The late great Anthony Bourdain once described the “customer from hell.” According to the chef turned TV personality, it’s usually a miserable individual who decides to mistreat waitstaff to feel better about themselves.
The following photos are from restaurant employees who deemed it necessary to share their horrible experiences. You’re about to see supposedly sensible adults acting like uncivilized beings, trashing tables, destroying property, and tipping horribly.
We’ve sourced these images from various corners of Reddit. Scroll through the list below. Hopefully, it will not make you lose too much faith in humanity.
#1 Starbucks Mobile Orders Make Store Customers Wait Longer While No One’s There To Pick Up Coffees
Image credits: dkaty
#2 Math Is Not Mathing
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#3 A Customer Left A Bloody Paper Towel In Our Cookie Display
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They say you can tell a lot about a person by how they treat restaurant servers, which is something company CEOs live by. In the last decade and a half, they have developed “The Waiter Rule.” In a nutshell, it’s gauging a person through their behavior toward people in the service industry.
Businessman and engineer William Swanson first coined the term in his booklet of leadership observations, “The Unwritten Rules of Management.” Among his 33 rules is one that continues to stand: “A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person.”
#4 Podcasting At Panera
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#5 This Coffee Shop In My City In Canada
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#6 Workers Are Not Seen As People By Many Customers
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Over the years, many people have incorporated The Waiter Rule into their lives. For some, it helps them decide whether a potential romantic partner is worth pursuing. Brazilian model Adriana Lima, for one, is a firm believer.
We mentioned Anthony Bourdain in our intro, and he is known as a man who had a way with words. He once said, “If you’re a cheap tipper or rude to your server, you are dead to me. You are lower than whale feces.”
#7 We Served A Party Of 40 Today At My Restaurant. Every One Of Them Ordered Separately
Image credits: Beastmister
#8 $10 Would Have Been Preferred
When I worked at Chili's, a customer forgot their gun. I would’ve preferred $10, but I guess this will do. The customer came back and was mad that we confiscated it as the front door said no guns were allowed.
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#9 A Restaurant Review I Stumbled On. The Customer Is So Many Kinds Of Wrong
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Speaking of bad tippers, a recent study revealed that Gen Z people are at the top of the list among American diners. The statistics show that only 35% of young adults aged 18-26 tip their servers.
In 2018, millennials had a reputation for being terrible tippers. Recent numbers, however, have shown improvement, with 50% of people aged 27-42 showing generosity in their gratuities.
#10 Leaving Your Table Like This
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#11 I Have To Pay For Food? One Star
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#12 Some People Have Tempers. Thankfully, They Gave Us A Warning By Throwing Rocks At The Front Door First. By The Time The Rock Came Through The Window, We Were Already Away
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Many would attest to the accuracy of The Waiter Rule, but if we want an actual statistic, we can look at the case of disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. CNN published a report in 2017, around when Weinstein and the Me Too movement were the subject of news headlines.
In the article, a former server from New York’s Tribeca Grill alleged that Weinstein would take lemons from his drink and hurl them at waitstaff if they served him the wrong beverage.
“His sense of entitlement was like none other, the entire staff would cringe when he would come in,” another former employee claimed.
#13 We Got Slammed With These Orders Last Night, Only To Throw Them All Away Once We Closed. Busted Our Butts For Nothing
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#14 A Regular Customer Today Exclaimed Loudly How Much Food I Was Eating "Oh My God! That's So Much Food"
What I had was one egg, bacon, and cheese on a bagel with a side of a small eggplant.
She comes in every day to my workplace and always makes unnecessary comments as loudly as she can. She’s incredibly judgmental. It’s infuriating for me because not only have I struggled with ED when I was younger, I have a potential IBD. Because of the IBD, I don’t eat that often. And very rarely a full meal. I hardly have an appetite. Ever.
I’ve been suffering from depression for the past few days, and I was doing well this morning until she said, “Oh my god! How can you eat all that?! I could never eat all of that!” I turned red and mumbled something along the lines of “I only eat once a day.” She said, “But still!” I eventually ended up moving away from her. I almost cried.
On the bright side, I did eat all of it, and it was tasty.
Image credits: Eternally_Tiredxx
#15 Some Woman At The Coffee Shop Has Her Bare Feet On A Chair
Image credits: GangsterGrandmda
If you work in the food service industry, keeping calm and poised should be the number one priority when dealing with a rude customer. According to the Auguste Escoffier School Of Culinary Arts, it makes you appear authoritative without seeming intimidating.
