Tales of Restaurant Misbehavior

[Skywarp! 0]

I wasn't involved in this, but when I was in high school the Denny's near me had an overweight security guard for some reason. He was usually asleep on the bench for waiting patrons. One night a friend of mine was approaching the entrance when a couple of kids ran out the door and into the parking lot. The guard came out, with a gun in hand, pointing it at my friend.

 

"Pay yo' check! PAY YO' CHECK!"

 

He then realized that he had the wrong guy, but why did the Denny's cop have a gun in the first place? To pop a cap in some 16-year-old who ran out on a $6.99 Moons Over My Hammy?

 

Also, two Denny's waitresses were killed on two separate occasions trying to cross the road out front. Weird.

[Guest Desensitized]

I never would've guessed that Denny's retained a security guard for things like that. Just another reason to do your dine-and-ditch at IHOP.

[Nighthawk 0]

I did that at IHOP last week!

 

Security tends to fluctuate with locale. There's this one Carl's Jr. in SF where the security guard is hard as nails. If you've seen those Unforgivable videos on youtube, he talks just like that guy. There's tons of bums around, so that's primarily what he's there for, chasing them off.

[ivpvideos 0]

One time in High School we took a field trip to downtown Baltimore, and during lunch we could go wherever we want. A group of 10 of us went to the nearby hooters.

 

We had this foreign kid in our class and after we ate, we were talking about dessert. We convinced him to order the "putang pie" which he believed to be a chocolate pie. He ordered it and we all just about died laughing as we got thrown out of the hooters. Great times.

[the max 0]

They had a security guard at the Denny's that the ex and I went to a lot. He looked exactly like Michael Chiklis so much so that I took to calling him "Vic" every night when we got there and again when we left. I don't think he ever figured it out.

[NoCalMike 0]

One time I had shitty service so I left a two dollar tip with mashed potatoes smeared all over inbetween the dollars.

[Guest Desensitized]

Misbehavior from the other side. One time at California Pizza Kitchen, we had one of those waiters who was so obviously a theatre major at Columbia or DePaul or some shit. Just completely hammed it up in the worst way. "OKAYYYYY, BAD NEWS, GUYS, BUT I'M SORRY TO ANNOUNCE THAT I WILL BE YOUR SERVER TONIGHT" to lead it off, and it only got worse as the night progressed. It was so thoroughly annoying. I thought about stiffing, but I don't think I've ever tipped or dined with people who tipped under 15%. Maybe not going to either extreme sent a more powerful message.

[A Happy Medium 0]

This is why I want to get out of waiting tables. I get to read stories that involve stiffing a server due to just not liking the way they...talk?? I'm missing something, right? I mean, he didn't fuck up the drinks or the food, right?

 

There's also a difference between hamming and having a pre-shift meeting minutes beforehand where the corporate asshole GM puts you under a microscope for not being friendly enough.

 

Please expand.

[Guest Desensitized]

There's being friendly, which is rewarded, but I felt like I was a test audience for this guy, y'know? It made me uncomfortable, because it wasn't just providing good service to get a better tip, it was going beyond the traditional diner/server relationship, wherein I also now had to show my approval for the whole Wacky Waiter routine he was practicing by playing along with the act, tipping more, or, ideally, both. It was too much. I just wanted to enjoy my birthday dinner without having to indulge his schtick the whole night. Pretend the whole thing never happened. I'm sorry that I'm terribly neurotic in social settings like this. Other people would probably handle it just fine and move on with their lives, but you guys know me well enough by now that you can guess when I enter chain dining establishments since then, I momentarily wring my hands and worry that I could possibly be subjected to another aspiring actor shouting at me and pretending like he's going to spill my drinks on purpose.

 

I go to California Pizza Kitchen fairly often when I'm near one, and they're friendly, but I don't think there's some corporate directive to act like that.

[Nighthawk 0]

Don't apologize. I won't tip people if I think they're ugly.

