History Main / MistakenForServant

* In ''[[ComicBook/AthenaVoltaire Athena Voltaire and the Brotherhood of Shambalha]]'', Athena is theoretically helping Desmond Forsyth on his mission, but because she's the one [[InvisibleToNormals attuned to the supernatural goings-on]], it's her that people are waiting for, and Desmond gets demoted to servant.

* In ''ComicBook/SpirouAndFantasio'': Throughout his story, it happened to Spirou [[RunningGag more than once]] because of his [[CostumeInertia bellboy uniform]], that he kept long after stopping working as one. Other people tended to either ask him to carry their luggage when they spotted Spirou into a hotel lounge, to press the lift button if they shared the same cage, or thought that the friends he was with had a servant in livery. A [[TheEighties 80's]] short story even [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] this, as Spirou is dragged by the doorman into a luxury hotel on Christmas 's night, while he happened to go by. The doorman mistook him for a local staff member, and since then, Spirou prefer to wear either a [[CustomUniform customized version of the uniform]] or civilian clothes (albeit the most often in [[ColorCodedCharacters red]]).[[note]][[https://ibb.co/hMY1GZh Franquin parodied it in a 1976 poster]], where Spirou arrives (in uniform) as a guest in a luxury hotel, and warns he'll kick the first one who'll call him a bellboy.[[/note]]
* In ''Franchise/WonderWoman Plus Jesse Quick,'' Jesse has a meeting with a museum director and someone Jesse assumes is the director's secretary. A fight breaks out in the street. As Jesse runs outside at superspeed, she realizes A) the secretary is ''keeping up with her,'' B) the secretary is ripping off her clothes to reveal a Wonder Woman outfit, and C) "Oh god, I was about to ask her for a cup of coffee!"

* ''Film/FallingDown'': As Bill Foster walks through a golf course, a pair of golfers initially think Bill is a groundskeeper, but when Bill makes it clear he doesn't work there, [[BullyingADragon one golfer gets extremely angry at Bill and pays dearly for it]].

** In ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'', a guy mistakes Bond for a valet for the resort they are in and orders Bond to park his car. Bond coolly replies "Certainly, sir", [[ParkingPayback and proceeds to crash it, causing a commotion which he takes advantage of to sneak into the hotel's security room]]. And to top it all off, he tosses the guy's keys into a hedge.

Ah, it's a beautiful day - you won an all-expense-paid trip to the Schwing-Ding Five-Star hotel! Aren't you excited?

Odd how the Bellhops are wearing the same type of shirt as you do. Oh look, it's LadyDrunk coming right over - gee they're so -

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]

-->'''Pascal Sauvage''': ''[to English]'' Pascal Sauvage. The jumped-up Frenchman. [...] Of course, you are Johnny English. I've heard all about you. And between you and me, I'm not so keen on the French myself.

-->'''Cage''': Huh. Thank God I didn't ask him to park the car.

* ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' had the titular girl being mistaken by the White Rabbit for his maid Mary-Ann, allowing her to get into more trouble.

* In ''Series/TheMuppets2015'' episode "Got Silk?", Miss Piggy joins Janice's aerial silks class to make friends, and then asks the first person she sees to bring her some water and tries to tip her. It goes downhill from there.

-->'''Day-Day:''' Damien Price. But I usually go by Day-Day.
-->'''Cedric Daniels:''' Cedric Daniels, but I usually go by Lieutenant.

[[folder:Theater]]

[[folder:Web Original]]

* Rossini's Opera ''Theatre/{{Cinderella}}'' has the prince and his valet trading places to invoke this trope intentionally. The prince uses it as an opportunity to learn the real character behind the women vying for his hand. The valet uses it to... eat as much fancy food and talk to as many pretty girls as possible, as well as relishing in the fact that the prince has to bow to him.

* In ''ComicBook/SpirouAndFantasio'': Throughout his story, it happened to Spirou [[RunningGag more than once]] because of his [[CostumeInertia bellboy uniform]], that he kept long after stopping working as one. Other people tended to either ask him to carry their luggage when they spotted Spirou into a hotel lounge, to press the lift button if they shared the same cage, or thought that the friends he was with had a servant in livery. A [[TheEighties 80's]] short story even [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] this, as Spirou is dragged by the doorman into a luxury hotel on Christmas 's night, while he happened to go by. The doorman mistook him for a local staff member, and since then, Spirou prefer to wear either a [[CustomUniform customized version of the uniform]] or civilian clothes (albeit the most often in [[ColorCodedCharacters red]]).

* In ''ComicBook/SpirouAndFantasio'': Throughout his story, it happened to Spirou [[RunningGag more than once]] because of his [[CostumeInertia bellboy uniform]], that he kept long after stopping working as one. Other people tended to either ask him to carry their luggage when they spotted Spirou into a hotel lounge, to press the lift button if they shared the same cage, or thought that the friends he was with had a servant in livery. A [[TheEighties 80's]] short story even [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] this, as Spirou is dragged by the doorman into a luxury hotel on Christmas 's night, while he happened to go by. The doorman mistook him for a local staff member, and since then, Spirou prefer to either wear either a [[CustomUniform customized version of the uniform]] or civilian clothes (albeit the most often in [[ColorCodedCharacters red]]).

