Need a lot of food in a hurry? Go to an all-you-can-eat buffet! How much can you eat? It's in the title. However, you might need to take a second look at some of the local buffets in your neighborhood after listening to what these workers have to say about the terrible, sometimes disgusting, things their customers have done.
Reddit user, u/horrorlover123456789, wanted to know who the worst of the worst was when they asked:
People who have worked in a restaurant with an all you can eat buffet, what's the most annoying thing people do without realizing it annoys staff?
Changing Your Mind
Grabbing tons of food, then deciding they don't like it or something. They don't eat all of it and put their left overs back at the buffet. 🤮
Hands Off!
Giphy
Take food from the other side of the buffet by reaching across, then spill that food in different food.
Also literal fist fights over crab legs.
In their defence, crab legs are delicious, I'd punch a Man in the face for a plate full.
Spoons For Every Tray
Take a utensil from one container and use in another food, ( ie. the spoon out of the Mac & Cheese and use it in the Green beans.) They then complain there are no utensils. And, touching the food with their bare hands when there is a utensil right in front of them !
I once saw an old woman going down the buffet line, using the serving spoons to taste the food.
Just Tell Us To Get A New One!
- Dawdling/standing in the middle of walkways
- Thinking this is the appropriate time/place to teach Junior how to serve himself. Kids would make huge messes of the buffet, hold up the line, and run around underfoot
- One time, I saw a guy drop a serving spoon on the floor, pick it up, and put it back in the buffet
Gross Fishing
Scrunch up their paper napkin and put it in their coffee cup, when there's still half an inch of coffee in there.
They're attempting to 'tidy' up, but it just means I have to fish soggy paper out of coffee before I can put the cup in the dishwasher. It's grim.
Is It Gravy?
Ask the employees what the items are without reading the signs right in front of their face, in one single 8 hour shift I was asked 78 times which gravy was which, there's only 2 turkey and beef, now I just answer with "I don't know I've been asked so many times I'm starting to question it."
And another thing our buffet has a carving station with ham, turkey, flank steak, and prime rib, people will just walk up and say "beef" and I have to ask them what kind of beef steak or prime, or they will point to the ham and say turkey I go and carve the turkey and they will yell at me and call me stupid saying that isn't the turkey or call the prime rib pork loin, lamb, turkey, steak, ham, venison, goat, pot roast, chicken etc.
Solid Parenting
I used to be a waiter at a casino buffet, and people would leave their kids in there with an older kid constantly and go gamble next door. Usually the older kid would be about 12, but it made little difference when all the other kids when anywhere from 1 to 10.
There was a family that did it so often, that I actually threatened to call Child Services. I am not your baby-sitter, I'm your waiter.
Ignoring The People Who Matter
Worked at Paula Deen's buffet restaurant. They don't tip because they think you aren't doing any work, but in reality you are doing more work than if they ordered off the menu. Constantly clearing plates, refilling drinks, bringing new silverware, and then you have to bring them a choice of dessert. They will usually only throw a $5 on the table.
Hunting You Down
Giphy
I worked at a buffet where customers could not serve themselves icecream. Very annoying. Every second of the day people asked for ice cream. I'd be gone for a second, and the place would be in an uproar. Customers would look for me in the bathroom, they'd swing open the service door to see if they could spot me, etc.
I would had just cleaned the floors and counters and watch helplessly, as a parent would help their kid make the biggest mess ever with the cookies, and syrups, and gummy bears dripping down a cone, when there were bowls available too.
Using Nature's Utensils
You'd be surprised at the amount of people that shove their hands into the food instead of using a utensil.
Ok now I dont want to eat at any buffets any more. I knew I shouldnt have read this thread... sigh.
Of course, most of the time, it was “just a phase". And looking back, those phases are regrettable, to say the least. Here are some prime examples of that.
SirGergoyFriendman asked:
What was your biggest/most regrettable "It's not a phase, mom. It's my life." that, in fact, turned out to be just a phase and not your life?
