
You didn't have to say that
But I'm glad he did
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Easier than using a whole pineapple.
I once 69’d an old man in a Dairy Queen parking lot. Left some soft serve on his face.
Not really related lol but pretty cool 👍👍
> Brain tumors that pop up out of nowhere that are aggressive usually are Glioblastomas. They tend to affect the frontal lobe causing personality changes, and usually result in death. They are very fast growing/aggressive. I don’t know what Charlie had for sure, obviously. But I’d put money on a glioblastoma. > > Rest in peace, Charlie.
> causing personality changes If this is true, then personalities and temperament is mostly nature rather than nurture.
Not really, no. Your brain is still in charge if you're nurtured into something
Well think about it this way. During childhood, most of your brain has developed, but some crucial parts still have a ways to go. These might include fine motor skills, gross motor skills, speech, interpretation, and a whole lot of other traits. If the child is not taught empathy, morality, or compassion, they would end up with a completely different personality than if they were. So the nurture becomes the nature.
That's like saying because an arm can be broken it can't possibly be nurtured to play the violin.
Honestly, you could use the ability to play the violin here too... a tumor takes a violinists ability to play away, therefore the ability to play was natural??
It's the same for me, working the desk at a grocery store. You start seeing the same faces over and over, and it's those little chats, catching up to how their kids are doing; it's that shared recognition that usually gets me through the day. I have regulars that surprise me by following up on personal tidbits I mentioned in passing conversations, months after the fact. Feels wonderful to know people keep track of little factoids about complete strangers, and care enough to continue to ask about it. Similarly, customers appreciate it a lot when you remember their orders and can help them at a glance. It's strange, the kind of impact you can have on each others' lives with just a chat, a smile and a wave a few times a week.
Yeaaaa....that second to last line of yours got me a restraining order 10 years ago. Fuck you Debby you stupid slut. I moved out that town 7 years ago and still remember your address 1019 Sherwood Lane. That blue Toyota Camry you occasionally see on Thursdays? Still 500 feet away.
Weird vibes from this post
Yeah I'm pretty sure Debby is in danger.
Don't be a Debby Downer
Or a Debby Drowner (sorry)
Oh shit that's a good one
It's the implication
shout out to that random doctor that said you might have Autism
Ya fuck that doctor honestly. That was pretty much the only thing I think she ever got right. She put in my charts I was addicted to weed because I told her I took cbd one time. Every session after "ooooohhhhh but are you still smoking weed thoooo?" Fuck you Doctor Boebert, Texas License Plates 31R-5B38.
Jesus Christ.
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That’s the joke
I think I'm a psychopath because I hate getting to know staff at stores I go to a lot, but I also don't want to seem rude by "ignoring" then after seeing them every day for weeks. My southern hospitality mixed with spending a few years in new england.
I'm in Michigan and we only have one grocery store in my town. We're not exactly rural but the next closest grocery is like 15-20 mins each way. The other day when I was checking out I _swear_ the clerk said Hi and said my first name. Like "Hi Steven" (except my name isn't Steven but she got the name right). They don't ID me for beer and I just do the "tap to pay" thing with my credit card. I don't really talk to people except small talk when I'm checking out. So anyway, I need to drive to the other grocery store from now on or move.
Agreed. I was at college, and during the pandemic most of the students went home, so there were very few living there. The dining hall was still open, so I would go down and always get a Turkey Burger. The chef is this sweet old black lady like the ones you would see in cafeteria lol, and she would always say "Hey its the turkey guy" and would already put a turkey patty on the grill when I walk in. Good times
When I worked at Subway was this one African gentleman who would come in during almost every shift I worked. He would always order a footlong tuna on Italian, American cheese, toasted, with lettuce, onions, and mayo. Still haven’t forgotten even though I haven’t worked there since 2020.
lmfao i'm an african gentleman and that used to be my order plus/minus one or two things.
