I have been experiencing what seems like a big “fuck off” from customer service people lately. Perhaps it is because it is hot outside, or maybe something is in the water, but I feel like it has been happening more and more.
Specifically, places like the Kroger at Edgewood, the employees are consistently rude and flat out disrespectful almost every time I shop there. I have had employees run into me without saying excuse me, and have noticed more often than not that they roll their eyes when having to do something for you (such as check out); especially if you ask for something in addition to their normal routine. All in all, it is annoying, and I wish there was more kindness out there, especially in service employees, but again, maybe it is just a reaction to the heat or something that is driving this problem.
Well, none of that applies to the complete freak out that I witnessed last night. Some friends and I went for dinner at Machu Picchu up on Buford highway, and we were excited to be getting together and trying Peruvian food. What followed, however, was one of the WORST dining experiences I have ever had in my entire life.
I won’t go on and on about it, but the long and short of it was this: our food was ordered by number, because the names of the dishes were in a different language. The waiter, when bringing out said dishes, kept asking us “who had the fish”, when most everyone had ordered some variation of fish (or seafood, not even fish); but all were different and all were ordered by number. When we laughed at the confusion, rather than getting angry like some tables do, the waiter flipped his shit and started YELLING at us. Let me reinforce that for you; he was yelling, not just talking louder to get our attention. I have never seen anyone flip the fuck out like that; especially not someone who is supposed to be serving you, and is definitely working for tips. He yelled at us not once, or twice, but a minimum of 3 times. It was almost like an out of body experience, because a few people at the table tried to calm him down, but he just kept getting more and more belligerent.
As I discussed with the table last night, I have waited tables before in my life; all in all I did it for about 5 years. I have taken a mountain of shit from people, and as such, I respect people that work in the service industry more than most. However, I cannot understand what this man thought was okay with his actions, and I was completely taken aback when his “apology” simply put the blame for his yelling on our unwillingness to claim the fish dish that he had no idea what it was or where it went.
All in all, people seem to be getting more and more rude these days, but I have to say, that I haven’t seen anything like this before. Here’s hoping that’s the last of it too. Needless to say, I yelped that experience, and I am sure my fellow foodie group will as well. It’s a shame that he made an ass of himself to a table full of bloggers/yelpers, isn’t it!?