A blistering defense of all restaurant owners (Opinion)

A text exchange between a Union, NJ, restaurant and a Montclair resident got heated and went viral. In short, on a very rainy day with flooded roads at rush hour, a customer ordered dinner from a place called Get Stuffed Jersey.

The customer inquired if his order had been delivered by Uber Eats after only 45 minutes. Someone identifying themselves as the restaurant owner got snotty with the customer, calling him a douchebag.

If you don't own a restaurant or don't know anyone who does, at first blush you might think this restaurant owner is way out of line. After all, the customer is always right. Well, a good number of those customers are big giant douchebags.

They treat restaurants like machinery and restaurant workers in a most dehumanizing manner. Not all customers do this, but enough to make you want to take a swing at someone or dump whatever food they ordered over their head and kick them in the groin.

If you've ever worked with the public in New Jersey, especially in the foodservice business, you have witnessed the most inconsiderate, rude, demanding, stupid people on a regular basis.

You might say, "Then you shouldn't be in the service business." It's like telling someone they shouldn't be human to not be affected by the most ridiculous, childish, entitled behavior. All the while knowing if you do react like any human would deserve to in this situation, that idiot will go on Yelp and give you a horrible review while under the anonymity of some stupid screen name.

I'm not saying this restaurant owner was right or that the customer was in fact a douchebag. It just needs to be said that people who put their life savings, safety, reputation on the line every day, and most put their heart and soul into serving the public daily and deserve to be treated like you would treat any member of your family.

They're people, not faceless computer screens. When you go out to eat or order something for delivery, try to be a decent human being. And if you can't, then learn how to cook, you douchebag!

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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