'I'm the owner': Head chef sets the record straight with clout-chasing patrons, putting them in their place when they brag about 'knowing the owner'

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Mar 9, 2025 7:00 AM EDT

This restaurant owner put a couple of pompous customers in their place when she corrected them on their know-it-all behavior, reminding them that she was, in fact, the owner of the business.

There's nothing worse than customers who claim to 'know the owner' in an attempt to get special treatment at an establishment. Frankly, if you were buddies with the proprietor of this place, would you really want them to lose money on your account? No, you're just a money-grubbing clout-chaser trying to impress your friend group despite your lack of personality. Am I too harsh? Hardly. In my experience, whenever someone seeks a free hand out or special treatment at a restaurant or hotel, they're just proving how classless they really are. However, very rarely do we see those types of people shoving their foot in their mouth—but in this case, we get the lovely satisfaction.

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    via SDI Production

    (The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.)

    If they really knew the owner like they claimed, it would have been clear that they were talking to the owner herself. Sorry folks, we love your patronage, but nobody gets a gold star for boldly incorrect claims. Oops! 

  • "I am the owner"

    this used to happen to me regularly when my husband (now ex-husband) and I owned a restaurant. we were a very small restaurant that seated 28 in a trendy neighbourhood and when we opened we were young and optimistic.
    via n1c073plz
  • he and I were both professional cooks, but when we opened, in order to save money, he ran the kitchen, alone, and I ran the front, alone, since I had some serving experience. it was a lot of work but again: we were young. as a result
    via n1c073plz
  • of this arrangement, most of the folks who became our regulars were the ones who frequented our place in the beginning and interacted with me more than my then husband.
    via n1c073plz
  • fast forward about 4 months and we're busy enough to hire an additional couple of casual employees. because I am also a cook, I moved to the back of the house and we hired a server and a dishwasher.
    via n1c073plz
  • I'll be honest, I prefer the kitchen. my ex loved to interact with guests and get feedback on dishes and wines, so it worked well when I moved to the back of the house and he could pop out front to do his thing while I held down the back end of things. the side effect was, of course, that all the new ppl came to know him as the owner.
    via n1c073plz
  • from then on, when I was helping bartend or serve, I would regularly get people telling me they 'knew the owner' hoping to get a couple more ounces of wine or a free dessert, only to have me dead- eyed stare at them and tell them we'd never met. fun fun times
    via n1c073plz
  • justheath If you're my friend you'd never ask me to sacrifice my business for your personal benefit. And if you think that's ok then you're not really my friend, so why would you ask and expect me to do it?
    via justheath
  • I'm in a volunteer position and do personal business at a few related businesses. Sometimes they give me deals and sometimes I pay full price for the service. I'll never ask for a "special" price because of position or friendship. I want them to succeed and I value the service they provide.
    via justheath
  • Tall_Mickey If you "know the owner" and want a discount, you're not their friend even if you do know them.
    via Tall_Mickey
  • Commercial-Push-9066 My sister worked for a company that was named after its founder, who died decades before she worked there. She got occasional calls from people telling her they know the owner, using the de d
    via Commercial-Push-9066
  • man's name. They thought she would give them a discount. She would have fun with it asking them when they last spoke to him, things like that. They were so embarrassed when she told them the truth!
    via Commercial-Push-9066
  • TheLatinaNerd When I was a server in college, the first time someone said I know the owner to me, I responded back "oh you know Carlos? I know Carlos too! He's a great guy" and just continued on my way because I didn't understand at the time they were trying to get a discount or something
    via TheLatinaNerd

  • After this, here's a story of an entire department that got back at the executives pulling the strings, fulfilling an insane request to deliver all of their records from the last 6 years… Printed. Single-sided. And within a few weeks. 

    Apart from the overtime this crew received, they also got the last laugh when the big boss realized what 3,600+ pieces of paper looked like—and that was just the records for the last 6 months! 

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i know the owner owner customers restaurant chef patrons funny karen entitled people service industry
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