The enthusiasm of a young person can lead to some unexpected changes that parents are just not ready for.
Hi, Wheeljack!
I was VERY into The Transformers when I was a wee lad in the 1980s. One day, I decided to change my name to the name of my favorite Autobot. My name was lame, and I wanted an awesome Transformer name. And I was VERY insistent that my parents only call me by my new name. Calling me by my 'old' name would cause a big fat tantrum on my part.
So for the better part of a week, my poor parents had to call me Wheeljack.
Very 2008.
Ariana Grande Shrug GIFGiphyMy cat-ear phase. I wore cat ears every single day. Everywhere. I had like 20 pairs of them. Now everyone thinks I'm a furry.
I find that very cute and wouldn't have thought you'd be furry. Even if you'd had cat mittens. I think my suspicions would have started if you moved a bit like a cat, displayed catlike grooming habits or got a cat mask.
Not gonna lie, that car sounds cool.
I went to a car show once as a teen, and the only newer car there was some chick's PT cruiser. It was hot glittery pink, and at the time I was obsessed. I insisted that one day I would have a hot pink car, with pink seats, pink dash, pink carpets, etc. I was pretty heavily goth at the time, so my parents just rolled their eyes.
These phases can often lead to some very strange fashion choices.
That’s commitment.
When I was a teenager (early 00s), I was waiting for my mother to pick me up and was wearing one of those sh!tty sports wristwatches. It was itching me so I took it off for a second, but then she arrived and because I was struggling to get it back on my wrist, I looped it around the equally sh!tty chain I had around my neck in a rush to get out the door.
My mom asked me about it in the car, and I told her this was my new style and I planned to wear it like that every day. She rolled her eyes.
I wore that watch on a chain around my neck every single day for 3 years or so. There are even professional family photos where I'm wearing it because I refused to take it off.
One day, the chain broke and I lost the watch. I was in high school at that point anyway and it was a major lady repellent, so... phase over.
Not everyone can be Eminem.
slim shady eminem GIFGiphyBaggy pants, being a rapper someday and being a professional skater.
When I was about 14 and Eminem was starting to blow up I bought myself a keyboard with a synthesizer. It cost like $200 which was all the money I had saved up. It finally came (this was way before amazon prime and such) and I tried rapping.
My sister told me "you're effing horrible" and I gave up right then and there.
This should be a sin.
I used to button the top buttons of polo shirts.
I must say, this is probably the worst one I've read.
Looking back at our regrettable choices, all we can do is cringe.
An optimistic look at bad tattoos.
check me out season 3 GIF by PortlandiaGiphyBeing a tattooer. Regrettable because of those poor people who have my awful doodles on their bodies.
Take heart! My favorite tattoo is the one I drunkenly got my buddy to do in his living room one year during March Madness! It's dumb and frankly mediocre? But such a good story and has such good associations I smile every time I see it.
RIP Fredro’s.
My friend and I decided we were going to open a bar in Jamaica with exotic snakes in glass cages in the walls at each booth. We convinced ourselves it would be amazing for at least two years in college. It was going to be called Fredro's.
My entire family made fun of me for it. Once we got out of college, we realized it was not feasible and joined the office grind. We're also two white guys with no ties to Jamaica.
Talk about cringey.
I wore a top hat with an anime pin on it for around a year. Met one of my current best friends while wearing it, idk how he could bear to speak to me after that.
My weirdest phase was probably when I insisted on wearing knee-high rainbow socks to school every day. But honestly, I don't regret it. I rocked those socks, and I wish I still have a pair.
To all the people out there cringing over their past selves, remember that you were just a kid, and to be easy on yourselves. After all, we've all been there
Yet, too often, manufacturers who oversell their products fail to deliver what is promised and are inevitably left with angry customers who want their money back.
Whether the merchandise was defective or ridiculously overpriced, strangers online shared some of their worst purchases when Redditor BooksMcGee asked:
"What is the worst product you ever paid money for?"
