Buffet Customer Habits That Annoy Employees More Than Anything Else

When you've got a supersized appetite or want to get your money's worth from a restaurant, you may choose to visit a buffet. After all, the rows upon rows of freshly prepared dishes, pristine displays of desserts, and flat fee you're guaranteed to pay are all tempting. Now, if you're really a buffet fan, you might consider checking out the best all-you-can-eat buffets in every state. But before you strap on the old feed bag and chow down, you may want to know what not to do the next time you visit an all-you-can-eat spot.

I've worked in multiple restaurants over the years, including five years serving at an all-you-can-eat buffet establishment. During that time, I collected more than a handful of instances of annoying customer behavior, and can say with a certain degree of authority that these 10 customer habits are hated by buffet employees more than anything else.

While there are certain customer habits every restaurant server hates (and some of those definitely made this list), there are some more unique behaviors that are the special territory of buffet restaurant employees only. So before you load up your plate, check out what not to do on your next visit to a buffet.

One of the perks of choosing a buffet over the standard à la carte restaurant is that you can eat as much as you'd like for the same price (assuming the buffet you've chosen doesn't weigh your plate). The all-you-can-eat moniker attached to many buffet restaurants is a real thing. However, far too often, customers think that there's an addendum to that line: All you can eat in one go.

If you're unsure about an intriguing item on a buffet table, perhaps the wiser choice is to take only a small portion of it rather than loading up your plate. That way, if you end up hating it, you're not wasting an entire plate of food. Food waste is a real problem for restaurants and families alike – and it ends up costing you. Diners who take all-you-can-eat as a challenge rather than an invitation are likely to end up wasting a lot more than if they'd taken their time and gone up for repeat visits. After all, if you leave an entire plate of uneaten shrimp on your table because your eyes were bigger than your stomach, it's not like that seafood can be returned to the buffet. It's perfectly edible, but into the trash it will inevitably go.

When you're dining at a buffet restaurant, there's bound to be lots of dishes, like soup bowls, assorted plates, cups, and cutlery. Part of a server's job at a buffet restaurant is to regularly attend to your table, clearing any dishes as you finish with them. That being said, some customers still go out of their way to make this simple part of the gig a lot harder when they leave a mess at the table.

You may think you're helping by wadding up your napkin and sticking it in the glass. Unfortunately, I now have to fish a soggy napkin out before I can dump your drink and bring it to the dish pit. And while stacking plates is nice if all the leftovers are on top, if I have to pull apart sticky dishes to scrape what's been smushed underneath? It takes a lot longer. Spilled condiments, excessive garbage, and even baby diapers (yes, really) have all made their way to a table I've been in charge of looking after.

Quite frankly, no matter what restaurant you visit, it's disrespectful to the employees and the business itself to leave a huge mess after you've finished dining. Servers may get paid to clean up after guests leave, but that's not an invitation for customers to behave as though they have no manners at all.

Speaking of money, not tipping is a real issue at buffet restaurants. While how much you should tip at a buffet restaurant may vary based on how the restaurant operates, it's still something that should definitely be happening (especially in this economy).

An entirely self-serve buffet restaurant — where there is zero interaction with staff until it comes time to pay and you even serve yourself your own drinks — may warrant a lower tip percentage. Other buffet restaurants, such as all-you-can-eat sushi joints, require a lot more interaction with servers, who will be bringing your dishes, refilling your drinks, and clearing your plates with more regularity than an à la carte restaurant server. These servers may even have larger sections to cover and thus are working on handling more guests than the average server — all of which should result in a little more cash being thrown their way.

Tipping is a complex issue (hello, "guilt-tipping") that a lot of Americans are understandably annoyed by, especially as budgets get tighter in households. But that's not a grievance you should take out on your server.

When some people visit buffet restaurants, the concept of food safety goes entirely out the window. There are lots of red flags to look for when visiting a buffet, although sometimes it's not the fault of the restaurant but the customers in one specific aspect: utensils.

An appropriately –– and safely –– designed buffet will have serving utensils for each dish. This helps prevent cross-contamination since each item has its own designated serving spoon, tongs, or ladle. However, in my experience, some customers take the serving utensils as a suggestion or decoration, and instead reach in with their bare hands to grab something. Not only is this absolutely disgusting, but it's incredibly unsafe.

If a customer contaminates a serving tray or dish by placing their grubby mitts in there, that entire dish then needs to be thrown out. It doesn't matter how much a customer might protest that their hands are perfectly clean –– it still needs to be tossed. This make things a pain for the restaurant staff who have to make more of whatever item is being trashed, but also an  annoyance for other customers who now have to wait to get the item they wanted.

On the subject of serving utensils, some customers don't get that those utensils are for all the restaurant guests, and not just themselves. Plucking a serving spoon from a dish, serving yourself, licking it, then putting it back goes far beyond simple annoyance –– it's downright revolting. And I've absolutely seen that happen with customers in restaurants where I've worked (not by the staff, fortunately).

