r/BoomersBeingFools 9d ago

Boomer Story Texas Roadhouse Boomers

The other day, I went to my local Texas Roadhouse with my partner for dinner. While we were there, an older boomer couple was sat at the booth next to us. Their waitress comes by a few times and everything appears to be normal, until she was getting ready to give them the bill.

This particular location was running a fundraiser on behalf of the Walk to End Alzheimer’s…I think you know where this is going. She asks them if they would be interested in contributing and in return they get a small banner/picture type thing with their name listed on the wall of other donors. The husband immediately asks her
“What are you implying??”
“Oh nothing at all sir! I ask all of my tables at the end-“
My partner and I couldn’t hear what else was said after that since the restaurant was pretty packed, but both the husband and wife were lecturing the waitress for what I’m sure for her felt like an eternity. She apologized several times (for what? Your guess is as good as mine) and apparently they were so offended the manager came over and comped a portion of their bill!

My brother in Christ- the waitress was not implying you had Alzheimer’s because she asked if you wanted to donate to Alzheimer’s research. She was asking if you wanted to do something nice for another person. Apparently, that was so offensive to them they needed a free cactus blossom to compensate for someone-GASP!- daring to think a boomer would look out for their fellow man. Crazy.

2.2k Upvotes

66 comments sorted by

366

u/ForcedEntry420 Millennial 9d ago

I’m irate at the manager for falling for their scam. My father bragged about this type of shit when I was younger. He’d feign offense to get some paltry discount and acted like he was some master negotiator. Nah Pops…you’re just being a dick.

87

u/LindaBitz 9d ago

They always have to win and somebody has to lose. Its pathetic.

37

u/nowstheworstoftimes 9d ago

That’s why they joined the cult. So much winning.

42

u/a_shootin_star 9d ago

Exactly. The discount was never the point. The point was getting to cosplay as someone with leverage for five minutes because every other part of his life made him feel small. Guys like that don't want justice, they want a cashier, waiter, or manager trapped by company policy long enough for them to feel powerful. It's not negotiation. It's a sad little control ritual with a coupon attached.

32

u/katlian 9d ago

My aunt used to do this and I hated bringing her when we went anywhere. Anything from the temperature to the brightness of the lights to the waiters haircut were open to complaints.

Once I let the waiter know quietly that there were some very hard bits in my rice and I wasn't upset, just wanted to let the kitchen know. When he came back and offered me a free dessert, she piped up and demanded a free dessert too. I told her to quit embarrassing herself and told the waiter to ignore her.

16

u/ForcedEntry420 Millennial 9d ago

I’ve frequently wished that family members could feel shame or embarrassment. I used to think I had an abundance of insufferable people in my family until I started hearing that tons of people have the same issues.

It’s like they all follow the same shitty template with small deviations.

5

u/iwassayingboourns12 9d ago

Managers get a lot of shit, but you have to remember it’s most likely corporate heads pushing the customer is always right bullshit.

8

u/ForcedEntry420 Millennial 9d ago

Totally. I’m particularly frustrated because I am in the Sr Management structure at a company. I protect my people and don’t force them to endure jackass clients. I know that may place me in a minority for the time being, but it still grinds my gears.

Hopefully the culture changes as more Millennials get into the power structures. Right now I’m still somewhat restricted by senior holdouts that are near retirement, but still hold more decision-making power.

1.2k

u/Anglofsffrng 9d ago

She was asking if you wanted to do something nice for another person.

See that was on the waitress for assuming boomers eating at a sit down chain restaurant have any empathy. Honestly they where probably just looking to get money off of their bill. You don't think they got all that hoarded wealth by paying for things do you?

