I finally told a customer to leave my kitchen last Friday

Guy comes in 10 minutes before close, orders the ribeye well done. I tell him 20 minute wait. He starts screaming at my server about it. I walked out, told him to get out or I call the cops. Never had to do that before in 8 years at this spot in Portland.

2 comments

2 Comments

nathan8516d ago

And honestly, good for you. I had a similar thing happen at my old spot in Seattle a few years back, some guy came in 5 minutes to close and demanded a full three course meal like we were some kind of 24 hour diner. He started yelling at my host about how he'd leave a bad review and I just walked over and said "you're done here, leave or I'm calling the cops." It's crazy how some people think being a paying customer means they can treat staff like garbage. I think part of it is that we've been trained to just take it for too long, you know? Like we're supposed to smile through someone screaming in our face because they want to spend $30. The world didn't end, nobody got fired, and honestly my other customers actually clapped (which was awkward but kind of nice).

simonw416d ago

Gotta disagree a bit though. Customer service has a line but sometimes pushing back makes things worse for everyone, especially when there's a manager around who could handle it smoother. Kicking somebody out feels good in the moment but a calm "sorry we're closed" and ignoring the yelling usually de-escalates faster.