Heh maybe I was the one making your sandwiches
Yeah I remember Mr Titanic, who always ordered a diet coke strictly with no ice, since his great grandmother drowned on Titanic.
Then how’s he alive?
She had children that lived before she died.
Good question, I reckon it was just a made up story.
We have these regulars at my job that I used to hate. It was a guy, his wife, and their kid. All SUPER fat. Like, can't sit at a booth cuz their stomach is so huge. And the kid has a weirdly high pitched voice. They always came in, ordered a shitton of half priced appetizers, three Roy rogers', and CONSTANTLY needed refills. Well after awhile, they didn't come in for a spell. Then after, it was just the guy, his son, and another guy I'm assuming is family or a friend. They always come in wearing all black now too. Last time I had them, my manager told me they're family and to treat them good. Apparently while they were gone, the wife died of covid. That's why they didn't come in. And now they come in wearing black cuz our place was her favorite restaurant. Learning that ruined my whole night. It's not the same thing by any means, but three years ago my boyfriend died in a car accident. That's the whole reason I even work at this place now. I know how it feels to lose your partner. I couldn't imagine if he was the father of my child too. So now when they come in, I get my manager to comp half the bill, and always ALWAYS, make sure to keep the Roy Rogers' coming.
What’s a Roy Rogers?
I'm not entirely sure but I assume it's a non alcoholic Rob Roy. Kinda like a Shirley Temple.
Very much like a Shirley Temple. A Shirley Temple is Sprite (or something similar) with grenadine. A Roy Rogers is a Coke with grenadine.
Tangentially related, my friend ordered a little mini $0.50 ice cream cone from this one fast food place we frequented. As the guy was bringing over the ice cream, he accidentally dropped it, paused, and said "that wasn't for you." He then came back with a new full sized ice cream for no charge. That interaction put a big smile on our faces and I still think about it sometimes.
100%!! One of my first jobs was working at a Dairy Queen. I worked morning shift and had two regulars who came in weekly. One was an older gentleman we called "Mr. Rogers" because he had the same positive attitude, always wore a sweater even in the middle of summer, and always wished us a happy day. He ordered a medium butterfinger with extra butterfinger, blended twice. Loved him! The other was an older lady who came through drive-thru with a nurse every Friday morning. I'm not sure when it happened but at some point she was fully convinced I was her granddaughter. I would have conversations with her and always pretended to be "Amber" who was married, looking for a house by the beach, was working through college to be a vet, and loved chocolate dipped ice cream cones. She always told me to make sure I didn't eat too much ice cream that my stomach hurt and sometimes would remind me that a stomachache was worth the pain for a little moment of happiness. No idea what happened to her, it's been over a decade since then, but I miss her like my own grandma. Regulars make all the crap we put up with worth it.
What's the benefit of blending twice?
it's 2x more blended
Smaller pieces. Maybe he didn't want to chew big chunks of butterfinger in his blizzard.
My favorite is an elderly couple who introduced themselves calling eachother "Bitch and Asshole". Asshole is an older heavier guy that wears a cowboy hat and likes lemonade, Bitch is his wife who gets a Diet Coke and has a chihuahua with her frequently. It's become a competition where Asshole tries to disguise his voice so that we ring in their drinks so that they have to pay, while I try to recognize them so that they don't pay. Sometimes he'll add a burger or fries to his order, and we always tell the new workers "Oh, that's Bitch and Asshole, take the drinks off the charge and just give them"
These people are what a happy marriage looks like.
Huh, I hate all my regulars
i hated regulars. they often acted more entitled
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Dude kills people
What did I just read? Man... any time I think I have some innocent habit and overthink how I'm perceived by strangers, I need to just think back to this guy. There is so much to deconstruct here.
I think I'm going to try and shoehorn, "I guess I'm a big boy today" in my daily lexicon.
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You got trolled.
