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When you’re working in retail or hospitality, you never really know what the day is going to hold. Sure you can anticipate the days or times of year when things might go from manageably busy to unquestionable chaos, but to actually know what is going to happen on any given day? No chance. Because a big part of your job is working with customers. And customers can be wildly unpredictable.
The woman in this story was happily going for a weekend breakfast with her boyfriend, and was working her way through a stack of pancakes when she witnessed this wild customer unpredictability first hand. Over her breakfast, she got a front row seat as an inexplicably furious man screamed and shouted at some kid working behind the cash register. And she also got to see how eventually the situation simmered – but not without another diner getting involved first.
Read on to find out what went down here.
“I’VE BEEN HERE SIX TIMES WITH MY FAMILY!”
Recently, my boyfriend and I went out to breakfast at a well known national restaurant chain. We were just about half way through our pancakes when we hear this ruckus at the register.
An angry guy was yelling, “DON’T ASK IF YOU DON’T REALLY WANT TO KNOW.”
The host said something calmly in response, but I couldn’t really hear from where I was sitting.
Then the angry guy yelled back, “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? YOU ASKED ME HOW EVERYTHING WAS AND I TOLD YOU “OBVIOUSLY PRETTY ******.” IF YOU AREN’T INTERESTED DON’T ******* ASK!”
Let’s see how the company tried to deal with this unhinged customer.
The host continued talking normally, so of course I couldn’t hear him – and at this point the manager came over, I assume asking what the issue was.
I just heard the angry guy continue yelling, “THIS FUCKING KID WANTS TO MAKE A SCENE. HE ASKED ME HOW EVERYTHING WAS AND I TOLD HIM AND HE GOT SMART AND ASKED ME NOT TO CUSS AT HIM.” ]
He looked at the host and then continued, “STOP WITH THE ******* COMMENTS. JUST SHUT THE **** UP!
Then a bulky male customer – most likely a Marine given his size and our geographical location – went up to the register and said something that caused this guy to pay for his meal and leave.
But that wasn’t the end of things.
As the angry guy was leaving he yelled back to the manager, “I’VE BEEN HERE SIX TIMES WITH MY FAMILY. SIX. WE ARE NEVER COMING BACK.”
The bulky guy went back to his table and resumed eating his breakfast with his wife and two small children.
When we paid, we left a hefty tip for the waiter and the host to split and some gentle words of encouragement.
Yikes. Some people really are just nasty pieces of work.
Perhaps this guy was dissatisfied with his meal. Maybe he didn’t like something about the service.
But yelling at restaurant employees and making a scene in front of all the other customers is never the answer.
Let’s see what the Reddit community made of this.
This person wondered what the customer thought he was going to achieve by yelling.
While others thought that his threat of never coming back didn’t hold the weight he might’ve thought.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a burned-out employee who finds a way to ease his stress with an extended daily lunch.
Meanwhile, plenty of Redditors were wondering what the Marine said to the guy.
Honestly, it’s so clear that the restaurant staff did absolutely nothing to deserve the way they were treated by this angry customer. Because yes, sometimes things go wrong and people put in complaints. But if those complaints become personal, targeted, or filled with rage like this one, you know for sure that it’s the customer’s issue, not yours. Because no rational person behaves like this in a restaurant, knowing full well that they’re screaming at someone who is just doing their job, and at the same time affecting the dining experience of a restaurant full of customers just trying to eat their breakfast.
Clearly this guy is not okay, and the staff must have been relieved when the suspected Marine came over to smooth things over. Because regardless of what he said, his mere presence on the side of the restaurant staff clearly showed the angry customer he was suddenly embroiled in a situation in which he wasn’t going to win. But of course he had to get the last word. People like him always do.