I was a server years ago, and this woman (usually a pretty nice lady) came in. Apparently, we had messed up her salmon a few days earlier, so the manager had given her a free meal card, which is good for one single meal.

A few days later, she comes back with at least fifteen people, about an hour before closing. They all order seafood, steak, and wine. Her entire party is awful to my friend, who is another server, and me.

One guest even throws his plate on the ground, breaking it and throwing food everywhere, because his steak is overcooked. 

After all of this, the other server goes to bring the woman her check. It’s a couple hundred dollars.

She whips out the free meal card. The server takes it to the register, comps one meal, and comes back with the new total. The woman loses it.

Customer: “I have a free meal card! This was one meal for all of us! It should be free!”

The server stiffens up and politely explains.

Server: “That isn’t how it works. It’s for one meal. You had to have known you couldn’t bring fifteen people in here and expect everyone to eat for free.”

The woman stands up and pours her red wine all over my friend.

My Friend: “WHAT THE F***?!”

She’s about to run back to get the manager, but he’s already running over due to the commotion.

Manager: “Get the h*** out and never come back.”

Customer: “I have a free meal—”

Manager: “—get the h*** out! No one does that to my staff! No one! Get out! The rest of your party will stay and pay, but you will get the f*** out!”

The customer cursed some more but started to make for the exit. That’s when the rest of her group, half looking angry, half looking embarrassed, start commenting about how they weren’t expecting to pay, how they were told it would be a free meal, and now they’re seriously regretting ordering all that steak.

Manager: “You’re all paying for your meals, or you’ll be leaving like your friend, but unlike her, it’ll be with the police.”

They all paid. No one tipped.

My significant other and I knew these other two couples for quite some time. One day, we decided, for a change, to dine outside instead of meeting at someone’s place.

We opt for a Mexican restaurant, place our orders, and enjoy the dinner and the conversation. Toward the end of my meal (something with beans), instead of their soft texture, I feel something hard under my teeth: I pull it out, and it’s a little pebble the size of a pea.

I call the waitress, who has been serving us, and inform her of what happened. She apologizes, asks me if I am okay, and goes to the kitchen to inform the cook.

She comes back a few minutes later, apologizing again and explaining that they recently changed supplier for their beans, and that was probably the cause of the mishap. As an apology, they will remake my dish.

Since it was the last spoonful, I told her not to worry and that I just wanted to be sure it didn’t happen again to someone less lucky than me. She then offered to at least comp our drinks.

I was about to answer with a polite “well, if you really insist” when one the women at the table with us started a long tirade on how I could have damaged my teeth with that little stone, that it was unacceptable for a restaurant to suffer those kind of incidents, and that we should get our entire dinner comped to make up for it.

We all, her significant other included, were embarrassed and looking at our plates while she went off at the poor waitress, who was explaining that they acknowledged the problem and they are already comping the drinks and asking if the other dishes had any other problem.

After what felt like an eternity, I stepped in, cut the whining short, and told the waitress I was happy with accepting the comped drinks. The woman tried to keep arguing while we were paying, and even when we left, saying it was dumb for me to let go so easily of the chance to get a free dinner.

I told her that if we are in such a bad need for a free dinner, then maybe we should not dine out next time.

She went quiet after that.

I’m in line at customer services in Disney World. I’ve been here enough times to know that all the staff (“cast members”) are specially trained to remain the pinnacle of utmost professionalism with customers, regardless of how unruly they might be getting.

This particular guest is really laying into this particular cast member.

Guest: “I flew all this f****** way—”

Cast Member: “—Sir, I would like to gently remind you that this is a family-friendly park and—”

Guest: “—I don’t care! I flew all this fudging way, and you’re telling me I’m too d*** fat to get on any of the rides?!”

Cast Member: “Sir, several of our thrill rides are designed to put some of our guests through their paces, so they’re not suitable for everybody. However, we do have plenty of premium attractions that—”

Guest: “I ain’t going on no d*** kiddie rides! And I ain’t being told I’m fat from a customer service assistant who looks like she drinks custard for all her meals!”

I can tell that remark cut the cast member hard. Her smile never faltered, but the life went out of her eyes.

Cast Member: “Sir, I am so sorry that you’re not able to enjoy all of our rides. I would draw your attention to the printed guide in your hands that lists all the requirements for every ride. Now, if there’s nothing else, have a great day!”

At that point, my husband leans in close to me and whispers:

Husband: “Aren’t they always meant to say, ‘have a magical day’?”

Me: “Yeah. Wishing someone a great day must be the Disney World way of saying to a customer ‘F*** you’.”

It’s 8:45 AM, and one of my employees is already fifteen minutes late. This is not new behavior, but today I’m the acting manager, so I get the joy of making the call.

Employee: *Groggy voice.* “…Hello?”

Me: “Hey, you were scheduled at 8:30. Are you on your way?”

Employee: “Ugh. No. I can’t come in today.”

Me: “Are you sick?”

Employee: “No.”

Me: “Car trouble?”

Employee: “No.”

Me: “So… what’s going on?”

There’s a dramatic sigh.

Employee: “My girlfriend’s dog got out.”

Me: “Okay… is the dog missing?”

Employee: “No, no, we got it back in. But the stress of the situation was… a lot.”

Me: “A lot?”

Employee: “Like, mentally draining. Emotionally exhausting. I’m recovering.”

I blink at the phone.

Me: “So to be clear, the dog is fine, your girlfriend is fine, you’re fine, and you can’t come in because… you’re emotionally tired?”

Employee: “It was very stressful.”

Me: “You know this is a workplace, right?”

Employee: “I just don’t think I can come in at all today.”

Me: “All right. But you’ll need to put in a vacation request.”

Employee: “Why? It’s an emergency!”

Me: “No, it’s not. Everyone is fine. You said so yourself.”

Employee: “You’re being really unsympathetic.”

Me: “If that’s how you feel.”

Employee: “So I have to use vacation time?”

Me: “Yes.”

Employee: “That seems unfair.”

Me: “Feel free to take it up with HR if you feel that’s the case.”

A few days later, one of my coworkers overheard this employee talking to a friend on break, saying, “Next time I’m gonna call in and tell them the dog’s still missing.”

Next time? How many dog-related callouts is she planning?

It’s a week into my employment at a discount retail chain. I’m in the back tidying up for the day, and the manager happens to be around, when a coworker comes to speak to him.

Coworker: “[Manager], I just saw the schedule for next week. Why am I the only person booked to open on Monday when opening is a three-man job to get it done on time?”

Manager: “Those are the hours you’re scheduled for. You can make them work, or you’re fired.”

Coworker: “Done.”

Manager: “…What?”

[Coworker] took off his name badge, grabbed [Manager]’s hand, placed the badge on it, and began to walk off without another word.

Manager: “What?!”

I saw [Coworker] do this weird, dismissive wave without looking over his shoulder. It genuinely looked more like he was flicking something off his fingers.

Manager: “…WHAT!?”

By the time Monday rolled around, several other workers assigned to opening shifts had walked out, as well. With a red flag like that flying high, I sent in my own resignation not long after and went looking for a more reasonable workplace.