[Tyga11]

Have you witnessed any horror stories? People spitting in food? Dropping food on the ground and putting it back on the plate?

I never send food back for this reason (unless I'm at a high end restaurant)

There are also certain rules of thumb I'm aware of like never ordering the tuna salad at Subway...

[overcoil]

My friend had a vending business, nothing I saw in his machines, but from other vendors I've seen I would never get coffee from a coffee vending machine after seeing really poorly maintained water supply and the way the coffee powder was stored in the machine.

The times as a teenager I've worked in chain restaurants everything was really clean and fresh. But the stories told to me by chefs in high-end restaurants have been worrisome.

[floridaorange]

Found a preying mantis in my pricey salad at a quasi fine dining restaurant a few yrs ago, over and inch long. They knew my uncle was close with the owner and comped our 6 person meal.

[BMWCCA1]

I worked in restaurants in college. We didn't have time for such pranks . . . unless we knew we were cooking for the owner and his family! Even then, the pranks seldom involved the food.

[GOLFFRR]

You don't even want to know what is going on in kitchens lol. Best not to even think about it.

[///mawana]

Originally Posted by Tyga11

Have you witnessed any horror stories? People spitting in food? Dropping food on the ground and putting it back on the plate?

I never send food back for this reason (unless I'm at a high end restaurant)

There are also certain rules of thumb I'm aware of like never ordering the tuna salad at Subway...

Period!

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

[DocL]

I never screwed around with people's food or drinks when I bartended. And I never saw anyone else do it where I worked. But I do know of friends who would put used chewing tobacco in peoples food. That grossed me out.

[Conissah]

I was the cook at a pizza joint back in high school. We would drop pizza, wings, fries, and not once did any of us ever put that on a plate. We would just throw it away and re-cook their order. That never crossed my mind when dealing with rude customers, to mess with their food.

[CarsAndGuitars]

I worked in a couple well known chain steakhouses in the late 70s - early 80s. We never messed with anyone's food but food prep was disgusting:

Thousand Island dressing, coleslaw etc were mixed in 5 gallon buckets with bare hands / arms up to forearms.

Our manager used to soak steaks that were more than 1-2 days old in vinegar and water to keep them from spoiling and minimizing his loss.

[vreihen16]

My (now-late) best friend and a group of us would go out for dinner one night per week for years. He was a glutton for punishment, and would make us go back to the same chain restaurant week after week to receive the same bad service. We used to call it dinner theater, because he would send the same special-order entree back to the kitchen every week because they couldn't prepare it to his liking.

After several weeks of this, we went back yet again and he placed the same special order. When the server asked me for my order, I said that I wanted (the un-special version of) what he ordered...but hold the spit.

When she came to deliver the plates, she served his first. Then, she put mine down and said filet mignon, medium, no spit. It was priceless! Oh, and he never wanted to go back to that restaurant ever again.....

[Captain Blood]

I worked everything from dishwasher to general manager. Ohhhh the stories……..

One of my favorites was when I was waiting tables at a restaurant called Black Eyed Pea, in N. Arlington, by the ballpark, in college. My best friend was late for a shift, a police officer had given him a ticket for failure to signal a turn when turning into the restaurant we worked at. The police officer decided since he was in the parking lot, he would take advantage of the half-price meals we offered to uniformed police officers. He came in and sat down with some officers were already there. My friend saw this, motioned to the waiter who was waiting on them. And the waiter indicated that the officer had ordered an ice tea. My buddy made the iced tea for him, and stirred it with something the police officer probably would would not have liked.

And then there was the shakedown by a ununiformed officer performed on me when I was a restaurant general manager…….

[Tommy-G]

Originally Posted by ///mawana

Period!

THIS!!!!!

[UncleWede]

I worked as a dishwasher in a yacht club right after learning to drive. Family friend was the manager. We had quite a few Friday night after-work parties, even when I was 16. . . While things never went out necessarily "bad", oh the COLORS when it was buffet night on Fridays. Beet juice just adds such a particular swirls to everything.

In my mid-40s was drafted again to help extended family with an Italian restaurant, guess who got to do dishes again? I also had an assist in whipping the butter for the little paper cups. 50lbs at a time, in the floor-mounted dough mixer. Do NOT put your finger in there to try to taste the product!!!

[///MPhatic]

A few, years ago. I never saw anything like what you're describing happen.

In fact, I was the worst of the bunch. Why? Because for about 2 weeks I was a valet, and handed keys to obviously drunk people (circa 1988). I left for that reason.

But food tampering? No. It's not that everyone was told not to, it's just that this sort of thing is 99.999999999% urban legend. It happens, but it's probably ultra rare. They want you to come back, so they do the best job they can in the 10 minutes they have to make your meal (before you start bitching to the waiter).

[tcphoto]

I've worked in restaurants while getting started in my current career and never saw anyone messing with food. Most kitchens are in the open and it would be the proverbial self-inflicted wound to do so.

[bucketfoot]

My first real job was at a local steakhouse. I stared out as a busboy, moved to a lunch line cook and eventually to a lead dinner cook.

No real horror stories involving customer, but did have the owner of the business blow is brains out in his office upstairs.

Other than that there were the waitresses who were more than happy to get me drinks (well before I turned 21) and to partake in sexual encounters.

[Captain Blood]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

My (now-late) best friend and a group of us would go out for dinner one night per week for years. He was a glutton for punishment, and would make us go back to the same chain restaurant week after week to receive the same bad service. We used to call it dinner theater, because he would send the same special-order entree back to the kitchen every week because they couldn't prepare it to his liking.

After several weeks of this, we went back yet again and he placed the same special order. When the server asked me for my order, I said that I wanted (the un-special version of) what he ordered...but hold the spit.

When she came to deliver the plates, she served his first. Then, she put mine down and said filet mignon, medium, no spit. It was priceless! Oh, and he never wanted to go back to that restaurant ever again.....

Outback?

[oVeRdOsE.]

[OkieSnuffBox]

Worked at a Sonic in college. Never saw anyone do anything untoward.

[Captain Blood]

Originally Posted by OkieSnuffBox

Worked at a Sonic in college. Never saw anyone do anything untoward.

I understand the typical sonic employee has greatly changed in the last few years.

[M-technik-3]

Years back I worked at a pizza/sub shop. Co-worker and I would occasionally screw with one guy's order. But in our defense the grill closed at 2245 ever night and he would call at 2250 wanting a steak and cheese with all grilled toppings.

Guy was told over and over and he'd call manager in am so we started to screw with him.