Welcome to my world. It is a world filled with instant gratification, lucrative tips and flexible hours. It is also a world filled with long days, sore feet and stupid people. This world is the restaurant industry.

According to the National Restaurant Association, more than 40 percent of the population have worked in the food and beverage industry at some point in their life. That’s a lot of workers, which logically equates to a lot of customers. Restaurants are BIG business.

Often mysterious and rarely understood, we are a breed of people who are more than just food and beverage jockeys; we are keen observers of the human race. We see people at their best and worst. Most customers do not realize this, but we watch them. We take mental notes, and we talk. We talk a lot.

In this column we will tackle everything from crazy customers to even crazier servers: weird food requests, crappy vendors, psycho restaurant owners, the health department, the liquor control board, the city, you name it. Nothing and no one will be off limits in this column. This week’s column is on bad customer etiquette. It is for you the server.

Here is the scenario: A group of ladies come into a restaurant and order a hearty tab telling the server it will be “worth his while.” Later the check is brought, the bill is paid and the server has it in hand. The customers have left an appropriate tip (based on what they consumed) on their credit card and an extra $15 in cash. The customer leaves to use the cell phone and when finished, approaches the server and asks for the $15 back, claiming it was left in error.

I don’t know who to feel sorry for, the insulted server or the clueless customer. There are no rules here, but this is a clear case of tacky behavior. Every once in a while a customer is very generous, especially when a server has done something special.

Note to customers: You don’t dangle a meaty bone in front of a hungry dog, pull it back, and put it in the refrigerator for soup the next day. Once the money is gone it’s gone. Please don’t ask for it back. Also, please respect a restaurant’s closing hour. That may be a topic for a future column…

Eat out Tacoma. We need your love.



Sandee Glib has worked in the restaurant and hospitality industry for more than 12 years as a server, bartender, cook and owner. Her opinions are expressly her own and she is always right.