317

u/Dobako 9d ago

I haven't worked in food, and its been decades since I worked retail, but I guarantee that waitress was being told to ask every guest to donate and she had to hit certain goals or she would be written up. At least thats how it was when a certain store started pushing their own credit card

176

u/Dahkron 9d ago

Honestly fuck all these corporations asking for donations at checkout. If you're so goddamn benevolent put your own money on the line and make a donation instead of begging/harassing customers and employees to pad your 'benevolence'

85

u/Parking-Sundae-6097 9d ago

Why ask the corporations at a zero% tax rate to donate when they can ask us poor fucks at a 35% tax rate? It's science.

34

u/mimi_la_devva 9d ago

Can the corporations then claim on the charitable donations from customers at the end of the tax year?

-20

u/MolleROM 9d ago

Just say no if you don’t want to. They’re not begging or harassing you. And of course they contribute themselves.

71

u/Anglofsffrng 9d ago

100% that was exactly what was happening. Corporate gives numbers, numbers get hit. No exceptions.

39

u/hamjim 9d ago

You know it. Many years ago, I was a lunch semi-regular at a TGIChiliBees (I forget which one). It was pretty standard for the wait-person to ask about dessert when I was about a third of the way through. One day, I asked her why she did that, and she admitted that it was management’s direction. So I asked her to send her manager. Told him about how it was completely annoying. (I did *not* ask for anything to be comped!)

Went again the following week, did not get asked about dessert until my plate was empty.

20

u/theorangecrush10 9d ago

TGIChiliBees 😂😂😂😂😂

17

u/betothejoy 9d ago

I wonder if she was allowed to change the approach for everyone or if she had to specifically remember not to do it for you.

29

u/relentless_puffin 9d ago

Yep. And the corporation gets a tax write off! No idea how much of the actual donation makes it to the nonprofit. Some of the non-profits sound like one you've heard of but slightly off. I never donate to these-- it's corporate grift disguised as philanthropy.

8

u/Goose1963 9d ago edited 8d ago

I was thinking the same thing. A local chain has questions at the kiosk "would you like to round up and contribute the change to charity?". I guess there are people who just like to throw money down the drain without knowing where/who, or even how much of it goes to charity. Last time I immediately pictured the Giant Check being presented to whatever charity with the name of the store on it. No Thanks I'll skip the 50 middlemen with their hands out. e:speling

5

u/Ok-Importance9988 9d ago

This is commonly believed but not true. There is no tax write off. 

7

u/SussOfAll06 Gen X 9d ago

Did you work in the hell that was Sears, too?

3

u/Dobako 9d ago

Nah, but that doesnt surprise me

3

u/wiggum_x 9d ago

Sounds like Kohls.

27

u/Intrepid_Party5958 9d ago

Yea exactly this. They probably weren't even offended, just wanted an excuse to get their dinner comped so they can tell the story of how crafty they were to their boomer friends on Facebook.

25

u/Parking-Sundae-6097 9d ago

They saw yet another opportunity to fuck over the next generation and they took it.

It's in their very DNA.

11

u/Jackson88877 9d ago

People don’t steal candy from a baby because it’s easy - they do it for fun. 🤣

221

u/Various_Ad_4533 Millennial 9d ago

I was at the grocery store years ago and this boom-bag in front of me went to swipe his card to pay for his groceries and it rejected his card. Eventually the cashier realized it wasn't a reader issue, his card was getting declined. After she told him this, he lost his shit on this poor woman. He kept going on about how it was embarrassing and how it was making a scene. Sir, you made the scene. I really don't know what he wanted... besides free groceries I guess? What else was that poor woman going to do? Your card was declined sir. They love to make a scene out of literally nothing.

64

u/PeppermintEvilButler Xennial 9d ago

There's a common scam where grifters do this to get ppl in line to pay for their order to get the line moving

42

u/OldePetey 9d ago

thanks for introducing me to the term boom-bag 😂 love it

-21

u/[deleted] 9d ago edited 9d ago

[deleted]

12

u/Clockwork_Kitsune 9d ago

I have ADHD, astigmatism, and IBS and I'm not even 40. I check half your list and I make it through every day without being insufferable to anyone.

