Busy shifts can be stressful.

Anyone who has worked in a restaurant knows how frustrating it can be to see a line of customers waiting while every table stays full. However, stress doesn’t give anyone an excuse to treat customers poorly.

This server seemed to forget that when one couple asked for a few extra minutes to look over the menu during a particularly busy shift.

Instead of giving them the time they requested, she decided to tell them to hurry up.

Unfortunately, the situation only got worse from there.

Read on to see what happened.

AITAH for telling a customer to hurry up when there was a line?

I (24F) work at a fine dining restaurant (not super fancy but think better than Cracker Barrell).

We get a lot of reservations but we also have walk ins. And on this particular day, the line was out the door of people waiting for tables.

I was serving this one couple who were taking their time. I got them their drinks and tried to take their order. The woman said, “We need a few more minutes.”

Frustrated, she told them to hurry up.

Usually this isn’t a big deal, but there was a line of people waiting for a table so I felt this was inconsiderate. I politely said, “You need to hurry up, because there are other people waiting.”

The woman got all annoyed and called me rude. I politely explained that there were other people waiting for a table and they were being inconsiderate.

They asked for a manager, and I said no because were busy and we don’t have time for their games. When they asked again I told them just to leave as we didn’t need any hassle tonight.

Her coworker was not impressed with her actions.

When they started arguing, I threatened to call the police and that got them moving. As they were leaving they were grumbling about how they’re gonna leave a bad review and that I was “discriminating” against them. I said it had nothing to do with that it’s because they were being inconsiderate.

When I was telling my coworker later about what happened he actually said he thought I was rude. We got into a mini argument but he said it was rude to say “hurry up.”

I do get that it might have come across a bit curt, but I’m sure the other customers waiting appreciated them leaving, and the more customers I get the more tips I get. Also, I think the fact that they reacted so badly means I was probably right and they wouldn’t have tipped well anyway.

AITA?

Yikes! It’s not about what you say. It’s about how you say it.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a waitress who refused to return a tip after a party returned to the restaurant with a complaint.

Let’s see how the readers over at Reddit think she should’ve handled this.

This reader understands, but condemns the behavior.

According to this comment, the story is fake.

Yet another person who thinks it’s fake.

Here’s a strategy that probably works.

This server absolutely crossed the line.

Restaurants operate on a first-come, first-served basis. So, the couple had every right to sit at their table and order when they felt ready.

Yet, instead of doing her job, she decided to rush them, refuse their request to speak with a manager, and then threatened to call the police when they pushed back.

If she thinks that’s an acceptable way to treat customers, then she probably shouldn’t work in customer service. Hopefully the couple reported what happened because she went out of her way to create a problem where one didn’t exist.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a thrift store employee who refused to play “guess the price” without seeing the item in question.