Oftentimes, picky eaters get the short end of the stick in a restaurant. After all, it’s a business that operates in a specific way to make a profit. But there is a pretty big difference between just asking for an ingredient or two to be excluded versus requesting an entire recipe be overhauled.

This is why one internet user was taken aback when their request to have a burger without lettuce and tomato was just repeatedly dismissed by a waitress. So after receiving their order with everything they specifically requested be taken off, OP hatched a devious little plan to give the belligerent waitress a taste of her own medicine. We got in touch with fangedfay to learn a bit more.

Asking for a dish to be slightly altered is common enough at a restaurant

Image credits: Wavebreakmedia (not the actual photo)

But one patron came across a waitress who refused to listen to their request, so they came up with a plan

Image credits: Wavebreakmedia (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Jeena Paradies (not the actual photo)

OP added a few updates later

And addressed some comments about being a picky eater

Image source: fangedfay

Substitutions and changes can sometimes be a hassle for restaurants

Image credits: Anna Shvets (not the actual photo)

On the opposite side of OP’s story, there are many, many horror stories from service staff who have to deal with actually unreasonable requests, substitutions, and alterations. Waiters and waitresses are caught in a horrible crossfire as they often have to be the messenger between a customer and the kitchen staff or management. This results in them taking the brunt of the abuse while also not being able to have much control of the situation in general.

There are, of course, good reasons why a restaurant might be unhappy with substitutions. First and foremost, the cost. Different ingredients might be more pricey due to being less common or less used in that particular restaurant. Economies of scale absolutely do apply in catering. Furthermore, the kitchen staff tends to have a set way of doing things, and certain dishes are started before any customers have started ordering. Anyone familiar with, say, ramen or pho knows that a good broth takes a lot longer than the time between a patron sitting down and waiting forty minutes. Similarly, many kitchens operate like an assembly line, so one alteration down the line can cause multiple others further up.

Now, there are of course legitimate reasons to need a substitution, for example, an allergy. In extreme cases, it’s probably too risky to eat something cooked in a kitchen where an allergen is present, but this ends up coming down to the particular person’s tolerance. These days, many restaurants do already display allergens and staff are being trained in how to handle certain items.

However, OP’s request was so small and easy to implement that it’s particularly confusing that the waitress was so hostile

Image credits: Jessie McCall (not the actual photo)

Bored Panda got in touch with fangedfay to learn a bit more and hear if they ever went back and what people thought about their scheme. “I’ve been back loads of times since then and, as expected, I’ve never seen the waitress again. The friend who gave me the gross dollar gave me their stamp of approval, but I think my other friends just shook their heads at me if I recall, haha. They had asked if they should speak up on my behalf beforehand and I requested them not to do or say anything because I would’ve been embarrassed. This was just my way of standing up for myself without causing a scene in the moment and, hopefully, provide a thought-provoking opportunity for the waitress. Also, this is the one and only time in my life as a customer that I’ve had such an issue with a server and I’m generally very appreciative of servers and love to tip well! She was just very… out there, haha.”

Of course, OP, despite being a self-proclaimed picky eater, wasn’t even asking for a substitution, just the removal of two items. Seeing as they would still be paying the same price, this should have been an easy win for the restaurant. A hamburger isn’t too far removed from a sandwich, which is notoriously easy to customize. Not adding two things seems as easy as it gets, as far as order modifications go, but this waitress took it upon herself to decide for the kitchen. It’s common in many restaurants where tips are pooled for some portion to be given to other staff, so this waitress not only caused herself to get a soggy, single dollar, but she also limited the tips her coworkers could have gotten at the end of the night. Remember, this was a group of people, so keeping in mind normal tip culture, she lost out on a nice piece of change just because removing lettuce and tomatoes was just too much.

Regardless, OP might be a picky eater, but in this case, they hardly did anything wrong. In a perfect world, with more robust hamburger buns, they could take the vegetable off themselves, but as they correctly identified, we live in a universe of soggy bread.

They also gave more details in the comments

Readers were surprised at how unaccommodating the waitress was

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