To think food service employees shouldn't mess with peoples orders?

[LucyLeblanc]

Saw a Tiktok earlier of a barista claiming she "messes" with the orders of "rude" customers. And there were thousands of comments in agreement with her and saying they also do similar 😧

The examples she gave were: Putting full fat milk in the customers coffee, rather than semi-skimmed. Giving them regular coffee rather than decaf, and vice versa. Serving them carrot cake rather than the chocolate cake they ordered. Etc...

I know she's not necessarily contaminating the food as such, but I think petty acts like this are totally unprofessional.

I understand some customers can be rude, I've worked in retail, but I just got on with it, I didn't feel the need to mess with anyones food for 'revenge'.

AIBU to think this is petty behaviour and food service employees should maintain some professionalism?

Thank goodness for the cameras in the kitchens of most fast food joints now

I thought spitting in whatever it is, was the usual thing.

I’m always very nice to all food/drink service staff!

mobile.twitter.com/Antman0704/status/1561744461151064065?t=CQj44Yx7Oj0QQdCcRtnwUA&s=08 they don't get paid enough to have to deal with this kind of crap.

I used to work as a waitress - I wouldn't swap foods (in case of allergies) but the rude customers would definitely be given the more stale foods/the warmest pint glasses/dregs from an old bottle of wine rather than a fresh one/purposefully seated next to the toilets etc. Rationale being - we don't want you back here but we don't have power to tell you that, so let's just make you not want to come back.

Don't yell or be mean to us, then you'll be fine.

But what if an employee is just in a bad mood or oversensitive. Is it also OK for him to spit or piss in customers food?

I hear so many kitchen staff boasting about this as if it's great. It's not. The customer may be an arsehole, but behaving like that is disgusting and makes many people afraid to make even legitimate complaints in restaurants in case some arrogant chef or kitchen staff member decides to 'pay them back'.

How rude can you be? Just ask anyone who's worked with customers...

Seriously though, I doubt many of these claims of messing with food orders are true. Probably done to garner likes and comments. They know that stuff like this gets you fired pretty quickly.

We never complain.

One time eating suckling pig I left a cockroach I'd found in the salad on the edge of the plate for the waiter to plainly see. Ate the pork though. It was excellent. Didn't leave a tip.

On the one and only occasion dining at a chain steakhouse restaurant (not Angus) that thinks it's better than it is (truffle oil infused mac & cheese?) we were given the wrong steaks (ordered ribeye, got rump and filet mignon), badly cooked (pan not hot enough or too overcrowded to sear, so obviously done by a "chef" not worth his/her salt) and mushrooms full of dirt (not just a little grit, visible 2-3mm lumps of dirt). Left a cash 15% tip because we guessed the waitress was a poor student, not responsible for the management and idiots in the kitchen. Gave a positive review in response to the company's email feedback request, not wanting to grass up any of the staff to head office (it was just a few weeks after the hospitality sector opened up after lockdown). I wrote an anonymous letter to the manager explaining what was wrong.

You sound eminently reasonable and nice, Maverickess, I'm sorry that you ever had to deal with dickish customers because there would have been no provocation from you.

Management need to protect their staff, end of story - and if they don't, it's management that must go and be replaced by somebody competent.

Your last point though, about when service staff 'became professional', it would be at the point that they are paid for the service they provide. It's not just service staff, it's anybody who is paid for their work. Nobody should be treated as lesser because of the job they do though, nobody.

I work in retail, a supermarket specifically. The general public can be disgusting, annoying and downright rude. I’ve never worked in hospitality but I’ve heard it’s even worse from a customer service point of view.

I don’t get my revenge on the nasty customers- don't have the opportunity to anyway really but my colleagues and I do discuss them and warn each other that the person in question is heading their way. Some have cute, fun nicknames. It does unite us in our intense dislike so that’s nice I suppose.

I emigrated many decades ago and don't recognize any of this as being the place I left. We used to be a very polite society.

I worked in retail and hospitality for a number of years, and people talk to you like you’re dirt on the bottom of their shoe - and that’s before the ones who kick off and threaten you. It’s soul destroying.

Did I ever tamper with an order or take revenge? No, because I’m not a dick.

where I worked as a teen we used to lick around the rim of the cups. no regrets

Also, for those who mentioned legitimate complaints - it's the way that you raise a complaint that matters, not the complaint itself. I didn't mind having to make another cocktail if the first wasn't to the customer's liking if the customer made their request politely.

If your steak isn't done properly, then politely asking the waiting staff whether it's possible for it to be cooked to medium/well-done isn't an issue. It's only an issue where you insult the waiting staff/demand they give you a new steak etc. that it's a problem.

