Entitled customers demand ‘real food’ after restaurant kitchen closes, employees put them in their place and finish the night with apple pie: ‘‘Bar is now closed get out‘

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Feb 18, 2025 1:00 PM EST

The restaurant industry has the potential to be very unforgiving. Any customer-facing position has its pros and cons, but one major downside to the job is dealing with entitled customers who think you owe them an arm and a leg (figuratively, hopefully). If you've ever worked in the restaurant industry before you are well aware of the qualms you can get into as an employee, especially during closing time when customers can't take a hint that "closed" actually means "closed"! If you're not afraid to stand up for yourself, you might teach one more customer that respect is earned, not given out for free.

The kitchen staffer in this story explains that they had a run-in with two entitled customers who didn't understand the concept of clocking out. The two customers were sitting at the bar while the employee was working on an apple pie recipe. The rest of the kitchen had gone home early to the customers' dismay, but their entitlement gets them a one-way ticket out the door.

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  • Now, it's never okay to be ill-mannered for no reason… but when someone deserves it? Be my guest. The employee in this story is counting down the clock after a long shift and the last thing they want is to deal with two customers who don't know how to take “no” at face value. It's almost like they are asking for negative responses, but the employee refuses to cave. Subdue them with kindness (or however that saying goes) and see what happens. The employee's bartender coworker, though? They were playing bad cop. Keep reading.

  • "I guess they preferred humble pie to apple."
    via Kavya P K for Unsplash

  • "‘Then you should have come in before 10’"

    A story from the time I spent working in a kitchen. It was a restaurant right next to a music venue, and we got busy on concert
    via Sleepdprived
  • weekends but during the off season it could get quiet with just a few regulars. We had music nights and the bar was usually serving drinks until close so we would be open all year.
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  • During a quiet late fall day after doing cleaning and checking dates, we had some apples that needed to be used for something before they got mealy. I
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  • used the opportunity to work on my pie recipe. We usually didn't do pies so it was a change of pace and it kept me busy so I would not be forced
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  • to scrub some unused corner. Pie was great and the head chef said it was one of the best he had ever tasted. He even took one home to eat. Kitchen
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  • closes and we clean everything and break down our stations put dates on our stuff and throw it in the walk in. I get to the point I could
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  • wait out the last ten minutes at the bar. It is 5 minutes to close I am waiting for my ride home. In walk the entitled customers. Two people for drinks at 10:55 isn't
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  • unusual they are told we are closing soon. They say "we want food" I stand up. "I'm sorry the kitchen is closed and the line cooks have gone home we can't serve food.
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  • "I thought this was a restaurant?" The guy in the leather jacket sneers "We have some apple pie i made myself I can serve that if you want dessert,
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  • no charge." I was using my best customer service to get the bartender a good tip. "We want real food" the woman in the fur replies indignantly.
    via Sleepdprived
  • Cheezburger Image 10469267968
    via Adrien Olichon for Unsplash
  • "Then you should have come in before 10. Bar is now closed get out" my bartender friend says unceremoniously and starts turning off lights. I
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  • walk to the kitchen taking their cue and turn the lights off. I was in the walk in when I heard the guy follow me Into the now dark kitchen and say: "seriously?"
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  • The bartender says "No that's not the door out and I can't have you in the kitchen please leave the way you came in."
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  • Bartender starts printng end of night credit card reports. To someone unfamiliar with the kitchen it must have looked like i walked through the door and vanished. The couple
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  • stomped out of the bar and I poked my head out of the fridge to turn off the parking lot lights letting them go to their car in darkness.
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  • Later when the bartender drove me home they told me that that couple has only been there a few times, has never tipped and argued the bill with
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  • the owner on more than one occasion. She had always wanted to kick them out, but when they refused free dessert to try and get food an hour
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  • after the kitchen had closed, and were sor de about it... she finally had her opportunity. The two of them never came back while I was working there. The bartender and I ate pie at her house and laughed about it.
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  • HOWD1d... Bet that was the best tasting pie ever!
    via H0wD1d1EndUpHere
  • butterfl... I guess they preferred humble pie to apple.
    via butterfly-garden
  • azreal75 Thanks for sharing. As someone who deals with the public and too many entitled , it's nice to see the good guys get a win!
    via azreal75

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