A server at a Mexican restaurant has gone viral after sharing a story of a customer’s attempted translation gone awry.
In a video with over 457,000 views, TikTok user Joey Mayberry (@joey.mayberry) says he was working at a Mexican restaurant when a customer ordered “My father’s flautas.”
“I said, ‘Honey, do you mean the flautas de papa?’” Mayberry recalls. “She says, ‘Yes.’ I say, ‘Oh, honey, ‘papa’ means potatoes.”
@joey.mayberry She was so nice though. #fyp #serverlife #serverproblems #flautas #joeymayberry ♬ original sound – #DadBodDemiGod
It seems the customer took the mistake in stride, even making a joke about the situation.
“She just looks up and smiles and says, ‘Oh! Well then I’ll have my father’s potatoes,’” Mayberry concludes. In the caption, he adds, “She was so nice though.”
This isn’t the first time a Mexican restaurant mixup has gone viral. In July of this year, a user on TikTok recounted an experience in which a customer got upset upon hearing the authentic Spanish pronunciation of tamales, insisting that the dish was pronounced “tamalees.”
Back on Mayberry’s video, commenters were quick to share their own stories about meal-ordering mishaps.
“I worked as a server at a Mexican restaurant and the mispronunciation of the menu was comical,” stated a user. “I liked to repeat it back and copy them.”
“One time went to Carlos O Kelly’s and ordered the ‘Donkey on Fire’ (Burro en fuego),” said another. “Server had no ideas.”
“I had a lady pronounce it kwayso,” added a third. “We were dying laughing in the BOH.”
“I had a lady ask what burrito taste better he pollo or the chicken,” detailed an additional TikToker. “Our menu was English/Spanish.”
Others simply enjoyed the customer’s good spirits.
“Fathers potatoes and fathers flautas will forever replace flautas de papas in my vocabulary from now on!” exclaimed a commenter.
“Bless her corazon,” offered a second.
The Daily Dot reached out to Mayberry via Instagram direct message.
