This article originally appeared on MUNCHIES Netherlands.
They say honesty is the best policy, but that doesn't always apply in the service industry. Sometimes chefs smoke in the kitchen, 'fresh' lasagna actually comes from Walmart, and meatballs roll around on the floor like bowling balls before being served. At least at some restaurants. Meanwhile, it's still up to the staff to keep the guests happy. What's golden rule? Whatever happens, don't let on that you're lying through your teeth about that supposedly 'homemade' tomato soup.
They say honesty is the best policy, but that doesn't always apply in the service industry. Sometimes chefs smoke in the kitchen, 'fresh' lasagna actually comes from Walmart, and meatballs roll around on the floor like bowling balls before being served. At least at some restaurants. Meanwhile, it's still up to the staff to keep the guests happy. What's golden rule? Whatever happens, don't let on that you're lying through your teeth about that supposedly 'homemade' tomato soup.
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Working in the service industry is far from easy. You walk until you can't feel your legs, and are forced to be nice to awful customers, and the pay isn't always something to write home about. I spent about two years working in the service industry. Luckily, I never had to lie to a customer. When friends told me some of the stuff they'd lied about at work, I was shocked. Some of their stories would make Gordon Ramsay himself break down and cry. We went ahead and collected a few juicy stories.Charlotte*
I worked in a cafe in (the Dutch province) Zeeland for a while. They had three soups on the menu: bisque, tomato soup with meatballs, and French onion soup. The French onion was made with beef stock. We were instructed to tell vegetarians that both the tomato and onion soup didn't contain any meat, but the chef would simply remove the meatballs from the soup. I'm a vegetarian myself, so I refused to cooperate. I would tell vegetarians we didn't have any meat-free soup options, and recommend another dish. Thankfully, the restaurant followed my advice and added a vegetarian onion soup to the menu. Our fresh orange juice was store-bought at (wholesaler) Sligro and diluted with water. I've also seen croquettes fall on the kitchen floor, only to watch them get fried nonetheless. They told me it didn't matter. I found that cheaper restaurants are usually a bit gross, so nowadays I prefer to go to places with an open kitchen. I also always read the reviews. These days, I work in a restaurant that is a lot cleaner, and better overall. I love it because I don't have to lie about anything anymore.
I worked in a cafe in (the Dutch province) Zeeland for a while. They had three soups on the menu: bisque, tomato soup with meatballs, and French onion soup. The French onion was made with beef stock. We were instructed to tell vegetarians that both the tomato and onion soup didn't contain any meat, but the chef would simply remove the meatballs from the soup. I'm a vegetarian myself, so I refused to cooperate. I would tell vegetarians we didn't have any meat-free soup options, and recommend another dish. Thankfully, the restaurant followed my advice and added a vegetarian onion soup to the menu. Our fresh orange juice was store-bought at (wholesaler) Sligro and diluted with water. I've also seen croquettes fall on the kitchen floor, only to watch them get fried nonetheless. They told me it didn't matter. I found that cheaper restaurants are usually a bit gross, so nowadays I prefer to go to places with an open kitchen. I also always read the reviews. These days, I work in a restaurant that is a lot cleaner, and better overall. I love it because I don't have to lie about anything anymore.
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Amy
When I was 15, I worked in a restaurant at an elderly home. Most people who lived there suffered from dementia. The restaurant lied a lot about homemade dishes so they could charge higher prices. Our 'homemade' pudding costed three euros a portion, but came from a bigger, store-bought container that only cost one euro. It was served with one sad cherry on top. I always thought it was so depressing—these people didn't understand what was going on and the restaurant took advantage of that. I was still young and my co-workers were all around 40-years-old, so I didn't dare say anything. We never got any complaints from the people who lived there. Nobody knew what happened in the kitchen, so nobody knew those old people were being scammed.READ MORE: Working In Restaurants Taught Me That Lying Is OKElise
The menu at the restaurant where I worked was filled with lies. Our uitsmijter (an open faced ham and cheese sandwich) was made on a buttered dish in the microwave. Someone once asked for their eggs to have runny yolks, but unfortunately I couldn't give him that. He didn't understand, and I quickly ran off. They also lied about 'homemade' soup and meatballs. The meatballs came from the butcher shop. I really hated lying about this stuff, so I brought it up with my boss. He said, "It's working, so why would we change it?" Most people who came for lunch were tourists, so they would never come back anyway. I still didn't feel great about it, but I couldn't avoid telling people how the omelettes are made in the microwave. The staff knew about everything and still sometimes ate the food, which I didn't understand at all. I know there's a lot of lying in the service industry, especially in cheaper restaurants, but I still hate that I went along with that culture in some way.Séverine
