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Do not anger the people who are in charge of your food. Let’s repeat that so even those in the back hear it: do not anger the people who are in charge of your food. Food service employees are human beings and deserve the respect of their customers. Unfortunately, some customers are so rude that they end up practically begging to be given a taste of their medicine.
The restaurant workers of Reddit opened up about the very worst things that they’ve seen done to a customer’s order in a surprisingly honest thread. From waiters and cooks doing horrible things to the food to get their revenge to tales of awful fails on the employee’s part. There’s also a story about pickles being added to random burgers.
Read on for some saucy restaurant gossip and don’t forget to upvote the stories that left the biggest impression on you, dear Pandas. Oh, and if you’ve ever worked in the food service industry, we’d love to hear about the best and worst things you’ve witnessed. Tell us all about it in the comments.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Wanted extra mayo so I maliciously complied by drenching it. Lady thought I would forget her fake $10 prayer tip the last time she was there.
Redditor u/RegulatoryCapturedMe’s thread on r/AskReddit drew in a large crowd and ended up getting over 33.5k upvotes. The stories were as insightful as they were entertaining, and odds are that they’re bound to make some customers reconsider how they treat waiters and cooks from now on. On the flip side, it’s also a wake-up call for anyone who messes with customers’ food for no good reason.
Before you start putting random things into the meal to mess with a rude customer, remember that this might end up hurting more than just their pride. Food allergies are a very real, very dangerous thing. And they're becoming more frequent. Restaurant staff need to be aware of any potential allergies that customers might have, as well as understand that sticking a dirty finger into someone’s dinner can cause anaphylactic shock if the person is allergic to nuts. They also need to reduce the possibility of cross-contamination between ingredients.
Bored Panda reached out to food expert, pie artist, and author Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin for her take on how to best deal with this danger as a customer and what to do to protect your health when dining out.
#2
At my last restaurant job, my coworker would make very ugly sundaes for customers who were rude. For particularly nice customers, she would painstakingly recreate the sundaes in the menu pictures and give them extra cream and sprinkles.
Autumn Artemis 2 years ago
The polite little kids at my tables always got finely crafted rainbows on their sprinkle pancakes
#3
Some Indian guys came in one time and asked for us to make thier food as spicy as possible. I told them that's going to be extremely spicy and wanted to make sure they knew what they were asking for. They went on a long rant about how Indian restaurants are the only places that actual know what spicy is and anything we bring out isn't going to be close to how spicy they like their food. So I had the owner come over to tell them that we'll try our best but there won't be any refund on this food if it's too spicy. So we made them chicken fried rice with Trinidad scorpion peppers. After 2 bites and about 10 glasses of soy milk later, they ordered something else.
Misterscooter 2 years ago
I've seen warning signs at restaurants in Santa Fe that there are no refunds if you order the spicy chili.
Food expert Jessica stressed that there’s never a 0% risk when dining out if you have life-threatening allergies to certain foods. She stressed that the burden of responsibility can’t fall just on the restaurant if something happens, even if the customer is very transparent in communicating with the staff about their allergies. There are simply too many moving parts to control everything, and cross-contamination is a real possibility even if everyone’s a professional.
“Most restaurants will do their best to accommodate guests with specific dietary requests, but for certain life-threatening allergies, it’s not always possible due to the possibility of cross-contamination,” Jessica told Bored Panda.
There are vast differences in food allergies. While some might make you feel uncomfortable for a time, others are a very real danger to your life.
#4
This isn't really bad, but a lot of the times when people send food back and there's clearly nothing wrong with it, the chefs will just rearrange the food on the plate, wait a minute or two and then send it out to the table.
The funniest part is when the customer says that its better.
#5
I didn’t tamper with food but if you were an a$$hole I would spill water on you. Had a couple of people who came in 3-4 days a week, were nasty mean and never tipped. Every single server they had spilled a pitcher of water on them over a two week period every time they came in. They finally got the hint. Don’t be mean to people trying to do their (stressful )job. Don’t want to tip? At least be kind.
#6
Tampering with food is not that common. I've been in the business a long time and only worked with one girl who spat in someone's food. Another server saw her and she got reported and fired immediately.
The only other thing that sometimes happens is when people get cocky and ask for extremely spicy food the kitchen staff turns into evil geniuses. A guy once asked me for wings so spicy that they would give a woman a miscarriage. I relayed those lovely instructions to the kitchen and I don't know what they did but the sauce was burning my nose and making my eyes water as I carried it out. He was not able to finish his wings.
Jo Johannsen 2 years ago
When customers order like that, make a policy of getting witnesses, preferably the on duty manager, like the story above.
