Restaurant employees discuss their most foolish customer complaints: ‘Customer [was] mad because [an] espresso martini had espresso in it’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Jan 15, 2026 5:00 PM EST

If you ever think you're having an absurd day, a customer service employee is probably having a more absurd one. It's true.

How many customer complaints do you think customer-facing employees receive each day? Surely, not every customer can be as dense and dull as some of the most foolish ones an employee might come across in their daily life. Still, there are also too many nonsensical entitled customer stories for the number to be few. So, what gives? Why are so many customers, especially in the restaurant industry, so clueless?

That's not why we're here today, friends. We're on a mission not to answer a question, but to entertain ourselves with boots-on-the-ground journalism from restaurant industry veterans who can't believe some people are real.

Picture this: You walk up to a bar and see a delicious, deep brown drink with some caramel-colored foam on top. The smooth aromatics emanating from the sweet liquid in the martini glass are so distinct, so inviting, that you just have to ask the bartender what it is.

"An espresso martini, would you like one?"

You're nervous about giving a direct answer, as you're unsure if you'll like the taste as much as you enjoy the smell.

"What the heck, sure."

As the bartender whips up a replica of the drink already sitting upon the wooden bar, your excitement increases. All of the anticipation better be worth it. The bartender then hands you the drink you sought after, and, in one sweeping motion, you take a sip.

Then, you spit it out.

"It tastes like coffee!"

Why, that's because it is coffee… espresso, to be exact. Silly you. Instead of admitting foolishness, you berate the bartender.

Now, you'd never do this in real life, likely because you aren't someone who seeks to make another person's life more difficult. However, that's exactly what goes down in this next story, which prompts a mass influx of other restaurant industry employees to share their most nonsensical customer complaints. Scroll below to read about the kind of customer who doesn't know that ketchup is made with tomatoes.

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customer service employees discuss forums entitled customers
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