Top 10 most annoying things restaurant customers do, world's worst waitress Larissa Dubecki reveals

From rude customers clicking their fingers to obnoxious coffee orders, waiters are dished up their fair share of painful moments.

In her new book Prick with a Fork, Melbourne food critic and former waitress Larissa Dubecki reveals her own hilarious and horrific experiences.

Here she shares her top 10 most annoying customers.

1. The badly behaved

Instead of doing the polite wave, they just click their fingers or they say "come here girl".

There seems to be this psychological thing that once you are at a restaurant for a few hours, you have the right to this slave for the night and that slave doesn't deserve basic human civility.

2. The finger clickers

There's a world of difference between doing the little hand flutter, which is almost apologetic, and clicking your fingers at a waiter.

3. The phone obsessed

People these days take their mobile phones to restaurants and treat them like they are a child.

They have the phone in the middle of the table, in a prime position where waiters are trying to juggle things to put down plates around the phone.

Doing anything on your phone while interacting with another human is pretty rude.

4. The bill splitters who can't make a decision

The worst is when people try and involve their waiters in a light-hearted argument about who is paying for the bill.

Everyone is trying to be kind and offering to pay and everyone ends up shoving their credit card or a wad of cash in the waiter's face.

Leave the waiter out of this, figure it out and then come back to me.

Don't force the money into the waiter's apron like they're some sort of food-carrying stripper.

5. The restaurant shoppers

If going to be late for your booking, a phone call would be good. It is just the polite thing to do, especially if you have a busy restaurant and you have people eyeing off an empty table and a waiter has to tell them to wait.

Too many people restaurant shop, where they book three restaurants for the Friday night and decide on the day which one they want to go to and don't bother cancelling the others.

6. The parents who don't clean up after their kids

If you take your child to a fine-dining restaurant you are going to ruin not only other people's nights but your own because you will be so uncomfortable because your children are being loud.

Children are like puppies, they need to be socialised. That means they have to learn how to behave in restaurants or they will wind up piddling on the dining room floor when they're 18 years old.

If you can afford to go fine dining... you can probably afford a babysitter. Lower down the food chain, restaurants and cafes should be child-friendly.

But when a family leaves who had kids, it's like the aftermath of feeding time at the zoo.

I did not enjoy when parents left wet, wadded up tissues in cups and empty yoghurt packets and banana peels on the table. Children are innately disgusting.

It's not the parents' job to make it even worse by scattering their disease-riddled rubbish everywhere. Take the national park approach — carry out what you carry in. Everyone will be a lot happier.

7. The doggie bag brigade

There's nothing wrong with the doggie bag, but try to make it count. Don't be a pain in the bum and ask us to bag up one prawn, even if it's just a naked ploy for an aluminium foil swan.

8. The suspect complainers

Personally I found it terrifying having to deal with the chef after a complaint. We are the adversary for the customer between the restaurant and the kitchen.

Chefs are under a huge amount of pressure with service being three hours of intense labour. They can explode when they get a weird dietary request. Restaurant owners say it's ok but underneath it all it really is a hassle.

The worst are the suspect complainers - those who claim to have dietary requirements but they really are covering up a weight loss diet.

We know it is a lie when a customer claims to be diary intolerant ... and then orders the cheesecake at the end.

Tardy food is also generally not the waiter's fault. Being angry with a waiter about food that is slow to arrive is like blaming the airport newsagent for a flight delay. Nor is it the fault of the waiter that everyone likes to eat at 7pm at the same time.

9. The coffee connoisseurs

The worst one is when people order their coffee hot but not too hot. I can't read their mind.

It's a bit like people who order their food spicy but not too spicy, it seems pointless. Like skinny latte and tiramisu, who are you kidding?

10. The tipping thief

A common scam is one person at the table offers to pay on credit card and everyone gives that person cash including the tip they have all agreed upon.

The person paying then pockets the tip and pays the required amount on their card. It's sneaky and happens so often.

People who also throw a bit of silver coin on the table as a tip are just insulting us.

Source: ABC News, Megan Mackander, 2^nd September 2015
Originally published as: Top 10 most annoying things restaurant customers do, world's worst waitress Larissa Dubecki reveals