“If you are lactose-intolerant and would like the restaurant to hold the cream sauce on your pasta, that’s likely no problem. If on the other hand, you have a deadly peanut allergy and would like the restaurant to hold the peanut sauce on your chicken satay, well, that’s another story,” the food expert told us.
“The kitchen can’t guarantee that trace amounts of the allergen will not make its way to your plate, and they (understandably) don’t want to be responsible for your anaphylaxis!” she said.
“If your allergies are so severe that they will cause you to have a spectacularly bad time should you come in contact with your triggers, it’s best if you stick to restaurants that have kitchens and menus which already exclude those items,” she explained to Bored Panda that customers with serious allergies need to do thorough research about the restaurant before eating there. If there’s not enough information on the menu, giving the restaurant a call or heading there in person to have an open and honest chat might help.
#7
It's not really bad but still makes me chuckle thinking back. My first job in highschool was at a fast food franchise in a very small town where you would know many of the people that came through.
Whenever a girl came through that this particular female coworker didn't like she would do whatever she could to increase the caloric count of the order. If the item had mayo she'd say put extra mayo. If the order had fries, put extra fries, larger soda/ice cream, extra cheese, etc in an attempt to make them just as little bit fatter out of spite - it was hilarious to witness this ritual.
Cindy, if you're out there I hope you're doing well.
Raphosaurus 2 years ago
Imagine getting things for free, from somebody who doesn't like for not liking you. Sounds like a win-win for me!
#8
We would call that the "B***h Tax".
You're a b***h? You receive a 3/4 portion
You're a b***h? Have fun with your practically virgin drink
We would never mess with their food, but if you were over-the-top rude then you get less food.
chaotic legal 2 years ago
am I the only child who would order virgin margharitas just for the salt? and sometimes a lemonade margharita lol
Ernie Cucheron 2 years ago
When I was young restaurants would make a drink called a Shirley Temple for kids
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Kay Davis 2 years ago
I owned a dog grooming shop for 15 years. One of my customers was really nice and had been coming to us for years. One time his wife came in with him to drop the dog off and was very rude and demanding and asking for everything opposite of what the husband wanted done on the dog. When they picked up the dog I charged an extra $10 as an unspoken "b****y wife fee". He never brought her back in to the shop, I'm pretty sure he knew what the extra charge was about.
Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
You're a terrible person if you're gratuitously rude to someone, but it's phenomenally stupid to be rude to a person who is serving you food and drink.
Keisha 2 years ago
I used to work at a casino and the same scrubs came every night just to get drunk for free. Never tipped and became nusances. Everytime a server tried to walk in or out of the bar they would get grabbed and begged for a drink. So I would make sure that they would only get one drink. I would pull out the 151 and if you try to pour it over ice it melts the ice quickly. They would get a full glass of 151 and a splash of whatever else they ordered. Even the alcoholic's couldn't drink it. I called all the bars and they told the girls and they got the same drink no matter what bar they went to. After about six months they stopped coming.
MediumPimpin 2 years ago
I call it the a-hole tax. I don't work with food but a lot of people will abuse the support staff over minor things as if they don't expect the technicians to hear about it. Attitude has resulted in a lot of failed inspections and non-warranty bills ($125-$375/tech hour vs $50 trip fee) for things that fell into a gray area and could have passed or been billed under warranty.
Lazy Panda 2 years ago
Not theft unless the menu is a contract for a specified amount of food.
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#9
I worked in a very well known fast food chain for a while. My favourite example of this actually involved nothing. The person who bought food had been rude to staff on multiple occasions. The person serving went to get their food, popped round the corner in a noticeable way, then returned having done nothing. He gave the food to him with a huge grin on his face and said "enjoy". He then watched the person throw it in the bin when he went outside.
Meanwhile, the very best thing that customers can do to prevent restaurant staff from sticking fingers in their food or (God forbid!) overcooking their eggs is to be nice. Be polite. Be gentle. Be witty. You’re dealing with human beings after all. Everyone makes mistakes, and some staff are trainees. And you can’t expect to be treated with a smile like a king if you act like an angry troll living under a bridge.
Bored Panda previously spoke to a server working at a fancy restaurant about her work. She explained to us what leaves a good impression on the staff.
“That huge musician Seal was in our restaurant once and he could not have been nicer. Tipped well, made friendly, genuine, conversation with the staff, just radiated kindness. It was really an encounter I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” she said.
#10
I had a buddy at mcdonalds, a real chaotic type, who every once and a while would say "oh hey, guess what time it is... PICKLE SURPRISE!" and put a whole handful of pickles on a random cheeseburger.
#11
I’ve never f**ked with anyone’s food because thats gross
I did however throw someone’s credit card away after she mistakenly left it behind. Maybe she shouldn’t have stiffed me and been a b***h the whole evening
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 2 years ago
It's not the worst thing you could have done. You could have left it at the bus stop.