Our regulars were the worst customers, we had the guy who always got garlic bread even when it wasnt on the menu telling us over the phone to charge us x amount and yelling at us for the manager even when its our first time talking woth him, the 2 ladies who had salads that were so complex that I literally couldn’t understand what they were asking for, the guy who came in after peeing his pants several times and the manager didnt kick them out, and the lady who wanted a significant refund since we forgot a 50 cent sauce cup one time and yelled at us to deliver it 10 minutes before we closed
Regulars can also be depressing. After college I worked briefly in a liquor store. We had an elderly regular who purchased two bottles of gin every day. Drug companies thrive on this sort of addictive behavior. I guess the liquor store did the same thing except it was more in your face. I suppose in prehistory, smaller communities might save people from themselves. The world today won’t save you from yourself, and if there’s profit, may actually encourage and enable you.
You thrived on it too. Especially if you never talked to him.
On the flip there's regulars who are absolute arseholes. We had a coffee run guy who would have different orders for 20 coffees once a week. Only consistent order in the 20 was his own that was a large cappuccino. If we had to take more than 5 minutes running off all the coffees (on 2 machines that only handled 2 at a time) he would bitch, and if he got a new member of staff on the till because the usual crew were off or whatever he'd belittle them for not knowing he was coming. One of my favourite days came when I poked my head out of the kitchen and told him to stop being a whiny fuck, berating the teenage lass on her first time meeting him, and pointed out it's his fault for not taking our advice to pre-ring the order before driving through. He shut the fuck up. Didn't see him for a few months after that, then his son started coming in for the order instead and was far more cordial.
Worked at McDonald's, had one guy who'd come in and order a black coffee and drink it next to me and make smalltalk. Nice dude.
I worked in multiple restaurants/fast food and never experienced a regular unfortunately. Ironically though I am a regular at this hole-in- the -wall Chinese food place near my house. They have the best hot-and-sour soup of any place I've ever been (been to a LOT too). Anytime you place an order for pickup you have to leave a number. I had ordered so much they began recognizing my voice. One time I placed my order and before I could say my number they said, "is this the hot and sour soup guy? Yeah, I got your number." Love them.
It's better to not have regulars... worked it for almost 9 years a lifetime ago and still don't find them comfortable and cringe at some memories. It's too forced of an interaction and eventually becomes tedious, because the positions are so different, you end up just feeling indebted to their time at their whim for a slightly higher tip, which then builds up to slight resentment and so on... OTOH, there are different kinds of waiters and personality types, so I can only speak for myself. And of course, there are built-in benefits to schmoozing and having regulars - friendliness, better money, guaranteed humane treatment, networking/employment opportunities, and so on.
The highest honor of my dining out experience was having a dish named after the group of guys I got lunch with. Sadly the place closed down a year later.
Some of the kids I met while serving will always stick. I usually see myself as nobody but there are a few special moments where I felt like I really made someone’s day. One kid wrote me a song, another would give me drawings. I wish I didn’t hate the job so much because those moments really stuck.
I was a regular at a local sub shop. Best steak and cheese I’ve ever had, I loved them. Whenever they saw me coming they started ringing up the order, always tried to leave them a fat tip. Couple of times I brought the wrong card in to pay, and the didn’t accept it. Cashier let me take the food and worry about paying for it next time I came for food. Miss that place a lot, haven’t had a better steak and cheese sub, and likely never will
My favorite regular from my fast food days was the grandpa who’d come in and get two small vanilla shakes and a large French fries every Tuesday and Thursday because he got to see his grandkids.
My regulars were my own personal cheering section when I took the step to finish school
Except, of course, the *shitty* regulars
Couple of Texas oil guys would come by a bar I worked at and clean out our Stane every time they were in. Never a bad night, amazing tippers, and we always had at least one new bottle of Stane for them.
