TACOMA, Wash. — We've all heard the old adage "the customer is always right," but is that really true? We asked several local bartenders, chefs and servers, and as it turns out, there's a whole lot of things customers get wrong.
Little Jerry's waitress Erica Pinson said her job is like being a mom to 50 people at one time.
"I am trying to get them drinks, food, and make sure that their food is OK," she said.
Pinson has a system to handle all that, and you don't want to mess with that system.
"Never move tables around in a restaurant," she said. "They are strategically placed where everybody can walk through and get to everything they need. So, when you pull tables out in the middle of the walkway, there's a good chance that we are going to spill something on you."
The Red Hot on Tacoma's 6th Avenue has a "no jerks" policy that manager Tre Sizer takes very seriously.
"Snapping your fingers and dog-whistling is a really good way to wait even longer," she said.
Renowned chef Tom Douglas, who has more than a dozen restaurants in the area, is a pretty easygoing guy. However, there are couple of things customers do that really burns him up.
"I guess if I had one anger spot, it's when people make a reservation and they don't call to cancel," said Douglas.
At Capitol Hill's Unicorn, bar manager Kaileigh Wilson will put up with a lot. But what she won't tolerate is customers' hands reaching for things they shouldn't be.
"People trying to garnish their own drinks, grabbing fruit out of the tray and not wanting to bother us, please don't do that," she said. "It's definitely a health code problem."
Pinson gives us another tip: don't say you're ready to order unless you truly are.
"Don't start your sentence with 'ummmmm,'" she said. "The waitress will come back."
Keeping your phone out of your hands and making eye contact with your server when interacting with them is always something to consider.
"It's really nice when people can just talk to us and treat us like people," said Sizer.
Also, not every "helpful" gesture made by customers actually is.
"Don't stack your plates," said Brian Clevenger of Le Messe. "The servers know exactly how they want it."
"It's not as helpful as a lot of people think to just grab a beer off of a server's tray," Sizer said. "That's a really good way for you and your pals and your server to be wearing that beer. And we want to drink our beer, not wear it!"
It all comes down to the Golden Rule: treating people the way you would want to be treated yourself.
"Don't be mean to us for no reason," Pinson said. "I might be here to serve you, but I'm definitely not a servant. And, I am a person too--most days," she laughed.
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