Or the cheeky fuckers who eat the whole meal (or at least half of it), then demand a replacement - err, no, you just had a meal and you're asking for more (free food) on top of it. If it was really bad then you would've left it at one bite. Ditto with drinks - don't raise a complaint when you've got a few mm of drink left and then demand a replacement!

Okay, getting the crayons out. Pay attention.

When the body absorbs food, blood sugar goes up and the pancreas releases insulin so the food can be digested and converted into energy. YaY!

BUT, if blood sugar (or glucose) drops too low (hypoglycemia), the body tells the liver to "release the glycogen" which helps restore the blood sugar balance.

For people who don't have diabetes, the release of glycogen from the liver naturally occurs and your day goes on.

However, for people living with diabetes, (me, me, me) my body’s response to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is impaired. Eventually, at some point and hopefully soon, glycogen will release from my liver and bring my body into balance.
The event mentioned needed an intervention of glucose tabs (to mimic glycogen from my liver) and a bit of iv solution to top it all off.

2+2=5 is a mistake. Not paying attention is just ignorance.

yeh I’m diabetic and your story makes no sense. If you were given sugar you hadn’t bolused for you’d go high and then stay high, you wouldn’t suddenly drop without giving yourself insulin. Because, yno, insulin production is lacking in diabetics. Not sure what glycogen stores have to do with it being given unexpected sugar

This happened to my colleague who has a milk allergy that results in anaphylaxis.

Went to a cafe, ordered a drink. Asked 3/4 times that they ensure that it’s oat milk, sips the coffee and her throat closes.

It has also happened with MIL who is diabetic. We went out for a meal and she ordered two diet cokes. They were two regular cokes and she had an insulin spike that resulted in her hospitalisation.

I don’t care how rude people are or how busy the place is whatever. When you’re giving someone products to ingest you do it properly.

Hopefully only if someone had been an arse?

but still, that does not make it right for any employee to be rude, and unprofessional too, as I've also seen that happen at times, and in some cases that just escalates the situations.

but you can be rude to a customer and leave that job and walk into another job tomorrow, doesn't means it right but these jobs are literally 2 a penny and employees are crying out for staff

be a bit different if a teacher did this, or a solicitor etc as there would be complaint and the professional body of those people would be contacted etc

Have you ever worked in a public facing job? I worked in an Asda cafe when I was in college / university - people can be pretty fucking rude!! I wouldn't mess with their food but it would always stick in my mind!

I think everyone should have to work in a public facing role for at least two years to understand how difficult a job it can be. Some people refuse to be satisfied!

we only licked arses yeh

Absolutely this. We can all have off days but there's no excuse to treat people like shite.

I work in food service and I have never tampered with a customers food, but there have been times when for example two tables food are on the hot rack at the same time and I will take the nicer tables first, same for drinks. There has been a customer who I have refused to serve - who was then kicked out for their behaviour (squaring up to me, shouting in my face). There have been many customers who have sworn at me, called me stupid, clicked their fingers at me, ignored me completely while I'm holding scalding plates, thrown things at me, threatened me etc. Who have made me feel tempted to be petty but I haven't because what's the point. Some people are just disgustingly rude and think they are entitled to treat servers like dirt because we are there to 'serve them'. I also won't be quite as nice to the nasty customers, nice customers get extras where I can (more icecream/toppings than they are supposed too (they are told about this so they know its more than the menu says) a free soft drink or coffee if I can, the occasional discount etc.) We appreciate the customers who treat us with respect because sadly not everybody does so what should be the norm gets special treatment.

To all those wondering how bad a bad customer can be…from fourteen years in the hospitality game, BAD.

From a lady who once looked me up and down and told me that she shouldn’t have to answer questions from a minimum wage dropout (I’d asked her if she wanted anything with her coffee), to the guy who screamed at me to fuck off and how dare I call him that (I’d called him ‘Sir’ as in, ‘let me get that for you, Sir’ and no, he didn’t mishear me), to the dude who called me a lazy fucker and my staff useless twats because his coffee wasn’t exactly 140 degrees when he got to the table (yes, he had a thermometer and yes, he stopped to get himself a glass of water and grab sugar etc from the side).

Then there’s the I’m Not Talking To You brigade, replete with bluetooth headsets, that think it’s perfectly fine to be talking away and just raise a hand and give you a glare when you try to ask what they’re ordering (and often take you to task afterwards).

I’ve been spat at, sworn at and both cut short and insulted on many occasions.

That said, I bloody loved the sector and 99.9% of customers are flipping wonderful. And when they’re not, you can always bitch about them in the back with your team 😂

Sorry to drive this thread further off topic by my mum has diabetes that she injects insulin for and she can absolutely come over all funny and need to quickly consume something sugary and then she feels right again - it's usually orange juice.

So while I'm not diabetic myself I still know that people with diabetes can still become ill because of low blood sugar. I have no idea how it works though!

Ummm