'[She] returns it again, less polite, visibly irritated': Teen coffee shop worker sets smoke alarms off trying to make customer's bagel the right way

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Sep 7, 2024 5:00 PM EDT

I'm convinced that some customers return to the same fast-food restaurants over and over just to mess with the employees. When a customer comes into the store announcing how bad the service was last time, and how the employees were so impolite, and the food was just awful… It makes you wonder, why are they even here? Do they know that there are a million options for fast food, including the same exact food from the same chain a mile or two away? Do they know that they have free will, and no one is forcing them to return to the place they got bad service? Workers just smirk when they hear the customer start to ramble about their repeat visits gone wrong. This is a self-inflicted problem I fear! It can be solved by the customer's own actions, and yet… they'll show up again tomorrow morning, ready to grumble some more. 

Commenters had their own stories to share about this kind of customer. Clearly, it's an issue across not just the donut chains of the world, but all sorts of restaurants. You can check out the full story below. 

Up next, these oddly designed items were made to be striking, but not so easy to clean, like this one wall made entirely out of broken plates and tea cups! 

Advertisement
  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10399953664
    via Cullan Smith on Unsplash
  • 02
    Toasted enough? I worked at Dunkin my senior year of high school (2005-2006). People were TERRIBLE to us and we would often be called "drop out", etc. I'm a very good, polite, "customer service" personality. Well one afternoon a woman requested a bagel extra toasted.
    via u/zingingcutie47
  • 03
    Okay. I turn down the speed of the toaster to its lowest setting (so the bagel is under the coils longer) and I prep it and hand it off. She looks at it and very upset but still trying to be polite tells me she asked for extra toasted and please make it again. Okay, I put it through even longer.
    via u/zingingcutie47
  • 04
    Returns it again, less polite, visibly irritated. I finally make it go as toasted as I can without actually setting it on fire. This time she is very upset, calling me names and saying that I'm too stupid to get what extra toasted means. I apologize and say that I can't roast a bagel any more without it catching on fire. This
    via u/zingingcutie47
  • 05
    time she raises her voice and says the customer is always right, make it correctly! So....I put it through longer, and 3/4 the way through the track catches on fire. I watch it go, the smoke alarms started going off and with the woman watching me over the counter her flaming bagel lands in the tray. I count "one
    via u/zingingcutie47
  • 06
    Mississippi....two Mississippi" blow it out and declare "bagels done!" That time she didn't complain. Honestly I think she was trying to process a teenager watching her food on fire and then blowing it out.
    via u/zingingcutie47
  • 07
    ttcmzx I wish you handed it to her on fire Imao
    via u/zingingcutie47
  • 08
    [deleted] Reminds me of a summer job making pizza. One punter comes in regularly, but first time I've met him. Asks for his pizza "extra extra well done". I figure "Dude likes it really crispy" and I'm game, so I make a start. Stone ovens, pizza on a screen with meat and cheese cooks in about 4
    via u/zingingcutie47
  • 09
    minutes. I check that the pizza is done, lift and check the bottom, and leave it another minute until it looks 'well done'. The bacon bits are having a nice charred edge and the cheese is toasty all over rather than gooey. I exercise restraint and leave it another minute. The pizza is now basically burnt to a point where probably at least 80% of customers would complain.
    via u/zingingcutie47
  • 10
    I bring it to him and he opens the box, shakes his head, and asks me to put it back in, again. "Burn it." he insists, practically daring me. Another 3-4 minutes later, I shovel the ashen remnants of this pizza into a box. There's no longer any colour difference between cheese, topping and bread - they're all charcoal black, and
    via u/zingingcutie47
  • 11
    cutting the slices sends little puffs of dust up in the air. I bring it to him again, and he opens the box. I expect him to eyeball me and ask if I'm taking the He picks up a slice and he grabs the hard, pointy end of it and breaks it off with a satisfying 'snap'.
    via u/zingingcutie47
  • 12
    "Perfect," he said, and he thanked me before heading on his way. Left an okay tip, too. Go figure, right?
    via u/zingingcutie47
  • 13
    w11f1ow3r Haha! Reminds me of the regular who would come in almost every day and ask for a Texas Toast Grilled Cheese. Our sandwich station was right by the handoff area and entirely visible to customers. He would order and then leer at us with this annoying smile, watching to make sure we made it the exact right way.
    via u/zingingcutie47
  • 14
    I'm remembering correctly, you put 3 slices of cheese on there and it's layered - White American, then Yellow American, then White American. The bread has to be put a certain side down since it's pre-buttered. Put in the oven, then when it comes out it gets wrapped in a clean sheet of wax paper and then put in a sandwich sleeve. He would watch you like a hawk, make
    via u/zingingcutie47
  • 15
    you remake it if it was made incorrectly in any way, and complain to corporate to get free coupons and gift cards which paid for the next days Texas Toast Grilled Cheese. We took delight in making it perfect every single time in full view of the cameras & the customer so if anyone ever cared to check we
    via u/zingingcutie47
  • 16
    knew we were making the most perfect Texas Toast Grilled Cheese known to Dunkin Donuts history.
    via u/zingingcutie47

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

malicious compliance customers malicious-compliance-reddit bagel bagels malicious compliance reddit coffee shop
Scroll Down For The Next Article