JAWing On – Life on Okinawa

I wonder what would happen if someone walked into a sushi bar and placed an order of raw fish fried with garlic and parsley? After all most sushi restaurants have fish, a stove, garlic, parsley, and some type of oil!!! If they have all the ingredients, why shouldn’t they be able to prepare it the way a customer requests?

That’s pretty much the premise of an article in the Washington Post from two years ago that I found while I was doing research on some of the more ridiculous customer requests that persons in the service industry face. Well, the owner of that restaurant, Gillian Clark, seems to understand the difference between a customer that is reasonable and someone who is on an ego trip. Perhaps the so-called experts in the customer service field could take a lesson from Gillain. Here is the latest info on her and her restaurant.

Recently I saw some articles concerning the subject of how dealing with persons who are less than gracious can jade even the most enthusiastic service personnel. And of course, there are articles on how if a person is not prepared to deal with ungrateful patrons then they should not be in the industry. Let’s be realistic, we have all had and heard horror stories on both sides of the topic. The thing to me is when is someone being unreasonable in a situation. What has happened to common sense and consideration for fellow human beings?

Out of curiosity, I was wondering what are some of the more ridiculous customer requests other people have seen or heard? And what ridiculous reactions to customer obnoxiousness by a service person have other people heard or seen?

In example, this weekend a customer at a drinking establishment that doesn’t charge a cover for live entertainment and, because it doesn’t have a running kitchen and understands that some people get the munchies when they are drinking, allows patrons to bring in their own snacks. (Not exactly what I would call an unreasonable place.) This particular customer bought one drink, pulled out his own snack, and then expected the drinking establishment to cover the cost of a disposable container in which to place the snack. If a person is going to bring their own eats somewhere, isn’t that person responsible for providing their own accompanying necessities (such as tableware, napkins, etc.)?