Taco ‘Bout Overreacting

At the restaurant where I work, normally, I just make tortillas. But today, my boss is out recovering from surgery (she’s doing well), and her husband is home with her. So, as the highest-ranking staff member on-site, I am the boss lady today.

Just as the dinner rush is picking up steam, one of my servers comes into the back and lets me know that a customer is asking for a manager because she’s upset about her order.

I don’t even make it to the table before this miserable pile of woman shrieks at me while pointing to the man sitting across from her.

Woman: “Why does he have more tacos than I do?!”

I grab the tablet from the server to check their order. The woman ordered one of our meal deals. It comes with three tacos, yellow rice, beans, and fried plantains. The man ordered seven tacos from our à la carte menu.

I read the order back to her.

Me: “Did the server enter your order correctly?”

Woman: “Yes, that’s what we ordered.”

Me: “You both received exactly what you ordered, then. But I will happily have four more tacos brought out to you right away if you want to order more.”

Woman: “And I suppose I’d have to pay extra for that?”

Me: “Of course; tacos aren’t free.”

Woman: “Then not only do I not want the tacos, but I will not be paying for this meal!”

Me: “Ma’am, we have cameras in both the restaurant and the parking lot, so if you leave without paying, the police will have both your face and your license plate number.”

They finished the meal, and the man who I assume was her husband (he did not utter one word in my presence, and he never made eye contact) paid the bill and left a solid 34% tip with the word “sorry” scrawled at the bottom of the receipt.