Leave The Tomato, Hold The Patience

I’m a manager at a place where the food is made right next to the ordering station. Whoever the first person on the “make line” is can usually hear the customer ordering, as well as the current cashier. How the ordering system works is that you start with a predefined item and then modify it from there. One of our items is a fairly simple sandwich: mayo, lettuce, tomato, ham, and cheese.

A customer comes up. I’ve had issues with them being argumentative before.

Customer: “I want [sandwich] with mayo, lettuce, ham, and cheese.”

Cashier: “So, no tomato?”

This is a valid clarification to ask for since some customers can’t seem to grasp the idea of looking at a menu to know what all is on there.

Customer: “Well, that comes on the sandwich, right? So, yes, of course, I want it. Are you stupid?”

After this, a small back-and-forth ensues between the two. The person on the register is trying to explain that tomato is something he did NOT list and they were simply making sure.

The customer becomes more irate, places his hand forcefully down on the counter, and raises his voice.

Customer: “All I want on it is mayo, lettuce, ham, and cheese. Got it?”

Again, no mention of the tomato. Listening to this go on, I lean over and talk to the man.

Me: “So… Do you want the tomato, or not?”

At this, the customer practically goes on a tirade.

Customer: “You’re all idiots! Of course, I want tomato! It’s already included on the sandwich. Why would I not want it?”

After a bit more raising his voice and complaining, he storms to the door and turns to us.

Customer: “You’re all b****es.”

And he walked out.