Are Servers Just Supposed to Take This Cake ?

(SPOT.ph) In the fast Internet and receipt culture age, anything you post online can easily be replicated and shared like wildfire—even if you try to delete all traces. Such is the case for Alex Gonzaga, who has yet again earned the ire of social media.

A clip of her smearing cake on a waiter's forehead went viral around January 17. Taken during what appears to be an advance birthday celebration, Gonzaga can be seen having fun with friends and family. All is innocent fun until she blows her birthday candles and decidedly smears cake on the forehead of the wait staff holding it. The person holding the cake can then be seen staring blankly, arguably unsure of how to react, as noise and boisterous laughter continues in the background from Gonzaga's party attendees. To say that the clip has been met with anger from people online is an understatement. 

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Alex Gonzaga: Pranks and Comedy Gone Wrong

As much as her fans would like to excuse this act as another prank or joke by the comedian-turned-vlogger, it is clear the act wasn't in good taste. People online were quick to point out that Gonzaga could have easily chosen to smear her husband's face, as he was standing right next to her. That she chose to pull the "prank" not on someone she knew very well and had an equal relationship with, but with someone presumably on her payroll is the point of contention.  We put "prank" in quotation marks because, really, at this point, who is laughing?

Well, clearly the people at the party were, and it only served to worsen the situation. You could hear the crowd jeering and chuckling as if nothing wrong is happening before their very eyes. Sure, you could call it an initial reaction, but as of writing, we have yet to see an apology or some sort of acknowledgment from attendees, the family, nor Gonzaga herself. The clip itself, uploaded as an Instagram story, supposedly by Dani Barretto, was deleted, but not soon enough before the Internet could get receipts. 

Now that Gonzaga's party has supposedly broken their silence by saying the waiter is close to the family, after hours of the clamor online, it begs the question: do they think that was an alright thing to do? Seeing Gonzaga, a well-known personality and one who well, wields influence in one way or another, treat the staff in this manner, in front of everyone, says that she felt there was no problem with it. Now whether or not the two have some sort of prior relationship doesn't matter—what matters is that at that moment, the wait staff couldn't do much besides accept the cake on their face. Fact is, it shouldn't be hard for anyone with common decency to remember that everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity at all times—especially when face to face with someone paid to wait on you. 

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Service providers are vulnerable to maltreatment. How about not adding to that?

We've all heard it before or, more alarmingly, know someone who has gone through it: a waiter screamed at for slow service, a call center agent yelled at for an inefficient system they have no control over; security guards berated for asking too many questions; a nanny/yaya forced to endure the taunts of her wards; or even a corporate consultant humiliated for not immediately knowing the solution to problems. These are all people who, at some point or another, provide you with their time and effort in exchange for payment. Your money assures that you will receive some level of service; it does not give you a pass to treat others like lesser beings, or at its most base, be disrespectful towards them.

Then there is the layer of Gonzaga being a celebrity with an online following. As Oliver of the Internet-famous family Otakoyakisoba put it, people should not be mocked for the sake of content. "Even if it was with consent, some will feel the pressure and just go along with it even if they feel uncomfortable," wrote Oliver, who has also worked in customer service." Or as another pointed out online, it would have been funnier content if she had smeared the cake on her own face. 

Tons of former and current servers have joined the discussion online, and we are yet to find one that said they would have liked to have the cake strewn on their face.  

Don't forget, we're all human

There is a power dynamic to consider in situations like this. Unsurprisingly, what a person is willing to tolerate reaches new heights when its providing for their family that's on the line. It can go from as simple as not picking up after yourself in a fast-food restaurant because "There are people who are paid to do that," to straight up yelling at a server because your food's taking too long. Wait staff are more likely to submit themselves to your whim or, in this case, stand by and let you smear cake on their face. Your test of character here is simple: don't take advantage. 

Listen, we love a good laugh, jokes, pranks, and all that, but how about keeping it within a close circle of people? There's a fine line between being funny and being an asshole, and it is so easy to cross. When faced with people whose job it is to wait on you, the power dynamic and inequality add a whole new layer to the situation. Pro tip: simply remember that they're human, too, and it shouldn't be hard to be able to treat your servers better. Do unto others, after all.

UPDATE (January 18, 2023): This article was updated following the Gonzaga's camp statement on the waiter being a friend of the family. 

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