Never work in hospitality. Strangest things people have complained about.

[KnopkaPixie]

Here's some to get us started:

"There's broken glass on this steak."
It was fancy coarse ground salt.

"I can't eat from a square plate. It's bad feng shui."

Any more?

@sarsaparillatree

Just want to state that I don't mind tourists in general. They bring loads into the lake district economy after all. Just over recent years we've had more and more of the wrong sort of tourist. Ones who hate mud and rain, complain about there being nothing to do, wild camp where they shouldn't and leave rubbish everywhere, burn farmer's fences for their camp fires etc.

I don't know about tourist parking tickers tbh. As a resident I've only ever had to get a yearly parking permit for work etc. Buses are really cheap atm so it might be better and cheaper to get buses to places where possible. And using car for places that you can't get a bus to.

burn farmer's fences for their camp fire 😲 That's terrible! You can't even try and put it down to ignorance, stupidity or laziness - they know it's theft and vandalism.

Here the tourists use disposable BBQs everywhere. They'll ruin picnic tables recycled plastic provided by the council. Leave them smouldering on beaches and other beauty spots. It's dangerous.

You don't live in Dorset, do you? There was a forset fire near me that burnt for two weeks - started by a disposable BBQ.

No north Wales. This type rarely take their litter back with them either, leaving it as a risk to animals in the country when it blows around sigh...

I worked for a catalogue retailer.
Reported to the CEO because I didn't offer a carrier bag for
An ironing board.

Reported to head office because I smiled too much.

Reported to head office because I told him off for putting his
hand up my skirt while doing a display. Maybe the kick didn't
help.

After this I resigned as I was told to apologise to him.

OMG, @LifeisNOTlikeemmerdalefarm! I wish it was easier to sue employers for failing to uphold their staff's rights.

It is horrible. In New York, the law holds employers liable for any sexual harassment that happens in the workplace, regardless of who does the harassment. So it could be customers, package delivery people, etc.

It's really put employers on their toes about the issue. The law is quite comprehensive.

https://www.ny.gov/combating-sexual-harassment-workplace/combating-sexual-harassment-frequently-asked-questions

There certainly is. I remember seeing one in the mid-80s, in rural France in a tiny village just south of Samur in the Loire valley. The type of traditional, local place that just did a couple of set menus and served the sides separately even if it just meant eating a plate of boiled rice.

Mr Monolingual USA - not only speaks no French but is a vegetarian as well - a rarity in those days. So he is trying to convey this to a French waitress that spoke no English. After trying unsuccessfully to speak English loudly to no effect - he got out his trusty phrasebook (remember them!) and announced to the dining room "I am a special vegetable" to puzzled looks from the waitress and some muffled sniggers from the locals.

Eventually an older woman takes pity on him and - with some toing and froing with the kitchen they manage to whip up something .....

🤣🤣🤣 at the special vegetable, @Lunde!

I think calling some of the customers that I've delt with in the past a special vegetable would be a insult to all vegetables ! 😆

I've had one of our young female waiting staff propositioned by a middle aged man, he soon apologised after I said "How dare you talk to my daughter like that" 😁
Only this morning I had a lady hold out her hands to see how cold she was as she said her room was freezing, probably didn't help that mine were colder as I had been in the cellar cleaning the ice machine, went to check her room to find the window open and the radiator turned to frost setting!
Do these people not live in normal houses where you adjust the thermostatic valves?

But that's the problem, they aren't. Or as pp said the cups are so chunky and cold they suck the heat out.

Most Americanos are too cold when served

When I worked in a high street coffee/sandwich shop a man came to the counter, ordered a coffee for himself and a green tea for his wife. We served his coffee with milk as requested and the green tea without. He asked where the milk was and we advised that green tea isn’t served with milk, but he insisted so we gave him a little jug of milk.

That wasn’t good enough as he knows his wife and she’d definitely want milk to be in the tea. He was starting to get agitated so we did as requested and poured the milk into the green tea.

Not two minutes later, an angry looking woman stomped over to the counter demanding to know who was stupid enough to put milk in green tea. Thankfully when we explained that her husband had insisted she apologised and we made her a new drink.

We never could figure out why he wouldn’t just accept milk on the side, especially when he clearly had no idea how he wife took her tea.

Because you were challenging his manly omniscience, @MuffinDadoCappuccino. Love the nickname, by the way - dinnerladies is one of my all time favourite sit-coms.

My favourite line is: "Everywhere in Scotland is spelled Ecclefechan and pronounced Kirkcudbright!"

Such a good series. I’ve watched it so many times I feel like I worked at the HWD components canteen!

I love Victoria Wood. "“If they’re in carriages and their bosoms are like, just under their chins, that’s Jane Austen. Catherine Cookson there’d be like, a horse and cart and they get pregnant a lot and chop the heads off mackerel and it’s raining and their bosoms’ll be a lot lower"

I work in a dental surgery. I had a woman bring her child in who had a streaming cold. "He's got a bad cold but we need this appointment done as he's only off school this week."
Following week mother comes for an appointment and refused to be seen by me because I had a cold..... wonder where I got it from.....

The rudeness this week is driving me insane.

You ask for help that I for any number of reasons can't provide so I go to explain I'll find the right person for you and instead get cut off half way through a sentence.

Or I'm literally leaving the building my car keys in a hand and you ask for help, I say I'll find someone for you and you say "why can't you do it" in a condescending tone.

Or as I walk out of the building and put my car keys in the door to be asked about refunds.

All in one day.

I thought Christmas was the time of goodwill or does that not extend to hospitality/retail etc etc workers 🤔 🤣

It’s 100 times worse at Christmas time sadly

Yep "Can't you just...."

No, no I can't because I do not just exist to provide customer service and am allowed to go home at some point!

I had a guy tell me he'd 'Wait for me to get my coat off before telling me what he wanted' how generous of you but I've put my coat on before I leave and there's another member of staff less than 3 feet away. When I said I was actually leaving but X could deal with their requests I was rude apparently for not taking my coat off and jumping right to it like a good little serf.

And yes to the asking you a question, or for what they want and then cutting you off halfway through the response they asked you for or not actually listening to what you say.

"I'm here for X department"
"Lovely, shall I show....." As standing up but being drowned out by -
"Well how do I get there? Where is it? I've never been here before, I don't know where I'm going, I don't want to get lost and be late, where is it?!!"
That you just have to wait to be finished as you walk round to them before you can quietly say you'll show them.
Some then compound that by getting bent out of shape by that and being cross you're actually doing it because they'd love to have the opportunity to have a go at you "Well I didn't know you were going to show me!" No, you didn't did you, because you just dived in without bothering to allow me to respond, have realised that, and now feel embarrassed about it and feel I should be responsible for that.

I mean I'm here to guide you in the right direction, but in order for me to do that you actually have to give me the opportunity!

An increasing number of people don't want customer service, they want cap doffing deference to massage their ego, so they feel more powerful and above someone else.

People also seem to forget they're getting an item or service in return for their money and genuinely think that they are giving it to you as some sort of generous gesture and you must do anything they desire to earn it, rather than deliver said item or service promptly and with a pleasant manner.