Florida Woman Goes To Outback Steakhouse During Her Lunch Break. Then She Looks At The Time: ‘My Office Is Around The Corner’

Lunch breaks during a typical 8-hour shift are often a sacred reset for most workers. It’s a chance to not only eat but also mentally check out for a while before getting back to it.

According to one Florida woman, however, taking that break at Outback Steakhouse may not be the best idea.

In her video, which has garnered over 257,500 views, TikTok creator Bryget (@bryget28) shares a frustrating lunch break experience at Outback Steakhouse using the “put a finger down” trend.

What Went Wrong At Outback Steakhouse?

“@Outback Steakhouse do better please,” she wrote in the video’s text overlay.

“So put a finger down if you and your coworkers… there were just three of you,” she begins. “And then you decide to go get lunch.”

She explains that the group chose Outback, a place they frequently visit during lunch breaks and typically rely on for quick service.

“Mind you, we literally work around the corner,” she says.

That’s what made what happened next even more frustrating.

After being seated, she says things started off normal enough, with them ordering their food and drinks.

Then the lunch starts falling apart. “The sweet tea that you could not wait to drink is not sweet,” she says.

She says she tried to address it with her Outback Steakhouse server. “I say, ‘Hey, this tea doesn’t taste sweet, can I please have sweet tea?’” she recalls. “And he goes, ‘Oh, I’ll just bring you over some sugar packets.’”

She says those never came. “Never did get the sugar packets,” she adds.

Meanwhile, her group tried to make the most of the situation. One of her coworkers had a birthday coupon, so they ordered dessert first.

“And then you split the cookie three ways,” she says.

But after finishing that and the complimentary bread, they were still waiting. “I still have sweet tea that’s not sweet, and I’m dying of thirst,” she says.

They Realize They’re Running Out Of Time

As the wait continued, she says they didn’t think much of it at first. “We’re just sitting there; we’re chit-chatting,” she says.

Then she checked the time. “And then [I] look down at [my] phone, and it had been 45 minutes,” she says.

At that point, their entire lunch break was almost over. “We have to be back to work in 15 minutes, and we haven’t even had our food yet,” she says.

When the waiter finally returned, they flagged him down. “We are on our lunch break. We have to get back to work,” she recalls telling him.

According to Bryget, he said he would check on the order but didn’t return for 10 more minutes.

When the waiter did come back, it wasn’t with their food. “He says, ‘ Hey, we can’t make any substitutions on the quesadilla,’” she recalls.

“Where was this like 40 minutes ago when she put her order in?” she says.

At that point, they decided just to leave. “And then [we] say, ‘OK, we need our bill,’” she says.

But even that wasn’t quick. “Zero sense of urgency whatsoever,” she says, noting the Outback Steakhouse restaurant wasn’t busy.

They Leave Without Eating, And Still Don’t Get Everything

By the time they were supposed to be back at work, she explains, they still hadn’t received their food or even paid the bill. Eventually, they asked for everything to be packed to go.

When they finally got back to work, they noticed even more went wrong.

“And then [we] got back to work. [We’re] divvying out [our] food,” she says.

That’s when she noticed something missing. “Tell me why I didn’t get my mashed potatoes,” she says. “I literally just got a steak.”

She says she ended up eating it at her desk with plastic utensils. “Imagine sitting at your cubicle cutting a steak with a plastic knife,” she adds.

By the end of it, she says none of the things she was looking forward to at Outback Steakhouse were delivered.

“The two things that I was most excited about today were sweet tea and mashed potatoes,” she says. “And I didn’t even get the mashed potatoes. And the sweet tea was not sweet.”

Commenters Say The Experience Isn’t Unusual

In the comments section, viewers said they’ve had similar experiences and encouraged her to report it.

“At least you got food at outback. The last time we were there our table was completely ignored. We got up and left and haven’t been back since. That was two years ago,” one person wrote.

“I’d call & complain and see if they’ll comp you some free meals, I would definitely call corporate,” another said.

“What happened to customer service!!! It’s non-existent I’d say happy birthday to me and walked out thanks for the cookie,” a third added.

Have Other Customers Complained About The Service At Outback Steakhouse?

Across platforms like TikTok, Reddit, and Trustpilot, other customers have shared similar complaints about slow service, missing items, and a lack of attention from staff.

One customer said he was completely ignored for 15 minutes, even though the restaurant didn’t seem busy. He ultimately decided to leave without ordering.

In one post on r/outbacksteakhouse, a customer described a visit to a Vero Beach location where customers were walking out, tables went uncleared despite the restaurant only being around 30 to 40% full, and some groups waited over 30 minutes just to be seated. “We love our local restaurant but this makes it hard to return,” they wrote.

On Trustpilot, where Outback Steakhouse holds a 2.7 out of 5 rating, another reviewer said servers forgot their wife’s meal entirely. According to the review, it arrived about 20 minutes after the rest of the table had already been served.

A separate Trustpilot review described what the customer called “very unprofessional” service, claiming their server was more focused on talking to other guests than checking on their table. They also said their steaks appeared to have been sitting out before being served and that the group waited over an hour for their food. “$140.00 is a lot of money to spend to receive that kind of service,” they wrote, adding that they were also unable to redeem a promoted deal.

BroBible has reached out to Outback Steakhouse via contact form and Bryget via TikTok messages for comment.