[Smartly Pretty 0]

I sometimes don't tip pizza delivery men for absolutely no reason. What am I tipping you for? Driving to my house to give me pizza? That's your job, and you already get paid for it.

[devo 0]

As someone who did that for a year, allow me to respectfully disagree. Delivery drivers get paid minimum wage, and when you factor in the cost of gas and the wear and tear the job puts on their cars, they get paid significantly less that. Tips are necessary for them to make a living.

 

Not to mention that delivering pizzas is literally one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. I still work at a pizzeria (now as a manager) and three of my drivers have been robbed this month (two at gunpoint). My store's not even in a particularly bad neighborhood, but I guess people just can't resist targeting someone who they know is gonna have cash on them.

 

 

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

When I eat out, it's almost always some kind foreign food anymore. Those waiters are never obnoxious. Mexican's just bust out the beans and rice and pico at warp speed with a perfectly acceptable fajita, the chinese women always smile and act polite and are timely, and the indian guy is a machine on refilling that water glass. All ask once if the food is good and go about their business, and all are tipped fairly by me. I can't walk into an american chain family restaurant without wanting to stab some cheerful cocksucker.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

I farted UNBELIEVABLY loudly on the patio of a Dairy Queen in the summer of 1999. The patio was crowded, and everyone heard it. They all enjoyed it, save the popped-collar douche, who was there with his girlfriend. He said "how rude" in a manner notably reminiscent of Stephanie Tanner, and took his girlfriend by the wrist and left. It reminded me of the scene in Caddyshack where the doctor takes that girl home, but sits in a pile of puke, ruining the evening.

 

 

It was just a coincidence, but I didn't return until this past summer, seven years later.

[Maztinho 0]

In contrast to my previous additions to this thread, I'll share a story of me being super nice. I might have posted it elsewhere round these parts, or I might be thinking of a different forum.

 

So sometime in the past few months I went into the Subway which is literally a stone's throw away from my apartment just before closing time because I'd been helping a friend move some shit around until 5 or so then fell asleep for a couple of hours and hadn't eaten and didn't feel like making anything. Now a portly family of four got in just before I did, and then proceeded to act like they've never been in a fuckin' Subway before because they stared at the menu for a good 8 minutes talking over what they should get, and trying to discover the secrets of what a Club sandwich would entail.

 

Now I was just waiting and the family starts ordering their food, and the little girl (age 8-9) just wants soup. Only it's close to closing time and there isn't enough soup for one order.

 

Worker: I'm sorry, there isn't enough for a bowl, but we'll just give you what we have for free.

 

Father: What? That's the only reason we came here, was because my daughter wanted soup.

 

Worker: I'm really sorry.

 

Father: Well make somemore.

 

Worker: It's a set serving when we make it, we'd have to make a whole new container and we close in 15 minutes, we aren't supposed to make soup the last hour of business.

 

Father: This is outrageous! All my daughter wanted was soup, and that little bit isn't enough to feed her. I bet she can out eat this guy.

 

He proceeds to point his thumb at me. Now I'm not a small man at 6'5" 220-ish.

 

Me: I don't think I'd be bragging that she can out eat me.

 

Father gets a pissed look on his face.

 

Worker: We are really sorry, it's store policy. I can add some extra bread at no charge.

 

Father: This is unbelievable.

 

Me: Listen, it's almost closing time. I'm hungry, I'll pay for whatever 6 inch sub your daughter wants. Don't yell at the worker because she's following policy, she didn't make the rule, and it's a waste of tons of soup just to satisfy one person. If your daughter needs that much to not starve pick out a sandwich.

 

Father: They should have enough soup.

 

Me: They close in fifteen minutes. Be reasonable. Does your daughter want a sandwich or not? Hell it's a totally free meal since they aren't charging you for the soup they do have.

 

Father: Ma, just get our food, and let's go.

