I can’t fully express the level of disgust that I feel for people that have no respect for the staff of a restaurant. What is broken in their brains that would make them think they are better and smarter than someone working in the food service industry simply because they themselves do not work in the food service industry? I got to watch this thought process in action for much longer than I would like to admit and these are my observations.
Subject: The angry, bitter mother of an angry, bitter girl with whom I once associated on a regular basis.
The place: A moderately nice restaurant at which said bitter girl was employed.
The scheme: Give intentionally confusing instructions regarding the food in the hopes that they screw something up so she can complain and try to get a free meal or more. Complain regardless of whether or not anything is screwed up and leave no tip.
The result: Animosity and pity.
Let me be clear. This is in no way a joke. This is something that actually happened in my presence and was explained to me by the subject. I witnessed her doing this multiple times with everything from burgers at fast food joints to over the phone orders for restaurant delivery. She loved to complain in the hopes that they would give her free things rather than deal with her complaining.
How stupid does she think people are? Every time I watched this happen I could see her devious little smirk creep onto her face. She thought she was so clever. I could see it. The wait staff could see it. The only person who didn’t know how obvious she was is the subject. Waiters and restaurant delivery people are not stupid. They aren’t simpletons who couldn’t get another job. They are people and they don’t deserve to be treated like this.
That incident in the restaurant was the one and only time that I was forced into being a part of this stupidity. I could see the waiter cocking a questioning and doubting eyebrow as the subject complained. The waiter then looked at me with a glance that said “is this a joke?” and I just shook my head. She left no tip and I doubled mine. She shouldn’t go back to that restaurant or order any restaurant delivery from someplace where she’s tried this. Waiters remember trouble customers.