27 Utterly Infuriating Things Restaurant Customers Actually Do During COVID-19 That Need To Stop Immediately

I'm seething.

Recently, we turned to BuzzFeed Community to ask those in the restaurant industry to share what they wish customers would stop doing during the pandemic. Here are some of the most common responses!

1. Not tipping on takeout:

Fox

"Tip on takeout too! Don’t order over $350 worth of food and not tip! You wouldn’t do that if you actually ate the food at the restaurant."

—ashleyw4c85c9609

"These employees usually make minimum wage or less. They have no other supports and little other employment options during a pandemic; and if you’re privileged enough to be able to order a food service, you’re definitely in a position to tip the workers."

—shyraanichole

2. Placing their things on the counter when the person in front of them hasn't even left yet:

NBC

"It used to annoy me even without the pandemic, but people reaching in front of the customer who is currently at the till to rest their items on the counter while the first person hasn’t even paid/taken their receipt and walked away yet."

—laura1098

3. Family and friends acting like the rules don't apply to them:

Universal Pictures

"This one might just be me, but when my friends and family come into where I work and act like the rules of masks don't apply to them because 'they know me!' I don't think COVID-19 cares if you are my friend or family, so please wear a mask and don't get mad when I throw you out! Knowing me doesn't get you a no-mask pass!"

—that1girlthatmightnotbehuman

4. And other restaurant employees acting like they're exempt, too:

SPTV

"Just because you also work in the industry does not mean that we're friends and it certainly does not mean you can hang out near me and eat your food. Mask on until you walk out that front door! No eating inside, no exceptions!"

—taralynn

5. Older customers making requests to wear a mask political:

NBC

"I'm a part-time everything at a fine dining restaurant and I'm so sick of the older regulars making it political when we expect them to wear a mask while walking to their table. Especially since it's inside a casino. I don't know what you've been doing at the machines and tables or who you've been sitting next to. Just wear it, damnit!"

—jarsic88

"Spouting political views around masks to your server. The fact that you made it political already exposes your ignorance, and it's always a good idea to avoid controversial topics with strangers anyway. No matter if they agree with you or not, it is always uncomfortable."

—junkmail52195

6. Claiming to have a non-specified medical condition that exempts them from wearing a mask:

Freeform

"I'm so sick of people saying that they have a non-specified preexisting medical condition that prevents them from wearing a mask. I'm on my feet, wearing this thing for eight hours (at least)! You can wear one to walk to your table. Please stop being so selfish and be more considerate toward the safety of others."

—nathanielj5

"The thing is, yes, there are health conditions that would prevent someone from being able to walk longer distances in a mask but you often only wear a mask from the door to your assigned table when at a restaurant. Most people, even those with health issues affecting their ability to breathe with a mask, are able to wear it for such a short time. And if they aren't — those people exist, too — they should probably reconsider if they should go out if [doing so is] not absolutely necessary during a pandemic that affects the lungs."

—fiocchidineve

7. And just overall being difficult about wearing masks:

NBC

"I manage at a restaurant and I am not sure how many more times I can have the conversation with guests about wearing a mask. They act as if I am Dr. Fauci forcing it upon them rather than it actually being company policy. I have been called every name in the book... I’ve been flipped off, told to F off, and my favorite was that I am discriminating against the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) when I am simply exercising my right to refuse service. I used to be a paralegal so I decided to read the ADA guidelines so that I may spew them back to the next anti-masker, legal jargon and all!"

—natb11

8. Trying to move the tables:

BBC

"Getting mad when we can’t move tables 'cause all tables are required to be six feet apart."

—torimcdaniels

9. And hanging out with people at neighboring tables or friends:

NBC

"When the bars were open in England and every table had a strict rule to keep to themselves, I kept getting groups still trying to flirt and pick up the table next to them. If I hear the sentence ‘We’re just trying to have fun’ again, someone's getting castrated. It’s going to be hard enough when we come out of lockdown."