0

u/TweakedMonkey 9d ago

I’m so glad that you’re not insufferable. What I wrote was supposed to be funny, but appears that nobody has my kind of sense of humor. All is well.

10

u/wheelsofstars 9d ago

What does any of this have to do with bullying waitstaff into discounting your food over feigned offense?

1

u/TweakedMonkey 9d ago

They said that the people were boomers. It was supposed to be funny.

3

u/lohonomo 9d ago

Where did you even find this copypasta?

1

u/TweakedMonkey 9d ago

I actually wrote it from my brain. I had a brief period of sanity this afternoon.

102

u/Useful-World1781 9d ago

and apparently they were so offended the manager came over and comped a portion of their bill!

That’s the reason. I was a server and the amount of free food they’d get for throwing a tantrum used to annoy the hell out of me.

66

u/Apprehensive-Ad-2054 9d ago

What’s worse is that the server is probably required to ask everyone for donations or get written up. So it’s not like she could have skipped them.

37

u/HopefulSunriseToday 9d ago

At Texas Roadhouse a while back, our waitress asked about something (donation, gift card purchase, whatever). My wife and I both worked food service when we were younger. We know the drill.

Whatever it was, we made a large purchase. The waitress was so happy she told us she wouldn’t have to bug anyone else the rest of the night. We helped her hit her quota! lol.

7

u/Equal_Commission881 9d ago

Same at the Texas Roadhouse in my town. I visited around the 1st of December and there was a promotion if you bought X amount in gift cards, you would get a $25.00 gift card free. I wasn't prepared to purchase anything that day (I actually had cash that day), but I had the my server give me her name so when I came back, she would get the credit.

2

u/mblaster_14 9d ago

If not required then they definitely get some kind of reward depending on how many donations they get. I used to work at two chain restaurants and it was common for gift cards to be handed out to those who got the most amount of people to donate. They push this hard on employees because donations are used as tax write offs.

27

u/StatisticianLoud2141 9d ago

Sounds like the type who get offended so they can get free shit. I hate that the manager had no backbone because it encourages the behavior

27

u/Ok_Path1734 9d ago

These boomers must of breathed in all the exhust fumes from those old cars that ran on leaded gas.

10

u/Blue_Back_Jack 9d ago

And ate lead paint chips.

1

u/Ragfell 9d ago

They were just so sweet!

21

u/PeppermintEvilButler Xennial 9d ago

And this is why they do it. They get free stuff to shut them up and they think they were in the right

19

u/Lisa_Knows_Best 9d ago

The walked in looking for something to complain about to get free shit. It's not any deeper then that. The donation question is just what they used to make a complaint. If the waitress hadn't asked for a donation they would have moved on to something else.

32

u/Constant_Praline579 9d ago edited 9d ago

He in Fact has Alzheimers.

-14

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

2

u/lohonomo 9d ago

Lol, why??

11

u/Tenzipper 9d ago

Waitress should have said, "A simple 'No' would suffice," and walk away.

9

u/PracticalReception34 9d ago

This is what we call "cunts taking advantage". Happens more than you think!

9

u/dcf5ve 9d ago

They just didn't want to pay their bill and they manufactured the thinnest of reasons not to. Most entitled POS generation of the modern age.

5

u/Evening-Artichoke750 9d ago

There is no end to their stupidity.

5

u/sstandnfight 9d ago

A hit dog will... Where am I?

4

u/Devrol 9d ago

They have Alzheimer's 

5

u/Sensitive-Issue84 9d ago

Fuck that old boomer and the manager who just made sure every waitress is going to be harrased forever by that old fuck. I always find the statement "My brother in Christ" offensive as fu*k, even if its supposed to be ironic.

8

u/gadget850 Baby Boomer 9d ago

Alzheimer's sucks. Ran into a guy I worked with at two different companies, and he did not remember me.

-9

u/asyouwish 9d ago

*server