#12
Many many years ago when I was barista if someone was exceptionally rude I'd make their drink with decaf.
Not all customers are as nice, however. Some have physically threatened and even attacked staff members. “Not just over masks and other safety requirements, either. It’s as though the stress of the last year has amped societal entitlement up to a new degree. I spend more time now soothing tantruming adults than I do running food,” she told Bored Panda.
“Just last night a customer followed me out to the parking lot and tried to take down my license plate because I charged him for extra ketchup, (as per our business policy, written on the menu,” the server told us.
“So, the biggest problem with being a server right now is, in short, that many people treat us as sub-human trash. Say hello, look us in the eye when you order, leave a tip, and don’t call us names or threaten us. Is it so much to ask?”
#13
I used to work in fast food ... if you were a douche bag and you didn’t specify a meal or anything just ordering bits and pieces you bet I’m not going to offer cheaper packs with the same stuff! They got each and every individual item. Some guy once order some nuggets and chips and I gave him just that (approx $20) too bad if he was nice I would have offered a drink and saved him like $5 .
And vice versa some guy was having a party and ordering a whole heap of stuff but was such a nice dude I chucked it all into ‘meal deals’ and instead of it being $80-90 it was $50 (he gave me a good lil tip for that!)
chaotic legal 2 years ago
ah. Read the signs. Maybe I'll start drinking coke if it makes my food cheaper 🤣
#14
I worked at a popular fast food chain in my younger years, it was my first time with closing shift and we were all doing our part to clean and prep the store.
I see this lady with a mop and bucket come out of the back, slop it on to the griddle and START MOPPING IT. I was appalled. I went and told the manager and she tells me well that’s the quickest way to clean it then scolded me for worrying about things that didn’t concern me.
I quit that job next day and then called the district office and told them what happened. That location closed down not long after. But the franchise still exists.
David-Michael Wallace 2 years ago
A designated mop wouldn't bother me in the slightest. BBQ joints use mops to slather too. They're not mopping up the floor after tho.
#15
Worked in restaurants for over 10 years. It’s pretty rare that you see people mess with someone’a food but it does happen occasionally. The most memorable was once when a customer made a waitress cry complaining about their food and sent it back. The chef farted on the remake. It got a lot of laughs.
More common is if a customer is an a**hole, when they order dessert, you find the smallest slice of cheesecake you can.
At the core of being a good server, according to the professional, is making sure that everyone leaves the meal having had a nice and memorable time.
“I’m always on the lookout for anything extra I can do to make the night special for our guests. If I overhear a birthday mentioned, we bring out a piece of cake. If someone comes in wearing a Dolphins jersey, we’ll turn on that game if they’re playing. We take pride in our work,” she told us.
She also urged customers that see servers being mistreated at other tables to consider stepping in or saying something. Especially if the servers being mistreated are young.
#16
When I was a pizza delivery driver, when habitual non-tippers ordered I wouldn't cut their pizza all the way through.
Clan Leader 2 years ago (edited)
This is why tipping is a bad idea. In my country they pay you a living wage and anyone demanding tips gets told where to go. You get delivery drivers on 20 bucks an hour demanding tips. They don’t get them
#17
Worked at a high end steak house. The dirty secret is many of their streaks were frozen and thawed out at the restaurant. Honestly, this didn't bother me. Anyway, that's not the story.
So it was the last hour or so of the night. The cooks were getting steaks out for the next day to be thawed. One of the steaks fell on the ground. Of course this can't be saved, but since it's frozen and not hurting anything it's just left to the can get to it. So for most of that last hour this filet mignon was being kicked around like a hockey puck. It was defrosting and starting to stick and honestly was gross, but shit had to get done and it would be cleaned up when then mopped the floor me
5 minutes before close this absolute a**hole of a woman comes in and demands she be seated and wants a filet. So of course she gets that filet. It's picked up, washed off, and put in the rapid defroster (microwave) and then thrown on the grill till "done".
Everyone just watched and tried to keep a straight face.
She left after drinking a bunch of wine and taking her own sweat time to finish, about 1.5 hours after close. She didn't leave a tip. Paid cash, and literally paid with exact change.
Anyway, yeah, don't piss off the cooks.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 2 years ago
My record was 2 hours and 20 minutes after close because the server overserved the hell out of his last table and let them stack pitchers. When they finally left, that server had clocked off and left me, the dishwasher, and the night manager to clean up that mess. He just ghosted. I have NEVER forgiven him for that.
#18
The worst thing i did was to this one guy that I already didn't like and he was being kind of an a**hole, I overcooked his eggs.