If you made an honest mistake, apologizing and offering a solution may be necessary. Saying the customer’s name makes them feel heard and cared for, and the solution may appease them. But overall, it wouldn’t be wise to leave the situation unattended.
#16 I Live In Server Hell. Why Would Someone Leave This On The Plate?
A friend of mine is a waiter, and someone left a used tampon on their plate tonight...
Image credits: NYCgallerydirector
#17 A "Customer" Decided To Use The Wine Menu As A Doodle Pad With A Sharpie
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#18 Confident One Star Review
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Now, let’s hear from you, readers. What is your opinion on people who mistreat waitstaff and act unbecomingly in restaurants? Do you agree with the Waiter Rule? Comment below!
#19 Sir, This Is A Restaurant
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#20 Blocking The Second Register With Your Service Dog At The Airport
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#21 At First, I Thought This Guy With Two Birds At McDonald’s Was Really Cool. But Then, One Of The Birds Pooped On The Counter And Floor And He Did Absolutely Nothing To Clean It Up
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#22 Allergy List From Customer
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#23 4 Customers Ordered $178 Worth Of Food, Ate About Half Of It, And Left This Mess For Us To Clean Up
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#24 The Absolute State Of This KFC I Went To During White Night
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#25 These Terrible Customers
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#26 People That Won’t Tip Because Essential Workers Have To Wear Masks
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#27 These People In Oklahoma Show Up To Twin Peaks With An Assault Rifles
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#28 The Big Family Behind Us At The Food Court Left Like This
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#29 Wearing A Towel To The Buffet And You're Not On A Cruise
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#30 Somebody Shot Up My Local McDonald's
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#31 Somebody Just Ordered This. I Work At A Golf Course Restaurant And Deal With A Lot Of Geriatrics. They Outdid Themselves Today
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#32 Free WiFi, Free Power, McDonald's Has It All. Bring Your Xbox And Your TV
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#33 Someone Ate A Pack Of Raw Mussels They Got From The Grocery Store And Left All The Shells At The Bakery Cafe
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#34 How This Person Left A Tip
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#35 Breakfast At McDonald's
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#36 An Intentionally Bad Write-Up From A Large Following Influencer Because Of Our Refusal To Accept Their Collaboration Is Unprofessional, And A Such Hostile Manner Can Simply Ruin Businesses
I want to step up because we felt threatened by this media influencer. I want to give a voice to my Asian community that it is ok to say no and turn down any promotional offers. Have no fear to stand up and defend yourself.
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#37 Lady Ordered A Burger And Gave This To Her Server To Show The Chef
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#38 Customer Came Into The Restaurant And Gave The Waiters This Allergy List. The First One Isn't Even An Allergy. It's Just Pickiness
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#39 Customer Left Her Baby's Dirty Diaper On The Table
What confuses me is that I never saw her use the restroom the entire time she was dining. She likely kept it with her before, but it confuses me even more that she never even thought once to toss it in a trash can outside before she arrived.
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#40 My Coworker’s Shift Ended, So I Took Over One Of Their Tables. Customer Did Not Like This And Left A Negative Tip
They tried to write, "Services weren't good. Waitresses changed without notifying us."
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#41 Fellow Bartender Sent Me This. Apparently, They Had A Really Disgruntled Guest
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#42 An Older Picture When I Was A Server And These People Got Salads With Everything On The Side
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#43 Not The Tip She Was Expecting
"Thank you for excellent service today. You're a good waitress.
Here's your tip:
The woman's place is in the home. Your place is in the home. It even says so in the Bible. You may think that you're contributing to your household by coming into work, but you're not. While you're in here "working," this is the reason your husband must see another woman on his way home from a long day at his work. Because you should be home taking care of the household duties. You may think what you are doing "working" is right. It is really essentially a disgrace to his manhood and to the American family. So instead of coming to your "job" and looking for handouts to feed your family, how about going home and cleaning your house and cooking a hot meal for your husband and children, the way your husband and God intended. And help make America great again. Praying for families and our nation."
