10+ Types of Customers Many Waiters Prefer to Keep Their Distance From

Many believe that the most difficult part of a waiter’s job is not to mix up orders and not make a mistake when counting tips at the end of the day. In fact, as with any profession related to the field of services, there are several other setbacks, many of which arise because of the most variable aspect: the customers.

For us, from awesome.club, every activity must be respected, and worrying about the person directly responsible for serving our dinner is no different. For this reason, we decided to evaluate which customers bother the waiters the most. In the bonus, you’ll see the other side of the story: the ones that waiters certainly prefer. Check out!

Customers who like to talk to restaurant servers usually have good intentions: they want to be friendly and show that they value the work of the waiters. At most, the reaction will be one of respect. That’s because attendants are often dealing with several things simultaneously. The lady at that table has a nut allergy; table four needs cleaning; the couple in the corner asked for the bill. So sometimes long conversations about trivial matters can get in the way more than you think. Also, a good portion of the “talkative” customers are older people, who are usually not in a big hurry.

As much as I enjoy talking, please avoid lengthy dialogues with me. I really try to be nice, but I just don’t have time to talk about your family or your studies. © unknown author / Reddit

All waiters know that, one day, they will have a customer who has not come to the restaurant to have a delicious meal, enjoy the atmosphere or good company. No, the reason for the visit is to annoy the attendants. These people are not satisfied with anything: the temperature is uncomfortable, the service is less than expected, the music is bad, the kitchen, the prices. Unfortunately, such customers do not look for another restaurant, more to their liking. Therefore, they spend all their time expressing their dissatisfaction to surrounding employees.

At my parents’ restaurant, I served a customer who spent the entire dinner forcing me to come and go from the kitchen: the meat was done, then too rare; he found out he had a gluten intolerance (but ate a pie). He even tried to steal a bottle from the next table, said silly things to a waitress and, in the end, asked for a discount for the “terrible service”. © xJek0x / Reddit

There’s nothing wrong with going to a restaurant with the whole family together. In general, parents adopt one of two behaviors. Some leave their children free to move the tables, play with the waiters and cry when the soup is too hot, while they themselves enjoy their meals. Others ask us to give a toy or notebook to distract the little ones, thus trying to cause less stress to the customers around. Perhaps this way, it will be easier to understand which group of parents is preferred by waiters.

A few days ago we received a family with two children. When I took their order, I saw that the little ones had taken all the sugar cubes out of the jar and were playing with them: throwing them at each other, making a sugar castle and things like that. I was horrified, but the parents told me, “Don’t worry, when they’re done, we’ll put everything back together.” Ah, thank you very much for your enormous kindness! © AeAjnabi / Reddit

Sooner or later, waiters reach the peak of their abilities: they memorize orders quickly, deliver dishes without delay and in the correct order, do not distract customers, and at the same time take care to put them at ease. This, however, does not guarantee the box. One of the most recurrent phrases is: “Why should I pay for this person’s work?” The hard truth is that waiters live on tips: the business is built on this model, certainly not invented by them.

For four months, every Sunday a couple of young people ate at our establishment and never left a tip, regardless of the quality of the service provided. One day my boss, bothered by the situation, asked me to help them and “do everything to deserve those 0%”. The next three-quarters of an hour was fine: I waited five minutes before greeting them and bringing the pitcher of water. When they were ready to order, “I had to go outside to get a pen as I had forgotten it on the counter.” I came back after a few minutes, but while they told me their choices, I asked them to wait for me to text my boyfriend. I also mixed up the dishes and had time to play a game on my cell phone while their food got cold. They said they would never come back.© unknown author / Reddit

There are people whose requests are made with so much insecurity that they give the impression of not being at ease. No one expects diners to know exactly every detail of the menu and dish preparation, or to know the complicated names of sauces and garnishes. However, it is important to demonstrate some certainty about what you want to eat. Unfortunately, the famous “panic face” will make the waiters need additional information, such as the point of the meat or the best way to serve the salad dressing.

