The weather warming up is usually a pretty good indicator that patio season at restaurants is near. Restaurants typically reopen their outdoor sections in the springtime. For Las Vegas hostess Frida (@fridafridayyyy), it’s this time of year she dreads the most. That’s when she says customers bombard her with the most outlandish inquiries.
“I’m a hostess at a restaurant. Today, we opened the patio—which if you don’t work in the industry, the patio is hell on earth,” she says. “The patio comes with the dumbest questions a person will ever ask you ever.”
Then, she dives into her first example from a recent shift.
What Did The Hostess Experience?
“This couple walks in and they’re like, ‘We really want to sit outside in a booth,’” she recalls them saying.
But there is one minor problem. “I was like, ‘For sure. Unfortunately, all of our booths are full, but we have tables outside, or I can give you a booth inside,’” she says she told the couple.
After the couple agreed to the table, they all walked outside. But when the man noticed the booths, he repeated the original request. “The man looks at me and goes, ‘But the booths look so nice. Are you sure you can’t get us a booth?’”she recalls him asking.
Unbeknownst to the couple, Frida’s frustration was simmering.
“’Oh, you want to kick someone out? Be my guest. You want to move one of our booths that’s built into the floor from inside, outside? Be my guest,’” she vents her emotions in the moment. Instead, she masks the internal rage by reiterating her initial statement. “‘So, as you can see, none of our booths are open. Do you want to go inside or just wait for one?’” she says she asked the man.
Eventually, he agreed to the outdoor table, which bewildered the content creator. “Why would you ask that? And he was being serious. It wasn’t a rhetorical question,” she says.
Another Unusual Customer Request
Next, Frida jumps into her second bizarre customer interaction.
“These two women were like, ‘We really enjoy the sunshine. Can you please seat us where there’s some sun?’” she recalls. She says she told them that “we don’t really get any sunshine until later on in the day.”
However, that wasn’t getting through to the women. “Are you sure you can’t make it so there’s sunshine on us?’” they asked her.
“You want me to make the Earth move faster?” she sarcastically questions to her TikTok viewers.
“This is gonna be a very long patio season,” she concludes.
The Feelings Hit Home
Frida’s video amassed 1 million views. Restaurant workers resonated with the hostess’ take and shared their memorable customer outdoor requests.
“‘We just saw a bee.’ Yep it’s outside,” one viewer revealed.
“Is it hot out on the patio?” As they just came from outside,” another shared.
“‘My beer isn’t very cold anymore.’ Yeah, it’s 98 degrees with 100% humidity,” a third commented.
“‘Can you do something about the birds??’ And they’re feeding the birds,” a fourth stated.
“‘It’s too windy out here.’ I fear you are OUTSIDE,” a fifth said.
@fridafridayyyy GENUINELY SO STUPID #hostess #restaurant #restaurantlife #serviceindustry #serverlife
How To Handle Unreasonable Customer Requests
If you’re in a customer-facing position in the restaurant industry and find yourself in Frida’s position, Restaurant 365 has you covered by offering tips on how to deal with difficult customer requests:
- Listen without interrupting.
- Keep your composure.
- Consider what is possible.
- Politely explain why the request isn’t doable.
- Suggest alternatives.
BroBible reached out to Frida via email and TikTok comment.