Hard to stomach

Having had (mercifully) brief stints working in the service industry, I can honestly say that the job would be much more pleasant if it wasn't for the customers to whom you have to cater. Dining in restaurants in particular seems to make people feel they have licence to be obnoxious and unreasonably demanding - as is underlined by these tales from an assortment of chefs and restaurateurs, compiled by the Guardian's John Hind.

And when diners aren't being rude or ridiculously fussy (shout-out to the Gauthier customer who insists on eating everything with chopsticks and having his wine poured by the mouthful), they're behaving badly in other ways (shagging in the laundry room) or simply being incredibly eccentric (dining with a mole puppet).

It's not all bad, though, with Shauna Guinn of our very own (well, Barry's very own) Hang Fire recalling the time she instinctively hugged a customer who turned out to be in recovery from an abusive relationship - an experience that was both "sad and uplifting".