It's always OK to ask. The story says that the employees had had a briefing on exactly this policy not long before the incident, so it's not surprising that th

It's always OK to ask. The story says that the employees had had a briefing on exactly this policy not long before the incident, so it's not surprising that the restaurant asked him to stop, and didn't capitulate because it wasn't written down. You have to admit that publicly calling for termination of an employee over a minor incident like this is, (a) asshole behavior (i.e., completely out of proportion), and (b) not the proper role of a patron (i.e., they are NOT the restaurant manager). I used to work at a restaurant, and this whole incident seemed familiar. A patron is having a bad day, or is a little touchy, and something minor escalates beyond comprehension. It's quite common to have irate patrons asking to speak to the general manager, or even the owner (who in my case lived out-of-state, leading to snickers), over petty misunderstandings. I had one of these get out of control once, and the GM mentioned to me that probably the guy had a bad day and chose to take it out on someone who had to take it. A young adult at the time, with no real life pressures, I didn't get it, but I do now.