When The Spice Isn’t Nice

(I have worked in a Thai restaurant for six years and never really came into a difficult customer before. I am training a friend of mine and watch her take a customer’s order on her own.)

Friend: *smiles* “Hello. Are you ready to order?”

Customer: “Yes, I would like Chicken Spicy Basil, but I do not want the spice in there.”

Friend: “I’m not sure that’s possible, ma’am.”

Customer: “Yes, it is. Just don’t add the spice to the dish. I don’t want any spice in there.”

Friend: “May I have a moment? I need to talk to the head waitress.”

(She comes over to me without a word, because I was listening. It was the strangest request I have ever received.)

Me: “Miss, we can’t take the spice out of the Spicy Basil sauce. It’s not possible once it’s already made.”

Customer: “Yes, it is, and I don’t want the spice in it at all. Figure it out for yourself.”

(Not knowing what to do, I went and talked to the cook, who was also my older cousin. She was really confused, but ended up using a different sauce for the dish. That customer gave us a bad review on some site, calling us liars and bad names, which actually caused no new customers to come in for a week.)