Licking spoons, slurping soup straight from the ladle, and sticking a tongue under the chocolate fountain are all crimes I've witnessed on more than one occasion. These types of habits are gross, rude, and cost the restaurant time and money. After all, the kitchen has to replace the entire dish, and all serving utensils, when that happens (don't even get me started on the tear-down time a chocolate fountain requires). This makes everyone working in, and visiting, a restaurant irate. Behaving poorly can be excused in part when it's children who don't yet know any better. But when grown adults act like a restaurant is their own poorly maintained kitchen, it's a huge pet peeve for employees.

Generally speaking, a restaurant will allot 90 minutes for a standard table to sit and enjoy their food. Esteemed buffets, like Bacchanal Buffet in Las Vegas, also stick to this rule. This helps give restaurants a good idea of how to schedule reservations, turn tables, and ensure staff are making enough money on their shift. A wrench gets thrown into those plans when a group decides to overstay their welcome.

If you've eaten your fill, paid your bill, and are now just sitting at your table gabbing with one another while digesting your meal? You're not going to endear yourself to the serving staff. There's also the consideration of tables being turned to make space for future reservations, which is crucial at buffet restaurants.

For instance, larger parties like buffets because it's pretty much guaranteed that everyone will find something they enjoy. If you're camping out at a table, that large reservation will have to be moved elsewhere –– which is bad news for a buffet server. Take a hint when your table is cleared but you're still seated: please leave.

Buffet restaurants can be fun, but they're not play places and it's not appropriate, or safe, to allow your kids to run wild. Just like any other restaurant, buffets are chock-full of servers milling about, refilling drinks, clearing plates, and wiping down tables. Unlike other restaurants, however, servers are also often laden with heavy trays stacked higher with dirty dishes –– something that becomes a major hazard when kids are running around and getting underfoot.

Now, I get it; I have an (extremely energetic) three-year-old, and know parenting your kid in a restaurant can be tough. However, the restaurant staff are not babysitters, and it's frankly dangerous to let children roam around unattended when employees are bustling around with trays stacked high with dirty dishes or precarious cocktails. Letting your kids caper about is extremely annoying for all restaurant staff and customers, too.

Thankfully, buffet restaurants might actually be an easier way to engage with kiddos than à la carte restaurants for the simple fact that you get up multiple times (and get some of their energy out). Try taking your kid on a tour of the dishes, or make a game of it. Just don't think you can turn off being a parent because you wanted a night out by letting them run around unsupervised.

In all fairness to thirsty customers, this is more of a gripe with the concept of unlimited refills versus customer habits, but it earns a spot on this list for the customers who abuse the practice. While outliers like Olive Garden have unlimited refills in the form of the never-ending pasta bowl, this complaint is more about refills in terms of liquid refreshment or sides like soups and breadsticks.

Buffets are essentially the supersized version of free refills: You get unlimited everything. If you work in the kitchen of a buffet restaurant, that means dealing with the unlimited refills of a certain dish. Having to constantly prep crab legs or ribs because customers took the concept of all-you-can-eat as a test of their endurance can be more than tiring –– it's downright exhausting.

Of course, if you're a member of the serving staff at a buffet restaurant, your version of unlimited refills comes in terms of tableside items, like sides and drinks. Returning to tables at a breakneck pace every few minutes to drop off yet another Diet Coke when you're already in the weeds is beyond annoying. And complaining that your refill didn't arrive in a timely enough fashion, or that the kitchen took a little bit longer to refill that tray of mac and cheese? That's just infuriating.

While it's frustrating for buffet employees to deal with children scampering about, it's also incredibly annoying –– perhaps more so –– when it's adults getting in the way. Buffets are designed to be about the flow, ushering guests through the layout of dishes in a relatively streamlined fashion. When things get clogged because a group decides that standing in the center to have a little chat was a good idea, it can be infuriating to buffet employees.

Customers who block buffet walkways are like Costco customers who clog up the sample stations and make it impossible to maneuver a gigantic cart. Frankly, trying to keep a polite smile while you're straining under a tray laden with dozens of dirty plates and attempting to slip past is no small feat. So please: Keep your convos to your table. You can reminisce and compare notes when the server behind you isn't about to collapse from the weight of a bunch of dishes.

This customer habit gripe doesn't just apply to buffet restaurant employees, but to restaurant employees as a whole. When I worked at a buffet, we often had large parties to deal with, and a reservation was always met with a groan when we learned that they would be doing separate checks (though larger parties were always asked when making the reservation if it would be one bill of separate checks in order to streamline service).

Why the bad vibes when it came to separate bills? Because it never works out as smoothly as it's supposed to. While there's a flat fee for buffet meals, the drinks are all over the place. Trying to divvy up cocktails — especially if customers wanted to split those up, too — was more mental math than I ever wanted to deal with during a busy shift.

When large reservations opted for one bill, there's also the guarantee of a tip as an automatic gratuity. When it came to separate checks, on the other hand, it was anyone's guess how much (and if) a customer would tip. If you're working a large party with separate checks, and only get tipped on about half the bill, it's not a great way to end a night.