These 32 experiences of strange, hilarious, or weird interactions with consumers that people shared show that service professionals deal with on a daily basis with rude customers. If you’ve ever worked in the service sector, you’ve probably encountered a few weird or stupid customers. People occasionally come across clients who say and do unexpected things. Actually, these tales are unusual but interesting experiences.
A member of an online group wondered whether anyone in the food sector had any strange stories about their customers. And one incident is that the restaurant didn’t have grass-fed salmon, which angered the lady. Whether they inquire if the fish is grass-fed or make a request that is completely beyond of control, it will undoubtedly amuse at least one employee.
#1
A lady placed an order for an egg sandwich. I informed her that she could have one or two eggs on her sandwich. She kept saying she didn’t get it, and I was out of explanations for “one or two eggs.” I even explained that we use the flat top grill to fry eggs in egg rings that exactly fit the sandwich. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN ONE OR TWO EGGS?” she asked, sighing as if I were dragging out an unfunny joke. “You get to choose how much egg you want on your sandwich,” says the presenter. “What size are they?” egg-sized?” “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?”
I ended up going to the kitchen and taking a raw egg from the carton to give her. “This is an egg. This is the most standard size. Depending on which choice you buy, we’ll prepare one or two of these and put them on your sandwich.” “This makes no sense at all.” I’d like to speak with the manager.” She apparently told my manager that it was the way I pronounce eggs that were bothering her. She was going to eat somewhere else from now on.
It was a Saturday night, and the restaurant, which is located on a major corner, was crowded with customers. A car failed to make the curve and crashed into a home, but there was a drop and the car was hidden. The police, fire truck, and ambulance all arrived. The police cruisers kept their lights on for at least an hour as they tried to figure out how to pull the car out. So it’s a Saturday night meal with red and blue lights all over the place. Except for one table, which requested me, most of the guests found it amusing. “Could you please take care of those lights?” I laughed because I thought she was joking, but her expression was serious. “I’m not going across the street to tell them to turn off their lights because that’s the police, ma’am. However, you are free to proceed.” The rest of the table was amused, but she wasn’t.
A lady requested her salad to be served with the dressing on the side. She approached the GM after a few bites and stated “This salad has a somewhat uninteresting flavor. Is it possible that this is due to the fact that I haven’t put the dressing?” Yes, it’s possible.
There are so many, but a couple comes to me and I was wondering on who had two credit cards out while they were paying, so I inquired, “splitting 50/50?” “NO, we want it split in half!” the client yelled angrily.
In San Diego, I worked room service at a hotel on the water. We gave fantastic service and were really upscale. After ordering breakfast, a woman began to complain that she had not seen the sun during her entire stay at our hotel. (It’s no surprise that June is hot in California.) She then proceeded to me as to how I intended to resolve the situation. “Ma’am, if I could change the weather, I wouldn’t be working here,” I explained. When she realized I couldn’t, she began requesting that she leave her room due to the weather.
We were out of the (non-edible) decorative garnish on their 4-year-dessert, so I had a family of six try to get their entire dinner for free. I was literally yelled at and called racist. So I deducted $0.05 off their bill and gave the server a personal tip from my own wallet.
A woman complained that the lobster bisque had too much lobster. I was speechless.
A buyer returned a dozen wings because the wings have too much meat and it’s excessively large. And also a man had his ribs sent back because it was too tough. He proved their toughness by demonstrating that he couldn’t cut them. He’s been attempting to cut them down the middle, through the bone.
In the restaurant, I once had a woman panic out about her toddler inhaling secondhand smoke. It came from the fajitas that were being delivered to the table next to us. Her table was undisturbed by the smoke.
A man inquired as to how we achieved such realistic-looking fake fire. In our (actual) fireplaces, to be precise. That he observed me putting wood into.
And a woman who claimed she could taste the difference when we switched our crabcake recipe from fresh to canned crab and refused to pay. We had always relied on canned crab. She was not able to avoid paying.
“What exactly is eggplant? or Chicken?” I kept a straight face and it took everything I had not to fall out laughing at the seriousness of the question.
