Tales of the world's worst waiters

Most waiters and waitresses are hardworking, professional people, and many circumstances are out of their control, from food preparation to seating time. But there are always a few bad apples (or just bad days) in any industry, and we've all probably been on the receiving end of rude, indifferent, or just plain baffling waitstaff behavior. We asked BHG.com and MixingBowl.com members about their horror stories, and here are the best of their worst experiences.

Turnabout's fair play, of course: So if you're a waitperson with equally astounding tales about the people you've waited on, share your story, too!

The Tip-Off
"A waiter friend I knew in college got furious when a couple left him what he considered to be too paltry a tip. So he followed them out to the parking lot to tell them so, and to demand a better tip. But their 'tip' was to the restaurant manager, who promptly fired the waiter." Posted by Whiskercook on MixingBowl.com.

The Bacon Bandit
"Once, I ordered breakfast with bacon. The waitress brought sausage. So I politely said, 'I ordered bacon, could you switch it'? She reached on my plate and took the sausage off with her fingers and said, 'Ok, I will be right back'. Somebody got that sausage with their breakfast! Haven't been back either!" - Posted by LeeLovesToCook on MixingBowl.com.

Full Cork Press
"My husband and I were at our favorite Italian restaurant a few weeks ago. We ordered a fairly pricey bottle of wine and when [our waitress] attempted to open the bottle she broke the cork. Instead of retrieving a new bottle, she shoved the rest of the cork into the bottle -- sticking her finger all the way into our bottle and dipping it into our wine. She wiped her finger off on her apron and attempted to serve the wine to us like it was no big deal!" Posted by CoolCookie on MixingBowl.com.

The Big Chill
"We waited in line...the hostess was speaking to the couples in front of us rather rudely. We tried to not be bothered by that, but when it came to our turn, she very rudely asked us to 'Chill out and wait'. I was shocked and my husband was very angry. When she returned to her spot, she snatched the menu and said 'Well, come on'. We followed and discussed that we were going to ask to speak to the manager. We were seated and did ask. She literally started yelling at us in the middle of this place." Posted by DragonsWife on MixingBowl.com.

The Disappearing Act
"It takes a lot to rattle me at a restaurant, I consider myself a very understanding person and I know first-hand just how stressful serving can be, but my husband and I did go to breakfast one morning where our waitress brought our drinks and then we literally did not see her again at all until over an hour had gone by and we decided to leave. She was milling about in the kitchen." Posted by TheGreenLady on MixingBowl.com.

Damage Control
"[We were in a] Japanese restaurant. A new waitress kept getting our order wrong. So we gave her an (we thought) adequate tip and another waitress came and asked us to give her a bigger tip so she wouldn't look bad in front of the owners!" Posted by hot coco on BHG.com.

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