Restaurant Servers Reveal the Most Insane Things Customers Have Ever Asked Them For
Restaurant servers have met many people during work hours and some have extremely odd requests. Forget asking for extra napkins or a drink refill, these requests are weird and some are downright disgusting. Keep reading to learn what insane things customers have asked servers for.
A bunch of lemons
In an odd — but not gross — request, customers ask for lemons. “In New Orleans, surprisingly often, people used to ask for a bunch of lemons and then use the sugar packets on the table to make lemonade with their water in an attempt to not have to pay for an actual lemonade,” a server told Food & Wine.
A customer propositioned their server
Asking for dessert usually elicits one of two answers — yes or no — but not in this case. Here’s what happened to a server when they offered guests dessert. “Me: Any dessert? Guest: My wife wants you for dessert,” a server told Food & Wine. We don’t know how the server responded but needless to say, the enｃounter was awkward.
A customer asked for a candle
“Recently in full daylight, a woman asked me if I had a candle so that she could read the menu,” a server told Food & Wine. We’re still trying to figure a scenario in which this would make sense. Maybe it was a particularly overcast day?
1 person wanted a mixed soft drink
A customer ordered “a Coke with 75 percent Diet Coke and 25 percent regular Coke,” a server told Food & Wine. At that point, wouldn’t the customer be OK with drinking a regular Diet Coke? Or adding a sugar packet to the Diet Coke?
Is the cheese from Switzerland?
While working at a breakfast café, a customer asked a server “if the Swiss cheese in the Florentine omelet was from Switzerland,” according to Food & Wine. After the server replaced the Swiss cheese with cheddar, the customer said “the cheese looked too processed and to bring her a bagel with cream cheese instead.”
1 ice cube
Some people prefer ice in their drinks. Others don’t. But some people like a particular number of ice cubes. “One person asked for a Sprite with one ice cube, which kept melting on the way to the table,” a server told Food & Wine.
Is silverware American?
Typically, customers care that they have silverware and that it’s clean. But one customer asked a question about silverware that stumped their server. A customer asked “for an ‘American fork,'” a server told Food & Wine.
A customer wanted a barista to touch his latte
“When I was a barista, a guy asked me to stir his latte with my finger,” a server told Food & Wine. We don’t know what was going through the guy’s mind at the time but maybe he wanted a handmade latte. Get it? Handmade?
A customer wanted their server fired
“A man demanded to speak to a manager and asked to have me fired because I wouldn’t bring him a Greek salad,” a server told Food & Wine. “We didn’t have Greek salad on the menu, or really any of the ingredients to make one.”
People didn’t understand cooking technique, sent food back
“When I worked at a Neapolitan pizzeria, people would [send] back pizzas, asking that there not be any black specks on the crust,” a server told Food & Wine. “No matter how patiently you explained wood-fired ovens, they couldn’t get past it being ‘burnt.'”
A customer asked for ‘unfertilized eggs’
While taking an order at IHOP, a woman ordered a meal and I ask her how she’d like her eggs,” a server said on Reddit, according to Irish News. “She replies ‘unfertilized.’” Thinking it’s a joke, the server laughed and brushed off her request but soon realized the woman wasn’t kidding. “She said ‘you know when you crack the egg, and you see that little white bit stuck to the yolk? That’s the sperm, and I don’t want it in my eggs.’”
Fryer grease became dipping sauce
A customer “asked for a cup of the sauce at the bottom of the plate” after ordering a bloomin’ onion, according to the Irish News. Their server informed them the “sauce” was actually fryer grease. “I don’t care what it is, just get me a cup of it,” the customer replied. The customer proceeded to eat the bloomin’ onion and dip it in fryer grease.
Hot sauce and beer
“I work at a pizza restaurant. This one customer comes in around once a week, and he orders a beer,” a server said, according to the Irish Times. “But he always asks for a side of hot sauce. He takes it and pours it into the beer, mixing it.”
Chicken gravy and Oreo cookies
“A few weeks ago someone ordered a cup full of crushed Oreos covered in chicken gravy and that was the exact moment that I lost all faith in humanity,” a Culver’s server said on Reddit, according to the Irish Times.
Customer asked for certain number of fries
At a small town diner, a “guy came in every single day for lunch, and would order a plate of 13 french fries,” a server said on Reddit, according to the Irish Times. “If there were any more or any less, he would politely send it back for us to fix it.”
Article Source: https://www.cheatsheet.com/culture/restaurant-servers-reveal-the-most-insane-things-customers-have-ever-asked-them-for.html/?a=viewall
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VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. Odd (adj.) ~ different from what is usual or expected strange
2. Downright (adj.) ~ (of something bad or unpleasant) utter complete (used for emphasis)
3. Proposition (v./ informal) ~ an offer of sexual intercourse made to a person with whom one is not sexually involved, especially one that is made in an unsubtle or offensive way
4. Overcast (adj.) ~ (of the sky or weather) marked by a covering of gray clouds dull
5. Stump (v.) ~ (of a question or problem) be too hard for baffle
6. Speck (n.) ~ a small particle of a substance
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. Do you make some special requests when you are eating in restaurants? What kind?
2. What do you think is the most difficult part of working in restaurants?
3. Do you think that restaurant staff should accommodate all kinds of customer's request? Explain your answer.
