The Good, The Bad and the Ugly-Waiters and Waitresses Serving Celebs Pt I

People tend to forget that celebrities are actually just normal human beings in a high profile career. But, the other side of that coin is that these celebs themselves forget about how to treat people sometimes. Some are genuinely down to earth and don't forget where they once were before fame struck. Others seem bothered by normal people asking for their autograph. And it's been often said don't meet your idols; they'll only let you down. Sometimes your idols will surprise you. Here are some stories of waiters and waitresses encountering celebs.

1. Kate Winslet

-She's been discovered to be incredibly kind and sweet off stage. One restaurant employee had nothing but a good, positive experience dealing with Ms. Winslet. "I waited on Kate Winslet and her friends. They were the loveliest people. We had a pub dog, and Kate sat with the dog on her lap and chatted to me for ages about what I was studying at uni and the history of the pub/village. They had burgers and a few bottles of wine. She tipped nearly 50% (!) and asked for the soup recipe."

2. Stanley Tucci

-Some people didn't know that actor Stanley Tucci was married to the sister of actress Emily Blunt. It's also interesting to note that a lot of people love hearing when actors or actresses marry people who are in regular careers and not necessarily acting. Stanley Tucci is an actor while his wife Felicity Blunt is not herself an actor, but a literary agent. And if you're familiar with the film The Lovely Bones, you can not believe that Stanley Tucci is the same person who played the serial killer Mr. Harvey. One restaurant employee noted of Tucci: "An ex of mine waited on Stanley Tucci and his wife Felicity Blunt a few years ago, and they were super charming and tipped really well."

3. Matthew McConaughey

-Some people could describe this actor as being one of two types: either a loud, obnoxious frat boy guy who is the regular life of the party or a sweet, polite, well mannered Southern boy. One restaurant employee noticed when he came into their restaurant. "I waited on Matthew McConaughey and his family twice. He left around 25% for a tip. He was very polite and reminded his children to say 'please and thank you to this nice lady'."

4. Derek and Julianne Hough

-It's sometimes easy to assume that with money comes ego. That with being super rich or super famous, that person will be a grade A jerk and/or rude person. And that lesser celebrities are nicer because they can't afford any bad publicity. This is not the case. Derek and Julianne Hough prove that with lots of money comes really bad egos. One restaurant employee states: "When Dancing with the Stars siblings Julianne and Derek Hough were on tour years ago, they stopped at a restaurant where my niece was working. She was eight months pregnant and waitressing, mind you, and they left a $0 tip!"

5. Robin Roberts

-Those who watch Good Morning America are familiar with this woman. They are also familiar with her breast cancer battle, which is why she often was gone or appeared bald; chemo causes hair loss. One restaurant employee stated: "A few years ago I worked in a restaurant at an airport and had the pleasure of seeing a few famous people. My favorite was Robin Roberts from Good Morning America! Her meal was maybe $15, and she left a $20 tip!"

6. Blake Shelton

-Anyone who listens to country music knows the name Blake Shelton. They also know him as one of the hosts of The Voice, but not anymore. He's no longer on that show. Since Robin Roberts set the bar high at leaving $20 on a $15 tab, Blake takes it one step further. One restaurant employee said "I waited on Blake Shelton once a few years ago when I worked at a bar/music venue in Nashville. I think he was there to support a friend performing. I had no clue at the time who he was (I didn't listen to country), and I didn't know until the guy performing told me after. Blake was super polite, very southern and tipped me $50 on a $16 check."

7. Emma Thompson

-Anyone who has seen the Nanny McPhee films knows her name. Once again, competition for best tipper is fierce. First it was Robin Roberts, then Blake Shelton, now it's Miss Emma Thompson. This one is a little tricky; room service is different than restaurant service. One hotel employee noted "In 2014, I got a tip for room service. $150 from Emma Thompson. Took me five minutes, and she was so nice. 10/10, would serve again."

8. Matt Dillon

-Here is an example of someone going out of their way to help someone by providing good customer service. For those not familiar with Matt Dillon, if you've ever read the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, then you've probably also seen the movie. Matt Dillon played Dallas Winston. One restaurant employee noted "Matt Dillon was in town filming a movie. He came to our restaurant, but we had already been closed 15 minutes. I was the manager, so I let him in, made his food so the kitchen staff didn't have to stop their end-of-the-day duties, and comped his food. I explained I had already closed out the registers. The young woman working the front and I got to chat with him while we went about our closing duties. He finished his food, thanked us repeatedly, and then left. When she went to clean his table, he left her $150!"