* Apparently Lord Halifax, Britain's pre-WWII foreign minister, at a meeting with [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler]], got out of his car and handed the Führer his hat. Naturally, this is an {{Acceptable|Targets}} use of this trope.

* In an issue of ''ComicBook/{{Zatanna}}'', Zatanna arrives at her hotel room after an exhausting show she finds that her cousin, Zatarra, is throwing a wild party filled with people she does not know. When several women mistake her for a waitress due to her stage attire and ask for their drinks Zatanna, already extremely frustrated, [[ForcedTransformation turns them into birds and has them fly away]].

** King Roogna from the same series, whose talent was manipulating the magic of living things. In the middle of preparing for a battle, the protagonist came across a man in old clothes messing around with a cherry tree (he was turning them into [[IncrediblyLamePun cherry bombs]]), and assumed he was a gardener...

Can often be followed by ActuallyIAmHim moment. ActuallyThatsMyAssistant is similar, but it refers to a situation where more than two characters are involved: the mistaker doesn't think someone is ''their'' servant, but confuses who's who in a lower/higher rank pair.

** Whitley does this again with fiance Byron's mother, mistaking her for the wedding coordinator. This time, the woman laughs it off.

** Their valet Geoffrey pulls another when a (black) neighbour woman drops by and asks him for cleaning tips. He assumes she is a maid and a budding (and reciprocated) romance springs up. Until it turns out she's actually a wealthy and high-status socialite who is just humble enough to want to clean up her own mess.

* One recurring variety of urban legend involves somebody going to an expensive hotel and encountering a black man in a suit, who the person assumes to be a bellhop. It's only when the man leaves in a limousine (usually driven by a white chauffeur) that the recent arrival realizes their mistake, often with the added reveal that the black man was a famous person they somehow failed to recognize.

* In ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', Hank tries to impress a potential customer by playing on the latter's stereotypes of Texas. He gets Peggy to dress up in a Kilgore Rangerette outfit, and they go to a Texas-themed restaurant. Naturally, Peggy turns out to be wearing the exact same outfit as the workers there, which gets her mistaken for a worker, even by the other workers.
** Cotton also seems to think Kahn is Hank's servant, as whenever he visits he always tells Kahn to bring in his bags. However, Cotton ''was'' able to correctly identify Kahn as Laotian at first glance (Hank and the gang kept asking him if he was Chinese or Japanese even after he said he was from Laos).

** Later, Blue Diamond initially believes Connie is Steven's HumanPet, and the thought of [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything a white-skinned person owning a dark-skinned person]] makes everyone uncomfortable.

* At a Washington dinner, Valerie Jarrett, an adviser to UsefulNotes/BarackObama, mistook General Peter Ciarelli, the [[NumberTwo second-most]]-senior [[FourStarBadass General]] of the US Army for [[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/8309325/Senior-Obama-aide-mistakes-second-most-senior-Army-general-for-waiter.html a waiter]], since she [[BlindMistake wasn't wearing her glasses]] and could only see the stripes on his pants when he was standing next to her. Apparently the chestful of medals didn't register. The General, for his part, thought it was funny.

* Mellody Hobson, now chair of the board of Dreamworks Animation, spoke in a TED Talk about how she and her coworker (both of whom are black) were mistaken for the kitchen help when going to a meeting.

** In ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'', a guy mistakes Bond for a valet for the resort they are in and orders Bond to park his car. Bond coolly replies "Certainly, sir" and proceeds to crash it, causing a commotion which he takes advantage of to sneak into the hotel's security room. And to top it all off, [[ParkingPayback he tosses the guy's keys into a hedge]].

* During her brief career in Wrestling/{{WWE}}, Amy Zidian [[RecognitionFailure did not recognize]] Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon and Wrestling/VickieGuerrero and rudely started bossing them around, thinking they were something like stage hands, makeup, or catering. When they explained who they were, she refused to apologize, [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor so she was fired]]. Though it's likely that they fired her not because of the personal slight, but because if she was talking to them that way while thinking they were the staff, she must be talking to the ''actual'' staff that way [[ThePrimaDonna all the time]].

* During her brief career in Wrestling/{{WWE}}, Amy Zidian [[RecognitionFailure did not recognize]] Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon and Wrestling/VickieGuerrero and rudely started bossing them around, thinking they were something like stage hands, makeup, or catering. When they explained who they were, she refused to apologize, [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor so she was fired]].

* In ''ComicStrip/{{Candorville}}'', [[BlackAndNerdy Lemont]] (in that arc, a speaker for the literary conference being held for his new book release, the other speaker being Creator/StephenKing) is given the keys to an obnoxious woman's expensive car, is insulted by her for being a sub-par valet, and turns the keys in to the hotel Lost and Found (getting sympathy from the Lost and Found director). Thanks to the lady's inability to tell the difference between a black man and a hispanic or possibly middle-eastern man (and according to Lemont, thanks to {{karma}}), she reports the wrong name, race, and height in the complaint to the hotel and [[spoiler: buys three hundred copies of his book for her literature club]].