Short Life Span
"This NERF gun that's supposed to shoot tennis balls for your dog. I bought it cause I thought you could load 3 at a time and shoot them far, but it's just one and it's super loud and the gun broke after like 4 shots (reading reviews later, this was a common issue)."
Lame Pets
"There were these toys called squiggles when I was a kid and the commercials made it seem like the toy was alive. It looked like you would get this crazy little fuzzy worms as pets that would follow you around an so sick tricks and listen to your every command. It was really just a piece of fluffy string tied to another piece of string with googly eyes on it. People may say that it was supposed to be a magic trick but they should also explain that to a 5 year old who really wanted a pet."
Card Value
"Not their fault, but I paid $70 for a Yugioh card hours before it was limited to one copy. Probably dropped to $20 by the end of the day."
These purchases were bad for your bum.
"A bicycle that literally fell apart before I made it out of the parking lot."
Not Worth Sitting On
"Joybird brand couch. Was so terrible, we returned it. Still hard to believe, we returned a freaking couch."
Going Nowhere Fast
"A 2000 VW Beetle (used)."
"Biggest piece of sh*t that literally had to have just about everything replaced before 100k miles and would still break down every time you left the driveway to the point where the tow-truck driver knew us on a first-name basis."
Expensive Lemon
"An Oldsmobile Achieva from one of those buy here pay here places. I should have known better, but I was young and thought I was getting a good deal. I had the thing for about 5 months, I drove it for maybe 3 weeks. The rest of the time it was either in the shop, or in my driveway waiting until pay day so I could afford to fix whatever broke on it this week. Eventually told the dealer just take it, I'm not paying for it any more. He said nope, and I will make sure your credit is ruined. I said well you sold me a lemon, do you really want to go this route? He came and took it. Never reported anything to credit. I heard he got sued by several other people who sold sh**ty cars too and eventually went out of business."
"Always amazes me when I see them driving around still, I can only assume there's enthusiasts who just love repairing horribly designed cars."
– zerbey
These Redditors were not convinced what they ingested was edible.
Bad Cereal
"A box of plain Cheerios. Thought they were honey nut, poured a bowl, was very disappointed."
"If I wanted to taste cardboard, I'd just eat the box."
– gor8884
Space Pizza
"A burnt frozen pizza at the air and space museum cafe in DC. I Don't wish that experience on anyone. There are some amazing restaurants in DC, don't settle."
– Alseids
The following electronics just gave off a bad charge.
"Asus Transformer Pad TF700"
"This was one of those early 'high end' Android tablets that was grossly underpowered, and it showed. Thing was slow as sh!t in no time flat. Rookie mistake investing into shiny new tech while they were still working all the bugs out. Think I paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $350-400 for it..."
– Luke5119
Bad Apple
"macbook pro 2018 13" touchbar. 2 years old and dead (battery). they're asking $300-$400 to change the battery. malfunctioning keyboard with double presses and missing presses. that's a lot of money for bad design."
Chilly Reception
"Past winter my old room heater broke down and I had to buy a new one. Went to a store nearby and somehow got convinced to buy a very costly heating device.. It's also my fault, since there were some sligthly cheaper options around, but nope. I wanted the expensive one thinking it will make my small room a volcano with little to no effort/cost (that's also what the seller told me). Long story short the device wasn't doing ANYTHING. No significant temperature changes, too much space, a weird noise, and was doubling my previous device in utility cost. I still gloom over those 80 euros.."
Some of my disappointing purchases was clothing, but only because I purchased them online. Unless they are a brand I'm familiar with, I'm usually fine with buying new jeans off of their websites.
But when it comes to graphic tees only available on specialty shops, an M-size shirt is not necessarily the same size as those found in other reputable stores.
I bought a medium sized T-shirt from a boutique store online because I loved the look of the design. But when it arrived, the supposed medium fit me like an XL.
At least I gained a fierce cleaning rag from this impulsive purchase.