Because of they using too much oxygen, Lady wanted to blow out all of the candles in the restaurant.
When I worked at Red Lobster, a regular customer demanded that I remove all of the crab meat from her crab legs and serve it to her on a dish. Every time she walked in, the bully of a boss forced me to do it.
A guest placed an order for a chicken Caesar salad. She brings me over a few minutes later and complains that I never asked what dressing she wanted.
When I told her there was no way to make a virgin Sazerac, she thought I was lying to her. She finally gave up after ten frustrating minutes and said, “Fine, make me a virgin Old Fashioned.” I was able to put my fancy hit the bricks line of “I’m sorry, ma’am, but I don’t think I’ll be able to fulfill the expectations tonight.”
Lady attempted to pay me with Monopoly money and was confused as to why I was unable to accept it. She’s one of the regulars. Lady requested “a bundle” of sugar packets from me. I gave her six. She was in desperate need of more. I brought her 20 sugar packets, which she immediately put into her salad. I was ordered to peel her breadsticks by Lady. Lady was confused as to why I couldn’t join two four-seater booths to create an eight-seater booth. She was surprised as to why they were attached to the wall. The woman choked out her child in the middle of the dining room to make a point to another table.
When bars allowed smoking, I had just started my own, and a man sits and ordered a burger and fries. I also put down a bottle of ketchup as I brought it out. He took an empty ashtray and filled it with ketchup to use as a dip for his fries. I replied that I could get him a side dish. What’s the big deal, he said? It’s clean. The black rag I used to clean them out was then shown to him. He simply shrugged.
A lady came up to me and asked for soda water with olives and lime. I asked her to repeat herself because I wasn’t sure I had heard her correctly. She gets a little irritated and repeated “soda with olive and lime” and I offered it. When I set it on the table, she gives me a stare and says she asked for a sprite. I’m still confused if she was joking around with me.
Is there a vegetarian option for the boar pizza? No, it contains pork. Is this spaghetti vegan? No, it’s made with egg, cheese, and bacon. That’s fine. Incapability to understand why a very well steak takes longer to prepare than a rare steak.
“Right now, we have a pineapple cider on tap,” I said. Then the customer asked, “Could you give me a more detailed description of that?” “it’s a pineapple-flavored cider,” I said again.
Fried shrimp appetizer was ordered by a lady who came in. She kept admiring the breading and asking if I could order her an extra side of the “sauce they cook it in.” I tried to explain to her that it was simply cajun seasoned flour, but she didn’t seem to understand. I finally bought her a side of flour and watched her dip her shrimp in flour and eat it all. It was weird.
A woman who is smoking and has her own fan blowing the smoke away from her. “I’m sorry, but I’m allergic to smoking.”
A group of people returned their food because their portions were “over-faced.” They demanded a complete refund (rather than smaller portions, or ordering something else from the “light” menu). They didn’t want to dine at the place anymore because the sight of such large portions made them feel ill. I’m confused that never heard of anyone being upset about portion sizes being too large.
A bar guest walked into the kitchen and took an entire cheesecake from the dessert refrigerator. No one in the kitchen saw him do it, and the bartender was too shocked to say anything.
Someone had placed an order for a chicken platter. I asked if they wanted it with one or two chicken breasts. They stared at me and demanded, “What’s the difference?” I simply bent my head and said that one has one breast and the other has two.
A fish dish with all ingredients (clearly mentioned on the menu) that tastes very “fishy,” or a blind woman complains about her dessert Because of the way it seems. That was a tough decision.
A woman asked me what the catch of the day was, pointing to the menu item quiche of the day.
A woman complained that her chilled salad plate was very cold. I had to fight with her to tell her that it will be alright within a few minutes and that she could grab a room temperature plate instead.
A soup option was requested, in a top-rated fast-food pizza restaurant.
Lady entered and ordered a vodka soda with no ice, then she poured through her feeding tube. After all, who am I to make judgements? The house chard was the next cocktail she requested.
I’d like the huevos rancheros without the egg. Alternatively, I’d like a well-done prime rib.
