OMG... she snapped her fingers at you! The lady needs a thump on the forehead. Hang in there and have a lemon drop. :-)

Ye gods! At first I was trying to be understanding, as I also have a friend who is a source of embarrassment in public settings because she simply has no conventional manners (and considering her hellish background, it's amazing that she isn't psychotic, so I cut her a lot of slack). But the finger snapping is beyond the pale.

Send that woman to France. We'll teacher how to behave! Snap your fingers at someone serving you... revolutions were started for less.

Imagine being that rude to people who are in control of the food you are being served. Imagine that you can't see what is happening to your food out of view.
Imagine what you are eating that you didn't order.

Wow! How can people be so rude without wanting to sink into the floor?!

Hurray for the husband! ...who at least removed her from the room so you could get a breather from HORRIFIC MANNERS and to (hopefully) talk some sense into her.

My God... what DID happen to manners? Perhaps it needs to be a MANDATORY course in schools.

She's probably the same woman in the grocery store last week who rammed her cart into me and sent me flying as she walked past me.....and kept right on going ....no apology...nothing....and acted like I wasn't even there.

I think people like that think they are some kind of upper class citizen....but in the end they are only acting like they were raised in a barn. Ooops...I'm sorry, a pig from the barn would probably have better manners and taste.

Good Grief.

I don't know how you put up with this crap without snapping. My clients (different business) are at least somewhat more well-behaved. (I realize that Rude Rochelle was not your Client in this case but still.)

Just imagine if she acts like that all the time and treats other hospitality staff like that - how much "tampering" her food and water have undergone.

Karma baby, karma.

I've just got this picture of you in my mind slowly turning your head with one raised eyebrow toward that miserable bag, because I know I'd do that (and a whole lot more).
I'm sure prisons are full of people who worked with the public and finally had enough.

Geeeeezeee
You know it never ceases to amaze me how rude people can be to each other. Especial to people who are serving them.
This is shocking and stupid because...
A. They are bringing you food and drinks, they are like the best people ever.
B. They are bringing…thus handling your food and drinks and can ALWAYS get even in ways you don't even want to consider.
I thank the guy that fills my water glass, the bus person that clears my plates, the hostess, the wait person. If I didn't already know it was bad form I would probably head for the kitchen to thank the cooks, prep-cooks, dishwashers, etc.
I say thank you about 20+ times every time I go out.
I just don't understand being rude!

2centsworth

Sounds like they need a "Nanny 911" for adults, too. I bet she throws temper tantrums in the corner...

Can you imagine how much worse she would be with some liquor in her? Man, that is one nasty dry drunk.

without a doubt I would've splilled that second glass of water on her. ...and then kicked her in the shins.

Unbelievable! Do people really behave like that? I may have had to kick her in the shin. Kudos to you for keeping your cool!

It is true, true, true that it takes a village to raise a child. Or an adult who is behaving like one. Very challanging to school a guest of the client, but if everyone else in the room simply allows that kind of behavior to go unacknowledged, well, then it's society's fault. I don't know how many teenaged boys I've repremanded for being out of line in inappropriate situations. They are usually shocked back into line, because who in America speaks out anymore? They are not expecting anyone to care.

Looking the other way is not necessarily the most appropriate way to handle poor behavior. It does require extreme skill in social situations, but it must be done, or else we condone it by virtue of non-action. Just like, er, war, for example?

They really need to send people like that to a third world country to serve and to see how good they have it here in the US.

The only way I see that behavior as remotely excusable is if she were a recovering alcoholic on step 1.

As a native of a third-world country I can assure you that by and large we have much better (more traditional) social graces than is demonstrated in English speaking countries such as the UK, Australia or the US. Just need to stick up for my kind.

I do find it amazing that people can be so rude. It seems that the moment some people step into the role of 'customer' they seem to think they are better than the person serving them (in whatever capacity) and then proceed to abuse the power they think they have by being rude. I see it as little people trying to look big. It is wrong and they should (where appropriate) be cut down to size as quickly as possible.

My boss once tried the finger snapping thing with me - I took the time to show him the error of his ways and in 3 years he has never dared to do it again.

wow that woman is incredibly rude! i only cater once in a while but so far nothing bad has happened, except for maybe general snobbiness and a drunk guy trying to get too friendly with em. i hope she got kicked in the shins too!

Unfortunately, dealing with people like that is part of working in the service industry. You just have to grin and bear it, and remember that you're getting paid to do something you love.

well, 2centsworth, I think people like this woman are so arrogant that they don't think about the things it is possible to do in the kitchen...but we've all seen it, no?and we can all tell some gaudy stories, too.. thanks again, fw... I always get a good laugh from your blog.

Oh man, I had to chime in on this one. Bad guests should be shot on site. It should be the rule. I told a story on my blog a while back about scalloped potatoes but I had personal guest who was just like that. I've never in my life, with the exception of that one woman who was supposed to have been a friend, had anyone announce so loudly "I don't like that. I don't care what everyone else eats. From now on, you cook to please ME." Excuse me? I mean, kiss my--

Grr, fingersnapping makes me superstabby. Never did a deli customer ping me off more then when they snapped their fingers at me, with the exeption of people who tell me I'm stupid or lying.