Hospitality workers reveal the annoying things customers do – and the thing everyone is guilty of

Hospitality workers have revealed the most annoying things customers are guilty of – and the one trait almost everyone has in common.

Servers and best friends Mik and Grace are tired of their customers making the same mistakes everyday and creating more work than necessary.

The duo compiled a list of vexing behaviours that make their jobs difficult – and patrons being selfish was the main issue.

Others included ordering food that was not on the menu and parents asking service workers to wash their baby’s milk bottles. 

Mik and Grace were also tired of customers providing an unreasonable amount of dietary requirements at the last minute and asking to split the bill unequally. 

In a video, the friends acted out scenarios that described customer interactions they had to brave on a daily basis.

1. Speak out of turn

Mik went to a table with a bottle wine to ask who it was for – only for a customer to jump in and reveal that she ordered a Diet Coke.

‘They need to learn to wait their turn,’ Mik said. 

2. Asking for unreasonable changes to a meal 

The hospitality workers once had a customer ask for a drink that was ‘vegetarian, pescatarian, gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, and nut-free’.

Another even claimed they ‘didn’t like anything on the menu’ and asked for a plain chicken breast with rice.

It is often difficult to swap out meals and cook foods that aren’t on the menu because the restaurant might not have ingredients or recipes on hand and don’t want to be blamed for subpar quality.

3. Being vague about orders 

Nik once had a customer who ordered a ‘beer’ and did not specify what kind despite the venue offering several types.

It’s impossible for service workers to read their customer’s mind and automatically know the kind of drink they’re after.

Another ‘regular’ customer just demanded her ‘usual meal’ and said she didn’t have to place an official order because the kitchen staff would recognise her.

Hospitality workers encounter hundreds of people a day and don’t usually remember a specific customer’s order.

4. Making last minute changes to bookings

While emergency situations are exempt from this point, it’s unreasonable to add several people onto a booking without any notice.

‘You can’t book for four people and show up with 28,’ Mik said. ‘How am I supposed to pull 24 chairs out of my a**?’

5. Asking to split the bill

Customers often ask to split a large bill unequally and create more work for the hospitality staff.

Most venues do not allow split bills for that very reason and ask a single party to pay upfront and sort out their finances privately. 

‘I was at the big table out there but only had half a bottle of wine, a sip of someone’s cocktail, four fries, and two pieces of garlic bread,’ a customer said to Nik. ‘Can you divvy that up?’

Servers and best friends Mik and Grace are tired of their customers making the same mistakes everyday and creating more work than necessary

Many others agreed with the infuriating behaviour most patrons exhibited.

‘Experienced all of these scenarios,’ a man said. ‘Hospitality makes you realise how odd people are!’

‘I hate when customers hand me baby bottles,’ another added. ‘They trigger me the most and I don’t know why.’

‘When they show up as a table of 20 and complain that the one barista behind the counter is taking too long making their drinks…’ another recounted.

‘I hate when customers try to make up an item … the menu is right there,’ wrote a fourth.

‘This video has triggered my fight or flight,’ a woman wrote.