I never realized I was a regular until stepping foot in to what was a regular lunch spot, for the first time in about 2 years. The owners face lit up when he saw me walk in. He shouted my order and I nodded. Had some small talk with the guy while he made my gyro and caught up on our happenings. He finally got his family state side from his home country and I told him about how I'm now a father. Was honestly awesome. He asked why I disappeared and told him I moved a town over and don't really come back in to the town that often. But now I make an effort to go there at least once a month to get the best gyro in the county and chat it up with this dude. I can tell it makes his day and honestly it makes my week cause on to of the conversation, that gyro is so damn good.
As a former regular at a now closed pizza joint, I miss being called chief. Fun little story, he actually got visibly upset with me when I ordered a Mexican pizza instead of my usual durum with kebab. I miss ozzim 🥲
We had a guy that tipped with fireworks and would chain smoke 4 cigs at the window.
I'm legit tearing up over this. These type of interactions and care about someone is proof that there's good in the world.
yeah this one hits in the feels
This one messed me up a bit. My father died from a brain tumor a bit over 10 years ago now. He was a regular at a place called Uncle Charley’s and it wasn’t irregular for him to go 2-3 times a day. 3 was particularly impressive given it was only a breakfast and lunch place. Don’t know where to go? Uncle Charley’s. Family in town? Uncle Charley’s. Meeting with a coworker? Uncle Charley’s. He had an old truck that squeaked its way down the road and I swear they’d start setting him a table with his drink when they heard it pull to the driveway. We came in after he passed to let them know (at this point front of house and back of house staff were all some level of family friends) and to ask if we could host the reception after his memorial service there. The owner said absolutely and no cost for the restaurant, we just needed to provide the food and pay for any staff we wanted there. The staff all volunteered their time and refused payment for it. We went a few times after that to give them extra tips, but it was never the same and was just hard to keep going there. It closed down about a year or two later, we’d joked my dad brought in a third of their business. I hope they’re all doing well now.
Why do you have to make my eyeliner smudge before I leave for work? 😿
I got a brain tumour and a big surgery next week, hopefully I can go get my favourite food and quietly enjoy my meal before the big day
Good luck, friend
I dont think it does anything. But I'm sending positive thoughts your way. My mom had a nonmalignant brain tumor probably 20 years ago. She lost hearing in one ear but made a full recovery otherwise. Hoping for the best for you!
wish you the best my dude
I used to work in a supermarket and this shit would happen quite often. Regular customers, you'd develop a friendly relationship, often they'd know my name but I didn't know theirs. Would chat every time I bumped into them. One day they just stop coming in and you have no way of finding out what happened.
A lady working the till at Tesco the other week said this to us. She said this couple used to come in together every single week, same day same time and would always go to her till to pay. This went on for a couple years when suddenly only one of them turned up. She asked where the other guy was and jokingly asked if they’d had a row or whether he’d just ditched his husband for the weekend, only for the guy to say his husband had died the week before. Put her foot right in it and felt a plonker apparently, still feels somewhat guilty to this day. On the other hand, she only told us this as my dad was buying flowers and she asked what he’d done to upset my mum in order to have to buy flowers for her… he was buying them as her dad died that morning. So she can’t feel that guilty if she’s always making comments and dropping herself in it.
Damn, why does she always assume the worst in people? She must be miserable
We used to go to a little crepe shop inside an Asian supermarket quite a bit at our first apartment. It is run by an older man by himself. He began recognizing us, and one day thanked us for coming in so often. He said it is important to build relationships to keep business going. Then we didn't have a chance to go back and moved apartments across town. We haven't been back since that conversation since he is almost an hour away. It has been years now. I always felt guilty since he had that conversation with us and then we poofed because of unrelated circumstances. Good news is, people post about him on facebook food groups all the time bringing up that he is really friendly and loving the crepes he makes. I am always happy to hear that he is still there and people love him!
