Hospitality workers reveal customers' most annoying habits - including the four-word phrase they can't stand

Hospitality workers have lifted the lid on the most frustrating habits they face on the job – and there's one four-word sentence that instantly grinds their gears.

As winter arrives and bars get busier, 9honey decided to chat to hospo staff who work in a number of Sydney's busiest pubs to find out customers' most annoying behaviours.

"I'm not that drunk!" is the frustrating saying that came out on top, a phrase used on multiple occasions when a customer can't face being refused entry.

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"Sometimes people will queue up clearly intoxicated, ask to speak to a manager and won't take no for an answer," a bar manager, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells 9honey.

"They proceed to try and prove how sober they are, but everyone knows that's not the case. They say their mates are inside, offer bribes – the lot.

"We're trying to keep them from getting worse, and it makes the job a whole lot harder. I even got a death threat once purely because I wouldn't let someone in."

The same bar manager says he often walks by customers in the queue, and he always hears them whisper to their mates – not realising he works there.

"Quick, act sober so we get in!" he hears on the regular. Spoiler alert: They don't.

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Other gripes include customers insisting they pay with foreign currency, seating themselves at tables when there's a sign saying to wait for service, and trying to order random items that aren't on the menu because they haven't read it.

"When someone asks for a glass of wine, and you reply 'Which one?' They say they don't mind, then hate whatever you pour," one bartender added.

Another said while they're thankful customers try and be helpful for taking drinks off the tray, often it just makes it unbalanced and they could drop the entire thing in the floor.

"Leaving bad reviews for things that are their own fault, for example hating a certain ingredient that they didn't mention to anyone," is another gripe.

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"The worst is when they queue for ages at a clearly packed bar, and then get to the front and have no idea what they want to order. Then complain with how long they've been waiting to get served. You can't win!" said another hospo worker.

Vaping is another fiasco.

"We're not stupid," one worker laughed. "We can see the smoke coming from under the table from your jumper sleeve. You're not fooling anyone."

Ordering drinks while on the phone is another point of frustration, as is the obvious – clicking or hand clapping to get attention.

One worker even said a customer picked once picked a lemon out of a drink and threw it at them in order to get a drink. It didn't work.

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While working in hospitality can be difficult, the same staff members say it's still the best job they've ever worked.

"You meet so many interesting characters with their own interesting stories," they explained.

"The good far outweighs the bad. Every job has it's low points – it's just ours often involves customers having one too many tequilas."

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