I've been at all stages of the game in the past: Bus boy, waiter, prep cook, and line cook. Obviously I've had to deal with a lot of complete jerks in the past.

Be nice to your waiter. If your order's screwed up, chances are it's the kitchen's fault nine times out of ten, if it wasn't the fault of picky customers to begin with. If they're a bit out of it or non-responsive, it's because they're trapped in high-stress environment, and have been putting on the same social face for hours. I'd have none of snotty customers. If they're rude to me, I'm rude to them. If they're treating me like meat, or have a pile of money disappearing on the table, chances are we don't want repeat business, and once we have their order, they're paying. We just want them out.

I've done some mean things to customers in the past after they've treated me badly. Nothing illegal, mind you, but I would go out of my way to be a nuissance. Free refills and customaries would disappear. In one case, a customer who'd ordered a special order meal was complaining that it wasn't ready in five minutes. They had the pleasure of seeing me take a break, eating their meal one table over, while another was prepared in twice the time. In more than one case I had the pleasure of calling the police on particularly rude ones.

Even if your waiter isn't a jerk like myself, you'll see your service suffering as a result of rudeness. The kitchen staff will find out, and kitchens are a great enabling environment for pranks. You'll also find your waiter simply checking up a lot less. People tend to run out of drinks before they run out of food, and the money's made on the food, so ignoring customers halfway through their meal means a lot of thirsty people and little loss of income. Of course, the exception is alcohol, but those drinking anything expensive are the ones that'll still have their drinks later in their visit, so little harm done to them.

I always try my best to be polite to waiters and waitresses. If my order's messed up, I politely let them know, and I've never had a problem resolving such issues, very often with free appetizers. I always tip 20% or over; Leaving a good impression has earned me a lot better service at some very upstanding restaurants.

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