What to do about rude manager/service?

• There's a restaurant in my area called Noodles & Company. Its like fast food, except it doesn't have a drive through. It's a small, friendly-environment shop. It's in the same category as Starbucks. Except with noodles lol. I have 2 friends that work there. One of them, I knew before they started working there, and I met the other after she started working there. But anyways, I had come into the restaurant yesterday, with two other friends, one of whom had never been there before. We went up to the counter (my friend was at the register) and started ordering. I asked him a question about the menu, because there's a noodle dish called The Med Salad, and then there's a sandwich called the Med Sandwich. I wanted to know if they were essentially the same, just plate form vs sandwich form. Just as I'm pointing to the menu, the manager yells across the store, cutting me off, and asks "Hey are they done ordering yet?" I might just be upset, but in my opinion, he sounded awfully attitude-y. Well, I obviously made a face at this rudeness. It was more of a "are you serious?" kind of look. Well, I wasn't looking at him, but he saw me do it. I was really aggravated about the situation, so we didn't finish ordering, went to sit down, and then chose our meal and came back to the counter. We ordered and everything went smoothly. HOWEVER, later that evening, one of my friends who works there sent me a text saying that I almost got kicked out of the restaurant because the manager saw me make a face. Then, my other friend that works there walked by, and started talking to me. I told her about the text that I got, and she said that it was true and that he always complains whenever (EVERY TIME) I come into the store. He says that I take up space for other customers, even though I get food whenever I come in. I only come in between 3:30 - 4pm, and usually leave at 4, because I wait for my friend, and that's when he gets off of work. These are also the down hours; it only gets busy after 5. The longest I've ever stayed was 2-3 hours, and that was because the manager randomly made my friend work later. And I always take a seat at a small table that leads to the back hallway, not in the main dining area. ( I do remember taking up a booth ONE time, but that was one of the first times I had ever been to the store, nearly 6 months ago. I felt like I was taking up space.) I come here at least 20 times per month and I always get something to eat, so they all know me, and I'm really upset at the manager's behavior and what I found out that he says about me. The friends that went out to eat with me were saying that I should submit a complaint on the website, but I'm afraid that the manager would know it was me and I don't want him to retaliate against my friends that snitched on him. I think it's really unprofessional that a customer should be able to find out something like that, and my friends and I don't plan on returning any time soon. Any help on what I should do about this? I'm really upset, and the employees constantly complain about how rude the manager is anyways. I usually don't get upset about petty things, but this just got under my skin. Thanks for the answers so far! To elaborate a bit: At first, I figured I'd just ignore it, because things like this happen, and regardless of how the manager feels, I'm still sitting, and I'm still getting my food... So he can stand in the back and pout all he wants, but I'm still doing what I came there for. The only reason I'm getting fed up with it and want to do something about it is because I'm really getting tired of him being mean to my friends.. And it's not just my friends, but all the employees.

• Answer:

  Call the main office and report his behavior. Regardless if your friends work there, you are still a paying customer. It would be different if you just went there and hung out without ordering.