My first service industry job was in a cafe-restaurant located on a large square in the city center. We served both families and tourists, and hygiene wasn't really a top priority. I found that out when I dropped a plate of shrimp croquettes on the floor during a particularly busy shift. They told me to put the food back on the plate. But the 'homemade' lasagna was the worst. The manager swore it was homemade, but in the kitchen I saw a huge pile of boxed lasagna from (discount supermarket) Lidl. When I asked the chef about it, he said that nobody knows the difference. "In theory, we're not lying. We put half a package of that stuff in an oven dish, put cream, herbs, and extra cheese on it, and bake it in the oven. So it is homemade!" From that moment on, I didn't tell anyone about our 'magnificent' lasagna. When people asked about it, I would blush and start to stutter. But I still lied, to keep my boss happy.Lisa (19)
I worked in a wok restaurant and they paid me under the table. Many products we sold came directly from (Dutch supermarket) Albert Heijn. Our guests probably thought the food they ordered was freshly made, but it mostly came out of big tubs we bought at the store. Cleanliness was also not particularly encouraged. On a slow day, my boss once picked up a French fry that had fallen on the floor and put it back with the rest of the fries. I felt incredibly embarrassed. In the kitchen, the baguettes were baked in big pots of oil. Not only to make them more tasty, but also so the bread would last longer. It tasted pretty good, but when you squeezed the bread, the oil seeped out of it. These days, I pay closer attention when I go out to dinner. I check my food for hairs, am aware of the way the server is acting, and taste the food carefully. I recently ate at a restaurant and what they served me tasted a whole lot like the store bought version from Albert Heijn.*Some names have been changed at the request of the people who were interviewed.
When I was 15, I worked in a restaurant at an elderly home. Most people who lived there suffered from dementia. The restaurant lied a lot about homemade dishes so they could charge higher prices. Our 'homemade' pudding costed three euros a portion, but came from a bigger, store-bought container that only cost one euro. It was served with one sad cherry on top. I always thought it was so depressing—these people didn't understand what was going on and the restaurant took advantage of that. I was still young and my co-workers were all around 40-years-old, so I didn't dare say anything. We never got any complaints from the people who lived there. Nobody knew what happened in the kitchen, so nobody knew those old people were being scammed.READ MORE: Working In Restaurants Taught Me That Lying Is OKElise
The menu at the restaurant where I worked was filled with lies. Our uitsmijter (an open faced ham and cheese sandwich) was made on a buttered dish in the microwave. Someone once asked for their eggs to have runny yolks, but unfortunately I couldn't give him that. He didn't understand, and I quickly ran off. They also lied about 'homemade' soup and meatballs. The meatballs came from the butcher shop. I really hated lying about this stuff, so I brought it up with my boss. He said, "It's working, so why would we change it?" Most people who came for lunch were tourists, so they would never come back anyway. I still didn't feel great about it, but I couldn't avoid telling people how the omelettes are made in the microwave. The staff knew about everything and still sometimes ate the food, which I didn't understand at all. I know there's a lot of lying in the service industry, especially in cheaper restaurants, but I still hate that I went along with that culture in some way.Séverine
My first service industry job was in a cafe-restaurant located on a large square in the city center. We served both families and tourists, and hygiene wasn't really a top priority. I found that out when I dropped a plate of shrimp croquettes on the floor during a particularly busy shift. They told me to put the food back on the plate. But the 'homemade' lasagna was the worst. The manager swore it was homemade, but in the kitchen I saw a huge pile of boxed lasagna from (discount supermarket) Lidl. When I asked the chef about it, he said that nobody knows the difference. "In theory, we're not lying. We put half a package of that stuff in an oven dish, put cream, herbs, and extra cheese on it, and bake it in the oven. So it is homemade!" From that moment on, I didn't tell anyone about our 'magnificent' lasagna. When people asked about it, I would blush and start to stutter. But I still lied, to keep my boss happy.Lisa (19)
I worked in a wok restaurant and they paid me under the table. Many products we sold came directly from (Dutch supermarket) Albert Heijn. Our guests probably thought the food they ordered was freshly made, but it mostly came out of big tubs we bought at the store. Cleanliness was also not particularly encouraged. On a slow day, my boss once picked up a French fry that had fallen on the floor and put it back with the rest of the fries. I felt incredibly embarrassed. In the kitchen, the baguettes were baked in big pots of oil. Not only to make them more tasty, but also so the bread would last longer. It tasted pretty good, but when you squeezed the bread, the oil seeped out of it. These days, I pay closer attention when I go out to dinner. I check my food for hairs, am aware of the way the server is acting, and taste the food carefully. I recently ate at a restaurant and what they served me tasted a whole lot like the store bought version from Albert Heijn.*Some names have been changed at the request of the people who were interviewed.