“The server may look unbothered, but that’s because it’s their job. ‘The customer is always right,’ is one of the only pieces of training many of us get. It is literally our job to be sure tables leave happy. We cannot argue with you. So, just because they’re smiling on the outside doesn’t mean they’re not offended, or even feeling unsafe, on the inside,” she said.
“If you’re not comfortable saying something to the abusive customer directly, just find a manager and quietly inform them of what’s going on, they’ll take it from there. A lot of servers are students who are too nervous about losing the job or looking unprofessional to ask for help. And, as someone eating in the restaurant rather than working there, your words will carry far more weight with the harasser than ours would anyways.”
#19
Not a restaurant but sometimes if a customer at my grocery store is being an a**hole I’ll put their bananas or bread on the bottom of the cart so they get squished
chaotic legal 2 years ago
I was taught to pack groceries myself - goes faster, you make sure you got everything, and it's just nice to help the cashier, they get enough trouble!
#20
One table were extremely racist to my colleague so I was given their table and they were so nice to me. So I overcooked their free brownie so it was burnt in some spots, put too much chocolate topping on their brownie so it was sickly sweet and very hard to eat
If they had complained I wouldn’t pleaded ignorant about burning it and would’ve said I was being nice with the extra topping
chaotic legal 2 years ago (edited)
Some people have the sign "we have the right to refuse service to anyone" and i feel that would be a legit reason to use it. Poor guy.
#21
If you are a b***h to baristas at Starbucks, you will get decaf espresso shots in your latte/cap/frap what ever. If you ordered tea, they will not shake it.
This is the way.
#22
I worked for Applebee’s for 7 years, and not until my last year did I witness this act. One of the cooks would drop down to one pair of tongs for the grill station for closing. He used the same tongs for raw chicken, beef, seafood, and cooked food. He would swish the tongs in his sanitizing solution, that looked like soup since he never changed it, claiming that it was “good” after that. I called him out on it and he told me that he never told me how to cook, so I should let him be. I told management too and it was swept under the rug like everything else. I quit shortly after, but that was the only time I witnessed something f**king disgusting like that.
#23
Worked at a movie theatre for a while. Our pizzas came frozen in a large bag of many pizzas, so the contents sometimes got shifted around during shipping.
One dude was acting like it was the end of the world because he got there late, hungry, AND had to wait in line. He ordered a pepperoni pizza, so my coworker went to the freezer, pulled out a pizza with ONE slice of pepperoni on it, and tossed that sucker into the oven.
The guy eventually got a refund, but that must have felt good to see the reaction from him.
#24
Saw a coworker throw a hot dog onto a greasy floor, step on it, throw it back on the grill and then serve it.
The customer was treating one of our waitresses like total garbage (continually hitting on and demeaning her.)
He did clean the grill and utensils after.
I was 14/15 and didn't really see a problem at the time.
#25
Guy was being an a**hole at the drive thru, so I gave him no onions instead of extra onions
#26
Was over 10 years ago, I worked at a golf course restaurant, one of my female co-workers had some crude shit said to her by one of the old golfers. Something along the lines of "with an a** like that you shouldn't be in the kitchen, you should be on the course serving us beers!" Then he ordered a ham sandwich on the turn to the back 9. She licked the f**k out of that ham before putting it on the sandwich, then wrapped it in saran wrap, punched it, and went out and handed it to him herself.
SelkieBlackfysh 2 years ago
Hate to say this but that old dude would probably have tipped her for the saliva. Yeugh.
#27
Friend used to work at a small local grocery store, and apparently the owner would open a bag of chips, eat a handful, use a coffee hot plate to reseal the bag, and put it back on the shelf.
#28
Pour the whole tray of drinks over a guest - twice. International trade fair with students as waiters. First time was an accident, second time she was so nervous she was practically shaking and spilled the drinks again on the same guy.
#29
I saw a waiter pour an orange juice, take a big swig with his lips on the rim, top it up then take it to the table.
#30
One time I ordered a liter of cola and the kid working the register secretly poked a hole in the cup.
What do you think ?
John Baker 2 years ago
Food tampering is a felony that carries a possible maximum sentence of up to twenty years in prison. If I'm your boss and I catch you doing it, you're fired on the spot. No ifs, ands or buts and no second chances. Clock out and get out. Give me any lip on your way out the door and I'll also report you to the authorities. Rude customers are no excuse for committing a criminal act that could cause harm to my business.
jasper 2 years ago
Okay. Having worked in the service industry for many, many years, and having to live off tips, I still find this disturbing. Messing with food like some of these claim is not only disgusting but illegal. There are a lot of jerk customers out there. There are better ways to deal with them. I don't care if you "accidentally" dump a water in someone's lap (been there) but good heavens. That's a bunch of petty BS right there.
