Complaint? Criticism?

I know that not all of the customers that come in and saddle up at the bar are always going to be 100% satisfied with their drinks all the time. When a customer has a valid complaint and really isn't happy with their drink, I am always more than willing to make them something else, in hopes of having them satisfied. Working in the customer service industry like I do, I know that there will always be a few people, that no matter what you do, nothing is ever right in their eyes. You can make them a new drink until the cows come home and they will never be happy.

Case in point. I had a customer not too long ago who flagged me down and wanted to discuss his drink. Once he started chatting with me, I realized that it wasn't his own drink that he wanted to discuss, but his girlfriends. Already I was confused. If she didn't like her drink, why wasn't I having the discussion with her and not her boyfriend?

I asked him what the problem with the drink was. He said it was too sweet. I asked him if she would like me to make her another drink. He said no, granted the whole time I was talking about this chick's drink with her boyfriend, she wasn't making any eye contact with me whatsoever, making it very difficult for me to find out what the problem was in the first place.

After I extended the offer to make a new drink and was rejected, the guy continued to talk in circles asking if the drink was supposed to be sweet and what it was suppose to taste like. Also, while the guy was having this conversation with me, his whole upper half of his body was leaning over the bar and he was trying to grab my hand and hold it, while trying to emphasize what he was/wasn't saying. On a side note: I find customers that try to grab or touch me, creepy.

This is when I realized that they didn't want another drink, they just wanted to bitch and criticize the drink. I started to get a little frustrated because all I wanted to do was make her happy and get this guy out of my face. Anytime I offered to make another drink, a different type of drink at that, he kept telling me how much she didn't like the drink, leaving me really no option in how I could possibly make the whole situation better for them.

The dude sensed my frustration and took it as if I was taking the criticism of the drink personal. I wanted to tell him that I was actually getting fed up because it was obvious that there was nothing I could do for them that would make them happy and now they were taking me away from customers who were coming up to the bar, wanting to buy drinks.

I let the guy go in a couple more circles with his criticism before I walked away and poured them both a glass of ice water and set the glasses in front of them as a peace offering. Then I never went up to them again for the rest of the night.

Oh yeah and did I mention that when the girl originally paid for her and her boyfriend's drink, she stiffed me?