When Harley and her friends were offered “on-the-house” service at a restaurant, they couldn’t be more excited—especially since the restaurant seemed to want to talk about recruitment opportunities.
Sadly, the experience fell short of expectation, leading the group to question whether they had been scammed.
While it’s usually thought to be the restaurants that get scammed, some restaurants have faced accusations of ‘scamming’ customers.
Now, JOEY Restaurant, specifically its Houston branch, is being accused by Harley (@harlesaa) of scamming her and her friends in a “storytime” that has been viewed 24,300 times.
What She Says Went Down
Harley began by saying that she decided to go out to a bar with friends. While they were there, her friends ran into people from JOEY. They asked if they were looking for work and offered them a meal at the eatery on the house.
With the TikToker noting how she was looking for a second job, she decided it was a good opportunity, so they decided to take the staff up on their offer. With one of the staff members going out of their way to make a reservation, she said expectations were high. Most of all, they expected things to be on the house.
When their order arrived, it had hair on it, Harley claimed. However, Harley said she and her friends decided not to say anything since it was free.
According to Harley, her group was told that one of the managers was going to talk to them about jobs. However, they didn’t until the group followed up on it, per Harley. When asked, Harley recalled the staff member saying, “‘They didn’t tell us you were gonna be here ’till 9.45.'”
As for the meeting itself, Harley described it as the “quickest interaction ever.” But then, to their surprise, she said the bill came out. Ultimately, the TikToker described the experience as “so misleading.” She added that it “left a super bad taste in our mouth.”
Harley also described the experience as “super shady.” She speculated that the staff are out there looking for people in bars in this way. In turn, she said she’d dispute the credit card purchase for the meal.
Harley didn’t immediately respond to BroBible’s request for comment via Instagram direct message.
@harlesaa this whole thing was such a shame cause aside from everything, it was actually rly good vibes + food but just a very scammy, shady way of trying to get ppl in & rack up a tab 🙁
How Did Commenters React?
One JOEY enthusiast was disappointed, writing, “Love JOEY but that’s a little sus.”
Another shared their own substandard hiring experience. “STOP THEY LITERALLY TOLD ME I GOT THE JOB AFTER 2 interviews,” they explained. “They asked me to take off school and everything. I call the day before and ask what to wear to training and they told me they hired someone else.”
While a third backed her on disputing the meal, and said, “Yes dispute that ish.”
Meanwhile, a fourth commenter shared a photo of their own JOEY plate and revealed, “My homegirl found hair in her food last time we were there!”
And a fifth admitted, “You better than me babes I woulda walked tf out.”
Recruitment Process Slammed
It seems like Harley isn’t the only one left disappointed by JOEY’s apparent recruitment practices. In a Reddit post from 2025, an applicant for a JOEY Restaurant job in Toronto shared their own dissatisfactory experience. They said that they applied for a job as a line cook/prep cook, but then had to have three different interviews. There was one virtual interview, one with the hiring manager, and one with the head chef.
“The result? He basically told me there’s still over 20 other applicants to go through and he’ll let me know whether or not I’m selected,” they complained.
“It’s so disrespectful and unnecessary to put people through the wasted time and effort of THREE interviews for a minimum wage position when you can simply reject them from the first in-person interview. Bear in mind, no experience is required for this position and its entry level,” they added.
The poster also claimed that they would have to wait 15 to 40 minutes for a 10 minute interview.
“Don’t waste your time and effort being lead on by JOEY Restaurant folks!” they concluded. “They’ll make you run through hoops, wait longer than the time you’re interviewed, and won’t even follow up on whether or not you’re hired in the end! You’re worth better.”
@harlesaa this whole thing was such a shame cause aside from everything, it was actually rly good vibes + food but just a very scammy, shady way of trying to get ppl in & rack up a tab 🙁
JOEY didn’t immediately respond to BroBible’s request for comment via email.