* In ''Film/ChairmanOfTheBoard'', Edison reports to the boardroom of [=McMillan=] Industries for his first day of his new job there. As soon as he gets there, the old men who make up the company's board of directors immediately mistake him for a gofer (understandable, given that Edison is dressed casually and is played by Carrot Top) and give him a bunch of orders for coffee, tea, muffins, doughnuts, etc. It's only when Edison brings back all of what they'd asked for that they learn who he really is: when Mr. [=McMillan=] had recently died, he bequeathed Edison all of his stock in [=McMillan=] Industries, making him the new chairman.

* ''Film/TheReturnOfThePinkPanther'' - Clouseau walks into a hotel, where a man asks to take his hat, coat, and bag - and promptly leaves with them.

** When Jon Snow becomes Lord Commander of the Night's Watch and has to meet a queen well known for her superior attitude, he makes sure to be accompanied by several underlings, otherwise she might "mistake him for the stableboy and hand him the reins of her horse." Admittedly Jon is rather young to be a Lord Commander. It works, too. Instead of mistaking him for the stableboy, she mistakes him for a junior officer sent to escort her to the Lord Commander.

[[folder:Urban Legend]]
* A common story of this type is a rich, older white woman who stops at the yard of a house and sees a man (usually Black or Latino) doing some yard work. She ask him how much he's paid. The man, being insulted and rather clever, answers that the lady of the house lets him sleep with her; the lady being, naturally, the man's wife.

* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' has an example of this in an episode where the titular character finally tries to talk to [[TheDitz Ruth]] [[TooDumbToLive MacDougal]], a girl he had a crush on. He has arranged a meeting at a local restaurant in secret and when Ruth arrives and sits at the table to wait for her blind date to arrive, she [[{{Irony}} mistakes the Busboy for her date and Arnold for the Busboy.]] Despite all of his attempts to correct the mistake, Ruth treats Arnold like a servant and talks to him dismissively throughout the episode until she and the Busboy leave to have fun elsewhere.

* The legendary Mexican singer and actor [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Vargas Pedro Vargas]] was confused for a servant by a butler for one of the richest families in Mexico during the 50s because of his skin color.[[note]]Vargas was mestizo, but because of his skin color, he was easily mistaken for a native Mexican.[[/note]] Additionally, the family was ''[[HidingBehindTheLanguageBarrier spewing racist insults]]'' against him in English, thinking he was unable to understand the language.[[note]]Not only did Vargas spoke English, but he even participated in several movies in the U.S., something that family was unaware of at the time due to their prejudice against Vargas and other dark-skinned Mexicans. According to Vargas himself, that family barely tolerated his presence in their home, since they didn't know what the singer looked like physically, they had only heard his songs on the radio. Furthermore, [[BoomerangBigot the family in question were Mexicans like Vargas, but they were light-skinned and blue-eyed, hence their racism]].[[/note]] Unfortunately for them, the singer did understand English [[ObfuscatingStupidity but decided not to call them out, not only out of respect for his hosts, but also to surprise them later when he told that story to the press.]]

* Professor Robert E. Kelly, an American living in South Korea, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh4f9AYRCZY went viral with his family]] when he was giving an interview with BBC from his home on the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye and got interrupted by his two young children wandering into his office, soon followed by their horrified mother rushing in and pulling them out. It's a cute funny video, but half the comments assumed the Korean woman was Kelly's ''nanny'' rather than his wife, even though both kids are clearly mixed-race. [[EthnicMenialLabor It's as if people didn't even consider that she could be his equal]]. After the video went viral, the family did several follow-up interviews clearing the air.

* One of Creator/AlFranken's books contains exerpts of an angry email written to the RNC by a black delegate at the 2000 Republican National Convention, in which he described numerous other delegates telling him to "fetch them a taxi or carry their luggage" while he was wearing his delegate's credentials on his chest.

-->-- ''Literature/{{Father Brown}}'', "The Queer Steps"

* In ''LightNovel/ReZero'' when Subaru first meets Lord Roswaal he assumes the latter is a clown hired to provide the evening's entertainment. Considering [[ImpossiblyTackyClothes Roswaal's dress sense]], it's an understandable mistake.

* ''Manga/SPYxFamily'': After Anya is accepted into Eden, a group of thugs assume she's a rich girl and dismiss her adoptive mother Yor as a hired servant (because they don't think any parent who could send their child to Eden would do the shopping).

[[folder: Web Original]]

* In one episode of ''Series/{{Hustle}}'', Mickey approaches a mark and is told to bring the man a drink. He quickly corrects the assumption.
** On another occasion he just wanders off with the credit card he was handed after being mistaken for a waiter (after confirming that the man was an unpleasant person and the kind of target he likes to con anyway).

* A couple years ago the magazine ''Bust'' had an article written by a black woman whose daughter, as it turns out, was born with very fair skin (the father was white), and how she dealt with the assumptions that she must be a nanny. She acknowledged that in the area of Manhattan she lives in, there ''are'' a lot of black nannies out and about with white children so it's not ''entirely'' UnfortunateImplications, but she gradually learned how to handle that particular assumption.