Random Waiters And Waitresses Reveal Most Annoying Things Customers Do Without Even Thinking (21 items)

• (#1) They Snap Their Fingers

  From SaveMarlaSinger:

  "DO NOT SNAP YOUR FINGERS AT ME OR WAVE OBNOXIOUSLY! I SEE YOU! I AM CLEARLY WITH ANOTHER GOD DAMN CUSTOMER WHO IS EQUALLY AS IMPORTANT AS YOU!

  Whew. sorry about the outburst."
• (#2) They Take Drinks Off Your Tray

  From [deleted]:

  "DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT REACH FOR YOUR DRINK WHILE IT IS ON MY TRAY, IN MY HAND. It will end up either all over me, you and the table if there's multiple other drinks on the tray. It's a balancing act. Chill, I'm here to take care of you. You can wait a second for your micro-brew lager."
• (#3) They Order Just Before Closing

  From Lipshitz2:

  "My biggest one is coming in the restaurant like 3 minutes before we close and saying 'Whoo, just made it!' I work for like $2.15 an hour. A double is from 9:45 to 9:00. I grew up KNOWING it is common courtesy to the workers to not go in expecting top notch service at closing time. These people do not make enough, no matter how much your little 15% – 20% tip to concern themselves further than an 12 hour workday. Just know that blindly coming into a restaurant at closing time is a recipe for awkwardness and you're most likely to get a server who isn't laughing your f*cking jokes. It's the worst!!!

  Please people, check the times of a restaurant and know that if they close at say 9:00, then 8:50 is NOT a good time for dinner, especially when there are probably other restaurants open in the area. People will force a smile and tell you they'll seat you and it's no problem because they have to, but know that 90% of them are cursing you in the back. Everyone hates this... back of house included. Not saying that it's done a lot but if you worry about people messing with your food or whatever, this is the most likely scenario for that to happen. People are tired and expecting to leave at a normal time, then the inevitable late table shows and everyone gets pissed.

  Just be considerate to these people, they work long hours often times and put up with ALOT of sh*t. A little consideration, especially at closing time, is greatly appreciated."
• (#4) They Don't Make Their Dietary Restrictions Clear

  From macch:

  "Telling me your dietary restrictions AFTER you've ordered. The cook had already most likely made the item. We would have to make an entirely new order and my co-workers and managers would think it's my fault we have a wasted order because I forgot to mention a substitution. If you have restrictions or preferences please tell us before or while you're ordering."
• (#5) They Sincerely Thank You, Then Stiff You On The Tip

  From Jeev3s:

  "If you look me in the eyes, and tell me how much you appreciated the service I provided for you, I am extremely grateful for your kind words and it brightens my day.

  If you tell me I'm the best server you've had, and you leave me a 5% tip on a bill that's $70+, I hate you."
• (#6) They Ask For The Manager Before Talking To You

  From whyyouchattypatty:

  "If I mess up your order don't call my manager, it's not cool to get me fired because your sandwich was missing mayonnaise. Instead you can tell me personally, and I'll make your sandwich free of charge and remake it for ya."
• (#7) They Try To Seat Themselves

  From nuclearkumquat007:

  "Not a waiter, but a host. There are several things people do that are very much unhelpful. First is seating yourself. You may be trying to save me the trouble, but believe it or not you've just caused me lots of headache. Restaurants usually divide tables into different sections and assign each to a server. We seat you in rotation so servers aren't overloaded with several tables at once. If you seat yourself in a section that I just seated, guess who gets chewed out by the server and manager? It's me.

  Also, if we're on a wait list, pointing out tables that are open isn't helping me at all. I know there are two tables open over there, but I'm trying to save those plus two more for a massive party. You're right, there are plenty of seats open on the patio, but I just sat 30 people in 5 minutes and my manager didn't want me to overload severs/the kitchen, so you'll have to wait. Please just be patient and let me do my job."
• (#8) They Don't Know Their Order When They Call For Delivery

  From killinglyy:

  "When placing a to go order, KNOW WHAT YOU ARE ORDERING BEFORE YOU CALL.

  You are NOT the only customer. We have other tables and phone calls to take care of. (I work at a pizza place).

  If I answer the phone and you tell me to 'hold on' while you get little Jimmy's order, I will hang up.

  OR another pet peeve:

  Me: Blahblahblah Restaurant, what can I get for you? 

  Person: Hi! I'd like to place a to go order!

  Me: Mhm! What can I get for you?

  Person: I'm going to get a pizza.

  Me: Okay, what kind of pizza?

  Person: A small one topping.

  Me: OKAY WHAT KIND OF PIZZA.

  Please just say your order. We will understand. Sorry for this huge rant. I got so upset just thinking about all of these happening."
• (#9) They Put Garbage In Cups

  From srajpar:

  "Shoving all your garbage in a cup and patting the b*tch in so deep I have to basically break the glass to get stuff out. I would rather just clean it up after you leave than pay for a cup I broke."
• (#10) They Tip Based On A Discounted Total

  From Spaceghostster:

  "If you get a discount on a check (Groupon, coupon, gift card, friends & family, etc...) tip on the original amount, not the discounted amount, we did the work for you whether you paid $30 or $15, you get to save some money, but tips are how we pay rent and our landlords don't take coupons."
• (#11) They Stack Plates Full Of Scraps On Top Of Each Other

  From cwsup:

  "I love it when customers do a good plate stack, and by good, I mean all the leftover food and cutlery on the top plate and all the completely empty plates underneath that. This saves me so much time and work.

