I am out eating with my boyfriend and his family to celebrate his grandmother’s birthday.

In Austria, tipping is not mandatory but commonly done if service was excellent. Our server did an okay job — nothing to complain about, but nothing special, either. The only thing we weren’t too happy about was that some of our food was only luke-warm, but since it didn’t ruin the whole taste, we decided it wasn’t worth complaining.

After we all finish eating, my father-in-law walks up to the front to pay the bill, as this is how it is done at this restaurant. None of us hear exactly what is said, but when he comes back he says that the server was kind of mad he only got one Euro as a tip. I don’t ask my father-in-law why he didn’t give more, but since the tip is only a bonus and not mandatory, I don’t blame him for anything.

Suddenly, our server walks up to our table with a very pissed-off look and puts down the printed out bill plus a one-Euro coin. “You can keep that,” he says, “as a sign of love.”

We all think this is really disrespectful, and my father-in-law gets visibly mad. The server has already walked away, so he follows him to the front, still mad, but not aggressive in any way.

While we all put on our jackets to prepare to leave, we hear my father-in-law ask, irritated but in a normal volume, what that whole scene was supposed to mean. The server gets even more pissed and says that since our bill covered almost 100 Euro, one Euro wasn’t enough of a tip.

Now my father-in-law has had enough and says, “Well, since a tip is given for excellent service, which usually includes properly heated food, I wouldn’t be so surprised.” And with that, he walks out of the restaurant, now really angry, but somehow he managed to keep his temper under control as he doesn’t like making a scene.

I get that maybe a small tip can be a bit disappointing, but being disrespectful to your customers like that isn’t gonna help you get a bigger tip in the near future.

I work at a restaurant well known for its desserts and lengthy menu. Due to the nationwide shutdown, we are only doing takeout and have limited staff working. This customer places her order around 1:00 pm for an order of sweet potato fries. I inform her that they will be ready in ten minutes.

Ten minutes go by and no one has arrived, so we place the fries under a heat lamp on low. 

Twenty minutes later, she arrives and our manager goes to collect her order but finds that they are too cold to serve.

Five minutes go by, and the cooks have only just dropped the new set of fries in to cook. I am sent up to let her know it will be just a moment.

Me: “Hi! I just wanted to update you that my manager is having the fries remade as they got cold.”

Customer: “This is ridiculous! This is exactly why I called ahead; why aren’t they ready yet?”

Me: “Well, we made the fries and put them under a heat lamp, but it was decided they weren’t good to serve; my manager is having a fresh batch made for you right now.”

Customer: “This is a huge inconvenience for me. What kind of compensation am I going to get?!”

Me: “Let me check with my manager; it should be just a moment.”

The length of the eye roll I had would astound. I checked in with my manager and informed him of the customer’s expectations that this wait time be compensated. He laughed, sold her the new fries, and gave her nothing extra. Moral of the story: don’t show up for French fries half an hour after you order them and be pissy that the staff wants to serve them hot!

In our restaurant, we have a sign where you walk in that says, “Please take a number.” It’s fairly large; everyone usually sees it.

Customer: “When can I order?”

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but you have to take a number first.”

I point to the machine.

Customer: “But I’ve been standing here for ten minutes! Why can’t you just take my order?!”

Me: “Sorry, ma’am, you have to take a number. It’s the store rules.”

Customer: “RUDE B****!”

She then pulled the plastic machine off the pole that held it and tossed it at me, but it became lodged in the rectangular hole in the glass. Unsatisfied, she came and proceeded to grab a number, only to pull and pull until most of the roll of numbers was out. Then, she kept pulling out of the store and drove off STILL holding the numbers.

Related:
Rage Against The Machine, Part 7
Rage Against The Machine, Part 6
Rage Against The Machine, Part 5
Rage Against The Machine, Part 4
Rage Against The Machine, Part 3

I am standing in the middle of the restaurant when a guest walks up to me, clearly intent on asking a question. Our bathrooms are tucked away in the back of the restaurant and our most asked question by far is, “Where is your bathroom?” which I am getting prepared to answer before she even asks. Then, she comes out of left field with this gem, pointing to the front door.

Guest: “Is that the front door?”

I can only assume my smile melted away to a look of confusion and concern as I stammered out a response that, yes, indeed, the laws of space and time still applied, and the front of the restaurant was still where the front door had always been and will always be located. But I was taken aback by the absolute lunacy of the question.

That door, ma’am? With the giant window pointing to the street? Is that the front door? I’ve seriously lost sleep over this whole thing, producing only more questions than answers. Questions like, how did she get into the restaurant?

I live in Belgium and am visiting my brother in Bratislava for a few days. For dinner, we go to a nice restaurant in a not-too-touristy area. When ordering our food, I ask the waiter which beers they have. I’m something of a beer lover so I love to sample as many of the local beers as possible when I’m abroad.

With a hint of pride, the waitress tells me, “We’ve got something special. We have [Belgian Abbey Beer I can buy in any supermarket at home].”

I ordered the wine.