'I'm a waitress and I printed a bad review on a T-shirt - I'm tired of being told the customer is always right'

A waitress who got her one-star review printed on a t-shirt said her viral moment has opened conversation about "disrespectful" treatment of hospitality workers.

Daniella Claeys, 24, printed a one-star review she got while working at a restaurant, onto a t-shirt. Daniella, who has worked in hospitality for over ten years, got the review in November 2023 and got the t-shirt printed in December to cheer herself up.

The review came online after she had asked a family with a crying baby to sit outside to prevent disrupting the staff and other diners.

The scathing review read: "We will never be back!!! At this restaurant the staff made us feel so uncomfortable a waitress named Dani suggested the manager to seat us outside on the cold when our baby cried because she had headache, she didn't bother to hide her discomfort and looked at us like we were rubbish we obviously left the restaurant straight away. Very not family friendly atmosphere in there don't bother to go with kids."

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After sharing her t-shirt on TikTok, the waitress, who lives in Dalston, East London, saw herself inundated with hundreds of likes and comments. While some were critical, many supported her decision - and shared times they had been negatively reviewed in their own hospitality roles.

She said: "The response was wild. Lots of people related - there were so many other stories in the comments. I don't hold it against the woman who left the review, I didn't mean to make her uncomfortable.

"But making the t-shirt was a way to take back a bit of power - when as the server, you're told 'the customer is always right'. You should be able to find a bit of humour when things don't go right."

In a follow-up video, she explained that she was suffering from a migraine, causing her to be sensitive to loud noises, such as children screaming.

This led to her suggesting the family sit outside - which led to the review naming her, and accusing the restaurant of being 'not very family friendly'.

Daniella, who posts under @dandanthexanman, said: "I know, I slipped up."

She explained that at the time, the review resulted in her crying and having a meeting with her manager. She feared the review would result in her being fired, although that didn't happen.

She said: "I think there's been so much power over the use of online reviews, people sometimes don't understand the severity. Because she named me, the review is now mine. It impacted my life in a way I don't think she would have realised.

"The margin for error in such a customer-facing role is so small, that if someone feels it's not absolutely 100 per cent, the hard work and effort is taken for granted."

Daniella said the unplanned viral moment has opened the floor to a discussion around the treatment of hospitality workers - and how hard the role can be.

She said: "It's difficult to meet the standard, when service is a even just little bit off, I've been berated, yelled at, subjected to combative situations.

"I'm just one person. I can be doing 20,000 steps a day, I'm exhausted and still serving. I have done up to 14-hour shifts and can probably serve up to 200 in one shift."

Daniella feels the role is often 'under-respected as a career' - and it's 'not regarded as a high-skilled job'.

She said: "There's just not enough conversation being had towards hospitality workers. Often when you go to receptionists at hospitals, it says you can't be disrespectful to staff or you'll be removed.

"But there's nothing of the sort in hospitality - and people are ready to express themselves in quite a rude way when things don't go perfectly.

"Feeling like you're being disrespected and underappreciated all shift takes its toll. We're told the customer is always right - but the fact is, we're all humans and there are two sides to a story.

"Even if the server is in the wrong, things go wrong all the time for everyone, you're allowed to make mistakes. If I've been a customer I haven't always had the best service, they still served me - it's a privilege to be served. What needs to change is a level of understanding and respect, and more gratitude for when things do go right."