stupid woman tells me i got the order wrong

[Shadowwalker]

so a family comes in and i go to take their order. some things you'd need to know... a Sicilian pizza is a thick square crust and has 16 slices, and a regular large (the normal) Neapolitan pizza has 8 slices. and all of this is printed clearly on our menus.

me: me
L: stupid lady, mom
F: dad of family

me: okay so are you ready to order yet?
F: actually we have some questions
me: okay sure go ahead...
F: do you have different sizes besides a large?
me: yeah, we have small medium and large.
F: oh, a medium sounds good. how big is that?
me: a medium has 6 slices.
F: hmmm how about a large?
me: a large has 8 slices.
L: oh okay, well we'll get a large then with bacon and half hot peppers.
me: okay great.

*Note - no where in the conversation is "thick" "sicilian" "16" "square" even mentioned by this woman. so times passes and i bring out the pizza. as soon as i set it on the table.

L: WHAT'S THIS?? I WANTED THE THICK ONE
*a flash of anger sparks in me*
me: no... all you said was that you wanted a large with 8 slices.
*i quickly realize i'm about to bop this woman upside her head and become nice again*
me: i'm sorry about this...

the dad is pretty cool and is telling his wife to cool it and it's okay. i guess he knows they didn't actually order a sicilian. anyway i go to my other tables and i notice she is still yelling and bickering to husband this time pointing at menu (i don't think she opened it before) and when i came back she was really sweet to me and even left a 5 dollar tip. i guess she realized it was her mistake haha.

i hate when customers do this though because i genuinely want the customer to enjoy themselves when they dine out and when they turn on me when it's not my fault in the least, it makes me feel sad and guilty like it really is my fault even though it isn't. aghhh.

[d962831]

they're stupidity isn't your fault, it's societies in general.

[Eric the Grey]

Too often people just don't want to realize that they could have possibly made a mistake. I'd like to say that I'm an exception to that, but it's far from true.



Eric the Grey

[Peppergirl]

On the bright side, consider yourself lucky that she (apparently) felt badly when she realized her mistake and tipped accordingly.

Alot of SC's get more obnoxious when they know they're wrong, and would deliberately lower the tip in a misguided attempt to massage their screwed-up self esteem.

[icmedia]

During my restaurant career, one of the things I have noticed about customers' ordering habits is this: Most of them know exactly what they want. However, the majority of them have absolutely no idea how to communicate those wants to their server.

Case in pont (I actually overheard this, so I can quote):

Customer: "I would like one of those frozen strawberry drink thingies."
Server: "A strawberry daquiri?"
Customer: "Yes! That's the one! It has whipped cream on it, right?"
Server: "Ours do have whipped cream, as well as a couple of slices of fresh strawberry on top."
Customer: "That's exactly what i want. I love that drink!"
*Order goes in, daquiri is made, arrives at table. Chaos.*
Customer: "What is this? This is nothing like what I ordered!"
Server: "I'm sorry? This is a strawberry daquiri; the same as what you ordered. What did you want?"
Customer: "Just like I told you-one of those frozen drinks with stawberries, tequila, and salt on the rim!"
*Of course, at that point, we realize that she wanted a strawberry margarita, not a daquiri. However, our margaritas (frozen or not) have never come with whipped cream, nor have I ever heard of a resturant where that was the standard. If the customer had added the other two crucial modifiers (i.e., 'contains tequila' and 'salt on the rim'), then do you think we would have come up with a daquiri? No. Whipped cream? WHIPPED CREAM? Ugh.*

[Pagan]

Whipped cream? WHIPPED CREAM? Ugh.*

I'd like to know where they got a margarita with with whipped cream, too....so that I can go there and beat them. That is just wrong on so-o-o-o many levels.

Of course, more than likely, that person never had a margarita with whipped cream, either.

[karma_gypsy]

me: a medium has 6 slices.
F: hmmm how about a large?
me: a large has 8 slices.

I'm sorry, but this reminded me of when I worked at a pizza restaurant ....

Cust: How many slices is a medium?
Me: 8 Slices
Cust: O.k., how many slices is a large?
Me: 8 Slices
Cust: (you can just hear the wheels cranking in their head)
Me: .....
Cust:
Me: The slices of the large are bigger.
Cust: *lightbulb goes on*


We could always cut the large into smaller slices (that is, if the oven person got the note). We, as well as other customers, always got a kick out of the 8 slices thing....

[icmedia]

I'm sorry, but this reminded me of when I worked at a pizza restaurant ....

Cust: How many slices is a medium?
Me: 8 Slices
Cust: O.k., how many slices is a large?
Me: 8 Slices
Cust: (you can just hear the wheels cranking in their head)
Me: .....
Cust:
Me: The slices of the large are bigger.
Cust: *lightbulb goes on*


We could always cut the large into smaller slices (that is, if the oven person got the note). We, as well as other customers, always got a kick out of the 8 slices thing....

I managed at 2 different pizza places...what was even better than the ones you describe were the customers who complained because,
"The other pizza place gives us more pizza...you only give us 8 slices, and they give us 10."
This was, after some clarification, usually determined to be in reference to two pizzas of the same diameter (16" large, 14" medium, etc.).

Generally this was remedied by my apologizing profusely, taking their pizza back into the kitchen, and bringing them out a pizza with 16 slices instead of only 8 (yes, it was the original pizza, slightly modified...I am a huge smartass )

[BookstoreEscapee]

Whipped cream on tequila? ew. I don't like tequila to begin with but adding whipped cream does not sound like an improvement.


mmm...strawberry daquiri...

[earl colby pottinger]

In fact

On the bright side, consider yourself lucky that she (apparently) felt badly when she realized her mistake and tipped accordingly.

Alot of SC's get more obnoxious when they know they're wrong, and would deliberately lower the tip in a misguided attempt to massage their screwed-up self esteem.

The fact that she realizes she was wrong means that next time she will not make the same mistake, a major improvement over most SCs. Treat her well next time she is in and I bet you will be pleasantly surprised.

[Eric the Grey]

Whipped cream on tequila? ew. I don't like tequila to begin with but adding whipped cream does not sound like an improvement.


mmm...strawberry daquiri...

I have to agree. Whipped cream on Tequila is (or should be) a cardinal sin! It's acceptable to have it mixed in with the other stuff to make margarita's, but I prefer it straight up, and if its good Tequila (Patron Gold or Silver) without the salt and lime.

It's a good thing I'm not a heavy drinker, because that stuff is expensive.

Nice way to pull a thread off topic.

Eric the Grey

[Peppergirl]

The fact that she realizes she was wrong means that next time she will not make the same mistake, a major improvement over most SCs. Treat her well next time she is in and I bet you will be pleasantly surprised.

Agreed. Just to clarify, I was saying this woman was a vast improvement than most SC's. In my experience, when a true SC is caught in a mistake, or proven wrong, they get even suckier and more defensive. In this case, she reacted as she should have, with a generous tip to make up for her stupidity. Rare, but refreshing, indeed!