Restaurant servers have carved out a significant space on TikTok, where many use the platform to share their experiences, offer advice and start conversations about the industry. One such account, @millionaire_server_club, regularly posts videos offering advice to other servers. In a recent video, the creator asked servers how they typically greet their tables. The video has received more than 306,000 views and 1,800 comments.
@millionaire_server_club begins by asking, “Servers, do you greet your tables by saying, ‘Hey, y’all’ or ‘Hey, guys’? If so, you’re gonna wanna watch this video.”
She acknowledges that her take might be unpopular and could spark some controversy. According to the creator, however, some guests do not like being addressed as “guys.”
“We live in such a literal society, and people just take those words and they run with it. People eat up professionalism and manners,” she says. Rather than completely changing how they interact with customers, the creator suggests that servers build on their natural rapport with each table.
“What about ‘hey, folks,’ or me personally? I used to work at a restaurant that required us to call our tables family. So sometimes I say, ‘Hey, family.’ My tables eat that up. They love it,” she says. “It’s very important to be your authentic self.”
However, she makes it clear that she does not think servers are necessarily doing anything wrong by using a blanket greeting such as “guys.”
“If that’s naturally how you greet your tables, I’m not telling you that you’re wrong,” she says. “But there are a lot of people that say that they don’t like when servers greet them with ‘hey, guys.’ They just find it to be rude.”
She ends the video by asking both servers and customers to weigh in on how restaurant tables should be greeted.
@millionaire_server_club Servers, what is your go to line when you introduce yourself to your tables? #servertiktok #server101 #servertipsandtricks #servertok
♬ original sound - The Millionaire $erver Club
Customers and servers debate the best way to greet a table
The comments offered a range of opinions, with some users saying their preferred greeting depends on where they live or the people sitting at the table.
“I serve in the South so I feel like ‘hey y’all’ is appropriate,” one commenter wrote.
Another said they avoid “guys” altogether, particularly when there are no men at the table. “I never say ‘guys.’ I think that’s crazy especially if there’s no men at the table! I work lunches so I love to say hey family or hey girls hey party people,” the commenter said.
Others said they try to read the room and adjust their greeting based on the table. “Honestly i read the room,” one commenter wrote, before giving examples of how they might address different groups of customers, including families, parents and children.
The discussion suggests that there is no single greeting that every server or customer will prefer. For some servers, the choice may depend on their own style, the restaurant’s expectations or the particular table in front of them.
For @millionaire_server_club, the larger point is that servers should find a greeting that feels natural while being aware that some customers may have different preferences about how they are addressed.
