‘You ask and you shall receive’: After failing in his attempt to overshadow the waitress and impress his date, customer spends the entire evening eating out of to-go bags

Author image for Sienna Varady
Sienna Varady
Jan 31, 2024 12:00 PM EST

It is usually advisable to stay away from people who are impolite when dealing with staff. Ultimately, the waiters are there to assist you in having a good time and planning your next visit.  However, what would happen if your guests mistreat the staff for no apparent reason? They turn an evening that could have been genuinely amazing into a major headache. 

The story recounts the tale of a frustrated server who found a perfect way to exact revenge on an obnoxious customer. Surprisingly, no elaborate plan was needed to get back at the guest for his terrible behavior. All OP had to do was comply with every request made by the visitor. To put things in perspective, OP serves customers at a music venue/supper club. Before the live performance begins, attendees have the option to place meal orders with the restaurant. But because the kitchen is crunched for time, just a few lucky customers get to enjoy their meals before the event begins. Ultimately, the band is eagerly anticipating their moment to take the stage. Therefore, it makes sense that by the end of the evening, some of the customers are pleased and eager to return, while others are not as pleased.

So, without giving too much away, this particular evening finished with a few very unhappy customers, one very happy waiter (OP, of course), and, well, a fantastic tale to tell you! So, if you're interested in learning what happened between OP and the entitled customers, read the story below! When you're finished, don't forget to read the account of the worker who gets caught in a manager-on-manager conflict!

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  • 01
    "Good luck dude! You'll need it..."
    via Canva
  • 02
    Power Struggle
    via u/ElleCBrown
  • 03
    I've been in this industry for nearly 30 years and so the following is absolutely not new to me, but I'm still always amused by the customers that operate against their own best interests, simply to "put me in my place" or "keep the upper hand".
    via u/ElleCBrown
  • 04
    For example, my establishment is essentially a music venue/supper club, so we have about a 3-3.5 hr window to serve dinner, often multiple courses, and depending on what time the guests choose to arrive. The kitchen has a hard closing time, and if the place is sold out (roughly 400 person capacity), it
    via u/ElleCBrown
  • 05
    makes it even more important to get orders in quickly. On busy nights, we generally request that customers give us their entire order at once so we can course it out for them, instead of letting them order one course at a time. Weekends it's even more of an imperative, as there are
    via u/ElleCBrown
  • 06
    two shows those nights and guests from the first show have to leave almost immediately after so we can clean and prepare for the next show 30 minutes later. The majority of guests have no problem with this request, as it ensures they get their first food in a timely manner, but
    via u/ElleCBrown
  • 07
    there are always a few that want to push back, not believing when we explain the purpose of the request. Tonight, I had a couple that was clearly on an early-in-the- relationship date. The man was definitely trying to impress the woman he was with. They were my
    via u/ElleCBrown
  • 08
    first table, arriving within 20 minutes of the doors opening, and after the appropriate amount of time, I greeted them, gave my usual speech, and offered a beverage. He told me they wanted to "take in the ambiance for awhile", and asked me to give them more time. I returned 10 minutes later, and he told me
    via u/ElleCBrown
  • 09
    they were "enjoying each other's company so much" that they hadn't bothered to look at the drink menu. This is when I told him about the show being sold out, the importance of getting the order in if they wanted to dine in a timely manner, etc. He told me, "oh I'm sure it'll be fine". LOL
    via u/ElleCBrown
  • 10
    I'll spare you the details of all of his stupid, power struggle behavior over the course of the night, but I'll just say this I told him that the kitchen closed at 8:15. At 8:12, he attempted to order two three course meals. I told him the show would be ending at 8:45, and that they would not have time to enjoy their courses. He
    via u/ElleCBrown
  • 11
    waved me away. I placed the order. They took their sweet time eating their first course; he was furious when I dropped their check before they'd received their entree. He was livid when his last two courses came out in to go boxes. He almost had an aneurysm when the manager had to
    via u/ElleCBrown
  • 12
    ask them to leave because they were still sitting there 10 minutes before the second show. It's always so silly to me that people will legit pay to be unhappy. That man bought a ticket to a show, and could've simply behaved like a normal person and enjoyed himself
    via u/ElleCBrown
  • 13
    like all the other 399 customers in the building, but he had to exert his control, and ended up spoiling his own and his date's — evening. What a bozo. Edit: it just occurred to me that this guy probably thought that if he ordered late and they took their
    via u/ElleCBrown
  • 14
    sweet time eating, they could just stay for the second show w/out having to pay for another ticket. People occasionally try to hang around in hopes of blending in to the second show crowd, as if we
    via u/ElleCBrown
  • 15
    wouldn't notice, and now I'm thinking this guy was assuming we wouldn't kick them out if they had just starting eating. LOL.
    via u/ElleCBrown
  • 16
    Emaretlee 22 hr. ago Ugh. I know the type. Thrilled to hear Mr Entitled didn't win the battle though.
    via u/Emaretlee
  • 17
    ElleCBrown OP · 22 hr. ago I remember a time in my career when I would've worked harder to convince him that he was setting himself up for failure, but at this point, I just let me them drive themselves straight into
    via u/ElleCBrown
  • 18
    disaster if they refuse to listen. I swear, so many ppl think we work in this industry only to make ppl's lives miserable lol. Like we're here to make your night great, just let us do our jobs!
    via u/ElleCBrown
  • 19
    SqueakyCleany · 18 hr. ago Never fails to amaze me that people don't realize that as a server, we are guiding them through the experience.
    via u/SqueakyCleany
  • 20
    BoringBob84 13 hr. ago BOH (former) . Almost like the server works there and has experience at knowing how things work! I think that some people's egos are so
    via u/BoringBob84
  • 21
    fragile that they cannot accept not knowing everything. They would rather make things up than listen to someone who knows.
    via u/BoringBob84
  • 22
    Pond20 14 hr. ago These types of customers are beyond annoying. I think of the job as if I am playing a part in a play and so is the customer. If they are adults, they should know what part it is they are playing and not try to play my part too.
    via u/Pond20
  • 23
    Turnthekey2669 - 10 hr. ago In my 20's, I worked at a restaurant adjacent to a summer theater in RI. Some of the best summers of my life, but the patrons could really be Show up late for dinner and the curtains are at 7? Sorry, nothing I can do!
    via u/Turnthekey2669
  • 24
    Great-Attitude 4 hr. ago Same thing when I worked at the closest restaurant to two theaters, and the AHL hockey rink. Show up on time or expect to have your food in to-go boxes, to sit in your car until the show/concert/game is over
    via u/Great-Attitude
  • 25
    dennismullen12.5 Served their last two courses in to go boxes.. genius. hr. ago
    via u/dennismullen12
  • 26
    ElleCBrown OP. 5 hr. ago I can't even take credit for that one, they were just waiting and ready for me in the kitchen when I went back there D
    via u/ElleCBrown
  • 27
    jonpaladin · 14 hr. ago maybe they were actually breaking up
    via u/jonpaladin
  • 28
    BoringBob84 13 hr. ago BOH (former) He certainly put on a show for his date. He let his pride and ego get in the way of common sense. And then he got angry when he didn't want to
    via u/BoringBob84
  • 29
    accept the consequences of his choices. Maybe he did her a favor by revealing what it would be like to live with him.
    via u/BoringBob84
  • 30
    Great-Attitude - 4 hr. ago Honestly I love this story, just wish I could have seen the look on his face
    via u/Great-Attitude

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customer service antiwork workplace-stories work stories malicious compliance waiter petty revenge overworked-employees workplace tales from your server malicious compliance reddit oddly satisfying
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