Please don’t say you’re ready to order if you’re not. Agents have a lot of things to do, and standing around waiting for their decision is not the most efficient approach. Just asking questions is a different matter, but if you’re still undecided, please don’t waste our time. © emcon353 / Reddit

Such customers are not very desirable. We are talking about a man, who is usually alone, orders only drinks and spends the whole night looking for women. If you’re their attendant, you’ll probably spend a good deal of time being picked up on or asked to give you your phone number.

I never call guys who leave me their phone number and I keep all the receipts with the numbers on them as a kind of trophy. The worst is when the person spends a significant amount on dinner, leaves their number noted, but no tip. Meaning I have to call to get the tip, is that it? © danam524 / Reddit

On the one hand, foreigners can be difficult to deal with, especially if the waiter doesn’t speak other languages. On the other hand, when the language barrier is overcome, in general, such customers are very friendly, undemanding and very fair with the service. However, it is necessary to consider the cultural peculiarities of each country and not offer, for example, pasta with steak to Italians.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve served customers who have tried to speak to me in German, Italian, Russian or French. Many were surprised, even annoyed, that I didn’t speak their language. Others insisted on speaking to me in Russian, believing, perhaps, that if they repeated the same phrase several times, I would finally understand that they had a peanut allergy. © columbu / Reddit

Many restaurants, especially those with a romantic atmosphere, seem to have been created for dates, intimate conversations or “special moments”. No wonder they are couples’ favorites, but the attendants don’t always have a good experience with them. Usually, the couple is focused on each other, so they order little food and occupy the table for a long time. In addition, many waiters are bothered by “disturbing” the lovebirds and have to wait for the right time to approach them.

A couple sat down at the table, and the young man, with his back to the room, did not see my arrival to serve them. When I arrived with a pitcher of water, he, unaware of my presence, asked his girlfriend a question that was clearly not for me to hear. His reaction, when he realized that I had listened, was priceless. © billabong2630 / Reddit

People who love to make jokes and pranks with attendants, probably never put themselves in the other’s shoes. After 12-hour shifts, even the funniest jokes won’t have the desired effect, let alone the bad ones. Sure, the waiters will laugh, just out of courtesy, but think about it: would you really want your sense of humor appreciated by someone who has no choice?

I was a waiter for five years. The “best” jokes I ever heard were: “Would you like anything else, sir?” — “Yes, a million dollars”; “Do you prefer salad or soup?” — “Oh, I want a SOper salad”. There were many, but my brain deleted them. I know customers just want to brighten my day. I appreciate the effort, but none of these jokes are original and, after five years, they don’t have the same effect. The gesture is nice, but it doesn’t negate the fact that it’s not funny. © Cubs1081744 / Reddit

Another category are those who turn a quiet work shift into real torture, due to the rudeness in the way they communicate. As soon as the order is placed, the waiter understands the “theft he’s gotten himself into”: from “the establishment poisons people with glutamate” to “the prices are an insult to the population”. We still often hear the question: “You should spit in your food, right?” First of all, today, there are cameras everywhere. Second, such dialogues are not at all pleasant for someone who is just doing his job.

I worked in a pizzeria and one day, some 18- to 20-year-old boys came in, one of them with rude attitudes towards the attendant. He said some pretty nasty things to the girl, possibly wanting to “show off” to his friends. The girl, poor thing, was speechless, and I decided to teach her a lesson. He ordered a salad and an iced tea. As soon as he took the first sip of the drink, the waiters and I started laughing from afar, staring at him. We did the same when he started eating his salad. He was so embarrassed that he didn’t want to eat anymore. There was nothing wrong with the food, but it looks like he left hungry.© Подслушано / Ideer

The opposite of friendly and talkative customers are those who are keen to emphasize their superiority over restaurant staff. In fact, many waiters, particularly those working in upscale establishments, are aware that customers make more money than they do, or they probably wouldn’t be eating there. Expressing such behavior is definitely not an effective way to guarantee quality service.

A high-income couple invited me, my best friend and her boyfriend to dinner at a high-end Italian restaurant. They offered to pay the bill as we couldn’t afford that extravagance. I never imagined that this situation could affect my friend so much that…