Someone asked hospitality workers for examples of ‘customers acting like it’s their first day on earth’ – 24 people barely able to order a coffee

Karen Dickinson. Updated October 5th, 2026

Being able to walk into a bar or restaurant and ask for a meal or a drink is a pretty basic skill that shouldn’t be hard to master, right?

Well, no, wrong actually, if thus this post by hospitality worker tawohlebanna on the AskUK subreddit are anything to go by…

What are your favourite examples from those that work at pubs/restaurants of customers acting like it’s their first day on earth?

A few of my personal favourites as a gastropub manager:

– “My fish is too fishy.”

– Showing up an hour early for their booking on a Saturday night and acting baffled that they can’t sit at their table yet as a couple are halfway through their meal. Followed up with the question of “Can we come any earlier?”

– “Your website clearly states your outside area is first come first served, why haven’t you reserved me a table when I asked you to?“

– Menu clearly states we sell oysters, followed by : “It says oysters here, does that mean you sell oysters?”

– Being 40 minutes late for a booking and inconsolable about the fact they can’t get dessert because the table is booked again.

Please give me some of your favourites!

How enormously frustrating. But they aren’t the only person who has to put up with the enormous stupidity of the general public, as the replies showed…

My husband. He booked a table at a local gastropub – very popular, excellent food – let’s call it “The Queens arms” in a little town in Lancashire. We arrive – no booking in our name. My normally calm shy husband gets a little grumpy and guilt trips the manager because it’s his mum’s birthday. They find us a table. We order drinks, hubby’s phone rings. The Queens Arms in LIVERPOOL wanting to know where we are.
–Jigglypuffs_quiff

Once had an argument with a customer as he claimed he and his dad didn’t drink 11 Fosters together. I asked how many they had each and he said “I had 6 and my dad had 5”. I just looked at him like he was an idiot for 10 seconds and he then paid his bill.
–BrokenArtistic

‘Can I have a Sunday dinner please?

No.

Why not?

It’s Tuesday.’
–duhast4

‘I had someone complain about their roast and didn’t want to be charged for it (after eating nearly the whole meal) because “the gravy is too rich”.’
–Long-Nose-9535

‘Well, there was the dude who thought it would be a good idea to shoot his new BB gun he just got in the hotel carpark. When I asked him to stop, he threatened to shoot me (in a sort of half-joking-half not-way). He got a free night in police custody.’
–s_mcivor

‘The turning up without a booking never ceases to baffle me. The restaurant I work in is small, 15 tables, approx 60 covers per night, but we do that every night and the number of people who waltz in and get shitty that we can’t accommodate them is incredible.

Earlier this summer I got screamed at for “ruining mums 70th birthday” because I couldn’t seat a walk in of 8, on a Saturday, in July. The mind boggles.’
–RhysT86

‘So. So. Many. I think the single most outstanding one was someone asking for a rum n coke and a vodka-soda, and asking me which one was which after I gave them to him.’
–DrRudeboy

‘I had a lady the other day point towards another tables’ steak and asked me about where on the menu that was supposed to be as her husband was very upset. To which I pointed at the section on the menu that states “steaks, see board”. The board was directly in front of her.’
–tawohlebanna

‘Working in a Blackpool cafe, once had a young woman (early-20s ish) jump up and start screaming like she was being murdered after I just dropped their food off. Everyone in the cafe stopped, she was so loud. She was pointing at the deliciously melted cheese that was oozing from the toasty and then screamed that it was cursed. “LOOK! LOOK AT THE CHEESE! IT’S MOVING! IT’S CURSED! THE TOASTY IS CURSED!”

I was stunned for a second, then simply removed the offending article from the table and explained to the boss and chefs what just happened (trying my hardest not to laugh). The boss took it off the bill and nobody dared mention it again. Another server and I shared the toasty.

Wild times. They were regulars, too.’
–Different-Employ9651

10.

‘I worked pubs/ hospitality for 10 years and without a doubt the worst part of that was the 6 months that we had ” beef tomato and cheese” sandwich on our daytime menu.

Despite being listed as a vegetarian option, and being labeled as a beef tomato, I would get 5 complaints a day from people wandering why their sandwich was missing a steak.’
–zonked282

11.

‘I once had a customer complain about being thrown out because the 30-or-so vodka jellies he had stolen had made him puke all over the bar.

He was angry they had made him sick and ruined his night. He genuinely thought he had a claim that the huge amount of jelly on top of a skinful had given him food poisoning.’
–That_Organization901

12.

‘11.30pm, the lights are off, chairs on the tables, I’m just about to set the alarm and head upstairs when I hear a voice by the front door.

“Excuse me, are you open?”

Friend, the fact that you’re kneeling down to ask that question through the letterbox of a locked door means you can probably work out the answer yourself.’
–GirthMoon75

Article Pages:1 2 Next