10) Low-Grade Restaurant Rinsers
During college, I worked at an American-style restaurant/bar chain in the south. One busy night, a couple was seated at my table. They were very chatty and friendly and we were laughing together like old friends. As they were ordering, they asked me if we had milkshakes. When I said we didn’t, he asked where they could get one nearby. I couldn’t think of a place, so I said jokingly, “well, there’s a McDonald’s up the road!” They laughed like I was the funniest person they had ever met and said thank you.
About ten minutes later, my manager comes up to me to tell me that a table had complained about me and wanted their meal comped because I was so rude. I couldn’t imagine who it would be, but then he says, “They said you insulted them and told them to go to McDonald’s.” My jaw literally dropped open. I walked over to them and said loudly “Come on guys, are you serious??” The man was staring right at me, but the woman had the decency to look away. I was actually HURT. They got their free meal because my manager didn’t want to deal with it.
Two weeks later, a co-worker slammed into the back of the restaurant where I was dropping off some dishes and said she had a horrible couple who acted all friendly and then complained to the manager that she commented that they looked poor. She said they had been talking and laughing about money (or lack thereof) and she said “you know what I mean” in truly contextual way. I went out into the restaurant and saw that it was the same couple. I told the manager on duty what had happened two weeks prior and he kicked them out and told them not to come back.
The funny thing about it was how weirdly concise and effective their plan was — they get you to say something jokingly that can sound like an insult when repeated, so all you can say is “well, yes I kind of said that but…”
In conclusion: the customer is clearly not always right. A better saying would be the customer is a div and should not be taken seriously at any point. I’m so glad I don’t work in the service industry, I’d be on trial for murder by the end of my first shift.
