A TikTok creator says she accidentally slept through an entire restaurant shift after taking what was supposed to be a short pre-work nap.
The video from @kellybrooke.m had received more than 890,000 views and 4,700 comments at the time of publication. Kelly said she planned to rest briefly before her 3 p.m. shift but did not wake up until 4 a.m. the next morning.
She had recently returned from trips to Georgia and Texas and attributed part of her disrupted sleep schedule to the time changes. About an hour before work, she lay down on her couch while still wearing her work clothes and set multiple alarms in case she overslept.
When Kelly woke up, she found several missed calls and messages from coworkers and the restaurant asking if she was okay. She said she had never slept so deeply before.
“I never sleep that long or that hard. I will be waking up at any slight sound,” she said.
Kelly said she woke up in the same position in which she had fallen asleep and immediately realized that she had missed her entire shift.
“Now I have to say it out loud. I have to call the restaurant and say hey guys, yes, I, a 27-year-old woman, did sleep through my entire shift,” she said.
@kellybrooke.m like am I okay?? #work #restaurantlife #serverlife #storytime #serving ♬ Beethoven Moonlight Sonata-High Sound Quality – Amemiya
Manager responds with understanding
Kelly waited until a reasonable hour before contacting a coworker who had repeatedly called overnight. She later learned that her colleagues were especially concerned because of an earlier medical episode that resulted in her being taken from her apartment by ambulance.
She said she had called out of work more often than usual during the previous month and a half because of ongoing health problems she could not fully explain. Kelly called her manager to apologize and offered to accept a written warning if necessary.
“She said girl, we’re good,” Kelly said, recalling her manager’s response.
According to Kelly, her manager acknowledged how difficult the previous month had been. She also said the manager had responded with similar understanding whenever Kelly needed to call out, including one occasion when Kelly called from a hospital while crying and said she could not make her shift.
Kelly works in Arizona, where employment is generally considered at-will. She said restaurant jobs often offer little tolerance for repeated absences, and that her manager’s consistent support was one reason she had remained in the position despite her recent difficulties.
Commenters share their own pre-shift nap stories
Many commenters focused on the manager’s response and shared stories about sleeping before work. One commenter asked which restaurant Kelly worked for, writing, “What restaurant?? I’d love to support one that actually treats their employees like human beings that’s so hard to find here.”
Another commenter described a similar experience while sick, writing, “love a good manager, i once called mine crying in the urgent care cause i got the flu right before a big weekend where we were already short staffed due to teenagers requesting off” [sic].
A third commenter warned viewers not to nap before a shift:
“NEVER EVER TAKE THE PRE SHIFT NAP. I learned the hard way after I slept for SIXTEEN HOURS STRAIGHT and missed a Saturday night… double.”
The Daily Dot said it was unable to independently verify the restaurant’s identity, the nature of Kelly’s ongoing health issues or the medical episode mentioned in the video. The details are based solely on @kellybrooke.m’s account on TikTok.