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#44 This Guy Taking Up An Entire Table In The Coffee Shop Where I Work To Livestream. Playing Heavy Metal Music Out Loud And Cussing Up A Storm. Oh, And He Didn't Even Order A Drink
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#45 This Nasty Guy Cutting And Leaving His Nails At A Costco Food Court Table
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#46 A True Gentleman
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#47 People Amaze Me, But Not In A Good Way. Long Story Short, 6 A.M. And 3 Drunk Dudes That Couldn't Pay For A Meal
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#48 Kids Giving Bad Reviews
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#49 Someone Tried This Earlier Today
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#50 I Experienced One Of Those Crazy Drinks For The First Time. I Work At A Local Cafe, And This Order Came In. It's A Blended Espresso Drink, And Let Me Tell You, I Was Floored
I have never seen anything like this before. I called to confirm that it was intentional and got scolded by the customer for questioning their beloved beverage choice.
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#51 Party Of 35 Asked For Separate Checks
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#52 I Know Customers Can Get Mad At Being Charged For Extra Sauces, But This Lady Got Like 20+ Sauces And Was Surprised To Be Charged A Few Extra Bucks For Them
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#53 People Like That Are Absolute Trash
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#54 I Went To My Local McDonald's Tonight As A Customer. I Went Upstairs To Find Somewhere To Sit And Saw This. I Hate People
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#55 At Anchorage Brewing Company In Alaska. Those People Said, "What? Seagulls Poop Here," When I Confronted Them
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#56 Well, She Is A Cheap Date And Will Never Say No
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#57 It's The Feet For Me
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#58 Some Guy Got Mad Because He Was Told He Had To Pay For His Shots That He Ordered. Makes Fellow Veterans Look Bad
I went to my favorite sports bar after work for some drinks with a coworker. He had a call that was taking too long, so I said I’d meet him there. While at the bar, I overheard the people next to us talk about the military and told them I was a veteran myself. Everything was cool, telling stories of our experiences and everything for about an hour. After a while, I asked him if he wanted a shot of Jameson, and he obliged. I usually buy shots for the bartenders too because they are awesome, and we all took it, and it was great.
He then proceeded to say, "That wasn't good! Get us another, but make it a double!" We drank the double shot, and he said he was going to the bathroom, and then we saw him sneak around the whole restaurant to walk out as fast as he could. The bartender confronted him outside, and he started to argue. She made him pay for the shots he took, and this is how he showed his appreciation for her hospitality.
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#59 60 Frappuccino's With No Tip For 279 Dollars
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#60 I Work In A Restaurant. Yesterday Some Punk Wrote A Bunch Of Profanities On The Bathroom Wall Which I Had To Clean Up. I Came Back Today To Find This
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#61 A Kids' Menu One Of The Servers Pulled Out Of The Trash The Other Day
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#62 The Audacity. A Customer Brought A Recipe Of The Cocktail And Asked Us To Make It
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#63 I Represent To You "The Eggless Omelette"
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#64 On A Post About Tipping Servers
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#65 I Hate Kids And Their Inattentive Parents
This kid could not sit still. We have a bookshelf, and mom got them a book at the start, but they could not stay at the table the whole time. I offered a coloring sheet and crayons, but that didn't help either. Good thing they were on the patio and not running around the restaurant, but the parents never got up at all to help. And then they left this.
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#66 Kid Next To Our Table Was Constantly Yelling And Shrieking. His Mother Just Kept Giving Him Noodles On The Table For Him To Eat And Play, Leaving A Mess
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#67 At The BWI Airport. Rude Couple Knocked Their Plate Off Table While Leaving And Didn’t Pick It Up
The couple in the booth next to us was being rude to the servers during breakfast. It got worse when they were leaving and accidentally pushed their plate onto the floor, stopped to look at it, and then just kept walking. The staff was all lovely and efficient this morning, so I don’t know what the problem was besides them just being trashy.
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#68 This Isn't Your Home. Why Are People Like This? They Even Left A Jacket
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#69 We Received A "Very Generous" Tip Today
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#70 First 1-Star Review After 2 Years And 200+ Ratings. This Hurts. Is My Response Acceptable?
