Be nice to your servers... or else! 79% of restaurant employees make fun of annoying customers and 6% have even tampered with food
Thinking about being rude to your waiter? You might want to reconsider.
Seventy-two per cent of food service workers will make fun of you behind your back; 65per cent will make you wait longer than necessary; 11per cent will increase your tip without permission when inputting credit card information; and 6per cent will even tamper with your food, according to a new study in Human Performance journal.
The research's two authors, from University of Houston and Baylor University, interviewed 438 food service employees - bartenders, waitstaff, managers, cashiers and hosts - to get their findings.
Don't trust him! A new study shows that many servers quietly take revenge on rude customers, even if it means sacrificing a good tip
The authors - who have both worked in restaurants at some point - were interested in exploring how and why food service employees exhibit counter-productive behaviors (sacrificing better tips and potentially harming an establishment's overall reputation) to get back at unruly customers.
'Food service employees generally do their best to provide a positive experience for customers,' said Dr Lisa Penney, one of the study's coauthors. 'However, they are human too, and the strain of dealing with extremely rude, demanding or difficult customers can manifest in ways that do not benefit customers.'
Sources of stress for waiters, said the study, include disproportionate customer expectations, customer verbal aggression, disliked or unpleasant customers, and ambiguous customer expectations.
Made fun of a customer | 79% |
Lied to a customer | 72% |
Made a customer wait longer than necessary | 65% |
Ignored a customer | 61% |
Acted rudely toward a customer | 52% |
Argued with a customer | 43% |
Raised voice to a customer | 34% |
Refused a reasonable customer request | 25% |
Confronted a customer about a tip | 19% |
Insulted a customer | 14% |
Increased tip without customer's permission | 11% |
Contaminated a customer's food | 6% |
Threatened a customer | 5% |
The difficulties are compounded by the fact that waitstaff must remain friendly - which might explain why they resort to covert ways of dealing with the customers.
'The laborious emotional demands of these positions make it difficult for an employee to maintain positive emotions while managing any negative emotions they may experience on the job,' said Dr Emily Hunter, the study's other author.
However, not all food service workers delay service, refuse requests and act rudely.
Charles Fenwick Elliott, who works at a restaurant in New York City, told MailOnline that when he has an annoying patron, he works faster.
'Do I delay a rude customer's food? Absolutely not. That would defeat the point of getting them out the door as soon as possible.'
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