  What makes my job 10x more difficult however is when customers stack dirty plates on top of each other along with cutlery/bones/solids in between. Great, not only do I have to somehow balance this stack of uneven plates on the way to the kitchen but I now have to sieve through every individual plate, scraping all the leftovers into the bin.

  Oh but there's more, that's not the worst part. The worst part is the fact that there is now sauce EVERYWHERE, on the top and bottom of the plates, on the cutlery which I have to sort from the plates, all over my hands (from sorting out the plates/cutlery) and all over the surface which I had to put the plates on. I now have to wash my hands and clean the surface.

  Please stack your plates properly if you insist on helping."
• (#12) They Don't Answer Polite Questions

  From radialomens:

  "When I ask if the food is okay and everyone just stares at me silently because they don't have any complaints and are waiting for someone else in the group to speak.

  If it's good, everyone say it's good. I don't mind if you all speak at once. I can't walk away without someone answering the question."
• (#13) They Don't Leave When They Finish Their Food

  From therealckim:

  "When you're done eating your entree or dessert and you're all finished with your meal, if we're busy or closing, GET OUT. You're either costing the server money by sitting there and not letting them get another table, or you're making them wait for you to leave. I work at a restaurant where the server can't leave until his/her section is empty. There are times, pretty often to be honest, where I was cut, had all my sidework done, and I ended up having to wait an extra hour or two for my table to just get up and go."
• (#14) They Force You To Eat Some Of Their Food

  From moronotron:

  "I used to cater weddings. If somebody is serving hors d'oeuvres, don't try to force them to eat them while they are working. It looks bad. I can guarantee that if they're hungry, once they get down to a couple bacon wrapped scallions, they'll head back to the kitchen with them and eat them there."
• (#15) They Hand Servers Plates

  From autopsycho:

  "Handing me the plate. If you hand me something from the table I pretty much have to accept it so I don't appear rude.

  There's usually a method to clearing the table of dishes, and if I'm handed a plate when I'm not prepared for it, it throws off my rhythm and I won't be able to achieve maximum dirty dish carrying efficiency and I might even end up dropping something.

  If you actually want to help with the clearing, make everything easy for me to grab on my own (by placing it on the end of the table for example. Unless you're at a fancy restaurant, then don't move anything).

  But really, all you actually have to do is be polite and treat us with basic respect (which in some countries includes tipping). That's all we need."
• (#16) They Use All The Ketchup

  From SandiestBlank:

  "Only put as much ketchup on the plate as you need. People put half the bottle on their plate and use a quarter of that. So wasteful and a pain when stacking dishes. Just pour a little. If you need more later, the bottle isn't going anywhere."
• (#17) They Stack Their Dishes

  From kevik72:

  "Stacking your dishes. I have a certain way I'm going to stack them and most people don't know how to do it right. I also dislike when you stuff trash in glasses or ramekins and I've gotta get that sh*t out of there."
• (#18) They Hand Over Their Credit Card Before They've Been Given The Bill

  From sisterleonella:

  "Handing me your credit card before I've brought you the bill and there are still plates on the table. In my restaurant we have to clear all the plates before even presenting the check, and the owner often b*tches at us for having even one dirty plate on the table with the check. So I can't clear the plates and take your card at the same time, because frankly I'm terrified I'll somehow lose your credit card and get in even more trouble. But since you've produced your card without going through the pleasantries of me asking if you're ready, I assume you're a bit upset and want to get out of there ASAP, so I run inside to run the card and then produce a bill on a dirty table. And the owner tells me for the 9000th time not to f*cking do that.

  If you are in a hurry, tell me when I'm checking on you. If I haven't come round in a while, make eye contact or flag me (in a polite way!). Or you could always let me know that you're in a hurry when I'm taking your drink orders; if this is the case I usually bring your bill right after you've eaten some food and don't have any complaints.

  Seriously, if you're in that much of a hurry I need to know it. If you're so displeased with the service that you must leave immediately, I also need to know why. If you're not in a hurry or displeased there's no reason you can't wait for the bill."
• (#19) They Order Soup, Salad, And Breadsticks At A Certain Restaurant

  From navygirl2015:

  "Lets say you go to a certain restaurant that prides itself on soup, salad and breadsticks...

  Don't assume that you're 'making it easy on me' by ordering it. I literally have to do more than 2x the work in refills than I would if you ordered an actual entree. Usually for half the tip (2 people at my location would cost you about $17, usually leaving me $1-3 as a tip).

  Oftentimes I'm putting bread in the oven, making pasta and refilling the soup and salad stations myself because either there is no one scheduled to do it or that person isn't doing their job. That's what is taking so long on your 4th round of refills :p."
• (#20) They Move Stuff Around On The Table

  From MyNameIsntTheConcern:

  "When I'm putting all your food down on your table, please don't try to move anything once I'm putting it down on the table. I already saw that I had enough space to put it down. More than likely, you're going to end up hitting my arm and knocking your own food over, or there isn't going to be enough space for the next dish I'm about to put down."
• (#21) They Mess Up The Menus

  From meghanerd:

  "This is a simple one, but putting your specials menu inside of your regular menu when you give it back. It'll just be an extra step later to separate them."

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