Some of them have the unmitigated gall to actually ask you to prepare them a legitimate vegetarian or, God forbid, a vegan dish, that is a real meal and not just some regular menu item with the meat taken off the plate. The actual nerve of those people.
Customers that fail to grasp that some restaurants only have food stuffs to prepare what is on the menu can cause consternation for the wait staff as well as BOH.
Even fast food places specialize, though some are broadening their offerings, although, AFAIK KFC doesn't serve hot dogs and Taco Bell doesn't serve hamburgers.
If, say, mashed potatoes are not on the menu, chances are there are no mashed potatoes available for service. The same goes for almost anything plate-able, if it isn't on the menu somewhere, chances are fairly good that it isn't available in the kitchen!
Now, with 24 hours notice, many restaurants should be able to address special requests, barring those with life threatening allergies. Too bad some are unable to pick up the phone and inquire before walking through the door.
...There's the customer that has no idea about the difference between medium rare and medium.
...and the customer who insists that the chicken breast is still raw inside even though it's already cooked perfectly done.
...and the customer who while at a banquet where their plate was pre-ordered, and when it is presented to them, they refuse it saying they ordered something else...( probably because the plate next to theirs looked better...)
.....and for ME....personally.........bringing children younger then 10 into a public eating establishment without first having taught them
For sure some folks should just stay home. Recently at Outback Steakhouse and the table next to us complained over everything, ran the waitress for multiple loafs of bread, and the manager ended up comping the meal... Shocked myself by getting up and telling the woman off and to just cook at home as nothing made them happy!
Omg...recently waited on a table, got their order and AFTER salads, was informed that one had a nut allergy!!!!!! He had ordered the seared scallops, which the chef had stopped using butter and switched to peanut oil for a better sear color...thank the heaven's we didn't have any nut oil in salad dressing....He then went on to tell me how he ended up in a hospital after eating out....I literally stood there and called him an idiot..ran to kitchen to check on dressing ingredients and I did have a nice meal of seared scallops in peanut oil! If you have an allergy that is that life threatening why would you not of told the server??????? They were all happy in the end that I spared his life, and his first dinner I enjoyed very much...dumb ass
yes indeed i was very angry for he also had no clue as to how we made the salad dressing which he just ate..was waiting for his throat to swell up in front of me...which is why I called him an idiot...always inform a server of ANY allergy before ordering anything....was worried that they used something in dressing...ugh....they did leave a good tip though despite me calling him an idiot in front of his piers!!!! They figured I saved them a trip to the E.R.!!!!
My mother-in-law was one of the worst restaurant customers I've ever seen. It was so bad, I literally refused to ever go to a restaurant with her again. She knew virtually nothing about food and was a terrible cook . . . so taking her to an excellent restaurant was a waste. Why was she a terrible customer? She treated waitstaff so poorly I frequently cringed and occasionally apologized for her behavior. The last time I was in a restaurant with her I took her to lunch at a lovely bistro near my home. The food was very good and the service was first-rate. I never wanted for anything; however, my mother spoke to the waitress in a derogatory manner. When I asked her why she was being so rude to her, my mother-in-law replied "She's nothing. She's just a server." I never ventured near a restaurant with her again. She died nearly four years ago.
My father's wife is truly bizarre at a restaurant. She also knows little when it comes to cooking and is literally the worst cook ever (although, she has a heart of gold). For example, the following are a few examples:
She's extremely indecisive and will keep a waiter at the table asking the first half of a series of questions while she ponders what to order. The waitstaff is unable to leave the table because she continues to initiate questions, but not finish them. We often will tell the waiter she's not ready to order in order to release them so they can serve other tables.
She has a tendency to be a low-talker and can be difficult to hear when she talks into her menu.
After being told the halibut is fresh, asks Do I get a whole fish if I order the halibut?
Has requested to have the dairy removed from things like hot fudge sundaes and grilled cheese sandwiches (isn't that just toast?)
I witnessed customers in restaurants that stun me with their behavior and marvel at how tolerant the staff often behaves. I often predict the worse the customer, the less likely they've ever worked in a restaurant.
In my restaurant, we sometimes get customers with no culture whatsoever.
Here's a fun example:
A group of about 8 people simply walked pass the counter without even saying hello to the waiter who was suppose to sit them down somewhere. They simply ignored him and started testing almost every table in the restaurant and took them about 15 minutes to sit down as a whole group. When the waiter came to see if they had finished with their excursion, they actually had the nerve to help their own selves with the menus, BEFORE ANYONE EVEN CAME TO THEIR TABLE. That was too much for our waiter, who has been working as a professional waiter for 30 years +, so he decided to ignore them, just as they ignored him.
They were waiting for about 20 minutes, waving and shouting to the waiter, before someone stood up, walked to the counter and started to order. After he finished, the waiter asked if the restaurant can now have the menus back.
He served them without saying a word and ignored the table untill they came to the counter again, to ask for their bill.
After paying without tip of course, they said that this was miles away from a perfect service.
Our waiter replied: Well, you're miles away from being perfect guests, and walked away from the table.
[justify]Some of them have the unmitigated gall to actually ask you to prepare them a legitimate vegetarian or, God forbid, a vegan dish, that is a real meal and not just some regular menu item with the meat taken off the plate. The actual nerve of those people. [/justify]
I have formed an opinion about Vegans, which I will call "Foodpump's second observation" , it goes something like this:
"There are two types of vegans, those who tell you what they can't eat, (type A) and those who tell you what they CAN eat. (type B)"
Meh, what's a little apostrophe and the letter "t"? Nothing, right?
I figure, based on 30 years in the kitchen, that for every 2,000 type A vegans there is one Type B vegan. Now, a type B will look over a menu, ask the waiter if the Chef can hold the cheese and not put any garlic or onions in the mushroom rissotto, and if so, that's what they're having. Fair enough. I can respect this, and have and will go out of my way to do anything possible for type B'ers.
Ah! But the A-types, they will play 20 questions with the server, never volunteering information, you gotta make the server work, keep your cards close to your chest. Then, when the server finally narrows it down to the mushroom rissotto sans cheese, then, THEN the A'er will play his trump card: "But tell the chef not to put any onions or garlic in there, I'm Buddhist, so we can't eat onions or garlic."
Now for the benefit of our viewing audience ... that may now know much about me ... I was being completely sarcastic with the post that was just quoted by our good member "Foodpump". I myself welcome vegetarians and their more particular/peculiar vegan cousins. LOL. I am that good ... just ask me, I'll be happy to tell you.
... Once again ... back to our regularly scheduled programing. Hav'a'nice Day.
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