Montreal comic strip satirizing bad customers finds a following

About 100 years ago Marshall Field's department store in the U.S. started using the novel slogan "the customer is always right" to differentiate itself from the competition and workers in the service industry have suffered ever since.

Now some service industry veterans have teamed up with an illustrator to shine thespotlight on bad customerbehaviour.

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EmiliePapineau, who worked as a waitress for 10 years,came up withthe idea for the French-language comic strip Le Client est Roi, or The Client is King, with a friend who still works as a waitressand would rather remain anonymous for that reason.

"A 'king customer' is the customer who thinks that everything is due to him and he's always right because he pays and he can treatyou the way he wants,"Papineauexplained on CBC Montreal's Daybreak.

She said while some customers are arrogant, others are just plain picky.

"One wanted'just a latte' with threeshots of espresso, onedecaf, and vanilla syrup, but just half the dose and no foam,"Papineausaid. "They want everything to be very, very special just for them.

Her experiences are beingdished out online through Facebook and a Tumblr blog.

Her illustrator, Sarah Chamaillard, has never worked as a waitress but can relate to the experiences in the comic strip.

"We've all been face-to-face with someone who doesn't appreciate you and feels entitled," Chamaillard said.

She said being exposed to these stories made her sympathise with waitresses more.

The trio dream of one day turning their comics into a book. So far, they are getting a healthy following with more than 2,000 likes on Facebook.

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