—marke4213367af

"See someone you know at the restaurant that you haven’t seen in a while? Wave and say hello, and be on your merry way. Don’t stand at the table and pull down your mask to shoot the shit. Maybe they don’t want you interrupting their meal, breathing your germs all over them and their food."

—katec41478f3d7

10. Asking a server to pull a mask down because they can't hear:

New Line Cinema

"Pretending like they can’t hear me 'cause I have a mask on and asking me to pull it down to speak. I start yelling every time I’m at their table since they can’t hear me."

—torimcdaniels

"YUP! I’ve had a customer pull down HIS mask to hear ME better, which simply is NOT how it works."

—alex2229

11. Sitting on top of the tables since there's no seating room:

ABC

"I work for a fast food sandwich company... We have all of our tables pushed together with the chairs pushed under. It's literally impossible to sit on the chairs unless you rearrange the whole restaurant as it was before...so people sit on top of the tables. They just stay there. Then they get mad when we ask them to get off."

—evejones1912

12. Loitering in the lobby with their whole party, when only one person needs to be there to wait for their name to be called:

Paramount Pictures

"Those who ignore the guest limit in lobbies...the amount is there so you can safely distance. Coming in is not gonna get your stuff quicker, and our business can get huge fines for not enforcing it."

—g406cb6998

"Stop bringing your entire party in to get on the wait list. You can't wait for your table inside. Only one person should come in to put the party's name on the list. And stop complaining about wait times. Eating at a restaurant is a privilege for everyone, not just you."

—cmrichards83cr

13. Bringing their entire families in just to pick something up:

Fox

"I work at a very small bakery, and we have a maximum of three people in the store at a time. So far my biggest pet peeve is when an entire family of 10 insists on coming in together because 'We all live in the same house.' NEWS FLASH: We don't live with you! The more people in our small storefront, the more likely WE ARE to contract COVID-19. COVID-19 really has brought out so many entitled people; they seem to forget that we're actually people, too!"

—kelseypfisterer

14. Staying at their tables longer than necessary:

Reservoir Media Management

"My state has many restrictions, one being...you're only allowed to be seated for 90 minutes, which they are told when they make the reservation, when they are seated, and when they are nearing the 90-minute mark. So many people push back on this. Also, when the state had a curfew, people still wouldn’t leave until an hour after the curfew. I swear sometimes the worst thing about this industry is the customers."

—shelbymastrodicasa

"Don't stay in a restaurant for hours after you've eaten. We have less space, and you staying for hours means I don't get as many people. Less people means less tips. Eat and then leave. You can talk and 'catch up' outside."

—melongmire888

15. Leaving a bad review for small mistakes:

Republic Records

"Leaving horrible online reviews for small mistakes. It's one thing to have had an awful experience or even mention things that went wrong, but a 1-star review just because your fries were cold can really hurt a small business right now."

—junkmail52195

16. Or for changes that have occurred due to COVID-19:

TV Land

"I work in a restaurant for a large company that usually has all sorts of live entertainment. One of the restaurants I worked used to be a buffet that got transformed into a table service because of COVID-19 restrictions. Even though it’s still all-you-can-eat, so many people literally yelled at us and wrote scathing reviews because of that. Also because of COVID-19, a lot of the live entertainment has been canceled to prevent people from crowding, but there are still lots of other activities. Often I’ve had people yelling at me and other staff that we're 'ruining their vacation' or their kids' memories or something to that effect, like we make the decisions."

—joietotheworld

"Sending me shitty emails because we're closed. The government shut us, [and] my food doesn’t travel well so no takeaway. You’re losing a dinner — I’m losing £30,000 a week in sales. Get the fuck over yourselves."

—chef666

17. Eating on an uncovered patio when it's raining:

Paramount Pictures

"People eating out on the uncovered patio when it’s RAINING! You’re getting soaked; I’m getting soaked; your food is getting soaked. Come ON!"