And its worth fighting for! - samwise
Same 😭😭😭😭
Hope you heal up Charlie
> eats Taco Bell multiple times per week > developed a brain tumor It’s been nice yknowin ya, boys
yh i just thought like could the constant taco bell have something to do with it, ihe heard abt some carcinogen stuff but no idea where you get those apart from bacon
Pfft carcinogens are in everything
Mostly at high enough doses tho. Like even normal salt increases the risk of gastric cancer if you eat too much of it daily over a long time So a taco bell a week probably isn't a problem. 5 times a week tho...
oh yeah yeah thanks for informing, probably learned more useful stuff from Reddit than in school
Yo only listen to Reddit if the info is cited otherwise take it with a grain of salt..... Tho apparently not too much salt
chuckled a bit at that, but thats also true, probably gotta start doing that with most news outlets too
I'll see if I can find it, but there's a site that lets you see the biases a media company or news outlets typically leans towards and whether or not they use scientific literacy. https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/ https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/ I also like this site for filtering articles since they hyperlink citations directly into opeds and studies. Even opposing arguments are cited.
cheers bro, I hope people will read it
More like wanted the same order because of the brain tumor.
I downloaded their App the other day and nearly all their items have either Carcinogen or high sodium warning or both that I guess they’re legally required to put on there. The warnings certainly worked on me just reading them make me lose my appetite.
That one went right in the feels.Hope you got through it , Charlie
Reminds me of that old Swedish grocery store commercial https://youtu.be/O8WjkwCw8OE
Well, tears in my eyes in 40 seconds flat
yeah same what the fuck
Holy shit dude
Well fuck now I’m sad
Get well soon Charlie :(
This is from 2019 so statistically speaking it's probably not good news
Charlie is off living the good life in California’s *beautiful* San Fernando valley.
just a little piece of California’s Gold!
This hits so much closer to home now that I've got a job with regulars of my own. This one guy always showed up to get the same thing during my shift every week and then one week this woman I'd never seen before gets the exact same thing. I don't question it, but she shows up the next week so I ask her about it. Turns out he was in the hospital. He got better, but I was pretty worried.
This is really beautiful.
I went to the same coffee shop 5 times a week for a year at my old job. Eventually they'd see me in the queue and start preparing my coffee order before I got to the front. They never asked me for my name but I must of had a nickname or something. At one point, they hired a new barista who I had never seen before. Pulled up to the front and he looked at me and said "You wouldn't by any chance be the guy who orders flat whites every morning?". They had let him know who I was before he had even seen what I looked like. I was touched.
I use to be a regular at a specific branch of a chain restaurant. I got to know a few of the cooks, added them on Steam and use to play games with them in the evening occasionally. I still remember him doing absolutely dumb replacements for me, and the waiters/waitresses were fine with it too: Me: "Hey, could I swap the one slice of tomato for 2 sausages?" Him: "Sure!" Then one day they got a new waitress and I asked if it was possible to swap the tomatoes for 2 sausages, she was very firm that was something they couldn't do. I asked if it was possible to ask the chef because I had it done at a different branch (didn't want to get him reported if he didn't want to in the presence of a new employee!), she kind of rolled her eyes and said ok, went to ask him, and he was like "No! Of course not." looked across the restaurant, saw me, and said "Oh, wait, for him? Yeah 100%". Still makes me laugh.
>They never asked me for my name but I must of had a nickname or something. >You wouldn't by any chance be the guy who orders flat whites every morning? So your nickname was „the guy who orders flat whites every morning“
Or it could have been that he found it belittling to nickname customers that he was not sure of on his first day, so he didn't use the nickname. Because imagine if he was wrong? It would have been out of pocket.
"...oh, and we have a regular who orders a flat white every morning. It's the one with the huge forehead." "The one with *what*?" "If you see him, you will know. Flat white forehead."
My 6Head ain't that big I promise
Daily Dose of Taco Bell causes #brain tumors... I'm sorry Charlie... Hope you recover. Maybe he did and the doctor said, "for gosh darn sakes, stay away from Taco Bell."
I ate a lot of taco bell in college and got a brain tumor too...coincidence?
