Tonight started like any other day.

Staff arrived at 4:00.

Lots of scurrying around.

Preshift at 4:30.

Doors open at 4:50.

And the curtain went up.

The lights went down.

The music was turned on.

Action!

And all was well.

Until 5:55.

I’m standing at the window and chef says oh the Smith’s are here. I look up and recognize them from a couple of months ago.

About 90 seconds later a server appears to let me know the Smith’s are pissed.

They had requested to sit in her section and it wasn’t going to happen.

Ugh.

So I approach the door.

I get to the host stand.

And he launches into the fact that he had requested a specific server and had been told she wouldn’t be waiting on them.

I look at the seating chart.

I look at our options.

Backstory.

He’d had originally been scheduled to be in her section but had been moved because I made a mistake.

However.

This server had three requests tonight.

There was no way within the way we do our sections that she could have all three.

I had scheduled a 2 and a 6 top request in her section.

However, when I got to the door I was willing to make it work until I realize the angry guest had arrived with 5 people when he reserved for 4 people.

At this point to accommodate them they have to be across the restaurant from the severs section

He is not happy.

I look at him and explain that unfortunately we can’t let her wait on him tonight.

But we requested her when we made the reservation.

Yes, but it’s just a request. It says so when you make your reservation.

This only make him more angry.

I know what it says. I don’t care. There is no reason she can’t serve us.

I explain that once again this can’t happen tonight.

At this point he doubled down.

I don’t care. Make it happen. I’ve been a restaurant consultant for 30 years and this is just wrong.

He’s yelling at this point.

I’ve decided at this point that even if I could have done something that he wasn’t getting rewarded for bad behavior.

I finally look him in the eye and say, this is not going to happen. It can’t happen. I don’t have a way to make it happen.

He loses his shit.

He’s shouting how of course I can make it happen. He’s never coming back. We are losing a good customer. This is ridiculous.

I say I’m sorry he feels that way. I’m also thinking chef is going to kill me for this.

He continues yelling about how he’s never coming back as he walks to his table and sits down for dinner.

I find out later that he was rude to the host because she didn’t know who he was.

He was rude to her about the table.

He was rude to the server WHO did wait on him.

All in all he acted like a theee year old who was told he had to eat his vegetables.

And I don’t reward bad behavior.

Fun facts.

He repeated all the way to the table that he was never coming back as he was seated and spent 500 bucks on dinner.

He is a restaurant consultant. Which causes me to be embarrassed for him. If he’s advising management and thinks it’s okay to treat people like this way it truly makes me sad for him. And sad for a restaurant who is paying him.

He tipped his server 18%. I’m even more embarrassed for him now if he’s in the business.

If he’s in the business and doesn’t know you can’t just bring an additional person and not expect the restaurant to struggle to accommodate you.

With the host he pulled the don’t you know who I am card.

When the server explained the chef likes the whole order at one time he said our normal server never makes up rules we have to follow. If he was in the business he’d know every chef likes the complete order.

Perhaps he consults for fast food because he certainly does know how full service restaurants works.

And chef was not angry.

He supported me 100%. Basically agreed with my call.