9. Miley Cyrus

-Some people don't understand tipping. Some think it is considerate given that these people are providing a service and tipping shows you care. In a lot of chain restaurants, tips are automatically included for large orders / dine-in orders. One member of the wait staff noted "Miley and her sister Brandi got $70 worth of steak and mac-and-cheese, but didn't leave anything for the server. She said 'she didn't know she was supposed to tip unless she was eating inside'"

10. Maria Shriver and Katherine Schwarzenegger

-When reading stories like this, it's easy to understand the frustration of dealing with large groups and getting no tip in return. How frustrating would it be and how many under the breath cusswords would you want to utter when dealing with a group of 10 people and getting no tip at all. One restaurant employee found out how frustrating it was when dealing with Maria Shriver and her daughter Katherine Schwarzenegger. "Maria Shriver and her daughter, Katherine Schwarzenegger, ate a big brunch at a restaurant I used to work at in Chicago with maybe 10 other ladies. They weren't rude, but they were incredibly needy and demanding. Their bill was close to $1,000. Maria paid, but she didn't leave anything for a tip."

11. Beyonce and Jay-Z

-I feel like, after reading this, the person who donated this story wants to paint a poor picture of Beyonce and Jay-Z. I think her attitude already does that for her. Think about it for a sec-celebs are normal people who just want to spend some down time doing normal things. Celebs also include musicians as well. They want to do normal things like everyone else. They're in a very high profile career and when they're not acting or rocking it up on stage, they're off the clock, which means don't bother them unless you are going to be polite and respectful. And if they say no to a photo or autograph, tell them thank you and have a nice day and move on. One person noted "Around 2005, Jay-Z and Beyonce came into the restaurant in Old San Juan, PR and went upstairs to the patio with another couple. When the food came, Jay and their friends made eye contact with the servers, said thank you and were friendly, but Beyonce just kept her head down and didn't say anything. When they left, one of the cooks, who was a fan, just wanted a picture, and they were all like, 'No...no pictures.'"

12. Bryan Cranston

-Those who watch the show Breaking Bad know this actor. One restaurant employee discovered he was a super nice guy, even if he gave the bone chilling stare he employed on Breaking Bad. "I got to serve Bryan Cranston one time. I was actually binging Breaking Bad when I met him and was slightly scared of him. I think he could tell because he gave me the Walter White stare, and I was so terrified! But he laughed. Super nice guy!"

13. Dwayne Johnson

-People nowadays know him for acting. Others know him as being "The Rock", a famed WWE wrestler and also of Samoan descent, which explains the large tattoo on his shoulder. One person noted "Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson visited my uncle's restaurant in Virginia. He just ate a ton of food. My uncle didn't enjoy his being a chef due to the inability to be creative." 

14. Salvador Dali

-A famed Surrealist painter, one of his most famous paintings is Persistence of Memory, where everything looks melted or in the process of melting. One person noted "When my mom was a server during a summer in college, she served painter Salvador Dali. She said he was very odd and was kind of a jack---."

15. Barbra Streisand

-It's not surprising to find out Barbra Streisand is a diva with a capital D. Sure, she's an expert singer, both on Broadway and not, but that's no excuse for diva-like behavior. One person noted "My deceased uncle used to own a very well-known French restaurant in Charlottesville, VA, and he had served Barbra Streisand. He said that she was very fussy and diva-like."

16. Leonardo DiCaprio

-He's known for all sorts of roles. But, at one time, he was trying to speak with a Boston accent, most likely for his role in The Departed. One person noted "Leonardo DiCaprio, he was very shy. He hid himself very well. I didn't even realize who he was until after 5 minutes of talking to him. He was working on his Boston accent I guess."

17. Matthew Perry

-Anyone familiar with the show Friends knows he plays Chandler Bing. He recently opened up about his substance abuse issues and is currently working on getting himself clean and sober. Good for him. Good luck in his endeavors, because it can't be easy. Celebrities are often thought of as spoiled babies used to getting their way if they throw a tantrum. Some do it because they know they're famous and live their life based on if they can get into the gossip rags. Other celebs know they're famous, but also act like normal, not famous people. Matthew Perry seems like one of the down-to-earth types. And anyone, famous or not, would be justifiably horrified at finding a bug on your food. One restaurant employee stated "Matthew Perry: He ordered a burger and a salad. There was a bug on his lettuce. He very nicely asked for a different plate, but kept the same burger."