Jasam Nitko 2 years ago
Never tamper with people's food. Never. It's both illegal and dangerous. Over the years I worked in restaurants I never saw anyone doing it, but I did hear of those who had been fired on the spot for it. On the other side, if this thread makes you worry about going to restaurants then the solution is to not be rude to the staff. Clearly, there are some out there that are willing to break the law and risk their jobs.
Memere 2 years ago
Same here. When I go out, even if I'm not feeling great, I will still be courteous. It doesn't cost anything to just be polite. Don't have to be all chipper & cheerful, just polite.
Load More Replies... Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
Honestly, I don't see the point in acting like you're getting revenge when the rude person has no idea you've messed with their food. It's not going to change their rude behavior in the slightest, so you're basically being rude to them for no reason...just like they were to you.
Robert Thompson 2 years ago
Always been polite and when I started working for a living, I became a good tipper. Can't recall any problems.
LagoonaBlueColleen 2 years ago
Yeah, that's how I feel. I'm a polite customer and friendly but I've found it doesn't take much to piss off the staff. I've had one female server get really snippy with me because I ordered a virgin cocktail and asked about customizing an order ( a simple request, really). Maybe she was having a bad day? I don't know what the issue was but she came back and said someone else was gonna be our server. The new server was a bit nicer but still had this guarded attitude. Like, geez, sorry for coming to the restaurant to eat.
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Andrew Bridges 2 years ago
Nice or not, good tipper or not, it makes me second guess going out for food.
LagoonaBlueColleen 2 years ago (edited)
I had gotten a lot of abuse working at Tim Hortons (there's rumors going around they put some sort of highly addictive additive in the coffee to make people act like addicts going through withdrawals). Never have I ever seen anyone purposely messing with anyone's food. I have heard of people getting banned and kicked out. We've had to call police a few times. All in all I'm a pretty nice customer, myself, and do tip (very well if I'm impressed with the service) and I've still experience shitty employees that want to "suck it to me" for unknown reasons. Because they hate their job and perhaps the item I ordered was their least favourite to make? Who knows. I don't work a stellar job, either, but I put pride in what I do and my goal is to always try to make someone's day brighter.
Trevor Nicholson 2 years ago
I can't imagine the type of person who would be rude immediately like what could possibly warrant that? The only times I've been less than nice, though still pretty nice just not leaving as big of a tip, were at the end of the meal. I usually give them the benefit of the doubt that if something is slow, it's not their fault because the server doesn't cook the food. But the times I've been less than nice are like, when I went to a bar and they never asked me if I wanted a second beer when they came around to take my plate. Or the time I sat there for 30 mins with an empty plate and nobody took it so eventually I had to go up to someone and ask for my bill.
Evelyn Haskins 2 years ago
Couldn't you simply ASK for another beer??????
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Louiza Jane Davies 2 years ago
I worked at a big corporation at 16. First ever job, the manager was an a*****e and one time as a "joke" put his balls on the head chef's food. He didn't tell him and the guy ate the food. He also would take all our tips at the end of the day with some excuse about the floors not being clean enough or us not working fast enough, every day. One day he got this pack of skittles and he was so happy that he had them, while everyone was busy he was seperating the colours on the bar counter (I have to clean that s**t) he kept going on about how purple was his favourite. Then he left to do something... My friend ate every single purple one then put the skittles back in the bag. He seperated them again to find no purple. Another coworker took the blame cause they were mates and he found it hilarious. Manager wasn't impressed. By the way, me, my mate and 3 others quit in the next month because of the conditions there.
Evelyn Haskins 2 years ago
DO you EAT Skittles??? I thought they were things you knock down with a bowling ball!
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Kim Asquith 2 years ago
As explained above; a lot of servers have to pay out at the end of the night- based on the table $$ amount. They also pay taxes on an average tip. So if you don't leave a tip then that server is actually paying out of their usually min wage salary for your table. Yes, the restaurant industry is messed up in the US. They should get paid way above min wage to put up with the general bulls#%t that most customers give them. But to take that out on a hard working server is not the way to go about it. I always tip 20%. Servers work hard regardless if you see it. If the server didn't do a good job then instead of taking it out of their income- tell a manager. I doubt if you mess up you get your pay docked.
Jamie Mcdonald 2 years ago
I sell cars and I promise you any mistake is taken as purposeful deception and ends up costing money. "What are you gonna give me?" I don't know, how about I just correct the mistake and we call it a day? Why do I have to give you a free remote start, which takes away from gross profit which takes away from my commission?