—melsabrat

18. Getting upset that there aren't tables available even though it's not busy:

Netflix

"Don’t be mad or offended when I tell you I have no tables at the moment because we’re only operating at 25% capacity!!! For fuck's sake, we’re in the midst of the worst pandemic in a century here and people should be staying their asses at home anyway. But no, you’ve just gotta get out of the house for a meal prepared by someone else!!! People legit take it personally and I hate that even after explaining (the fact that I even have to explain it pisses me off further), they still don’t really get it and our tips suffer as a result."

—maggpie87

19. Coughing or otherwise not following regulations and then saying, "But I don't have COVID-19!":

Lucasfilms

"I'm a server and I get coughed on pretty much daily. People who don't turn their head or do the vampire cough, but cough in my direction, mouths uncovered, and always, ALWAYS say, 'Oh don't worry, I don't have anything.'"

—d4f0a2c494

"Stop saying, 'It’s ok, I don’t have COVID-19,' when you ask them to do something that’s a COVID-19 regulation, like sign in a book."

—alext4e3fc38a7

20. Or joking about having COVID-19:

Fox

"When I go up to a table and someone fake-coughs and says, 'Yeah it’s the rona!'"

—dshizuko1

21. Asking a server to cut your food or make other adjustments:

ABC

"Trying to hand their food back to me so I can 'cut it in half' or whatever they need done, when hello, COVID-19 exists and I don't know who you are or where you've been. Honestly, this pandemic has made me more resentful of humans than I ever was. They're all so inconsiderate and rude. I'm just trying to pay my bills and not die, bruh."

—trisjohnson

22. Moving around the plastic barrier:

NBC

"MOVING AROUND THE PLASTIC BARRIER! THERE IS A REASON IT IS THERE, PEOPLE!"

—zoefinley

"When people lean over the sneeze guard. Like, they will lean over and point to food (that isn't theirs) and ask some random question. I've had people almost touch other people's food while wearing their mask under their nose. Like, OMG, there is literally a pandemic. Please. Stop."

—evejones1912

23. Making sexist and offensive comments about how masks affect appearance:

Netflix

"Stop telling us that we would look prettier without our masks or that we should smile more. We’re tired and people are being more picky with everything now."

—annkolosionek

24. Asking about items not on the menu or getting upset items have been removed:

Bravo

"I am TIRED of people asking me, 'Are you only serving what’s on this menu?' Like, yeah Susan, that’s how a restaurant works. And then there’s the inevitable 'Well, why aren’t you serving *insert food here*?' I don’t know girl, I just work here. Do I look like I have ANY say in what’s on the menu?"

—corrinaaaaaa

"Being mad about not having something from the original menu. We're having a hard enough time trying to order for just takeout (we're currently closed for indoor dining) without having to throw things away... Some items' prices are skyrocketing to where it's not feasible to keep them on the menu without drastically raising prices."

—tabithahornstein

25. Requesting paper menus rather than just scanning the QR code:

Fox

"Customers getting mad that menus are online and we don’t have disposable paper copies. People will literally hide their phones under the table and say they don’t have a phone and then pull it right back out. They act like it is a huge inconvenience to open up the camera and click on the link."

—katelynf4787a7cd3

26. Touching orders that aren't theirs (or letting their kids touch orders), meaning it needs to be thrown out and remade:

Pop!TV

"Parents, please don't allow your kids to touch everything. I know it's hard, especially when you have more than one, but I don't want them to get sick and in turn get you sick. Also, we have to disinfect or throw out everything they touch...[and] don't touch orders unless you know for sure that the order is yours. I have to throw the food away and make it again."

—cookiebiscotto

27. And finally, wearing their mask when they come inside but not when ordering:

ABC

"I work in a local café, and people will come in wearing masks, grab a menu, they will sit down, and take their mask off. When they come up to order, they are not wearing their mask. WHY COME IN WEARING A MASK TO THEN TAKE IT OFF WHEN INTERACTING WITH SOMEONE! MAKE IT MAKE SENSE!"

—elizabethsack

In conclusion...just be nice, guys.

CBS

Submissions have been edited for length/clarity.