20. 911

When I was in high school and for a few years afterward I worked at a fast food restaurant. One night (I wasn’t there) a family consisting of mother, father, teenage son, and two small children come into the restaurant and order a chicken sandwich (among other things). When they get the food back, the woman insists the chicken sandwich was ordered without lettuce and is upset that it has lettuce on it. My co-worker insisted that she didn’t order it without lettuce and a fight ensues. The mother, father, and older son proceed to go behind the counter and beat the crap out of my coworker, giving her a black eye and breaking her arm. Yes, over a piece of lettuce. Talk about fun things to do together as a family. My other two coworkers that were working with her that night went into the dining room to avoid the confrontation. There was an entire dining room full of people enjoying their meals. Not one person stepped in to help her or even call the police. After the family was gone the police were finally called–by the woman that was beat up.

21. Reconsider Starbucks

When I worked at Starbucks and someone pooped on the floor right next to the pastry case, a perfect turd (seriously- i thought it was a fake/joke turd from Spencer’s or something.) A coworker of mine then put gloves on and picked it up in his hand and said “What do I do with it now?”

22. Problem solved

I worked at a soup & sandwich cafe for 3 years while I was in undergrad. Good job, easy money. Anyways, we offered quick breakfast options- bagels & cream cheese, breakfast sandwiches & burritos, and a quick 2 egg breakfast with toast, hashbrowns or grits, etc. We offered a $1 small cup of coffee because Starbucks was 2 blocks down and my manager was like that. We broke even on the coffee, not really hoping to profit. Just trying to get people in the door and serve quick, good food. That kind of place.

A super-yoga soccer mom started coming in every morning to buy a coffee. She would bring in her own bagel and her own cream cheese. She would purchase the coffee and then ask us to toast her bagel and put her cream cheese on it for her- and expect us to run the food out to her like we did for every other paying customer. While she was purchasing her coffee, she would ask that we put on new gloves while preparing her food. Okay, fine. Not a big deal the first few times- because the owner (a working manager) was trying to keep his customers happy all of the time. However, this budding new cafe was starting to increase in business, exponentially. This Bagel lady started coming in every, single day. The boss grew a little tired of her request because after all, he isn’t seeing the benefit of selling her a $1 cup of coffee and having us prepare her food for her. She didn’t tip either however, because my boss always lived by “The Customer is always right” method, he did this.

She came in on a Saturday morning once- thinking she got special treatment because she was a regular customer, she decided she would skip the line and put her bagel on the counter near the register. She waited in line, purchased her $1 coffee and noticed her bagel was right where she left it, untouched.

“Excuse me, I expected this to be toasted and ready when I purchased my coffee. I come in all of the time, you should know me by now. I am one of your most frequent customers.”

“Yes Ma’am. I apologize, I did not see it. Here is your coffee and I will bring it out to you in a moment.”

“I just don’t understand you people sometimes- so incompetent and rude to your customers. This is the kind of behavior that leads to disease and sickness in restaurants.”

I didn’t realize my boss was standing over my shoulder during this encounter. He sort of pushes me out of the way grabs her bagel (ungloved hands) takes a bite, goes to hand it to her, drops it and asks her to leave with a mouthful of bagel. He goes to his office and closes his door still chewing the bagel. He comes out and says “Coffee is now $2.”

Problem solved.