18. Morgan Freeman

-He is considered by all to be one of those awesome actors that can do anything. He is just as charming and funny and nice as you would almost hope him to be. A person working as a sous chef had an experience with Mr. Freeman. "Morgan Freeman came to have dinner where I was sous chef. The server gave them the menu of specials from the night before, and Mr. Freeman ordered the marlin, which the kitchen then told the server we were out of. I found out who ordered it, and I knew I had a few orders left. I went out to the dining room to let the server know I had his order, but he was already at the table informing Mr. Freeman we didn't have it. I said 'Mr. Freeman, we have the marlin you ordered', and he looked at the server and gave him James Cagney's 'You dirty rat' line."

19. Gordon Ramsay

-Anyone familiar with cooking shows knows this name. They know him as a strongly British accented chef yelling at people and also working with kids on cooking shows and being genuinely warm to the kids because there's still hope that they won't screw up cooking and baking. People often wonder if his off-screen personality is anything like his on-screen personality. A server says "I served Gordon Ramsay once, I was very nervous because of his TV persona but he was actually very polite, probably the most polite customer I've ever had, he didn't even tell anyone to f--- off. At the end of the night he requested to see the head chef and shook his hand in appreciation and tipped us £100."

20. Drew Barrymore

-Meeting a celebrity is often a mind blowing experience. Serving them for an entire weekend must be mind destroying. With Drew Barrymore being fun loving and a gentle soul, it must have made the person who donated this story incredibly happy. One server noted "I served Drew Barrymore for like a week straight. At the time she was pregnant. She was always in a hurry, but she was very gentle and loving when talking to us. She would order always the same thing: a chicken salad and some Diet Coke. I loved waitressing her, we talked a lot!"

21. Daniel Radcliffe

-It would have to be incredibly nerve wracking to be serving in a restaurant one day and suddenly you're thinking you're seeing things when you see Harry Potter walking into your restaurant. It can be even more nerve wracking to accidentally spill dessert on him. But it's nice to know he was so humble and nice in how he handled the situation. A server said "I served Daniel Radcliffe his dessert at an event, and tripped and spilled some of it on him, probably from seeing that I was serving Daniel Radcliffe. He stood up and started apologizing profusely to ME. He was very sweet and kept asking if I was OK." It's nice to know he's a down-to-earth and humble person and know that there are celebs who are like that. Maybe they can inspire other famous people to be nice like that

22. Ryan Gosling

-He's one of those actors women drool for. With his blonde hair and chiseled good looks, he's definitely drool worthy to a lot of women. One server quoted "Around 2007, Ryan Gosling was in my hometown and stopped by my pizza place with some others. He came in toward close, but he rounded up a $55 check to $100 and took pics with everyone there who wanted one."

23. John Goodman

-Known for his deep voice, known for playing the father on Roseanne. With his down-to-earth humble personality, he had his server in tears. The server said "John Goodman wanted a quiet spot. He ate basically where the staff would hide and eat. I didn't serve him, but the girl who did was in tears because of how nice he was and telling her to follow her dreams."

24. Billy Joel

-People seem to make a really big deal out of supermodel Christie Brinkley being with Billy Joel. Their first thought is "what does she see in him?" because he's not physically attractive to a lot of people. One restaurant worker stated "Summer of 1986, Billy Joel and then-wife/supermodel Christie Brinkley come into the restaurant I am working at. The hostess was a student from Ireland visiting the US for the summer - in other words she had no idea who they were. When they asked to be seated, she treated them like anyone else in a trendy restaurant on a busy summer day - she told them it would be a thirty to forty five minute wait. Then she runs back into the kitchen, points to them and asks us "what is that GORGEOUS woman doing with that UGLY guy?""

25. Snoop Dogg

-There's a lot people don't know about him. For starters, his real name is Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. One server felt nothing but sympathy for him as he tried to enjoy a quiet meal but people were bothering him. They said "I served Snoop Dogg about 10 years ago at Islands. He tried to order Dom Perignon which we didn't have that but he settled for a Sprite. He was there with three girls. I couldn't understand a word he said but he ordered two meals for himself. His girls had to "translate" for him. Overall he was polite and nice. He even sign autographs for a couple kids (and my star-struck manager). I felt bad because he just wanted to have dinner and people were bombarding him."

26. Adam Scott and Rashida Jones

-Being star struck is one thing a lot of people become when they see their favorite celebs. If you see Adam Scott and Rashida Jones, you'll be doubly star struck if you watch their show Parks and Recreation. One server was definitely nervous and star struck. "I served Rashida Jones and Adam Scott. Both were SUPER nice. I'm a huge fan of Parks and Rec so I was really nervous! Adam asked me about the history of one of our side dishes as a joke and I said something like 'Well potatoes originally came from Ireland...' and they laughed at my s---ty joke so I felt good. Rashida and Adam paid and both tipped 30%!"