Top Five Most Frustrating Things About Working At A Restaurant

Working at a restaurant has really given me a lot more respect for the people that work at them. From the servers to the cooks, from the hostesses to the bussers, from the bartenders to the take out girl, I respect all of them. And to help you guys respect them as well, I'm going to give you some real life examples of what frustrates restaurant employees to death!


1. Changing your babies diaper at the table.
Yes, this is true. I've seen it happen. I don't know why the heck any one would want to change their babies diaper at the dinner table, in a high class restaurant, but they do. I really don't think I need to go on about this............so I won't.


Just don't do it......it's gross......really. The other customers really don't want to smell baby doo doo while they are chomping into a $30 dollar Steak.

2. Asking to have your food come out later.
I mean come on! Who in their right mind changes their babies diaper at the dinner table. That's just disgusting. I know I said I won't go about this, but it is so appalling that it makes me want hurl.....so I'll change the subject before I do.

On more then one occasion I have had a table ask to have their food delayed. The annoying part is, is that their food is already done. I don't care if you don't want to eat, yet. If you didn't want to eat, you shouldn't have come to restaurant. If your food is done do NOT ask to have it later. It will go bad. The only thing keeping the food warm is food lamps. So, eventually, the food lamps will dry out the food, and even cook the steak, or mashed potatoes, or fries. This is the most annoying thing any customer could ask for. You're food is done, asking to eat it later will not help you in the least. In the words of Napoleon Dynamite "Eat the food, you fat lard! Gosh."

3. Draining the soda machine.

I'm not going to deny it, I am guilty of this horrendous act. In my younger days I thought it would be "cool" to drain the soda machine. All until one day when I had to switch 3 of them out at once. Those things are the biggest pain in the back (literally) to change out. And when there are 20 tables that need to be bussed, plates that need to be stocked and a 100 pound trash can that needs to be dumped, replacing a Coca-Cola soda container is the last thing that bussers want to do. Not cool guys, Not cool.

4. Leaving a Massive Mess
A Bussers job is to clean, that is what we do. But one time I had this "Latino" family come in and all they did was complain, complain, complain. They complained about the price, they complained about they're food being cold, they even complained that they're steak wasn't cooked at the right temperature! And this wasn't a family of four or five; this was a family of 20! (and to top it off one of them was wearing a "Jesus Saves" hat). So anyway, they finally tell the manager "We don't appreciate the service here so we're leaving." (and yes, they did not leave a tip). The mess they left was like a Hurricane Katrina re-enactment. It was brutal. Disastrous. Painstakingly long to clean. Me and the other Busser, Ricky, had to pick up everything. plates, knives, forks, glasses, napkins that were littered all over the floor. Yeah, this was not fun. So yeah. Lesson learned, people?

5. Customers That Think They know More then their Server
Yeah, there was one time when a lady came into the restaurant to dine. She asked for a Salmon and she wanted it "Blackened." Now for those of you who don't know what Blackened Salmon is, it is when the cooks put a lot of extra seasonings on it to give it a "blacker" look. So, she gets her salmon, it's a beautiful looking salmon. Perfection. This snob of a lady turns to her server and says "Excuse me, I asked for this salmon to be blackened, NOT BURNT! So, can you please go tell whoever the retard is that made this salmon to make it right!" Yes, that was a direct quote. But it doesn't stop there, upon giving the lady her new salmon she then proceeded to tell her server that we served her the wrong salmon! At my restaurant we serve two types of salmons, and trust me, she got the right one. Boy howdy, I don't think there was a single cook that didn't want to do bodily harm to that lady. We had to stop one of them from running out there with a knife......seriously. And this isn't a rare occasion either. There have been times when the customer told us we served them a pork chop, when they ordered a steak. How one can confuse a pork chop with a Joe's steak is beyond me, but it has happened.

The resaurant biz can be quite a lot of fun, but only when we have great customers. In case you didn't get the hint, these are examples of BAD customers. The kind of customers that we wanted to kick out, but legally couldn't. So, the next time you're at a restaurant remember these helpful tips to make your server a happy server: (1) Don't change your baby's diaper at the table; (2) Don't ask to have your food delayed; (3) Do not drain the soda fountain; (4) Do not Leave a disastrous mess when you leave; and (5) Don't think you know more then the server, they work there and you don't. Thanks for reading, and always "We're keeping it honest, in a dishonest way."