A server at Texas Roadhouse just got fired. The reason why? She kept posting on her social media account, which led to ongoing tension and hostility throughout her workplace. Eventually, she snapped at a co-worker, quickly leading her out the door despite her dedication to the restaurant.
In a video with over 1.7 million views, Brittany (@brittanyspurlock627) explained how she was recently forced out of her workplace—where she was a server for almost eight years—due to her social media presence and a few hostile comments from co-workers. She and her spouse, Brett, worked at the same Texas Roadhouse. For a while, they made positive content showcasing the restaurant. They followed “all of the rules and guidelines” the company established.
Then, she started getting pulled into the office for different posts she was making.
Management starts to have issues
It started off with food posts. Her management let her know that she wasn’t supposed to show steaks, salads, or appetizers on her personal account. Then, she was brought into the office and told she couldn’t showcase any alcoholic beverages on her account. She complied, limiting her content further.
Although she and her husband were some of the company’s strongest workers, she said she started to get called out for “little things.” She would answer a TikTok comment and offer advice on beer picks. However, she got told she was trying to “sell company recipes.”
“I showed a beer menu and I got in trouble because they were accusing me of trying to share recipes, which was not the case at all. I was just showing draft [beers],” she said.
She also would post about internal issues with the company, something management quickly tried to control. When other servers got four sections at a time, she would point it out in her comments section.
Brittany stops filming altogether—but she’s still in trouble
Eventually, she felt so deeply uncomfortable that she decided to only film off the clock. “And then it got to the point where I was trying to stop the social media altogether,” she said. “No more filming on the clock, no more at work. Only before and after our shifts, mainly in our vehicle. And that was still an issue.”
She would go to work feeling paranoid. “ I would still go to work [and] not even touch my phone. I was being watched like a hawk to the point where I was even having photos taken of me. [Those photos were] being sent to my boss,” she added.
She noticed other employees were allowed to use their phones during “legendary hours.” These were times when Texas Roadhouse required its employees to focus on their guests and keep screens away.
It all chipped away at her, but it got worse when the company monitored her posts further.
Brittany continues to get berated for making TikToks
Brittany made a post on her platform about a cash tip she had lost while working one night. That’s because another table grabbed her tip before she could actually get it.
News outlets such as The Mary Sue ended up covering the story, popularizing it enough for Texas Roadhouse’s upper management to become aware of it. Around “three or four” different publications shared the incident within a matter of days, according to Brittany. Instead of siding with their own staff member and looking into the incident, however, Texas Roadhouse spoke with her about it.
“I was fully aware that I was getting in trouble for talking about the guests, but I wasn’t trying to necessarily talk about the guests,” Brittany said.
The 18-dollar tip that Brittany received meant a lot to her, she said. This was because she only had a few tables that day. It was a slow day with few to no tables.
Halloween: the breaking point
Then came Halloween. Brittany asked for permission to film all of the Texas Roadhouse staff in their Halloween costumes, an idea that management approved. One of the staff members, with whom she had multiple tense run-ins, ended up reporting her to upper management. This is despite her explicitly asking to take the video beforehand.
“ This was also the same person that was taking photos of me and trying to send them to my boss. [She was] trying to get me in trouble. So at this point, I’ve had a lot of frustration built up toward her,” Brittany said.
Brittany asked the other employee whether she had reported her to her boss, and the other employee “flat out lied.” She called the other woman, who had been to her birthday parties, personally spent time with her, and was a “friend,” a snitch. The other employee very quickly reported her to management, and management fired Brittany that very same day.
“ My boss asked if I had called her a snitch. I admitted to it, and I was fired right then on the spot. That’s… it. Obviously, calling her out at work was probably not the best case [scenario], but it was before my shift started.”
Brittany cited growing hostility in the workplace as an issue that eventually led her to snap.
“ Over the last few months, it’s just become… so stressful to the point I’ve even come home crying. I’m the type that doesn’t really like crying online or really in front of anyone,” Brittany said. “ I truly love[d] my job… I never [tried] to drag anyone through the mud.”
Brittany’s final update—what now?
In a final update, Brittany let her audience know that her boss had a discussion with her regarding her termination. Ultimately, Brittany vied to get her job back. But unfortunately didn’t receive any updates from the team that she could rejoin the Texas Roadhouse staff.
“ I [got] a text back saying he’s talking to his team and that… he will reach out to me with a date and time of when we can meet,” she said. She ended up taking full accountability for her role in her termination, including some of her TikToks and comments to a fellow employee.
Her boss let her know that he wouldn’t have any problems taking her back. However, some managers didn’t necessarily want her to return. He also let her know that Texas Roadhouse was unlikely to hire her again.
The company then ghosted her, not letting her know anything regarding her employment status despite speaking with her a bit more about the termination. She chose to share her entire story online because “no response is a response.” She was tired of getting in trouble for “every little thing” and feeling unwelcome in her workplace.
Despite all of the trouble, Brittany is looking ahead and hopeful about her future employment. Her TikTok content may change, but she’s hoping her audience will follow along on the next part of her journey.
The Mary Sue has reached out to Texas Roadhouse and Brittany via email.
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Rachel Thomas
Rachel Joy Thomas is a music journalist, freelance writer, and hopeful author who resides in Los Angeles, CA. You can email her at
[email protected].
