I work in a restaurant/bar on Broadway, where you and your friend ate today. You were complaining of near-starvation. You ordered a sizable meal for three, and demanded that it be out as soon as possible. I was courteous, and politely complied. Your entrées arrived, and you wolfed down the food. Then you complained that the entrées tasted like shit, using foul language in the restaurant repeatedly. I tried to explain politely that it was not our policy to credit a food item because of personal taste. You angrily used more offensive language, and when I explained that another table was eating the same thing quite happily, you accused them of having bad taste. It was not in my authority to give you a discount, and you demanded to talk to management. While I went back to inform my boss, you threatened to dine and dash in front of the cop in the next booth. I remained polite and you kept cussing, dropping names, and saying that you could “ruin” me. When you got up, your friend dropped his baggie of drugs; I was even discreet enough not to call it to the cop’s attention (who was now irritated by your behavior). Your “love note” on your credit card slip–“FUCK OFF, I work for The Stranger, and you guys are destroyed!”–still sticks in my mind. Fortunately, I am acquainted with many of The Stranger staff, and I know they are more pleasant and professional than you. You project a very bad image for yourself and your company.
—Anonymous