Just because a person works in the service industry doesn’t mean you can treat them poorly. This bar cart girl pointed out that not only is it rude, but it can hurt the feelings of the human on the other end of that interaction.
In a trending video with more than 75,000 views, content creator and Tampa cart girl Halle Minick (@halleminickk) shared her biggest pet peeve while working on the golf course.
Cart Girl Shares Her Biggest Pet Peeve On The Golf Course
In the video, Minick explained that she usually drives up to golfers to check if they want drinks, and they usually either give her a thumbs up to let her know they’re all set and don’t want anything “and I just go on my way” or they wave her over to signal that they do want to buy a drink.
The problem, she said, comes when golfers dismiss her with a hand motion.
“Every now and then, instead of giving me a thumbs up for ‘I don’t need anything,’ they’ll go like this,” she said, doing a shooing motion.
“They, like, swat me away like I’m a bug. Like they’re shooing me away or swatting me away. Just give me a thumbs up; tell me you’re good. Why are you swatting me away?” she asked.
Minick admitted that she takes it a bit personally when it happens because she’s a sensitive person. Luckily, it doesn’t happen often, she noted.
“I don’t know if it’s even a pet peeve more than it just hurts my feelings,” she said. “They sometimes literally won’t even look at me.”
Minick added that she always tries to keep interactions positive, but her other pet peeve is when she smiles and waves at people and they look back at her deadpan or ignore her.
To make communication easier, she once tried to get golfers to use a thumbs-up or thumbs-down system. A thumbs up would mean no drinks, while a thumbs down would signal they needed something.
“It just confused everybody,” Minick said. “People kept thinking thumbs down meant no, like I don’t need anything. So then it just got really confusing, so I stopped trying to make that a thing.”
Ultimately, she said, a thumbs up is the simplest and most respectful signal.
“If you see your cart girl and you don’t want anything, just give her a thumbs up. Don’t shoo her away.”
Why Be A Beverage Cart Girl?
Many cart girls know that part of the trade-off of the job is having to deal with jerks on the golf course. But many are drawn to the job because of the flexible hours and cash.
Cart girl Lauren Balcioni told Business Insider that she works weekends at a Bay Area golf course, where she brings in $19.15 an hour plus as much as $300 in tips per shift.
“The best thing about the job is that I get to take my tips home in cash at the end of each shift,” she told Insider.
Balcioni said effort pays off. She’s spent more than $500 decorating her cart with details like a fuzzy pink steering-wheel cover, which she says regularly nets her bigger tips. Dressing up for holidays also helps.
“If you put in a bit of effort, you definitely see the rewards in tips,” she said.
On average, she makes more than double what she was told to expect. The girl who trained her made $50 to $150 in tips on a good day. “I average around $250,” Balcioni said.
Commenters React
“Omg I hate that so much. Also when they give a thumbs up which is the universal ‘all good’ and then you drive away then they whistle to come back like hello!??” a top comment read.
“Or when they say we don’t want anything get you next time and then complain your not fast enough,” a person said.
“THE HAND SIGNALS ARE SO CONFUSING!!!! like there should be universal signs bc i swear i think i know what they want but it’s never correct,” another added.
@halleminickk I think I’m too sensitive #cartgirl #golf #bevcart #golftiktok #petpeeve
BroBible reached out to Minick for comment via TikTok direct message and comment.