Via iStockphoto / @thechad000buck2 TikTok
A worker says that some servers will get back at rude customers by poisoning them with this common product. Is it true?
Recently, a hoax went viral alleging that Texas Roadhouse and Logan’s Roadhouse servers were spitting in the food of Black customers.
This hoax came as a result of a now-deleted post to a Facebook group called “White and proud.” In the post, a woman named Nancy Smith warned Black diners that, if they ate at the aforementioned restaurant chains, their dinner rolls would be “full of our white saliva.”
This whole thing appears to have been a lie. Many of the details in the original post just didn’t make sense. Plus, Texas Roadhouse looked into the claim and told BroBible that they “found no credible evidence of food tampering or that this accusation is based in truth.”
Still, discussion of food tampering has led to many internet users recounting stories of when they believed someone messed with their meal. Now, a user on TikTok has sparked discussion after making an unbelievable claim about food tampering in the restaurant industry—and it’s enough to make you sick.
How Do Restaurant Workers Tamper With Food?
In a video with over 90,000 views, TikTok user Chad (@thechad000buck2) says that during his time working in the restaurant industry, he heard some pretty wild things—especially when it comes to food tampering.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re Black, white, Hispanic. It don’t matter—if you piss off your waitress, your food is gonna be tampered with,” he starts.
Chad says he’s never personally seen this. That said, he claims that there are times when someone comes into a restaurant, has a meal, then goes home and has “explosive diarrhea.” According to Chad, that’s because someone has put “eye drops” in their food.
“I’ve never witnessed it. But, it’s a funny thing that there’s a lot of eye drops around where they grill,” he explains.
To conclude, he advises being nice to servers and tipping them.
“They’re good people. They work hard for a living. But don’t piss them off,” he shares.
Is This True?
His text overlay notes that this is a message to “Texas Roadhouse, LongHorn Steakhouse” customers, as he’s presumably referencing the recent viral hoax. However, there are no credible allegations of this behavior being observed at either restaurant.
The idea that putting eye drops in someone’s drink will make them sick has been around for decades. It was even famously referenced in the movie “Wedding Crashers.” But is there any truth to this claim? And do restaurants really put them in rude customers’ drinks?
When people reference this idea, they’re usually referring to tetrahydrozoline eye drops, similar to Visine. Drinking eye drops can make someone sick—but it won’t necessarily give them diarrhea.
Instead, the National Capital Poison Center says that ingesting the drops can cause sleepiness, low blood pressure, and a dangerously low heart rate. If one drinks enough of them, they can develop heart rhythm abnormalities and potentially life-threatening breathing problems. Diarrhea is not a commonly reported side effect.
To reiterate, putting eye drops in someone’s drink is no laughing matter. Despite what you see in the movies, it will probably not make someone have bad diarrhea. In fact, there are documented cases of ingestion causing death.
But Do People Actually Do This?
There are several documented instances of people reporting to doctors claiming they were poisoned with eye drops as a result of a prank.
As far as restaurant workers putting eye drops in customers’ food is concerned, there do not appear to be any well-documented or widely-verified cases. There are many examples of restaurant workers poisoning co-workers with eye drops. Still, nothing suggests that this is a common practice in the service industry for unruly customers.
That doesn’t mean restaurant workers aren’t messing with your food. A 2019 study found that 18.1% of polled restaurant workers at least somewhat agreed with the idea that “it is common practice in this industry to get back at difficult customers.”
Viewers Are Horrified
In the comments section, users spoke to the idea that, if this is true, it’s pretty bad.
“Anyone who ‘tampers’ with food is not a good person,” said a user.
“You can literally kill someone with visine!! Look it up!! Not funny at all,” added another.
“Being a good waiter and being pissed off doesn’t give them a right to do anything to a customer food,” stated a third.
BroBible reached out to Chad via TikTok direct message and comment.