 

Then they waddled out the door with their 3 footlong sandwiches and their partial cup of soup because the girl never ordered a sandwich. I got a free soda out of the deal, and a heartfelt thanks from the girl behind the counter.

[UZI Suicide 0]

You have to understand before reading this story that I'm a very picky eater and a somewhat paranoid person.

 

Ok, you guys know about these food grades they put on the outside of every restaurant right? Or is it only in California? I think it's everywhere.

 

So, I go out for lunch/dinner to a mexican restaurant with my sister and two of our friends. My sister comes back from the bathroom and at this point, thank heavens, we haven't ordered yet. She sits down and goes, "I didn't realize this place had a B grade..hmph.." and goes back to reading the menu.

 

In my head I'm like.."B? WHAT THE FUCK!?!?". See, I don't know how it is where you live, but in Los Angeles, basically everything is an A and I know there's plenty of shit hole eateries that were graded A when they probably should have been a C.

 

The way I figure it, if everything is given an A, these food inspection people must not give much of a shit, and only give anything lower than an A if the rats outnumber the restaurant workers.

 

I start telling everyone at the table that eating at a B restaurant is a terrible idea and that we are risking death if we stay one minute longer. They all think I'm being ridiculous, and this point they're ganging up on me with various insults.."stop being a pussy/fag/bitch/insert-insult-here".

 

At this point I'm just fed up with the whole situation and am being ganged up on by a bunch of derelicts that apparently have no problem risking their health for some average mexican food, so I stand up and.. -hey, before I say this, I realize in hindsight I shouldn't have done it, but whatever- I stand up and yell at them, "I'm not eating at a fucking B grade restaurant. So I'm going to go find something else to eat, either come with me or call me when you're done and I'll pick you up".

 

Of course, a hushed silence falls over the place. It's not a very big restaurant, there's just one big room where all the tables are, so everyone heard it. I quickly made a beeline for the door and ate at the Souplantation across the street.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

You eat a good pint of rat feces and insects every year. You know that, right?

[UZI Suicide 0]

I'm sure. I know that a lot of the A grade places are probably fucked, but I figure if one actually got a B then it must be really terrible.

 

I just prefer the illusion that I'm eating at a place that isn't crawling with rodents, even if it is.

[Guest]

The B grade places are terrible. I've never been inside of one. There was a McDonalds by my uncle's house that was given a C. I don't know how a place could be graded that low.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Years ago I was really drunk and at a Denny's at like 5 in the morning when I ordered the same thing I always ordered when I found myself drunk and at Denny's at 5 in the morning...

 

Chicken Fingers, a bagel with cream cheese and hashbrowns.

 

Now...I'd ordered that a ton of times and it was usually the same waitress who never bothered me about items that didn't fit together under some super special meal plan...

 

But on this day I got the mean waitress who hated when people came in to order food at that hour. Now...I worked in food service and I could kinda sympethize...but it is her job. Plus...we always left big tips.

 

So I place my order and she immedietly tells me that chicken fingers don't come with hashbrowns in that mean way that tells you that she's just a miserable miserable person. She'd never bothered to say anything the other few times she'd been our waitress, and I had always paid extra when the bill came. It isn't her job to tell me what I can order...it's her job to bring me the food and my job to pay for whatever I got.

 

So I told her I didn't mind paying extra.

 

She scoffed and mumbled that everything was going to be charged seperately.

 

At which point I closed my menu, smiled at her and said "Well...I don't work at Denny's so I'm pretty sure I can afford it."

 

Then we sat and waited for a long time. I got up to use the bathroom and saw the cook tell her that this order (ours obviously) had been up for a while, to which she replied "Oh...they're waiting".

 

So I went to the table, collected my friend (leaving the money for the drinks we'd gotten on the table...just to be a prick) and said "Thanks for nothing you fat cunt" on the way to the door.

 

The look on her face was priceless.

