I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

So I’m at the door tonight at 6:30 when a woman approaches the host stand.

I say hello and she asks if we have any tables available for tonight.

I say yes, for how many?

She says 8.

I explain that I won’t have a table for 8.

She asks about tomorrow night or Wednesday night.

I say I know we don’t as I went through this last night with someone on the phone.

As soon as I say this I realize the woman from last night is standing in front of me.

She is worse in person.

Can we make two reservations.

No.

Can we pull tables together.

No.

She moved around the corner looks at the dining room and says but there are so many open tables.

Yes we have reservations.

But I don’t understand why you can’t accommodate us.

I’m getting pissy by this time.

She is getting rude.

She tells me that it seems to her that we don’t want her business. She goes on to say that this is bad business.

I try to explain how this works. I’m becoming less patient.

She is becoming ruder.

She will not take no for an answer.

She raises her voice. Telling me that I’m being rude and I accommodating and this is no way to treat a local.

During the exchange that’s been going on for 6 or 7 minutes I noticed a woman and her son standing a few feet away.

I thought they were her.

I keep looking at them as they look at her.

Except as the woman raises her voice the other woman says:

Stop being rude. I’ve known Jeff for years. He’s never been anything less tha ln kind, and caring and amazing. Stop it.

She tells her that she’s not being rude.

She pushes back and says yes you are.

This goes on and on.

At one point angry lady addresses the other woman’s son and says I’m sorry you are having to see this.

The complainer turns back to me and says I worked I. Hospitality for years. Restaurants and hotels.

I interrupt and say if you’d ever worked in hospitality you’d never treat me like this.

She continues to be aggressive. Abusive.

Meanwhile another woman has walked in.

Finally angry woman leaves.

The woman who walked in says hi I take it you don’t have an available table.

I say for you I have a table.

They end up sitting at the bar and are apologetic for the other woman, give me a tip and make reservations for tomorrow night at our other restaurant.

After they are seated I talk to my defender.

I realized I do know her. She is lovely.

We talk. She says she doesn’t know how we do it. She tells me she almost lost her temper when she addressed her son.

We catch up.

Finally we hug and say goodbye.

I tell her before she leaves that I’m grateful that she was there and Keegan’s she’d like a job defending me on weekends.