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Cary Rich 2 years ago
I worked at a fast food joint, the one with a smiley star, as a closing manager. Had a fresh-faced cashier, maybe 17, second day of training. Had a repeat offender return a sandwich, claiming it was cold. I came out of the back, was working on prep, and looked at the sandwich and reciept. Dude ordered the dang thing at noon rush, and it is now almost 6 pm. A**hole proceeds to yell, so I go and tell him I will "personally" make his food, but I want him outside in his car, as he is disturbing others. I then proceeded to go get a fresh patty going, but not before bathing it in the seasoning blend, standard salt/pepper blend (you know, grey). This fresh, pink patty is now grey with seasoning, and I poured a nice spoonful of jalapeno juice over the top, and send it through the charbroiler. I then do the same juice on his bun. Safe to say, MFR never came back. Please be considerate of new people, and don't return food 6 hours after you order it, saying it's cold. We aren't stupid.
Yup yup yup 2 years ago
Last year had a table call me the n word twice. After the first time they said it I politely told them not to call me that then they did it a second time and laughed telling me I was being sensitive. What they didn't know is I was already contemplating quitting. So I went to my manager in the office told I quit and told her why then proceeded to shred their order I had written down and hung out with my manager for an hour before clocking out and leaving. When I visited her a couple weeks later she told me they waited for two hours before being banned and leaving hungry. Don't mess with people who handle your food. Most servers won't tamper with it they will just make you wait. But don't be rude to anyone in customer service because depending on your state you could live in an open carry state and get a gun pulled on you. True story 😬
Michael Cockrell 2 years ago
You guys should screen these a little more for obvious fakes. Several of these came literally from TV shows or movies
Panda in the Fake South 2 years ago
Everyone is here for a laugh. Does it matter where it came from?
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Jill Pulcifer 2 years ago
20 some odd years ago when I was 18 or 19 I was working at a restaurant that used to host large parties and banquets. I was waiting on this walk in party of 20 plus who all order the fish. I was the only waitress and it was afternoon so my boss was hanging around per usual. She was hovering over me the entire time and I was so nervous. I am bringing out massive platters of fish and she pulls me to the side to make sure I wrote down a Mic Ultra that I had just served. I take a few steps balance my load and pull out my pad, and as it comes out a shower of loose tobacco from my half smoked cigs comes with it. My fish is covered, I panic, my boss is right there, I cant send it back I will loose my job. So I served it, they didn't say anything and everything was eaten. Now obviously I would do something very different, I still feel bad about it.
Bi-Polar Express 2 years ago
Food tampering and food theft. It's so petty. When kids or parents are rude, I don't mess with their education.
Phil Vaive 2 years ago
Not food service, but I used to work in the optical industry. When I worked for an optometrist, I would do pre-testing (that's the person you see before you see the actual doctor) which included using the tonometer, the air puff machine. Any time I had a rude patient, I would give them extra air puffs: "oops! You must have blinked that time! Oh looks like we missed it again!"
Jessica Thompson 2 years ago
Pettiest thing I've ever done. I greeted a table and asked how everyone was doing. The "leader" interrupted one of the other gals as she was giving me her drink order and demanded water with extra ice and extra lemon for everyone. I politely looked around and everyone looked down and agreed. I went to the back to fill the waters. I took an ice pitcher used to refill out on the floor, I filled a cup with extra lemons on the bottom of the glass then poured ice over the top. I poured the ice water from the pitcher in said glass so the ice wouldn't melt. Everyone else got an extra cup of ice and lemons on the side while the b***h was served the ice water glass. I wanted to make sure she understood she was acting like a €#nt. She tried complaining to my manager (he'd dealt with my petty shenanigans before and is on my side 99% of the time. This was one of those occasions) and he acted confused on what she was complaining about. She got what she wanted!
Louiza Jane Davies 2 years ago
Another thing at my old job, the chef was complaining that the kitchen was too hot and his butt was chafing. So his collegue told him that flour is like baby powder and would help... The head chef then put flour down his ass IN THE KITCHEN DURING WORK HOURS which worked like paper mache and he essentially glued his ass together
Joshua Martin 2 years ago
A waitress came into the kitchen when I was a kid. She was livid. Shaking. She said she was going to cook, then she handed me a bun and told me to go in the back and do what teenage boys do. I still have no idea what they did to her.
MyCatsTheRealPanda 2 years ago
Not necessarily. Many people just don't think they should have to tip so they don't. That or they tip a dollar for a 50 dollar order. It's definitely not always the fault of the server. Most of the time,people who depend on tips try to do their best and be nice because they know they need those tips.
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John Baker 2 years ago
Food tampering is a felony that carries a possible maximum sentence of up to twenty years in prison. If I'm your boss and I catch you doing it, you're fired on the spot. No ifs, ands or buts and no second chances. Clock out and get out. Give me any lip on your way out the door and I'll also report you to the authorities. Rude customers are no excuse for committing a criminal act that could cause harm to my business.
jasper 2 years ago
Okay. Having worked in the service industry for many, many years, and having to live off tips, I still find this disturbing. Messing with food like some of these claim is not only disgusting but illegal. There are a lot of jerk customers out there. There are better ways to deal with them. I don't care if you "accidentally" dump a water in someone's lap (been there) but good heavens. That's a bunch of petty BS right there.
