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Is いらっしゃいませ only used by staff, or is it used in other circumstances?

When I was at a dinner at a restaurant being held after a programmers' meetup,
I thought that I heard it being used by one of the people eating (it could
have been the organizer of the dinner for all I know) to welcome a late-comer.
Or is it more likely I mis-heard them merely saying
[いらっしゃい](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/337/whats-the-
difference-
between-%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%93%E3%81%9D-and-%E3%81%84%E3%82%89%E3%81%97%E3%82%83%E3%81%84%E3%81%BE%E3%81%9B)
or some other form of the verb?
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2012-07-07T01:32:31.123
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2012-07-07T23:42:03.347
2017-04-13T12:43:44.863
-1
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question
keigo greetings
Is いらっしゃいませ only used by staff?
A hearty いらっしゃいませ! from the staff or owner brings back happy memories of
Japanese restaurant/bar life. いらっしゃい is a perfectly ordinary word of greeting.
A person who feels like the 'owner' of the get-together might well shout a
いらっしゃいませ especially if alcohol is involved. There is also the possibility of
using it ironically or with hostility on a late-comer - again the alcohol
issue. In Japan, if you act drunk, you can be safely forthright. Watch a lot
of daytime drama to get a handle on the many uses of keigo.
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2012-07-07T23:42:03.347
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2012-07-07T23:42:03.347
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answer