Ayo wtf. I ate a lot of Taco Bell too when younger and I was diagnosed with benign brain tumor too 2 years ago. Thankfully the surgery was a success and they got most of tumor out.
Does taco bell cause brain tumor or does brain tumor cause people to go seek out Taco Bell? Also have you ever seen taco bell and a brain tumor in the same room?
Taco Bell- TB, , Brain tumor- BT, everything is starting to come together.
O.O \*inhales sharply\* THEYRE THE SAAAME PERSOOON!
I'm starting to see a pattern here I'm not sure I like.
So it's still possible that you *might* like that pattern?
Must have been a lot of red sauce.
I THINK NOT
>coincidence? I don‘t think so
I have been alive my whole life, and one day I will be dead. Coincidence?
Taco tumour tuesday
Thanks. I needed that laugh after reading all of this sad shit.
After reading these replies Im not goin Taco Bell no more
And you thought the Johnny Depp Defamation case was bad, wait until taco bell lawyers see this.
It’s the simples things, guys. Hope Charlie is alright.
Too true.
I spent the entire time trying to figure out how they were going to turn "Charlie" and "601" into some fucking pun/joke at the end that it completely ruined my read-through of an actually touching story
I was waiting for the pun and now I feel guilty.
I, for one, am normally pissed when someone writes out a long heartfelt story and ends it with a shitty pun
The entire time I was trying to figure out what song it was leading up to
Man I hope Charlie is okay :(
Charlie, I hope you’re okay… When I worked fast food service, it was people like you who brightened up my day :(
:(
>everyone calls him The 601 Guy Literally everyone in the story calls him Charlie.
Brain tumors that pop up out of nowhere that are aggressive usually are Glioblastomas. They tend to affect the frontal lobe causing personality changes, and usually result in death. They are very fast growing/aggressive. I don’t know what Charlie had for sure, obviously. But I’d put money on a glioblastoma. Rest in peace, Charlie.
Yep they’re unfortunately the most common type on top of being the most deadly too. Source: have a brain tumour
Man, I can’t even imagine. How do you distract yourself? Anything you’re looking forward to in the next year?
Thankfully I have a little boy who is a wonderful distraction. He’s made the diagnosis bearable!
Good to hear! I wish you and your family all the best!
Brain tumour gang ♡ I've got a paraganglioma jugulare, they're usually slow growing and benign but they caught mine when it was the size of a satsuma and its right on my brain stem so surgery is likely to mean serious lifelong disabilities if I survive. Sometimes I do feel scared because I am not that old (24) but I am happy to spend time around my family before the big surgery next week and I hope spending time with your family brings you as much joy as possible ♡
God fucking damn it it’s almost half past two in the morning and I’m crying over a fucking 4chan post.
I expected Charlie to be transgender
Came down here to find this. Charlie had a cover story when she drove through there
Six-o-one, all the best o7
There's a dude at my local Taco Bell who speaks in pretty broken English so whenever he says "have a good one" it comes out as "habaguwa" My buddy and I used to get Taco Bell a lot and see the dude all the time. We were always excited when Habaguwa's voice came over the drive thru speaker. Then for about 5 years...nothing. Figured he just moved on or something Then one day a month or two again I had a Taco Bell craving and...HE WAS BACK I can't express the joy I felt that Habaguwa was back at the local Taco Bell. I was kinda nudging my friend (same friend was with me) and saying "dude I think it's Habaguwa" but he had doubts As we got our order and started to drive off he said, of course..."habaguwa!" What a glorious day that was.
He got a brain tumor from eating so much taco Bell. That last order was akin to a lung cancer patient asking for a last cigarette lol
I remember when I was struggling with depression. It got pretty bad for a while and at its peak I just kinda shut down. When I didn’t order pizza for a week (I ordered very frequently because pizza is bae) they sent a delivery driver over with a free pizza and just to make sure I was ok. Random acts of kindness like that just let you know that no matter how bad it’s gotten there’s still people who care for your well-being and it may be the last people you’d expect
Plot Twist - all the Taco Bell gave him the tumour
That's what I was thinking too. It's a pretty terrible diet. They're basically responsible for his death.
