All You Can Eat Workers Share Their Horror Stories

Buffet Stories

Everyone thinks that buffets are an affordable way to eat out with family. When you’re able to eat as much as you want, you’re guaranteed not to go hungry. But behind the scene, there are many problems with buffets.

Some Redditors have decided to share their terrible buffet stories, and after reading these, you might think twice about taking the family out to a buffet.

Demanding A Refill

Someone held up the whole buffet line at our hotel because she wouldn’t let go of the spoon for the fries until someone had refilled the bowl. May I remind you, this was an all-you-can-eat situation.

You can go back to the buffet a million times if you please. Yet she loaded two plates so full she spilled things all over the floor. She also started a fight over a slice of lemon with a family member. (All on the same night)

Story credit – Imyoursecretary

“Burning In My Belly”

There was this huge obese man that would come in where I work. We had fresh-cut fries, and he would stand there, taking up 2/3 of the buffet, and wait until the pan was refilled. The worst part was – he was so huge that he needed help standing.

He leaned on a wooden panel that runs along with the buffet (where you slide your plates). He bent it. Then, after three plates of fries, he would come to the checkout and proclaim, “Mmm…those fries are burning in my belly.”

Story credit – Reddit/cxwash

Asking A Stranger

I met the devil in the form of a six-year-old at Golden Corral. I was at the buffet about two months ago, standing at the dessert bar, when this incredibly obese little kid came up to me and tugged on my purse, and asked me to help him get a bowl of ice cream.

I’m a little weirded out; where the hell is this kid’s parents, and why is he asking a stranger for help? But I get it for him, regardless. He smiled at me, and then I swear to god, his eyes flashed red. He takes the bowl and THROWS IT. AT. MY FACE.

Story Credit – Reddit/Stellaluna

Vomit Everywhere

As a former Sizzler employee, I would say kids are horrible, haha. Every time a kid would stick their grubby hands in the food, we would have to throw the whole lot out. The amount of wastage was ridiculous, especially on the dessert bar when they were just grabbing lollies out with their hands.

The grossest thing that happened would probably be an old man that threw up over the salad bar. He tried to turn his head at the last moment to avoid the Food but still managed to get it everywhere. He actually threw up so hard that his false teeth fell out and smashed on the ground. So we had vomit and broken dentures to clean up.

Story credit – Reddit/[deleted]

Gross Situation

We have a buffet in my area called “kings buffet” and every Friday, they have their famous “King Crab” legs. I have only been once on a Friday and never again. People were taking the entire tub of crab legs and putting them on their plates.

Watching overweight people walking back and forth with a plate of crab legs piled a foot high on their plates and eating them until they feel sick is gross to look at. I stopped going to those buffets after that.

Story credit – Reddit/canadevil

Catheter Bag

I was in Florida and driving around for a place to eat with my friends. We settled upon Golden Corral (Note: we are Canadian and were never warned). This is what we saw – A very obese man with a catheter bag sticking out of his shorts, A woman walking around the buffet stuffing her purse with food

A kid knocked over a glass, and it shattered on the floor. While a waitress came over to clean it up, the kid just stuck out his hand and repeatedly yelled “COKE” at the poor girl. The parents said nothing. Also, I was never given a fork, knife, or napkin, so I asked a waiter for “cutlery and a serviette” (sorry, Canadian). The waiter asked me what I was talking about. I realized my mistake and asked it the American way. I realize that it’s my fault, but he was still pretty goddamn rude about it.

Story credit – Reddit/reddous

Chicken Wings

I used to work at a bar/restaurant in the Twin Cities that had a free “happy hour” buffet for customers: cheese, crackers, pickled herring, and chicken wings. However, the cheese was in a giant block, so the drunks had to see their cheese portions off, which was facilitated by gripping the block with one hand and sawing with the other (think drunk handwashing hygiene).

People would walk off the street and stuff chicken wings in their pockets; I personally witnessed one large homeless lady stuffing chicken wings down the front of her teal blue sweatpants.

Story credit – Reddit/[deleted]

He Was Sleeping

While on vacation in Las Vegas, I saw a guy asleep at his table. It looked like he had been finger painting with his food. It was all over his plate and the table. He’d had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy, I’d guess. The chicken was tossed to the side, and he was leaning back in the chair, head back, mouth open, arms sticking straight out to either side.

Pretty sure he was drunk. It was late afternoon. Management came and asked him to leave, but he insisted he was still eating, only to fall back asleep again. He eventually left. Then another guy came in, sat in the same spot, and also proceeded to fall asleep. While funny, I would not recommend the buffet at the Tropicano.

Story credit – Reddit/[deleted]

The Manager Got Involved

My former husband and I went to a restaurant that had a buffet. I wasn’t all that hungry, so I ordered something from the menu. There was something that my husband kept raving about that he had gotten from the buffet before and kept insisting that I try.

I kept saying no. Finally, I gave in, and he gave me a taste of it. The manager immediately came to our table, and I got charged for the buffet in addition to what I had ordered. We complained to no avail, even though I had only one bite.

Story credit – Reddit/Plasticblitzen

With His Bare Hands

I was at an all-inclusive hotel in Egypt. While eating one lunchtime, a guest came into the restaurant, walked up to where the chicken was and flipped every piece overusing their bare hands, and walked out again.

That experience changed how I view buffets. I won’t eat anywhere unless the Food is being watched by staff or it’s freshly put out. It’s an experience I will never forget.

Story credit – Reddit/phipsbilling

Gristle

The Surf Buffet on the Las Vegas strip. I think it was The Boardwalk. I was working the graveyard shift at the time, and it was the closest place that I could find that had Food available.

I went there on a day off. Powdered eggs, cold pancakes, canned fruit, hash browns, and a coupon good for either a steak with plenty of gristle or an omelet. I don’t even have to mention that I never went back.

Story credit – Reddit/LBDshow

Too Much Bacon?

Nothing too dramatic, we went to a Breakfast buffet, and they refused to keep serving Bacon as my family wanted too much, and it was costing them too much money. We said that we’d paid for a buffet.

It wasn’t our fault if they couldn’t afford it, and I politely told the manager that. Well, things got pretty heated after that, and we ended up leaving without paying because we weren’t getting what we paid for.

Story credit – Reddit/dDangerous-jaguar654

More Food Than They Can Eat

As someone who works in a place that does a buffet every Sunday (and I’m always the one manning/re-stocking it every week), I can honestly say the worst buffet experience anyone can have is being the poor sap having to look after it.

You watch hundreds of people march up to the table, take away more than they’ll actually eat, and then have to explain to later customers getting frustrated at you why there isn’t so and so left because half of it is still sitting there on abandoned tables without so much as a bite taken out of it.

Story credit – Reddit/priteeboy

Slice Of Plastic

Not Me, but my partner found a big chunk of plastic inside a slice of cheesecake once. The manager apologized and gave us free drinks. He didn’t seem that worried about it, even though it could have seriously injured him.

I was upset for a while afterward but never mentioned it to my partner. But when we think about this today. I wish we had made a bigger fuss about it. But we’re not really like that.

Story credit – Reddit/Gengardelrey