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.