 

If I hadn't worked in food service, I probably would have been more polite from the start...but there's a difference between bad service and intentionally being a fat cunt.

[the max 0]

Being typical jerk-off kids in high school out on saturday night, my friends and I were being obnoxious in a Friendly's restaurant. Nothing overly bad, just being loud and disruptive to everyone else's dining experience. So we were asked to leave without our dessert, despite being charged for it. The manager told us that we were to leave before he called the cops, we were "disturbing the peace" and that Friendly's reserved the right to refuse service to anyone.

 

So on the way out, a friend of ours decides to drop his pants and press his ass against their walk-up window, yelling, "You call that Friendly?! I'll show ya Friendly!" No cops were ever called and we high-tailed it out of there, but it was pretty funny.

[Slayer 0]

You eat a good pint of rat feces and insects every year. You know that, right?

Rat feces never tasted so good

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

That's the whole point. There are acceptable levels of the most vile putrid filth imaginable in our diets. That fact entertains me.

[Slayer 0]

My philosophy is that as long as it tastes good and doesn't make me sick (or kill me), I don't care how it got from point A to my mouth

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

While I don't go that far, I don't sweat a ground up cockroach in my peanut butter.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Years ago I was really drunk and at a Denny's at like 5 in the morning when I ordered the same thing I always ordered when I found myself drunk and at Denny's at 5 in the morning...

 

Chicken Fingers, a bagel with cream cheese and hashbrowns.

 

Now...I'd ordered that a ton of times and it was usually the same waitress who never bothered me about items that didn't fit together under some super special meal plan...

 

But on this day I got the mean waitress who hated when people came in to order food at that hour. Now...I worked in food service and I could kinda sympethize...but it is her job. Plus...we always left big tips.

 

So I place my order and she immedietly tells me that chicken fingers don't come with hashbrowns in that mean way that tells you that she's just a miserable miserable person. She'd never bothered to say anything the other few times she'd been our waitress, and I had always paid extra when the bill came. It isn't her job to tell me what I can order...it's her job to bring me the food and my job to pay for whatever I got.

 

So I told her I didn't mind paying extra.

 

She scoffed and mumbled that everything was going to be charged seperately.

 

At which point I closed my menu, smiled at her and said "Well...I don't work at Denny's so I'm pretty sure I can afford it."

 

Then we sat and waited for a long time. I got up to use the bathroom and saw the cook tell her that this order (ours obviously) had been up for a while, to which she replied "Oh...they're waiting".

 

So I went to the table, collected my friend (leaving the money for the drinks we'd gotten on the table...just to be a prick) and said "Thanks for nothing you fat cunt" on the way to the door.

 

The look on her face was priceless.

 

If I hadn't worked in food service, I probably would have been more polite from the start...but there's a difference between bad service and intentionally being a fat cunt.

 

Drunken harrasment deserves this type of service. You're lucky they didn't grind up rat poision in your hashbrowns.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

There was no drunken harrasment. There was over a years worth of being a polite and good customer and great tipping. She was being a cunt. And she needed to know.

 

[Guest Desensitized]

cunts gots ta know

[NYU 0]

You started with her. She tried warning you by letting you know they did not come together so that, when the check came, you wouldn't start complaining and refuse to pay it. You personally attacked her by criticizing her job and acting as though she was beneath you. You shouldn't be surprised she would then make you wait longer for your food then.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

She started it. She treated everyone like shit whenever they walked in. She was also known to throw racist comments out when walking away from black customers. It was honestly about time someone told her she was a miserable bitch. She got fired not that long after for...wait for it...being a miserable bitch towards the customers.

 

If you lived in the area and mentioned that bitch that works at Denny's, everyone would know who you were talking about.

 

That wasn't an isolated incident. She really was a fat cunt.

 

Surely everyone has that one terrible server in their town that people can't stand because of their attitude.

 

This was just the story of the day i told her to fuck off with it.