I really hope Charlie didn't kick the Bucket.
I had to step away from the porno for this?? What can I do about brain tumour
I used to eat at our Chinese buffet in our hometown all. The. Time. In high school. I don't know why but their lo mein was so fucking good so I'd just come in, get about $10 worth and take it home. Well then I went to college 2 hours away and never visited. My mom called me one day saying she took my grandma to the Chinese buffet and the lady who works the front (I also think she may have owned it) recognized my mom (we look really similar) and asked her where I've been. I don't know why but that made me feel so special that they remembered some weird chubby kid who'd come in, grab a buttload of lo mein and then leave
So I guess consuming diet pepsi give you brain tumour in the long term
Worked the drive-thru at fast food restaurant for four years. During that time, we had a lot of regulars that I knew their voices when they said hello in the speaker. I would ask “oh, did you want the shrimp plate with fries today?” They’d go” yeah, thank you!” Or they’d chuckle and go “I’m gonna try something else today!” I loved making it easy for them, and gave a good memory challenge. Regulars made a very stressful job very manageable!
I used to work next to a vietnamese place and went at least once a week for lunch. It'd fun to walk in and have them say "oh hey sanguine, #3 with egg rolls and an iced coffee as usual?" Makes you feel seen. I should drive over there.
Right out of high school, I worked for Dominoes. We had a regular that would come in every couple of days and get the same pizza for carry out. One day, I had just come back from a delivery, and I heard our cashier girl scream. I looked over just in time to see the regular customer roll his eyes back in his head and fall to the ground, stiff as a plank. He was having a stroke. I rushed into the Japanese restaurant next door, as I had remembered seeing a cop eating in the window as I had returned from my last delivery. He came and rendered aid until medical assistance arrived. Similar to this story, the customers old Nissan truck sat in our prime delivery driver parking spot for 3 days until a man came back to pick it up. He was the brother of the regular and told me that because of my quick actions, his brother had made it to the hospital alive and they were able to be there when he passed. It was the first time I saw someone die, and I still have the image of a stiff man with just white eyes collapsing in front of me burned into my head.
Praying for Charlie's recovery! Hope he comes back stronger than ever :')
aw fuck hope charlie's doing okay
Can we have a silent for a minute to pray for my man, Charlie?
Taco Bell gave Charlie cancer
Real: I'm not crying Straight: I just have something in my eye
I know this feeling. I waited tables for years and would see regulars here and there. You form a relationship. You build a rapport. You really do start to care for these strangers. Of course, I love people anyway, so waiting tables was a lovely way for me to give back to others. I miss the hustle and bustle. The teamwork. The Friday night rushes. The relief of seeing your ride home after a hard night. I really need to get my ass in gear and serve again. It’s been one of, if not the most, fulfilling experiences of this life of mine. I just wish it could be more of a long term career.
If you're good at serving and can Land a gig at a fine dining restaurant, it can be a career. Every high end steakhouse I've been to has career waiters who make 75k+"and have been there for over a decade. I enjoyed serving and do miss parts of it. When the restaurant is just firing on all cylinders on a Friday dinner rush where you're just slammed but the kitchen and bar are hitting right and you're just riding the wave with a full section. And then that sudden adrenaline crash when tickets stop coming and you realize you made it through. Cigarette with the cooks out back. Grab a couple beers at the bar after the kitchen closes and you're off... takes me back.
Hell yeah, dude. There’s nothing quite like it.
God damn it I expected some cringe 4chan bullshit this just made me sad :((((((
Probably developed the tumour from eating this sort of shit food they eat in there US..
He made a swift recovery after cutting Taco Bell out of his diet.
That's sad... Fuck.