Jasam Nitko 2 years ago
Never tamper with people's food. Never. It's both illegal and dangerous. Over the years I worked in restaurants I never saw anyone doing it, but I did hear of those who had been fired on the spot for it. On the other side, if this thread makes you worry about going to restaurants then the solution is to not be rude to the staff. Clearly, there are some out there that are willing to break the law and risk their jobs.
Memere 2 years ago
Same here. When I go out, even if I'm not feeling great, I will still be courteous. It doesn't cost anything to just be polite. Don't have to be all chipper & cheerful, just polite.
Load More Replies... Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
Honestly, I don't see the point in acting like you're getting revenge when the rude person has no idea you've messed with their food. It's not going to change their rude behavior in the slightest, so you're basically being rude to them for no reason...just like they were to you.
Robert Thompson 2 years ago
Always been polite and when I started working for a living, I became a good tipper. Can't recall any problems.
LagoonaBlueColleen 2 years ago
Yeah, that's how I feel. I'm a polite customer and friendly but I've found it doesn't take much to piss off the staff. I've had one female server get really snippy with me because I ordered a virgin cocktail and asked about customizing an order ( a simple request, really). Maybe she was having a bad day? I don't know what the issue was but she came back and said someone else was gonna be our server. The new server was a bit nicer but still had this guarded attitude. Like, geez, sorry for coming to the restaurant to eat.
Load More Replies... Andrew Bridges 2 years ago
Nice or not, good tipper or not, it makes me second guess going out for food.
LagoonaBlueColleen 2 years ago (edited)
I had gotten a lot of abuse working at Tim Hortons (there's rumors going around they put some sort of highly addictive additive in the coffee to make people act like addicts going through withdrawals). Never have I ever seen anyone purposely messing with anyone's food. I have heard of people getting banned and kicked out. We've had to call police a few times. All in all I'm a pretty nice customer, myself, and do tip (very well if I'm impressed with the service) and I've still experience shitty employees that want to "suck it to me" for unknown reasons. Because they hate their job and perhaps the item I ordered was their least favourite to make? Who knows. I don't work a stellar job, either, but I put pride in what I do and my goal is to always try to make someone's day brighter.
Trevor Nicholson 2 years ago
I can't imagine the type of person who would be rude immediately like what could possibly warrant that? The only times I've been less than nice, though still pretty nice just not leaving as big of a tip, were at the end of the meal. I usually give them the benefit of the doubt that if something is slow, it's not their fault because the server doesn't cook the food. But the times I've been less than nice are like, when I went to a bar and they never asked me if I wanted a second beer when they came around to take my plate. Or the time I sat there for 30 mins with an empty plate and nobody took it so eventually I had to go up to someone and ask for my bill.
Evelyn Haskins 2 years ago
Couldn't you simply ASK for another beer??????
Load More Replies... Louiza Jane Davies 2 years ago
I worked at a big corporation at 16. First ever job, the manager was an a*****e and one time as a "joke" put his balls on the head chef's food. He didn't tell him and the guy ate the food. He also would take all our tips at the end of the day with some excuse about the floors not being clean enough or us not working fast enough, every day. One day he got this pack of skittles and he was so happy that he had them, while everyone was busy he was seperating the colours on the bar counter (I have to clean that s**t) he kept going on about how purple was his favourite. Then he left to do something... My friend ate every single purple one then put the skittles back in the bag. He seperated them again to find no purple. Another coworker took the blame cause they were mates and he found it hilarious. Manager wasn't impressed. By the way, me, my mate and 3 others quit in the next month because of the conditions there.
Evelyn Haskins 2 years ago
DO you EAT Skittles??? I thought they were things you knock down with a bowling ball!
Load More Replies... Kim Asquith 2 years ago
As explained above; a lot of servers have to pay out at the end of the night- based on the table $$ amount. They also pay taxes on an average tip. So if you don't leave a tip then that server is actually paying out of their usually min wage salary for your table. Yes, the restaurant industry is messed up in the US. They should get paid way above min wage to put up with the general bulls#%t that most customers give them. But to take that out on a hard working server is not the way to go about it. I always tip 20%. Servers work hard regardless if you see it. If the server didn't do a good job then instead of taking it out of their income- tell a manager. I doubt if you mess up you get your pay docked.
Jamie Mcdonald 2 years ago
I sell cars and I promise you any mistake is taken as purposeful deception and ends up costing money. "What are you gonna give me?" I don't know, how about I just correct the mistake and we call it a day? Why do I have to give you a free remote start, which takes away from gross profit which takes away from my commission?
