When normal people go out to dinner, they know how to act. They take advantage of the fact that they're being waited on and can ask for whatever they want, but they also understand that their server is another human being. They are polite and they treat their servers with respect.
If only every guest were like that.
There is a whole other breed out there who act as if they are in Mom's kitchen. I'm still working on a specific term for this group of people, but I usually just refer to them as "rude," "rotten," or "spoiled." The sad thing is it's not just the kids. Their parents are just as rude.
Last night I had a table of seven, who only spoke Spanish, come in around 1am. A girl asked for an apple soda (is that a real thing in any country?), and I told her we had apple juice, not apple soda.
"No, no, I want apple soda."
Again, "I'm sorry we do not have that."
"I don't want apple juice."
"Then, what would you like?"
"Apple soda!"
As kindly as I can, "WE DON'T HAVE APPLE SODA!"
Then her dad chimes in, "She would like apple soda, not apple juice."
Are you freaking kidding me? This is just the start.
I settle the apple juice/soda duel with apple juice over ice. The little girl is ecstatic about it. I get their order in and go about my end-of-the-night cleaning. Only ten minutes go by, and the dad, in his annoying bright pink shirt, snaps his fingers at me. "Miss, come here!"
"Yes, sir?"
He looks at me, confused, and points to his belly, and expects me to figure out what he's thinking. When I continue to give him a stupid look, he says, "I'm hungry! Where's my food?"
Really? It has been ten minutes, your eight-year-old children aren't whining about anything even though you're forcing them to wait for dinner when they should be sleeping. There's a McDonalds across the parking lot if you can't wait more than ten minutes for your well-done steak. But let me go check on your darn food.
After I've brought the food, he must have snapped his fingers at me five more times to bring him random condiments. I don't understand how people can think they can be rude and bossy to a complete stranger. I would hope people aren't like that with their own mother's at home-cooked meals. What makes them think they can snap their fingers and get what they want? Service is just how it is, the guest is paying me to serve them food.
But there is still a line of respect and politeness that should be followed, or I think I have every right to accidentally spill your "apple soda" on you.