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#71 20+ Years, And This Is The First One I've Gotten Sent To The Line. "Worchester"
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#72 Teens In Lobby Put This Order In And Then Left
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#73 A Coworker Was In An Accident A While Ago. Apparently It Disgusts Customers
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#74 Kids These Days. Good Thing My Manager Voided It
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#75 Not Even Trying Anymore
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#76 This Is Why I, As A Restaurant Host, Hate Kids And The Parents Who Enable Them. This Is Just The Floor. I Had Already Cleaned The Table, The Chairs, And The Shattered Plate
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#77 No Need To Pay For Ice
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#78 How A Taco Bell Table Was Left. Early 20s Couple. I’m Ashamed To Be In The Same Age Bracket As Them
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#79 People Not Picking Their Trash From Self-Service Restaurants
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#80 Apparently It Was My Turn To Be Left A Stupid Note. Note The "Fix Your Attitude" Scratched Out In The Corner
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#81 A Grown Man Sneezed About 40 Times Within A Few Minutes Without Covering His Mouth. This Is The Aftermath
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#82 Leaving Your Used Bandage For Your Server To Clean Up During A Pandemic
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#83 When I Was An Employee, I Used To Hate This. Why Are Customers So Lazy?
I took this photo today at my local McDonald's. There's actually a rubbish bin to the upper right, just out of frame. A walk of about five feet. Yet still, customers leave their stuff all over the place.
Image credits: JaggedLittlePill2022
#84 What A Lovely Way To End My Shift. A Couple Came In At Last Call, Manager Made The Decision To Stay Open Later For Them And Serve
30 or so minutes after they finished eating, I told them I was doing my last call for bar. They said they were good, so I dropped the check. 5 minutes later, the guy asked my barback for one more margarita. Against my good judgment, I went ahead and made it in hopes of a good tip. They sat there with the check in front of them for another 30 minutes before finally closing out. As they got up to leave, I said thanks and have a good night. They completely ignored me and walked out. This was why.
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#85 Couple Showed Up At Restaurant With Special Requirements For The Order
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#86 Here’s My Friend’s Paycheck. She’s A Server At Restaurant. Servers 100% Rely On Tips
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#87 Got A $0.04 Tip Today
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#88 Trashy Customers
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#89 The List Of Allergies A Table Handed Us On New Year's Eve. The Set Menu Was Surf & Turf
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#90 I Hate "It's Their Job" People, Especially Slobs
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#91 Starting At A New Place Soon, Glad To Know The Owner Puts Rude Customers In Their Place
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#92 Just Gotta Love Our Customers. Right?
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#93 This Tip
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#94 Anyone Else Have Entitled Customers Wanting To Treat Their Cafe As A Public Space? Also, We Are Not Inside A University But Are Close To One
Every place in the area has signs for no outside food or drink. We also sell lots of food at our cafe, so we want people to buy our food and not come here and eat food from elsewhere.
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#95 Lazy McDonald's Customers Leaving Their Trash And Not Even Finishing Their Meal
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#96 5 Minutes Before Closing. It's The Sides In Small Font That Get To Me. I'm The Only Guy In The Kitchen At This Point
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#97 Is Calling Customers "Hun" Weird?
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#98 I Hate These People. As The Owner's Son, I Get Extremely Angry When People Write These Notes And Not Directly Bring Them Up To The Manager
We are a Japanese restaurant in a city of 30,000. This person can't expect all people to tolerate the spice of regular wasabi. It might not be traditional, but other customers can't tolerate that kind of heat. What angers me the most is the "no personality." Our staff is mostly Chinese, foreign-born, and this person expects our staff to be more friendly when they really only know basic restaurant English. That's like telling a baby to run when it hasn't even learned to walk. Is it just me, or this woman's expectations are too high?
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#99 Teens Being Teens (USA). Not The Worst I've Seen By Far, But Parents, Please Teach Your Kids Manners
I don't want to have to pull your 14-year-old out of the women's restroom for harassing an older lady with a walker and come back to their table to see them throwing a fit.
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#100 Actual Note Left By A Customer At My Restaurant Today When We Wouldn't Give Her A Free Meal
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#101 I Served That Night And Got $12 Taken Out Of My Tipshare For This Tab. I Literally Paid To Serve This Table For 2 Hours
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#102 The Mess Left At My McDonald's. 2 Grown Adults With No Kids
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#103 Me, An Empath, Sensing They Wanted A Lime (That We Ran Out Of)
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#104 This Was The State Of The Table Next To Us For Our Entire Stay
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#105 I Was Even Asked To Make Up Special Shots And Deliver Table Service Just For This Group
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