Load More Replies... Cary Rich 2 years ago
I worked at a fast food joint, the one with a smiley star, as a closing manager. Had a fresh-faced cashier, maybe 17, second day of training. Had a repeat offender return a sandwich, claiming it was cold. I came out of the back, was working on prep, and looked at the sandwich and reciept. Dude ordered the dang thing at noon rush, and it is now almost 6 pm. A**hole proceeds to yell, so I go and tell him I will "personally" make his food, but I want him outside in his car, as he is disturbing others. I then proceeded to go get a fresh patty going, but not before bathing it in the seasoning blend, standard salt/pepper blend (you know, grey). This fresh, pink patty is now grey with seasoning, and I poured a nice spoonful of jalapeno juice over the top, and send it through the charbroiler. I then do the same juice on his bun. Safe to say, MFR never came back. Please be considerate of new people, and don't return food 6 hours after you order it, saying it's cold. We aren't stupid.
Yup yup yup 2 years ago
Last year had a table call me the n word twice. After the first time they said it I politely told them not to call me that then they did it a second time and laughed telling me I was being sensitive. What they didn't know is I was already contemplating quitting. So I went to my manager in the office told I quit and told her why then proceeded to shred their order I had written down and hung out with my manager for an hour before clocking out and leaving. When I visited her a couple weeks later she told me they waited for two hours before being banned and leaving hungry. Don't mess with people who handle your food. Most servers won't tamper with it they will just make you wait. But don't be rude to anyone in customer service because depending on your state you could live in an open carry state and get a gun pulled on you. True story 😬
Michael Cockrell 2 years ago
You guys should screen these a little more for obvious fakes. Several of these came literally from TV shows or movies
Panda in the Fake South 2 years ago
Everyone is here for a laugh. Does it matter where it came from?
Load More Replies... Jill Pulcifer 2 years ago
20 some odd years ago when I was 18 or 19 I was working at a restaurant that used to host large parties and banquets. I was waiting on this walk in party of 20 plus who all order the fish. I was the only waitress and it was afternoon so my boss was hanging around per usual. She was hovering over me the entire time and I was so nervous. I am bringing out massive platters of fish and she pulls me to the side to make sure I wrote down a Mic Ultra that I had just served. I take a few steps balance my load and pull out my pad, and as it comes out a shower of loose tobacco from my half smoked cigs comes with it. My fish is covered, I panic, my boss is right there, I cant send it back I will loose my job. So I served it, they didn't say anything and everything was eaten. Now obviously I would do something very different, I still feel bad about it.
Bi-Polar Express 2 years ago
Food tampering and food theft. It's so petty. When kids or parents are rude, I don't mess with their education.
Phil Vaive 2 years ago
Not food service, but I used to work in the optical industry. When I worked for an optometrist, I would do pre-testing (that's the person you see before you see the actual doctor) which included using the tonometer, the air puff machine. Any time I had a rude patient, I would give them extra air puffs: "oops! You must have blinked that time! Oh looks like we missed it again!"
Jessica Thompson 2 years ago
Pettiest thing I've ever done. I greeted a table and asked how everyone was doing. The "leader" interrupted one of the other gals as she was giving me her drink order and demanded water with extra ice and extra lemon for everyone. I politely looked around and everyone looked down and agreed. I went to the back to fill the waters. I took an ice pitcher used to refill out on the floor, I filled a cup with extra lemons on the bottom of the glass then poured ice over the top. I poured the ice water from the pitcher in said glass so the ice wouldn't melt. Everyone else got an extra cup of ice and lemons on the side while the b***h was served the ice water glass. I wanted to make sure she understood she was acting like a €#nt. She tried complaining to my manager (he'd dealt with my petty shenanigans before and is on my side 99% of the time. This was one of those occasions) and he acted confused on what she was complaining about. She got what she wanted!
Louiza Jane Davies 2 years ago
Another thing at my old job, the chef was complaining that the kitchen was too hot and his butt was chafing. So his collegue told him that flour is like baby powder and would help... The head chef then put flour down his ass IN THE KITCHEN DURING WORK HOURS which worked like paper mache and he essentially glued his ass together
Joshua Martin 2 years ago
A waitress came into the kitchen when I was a kid. She was livid. Shaking. She said she was going to cook, then she handed me a bun and told me to go in the back and do what teenage boys do. I still have no idea what they did to her.
MyCatsTheRealPanda 2 years ago
Not necessarily. Many people just don't think they should have to tip so they don't. That or they tip a dollar for a 50 dollar order. It's definitely not always the fault of the server. Most of the time,people who depend on tips try to do their best and be nice because they know they need those tips.
Load More Replies... 
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