Being a host at a restaurant can be a difficult job. Like servers, hosts interact directly with customers and can often end up dealing with difficult or downright belligerent guests. One TikToker recently shared her own experience working as a restaurant host, detailing several chaotic interactions during a busy shift. The video has received 64,400 views and 134 comments.
@ms.fiji000, who goes by Fiji, breaks down the events in a recent storytime posted to TikTok, which she calls the “glorified babysitting chronicles.”
Two people walk into the restaurant at 6:10 p.m. for a 7:30 p.m. reservation. Fiji lets them know that it is rush hour and the first table to open up will be theirs, but she cannot seat them immediately because the restaurant is busy. However, 10 minutes after she explains this, they return and ask her what is going on.
“I’m like, yeah, guys, it’s gonna be just a little longer while, but do not worry. Whatever comes up first, you guys, I promise that it’s gonna be your table. And now they’re irritated. Granted, I understand them. They’re hungry, they’re ready to eat, they came here early, but, like, please, they’re starting to get a little attitude with me,” she says.
As the restaurant gets busier, Fiji has to step in and help deliver food to tables. At one point, she is left holding plates of extremely hot food.
“At my last job, I was a server. We had, like, napkins to hold them? No, not this one. They’re all ran out. So I’m like, tacos or lasagna? Pick one. It’s hot. My hands are burning on fire. And they’re just looking at me,” she says, adding that the customers at the table instead asked for the manager.
Fiji’s last table of the night is a six-top. Once all six customers are checked in and on their way to the table, she notices another group sitting at the table meant for them. She asks whether they have been helped before explaining the situation.
“Can I go ahead and have you guys go on to this other table or at the bar, please? I have a table coming to sit down here, right?” she says. “And then they were like, ‘Oh, no, someone told us that we can sit here waiting for our drinks.’ I was like, ‘So, no, we can’t sit here, because it’s not a free-for-all table you can sit at, but at the bar, absolutely. Keep in mind the bar is completely open,’” she says.
The group eventually moved, but not without giving Fiji an attitude over being asked to leave the table.
People's behavior baffles those online
Fiji’s story resonated with other people who have worked in customer service, with viewers sharing their own experiences dealing with customers who appeared impatient or unaware of how busy restaurant staff can be.
Several commenters said the situation could have been avoided if the customers had simply waited at the bar or communicated with Fiji.
“Why can’t people just chill and start with drinks at the bar and cool out I’ll come grab you when the tables ready :/” one user asked.
“Customer Service has truly taught me that it is everyone’s first day on earth,” said another, citing a phrase commonly used by those working in customer service.
“If I said your orders and no one speaks I’m taking the food away because I guess yall not hungry,” another said, regarding the table that looked at Fiji while she was holding their food rather than saying anything.
For many viewers, the situations Fiji described appeared to come down to basic communication and patience. Her story also highlighted how restaurant hosts can end up juggling multiple responsibilities during a busy shift.
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the events described in the video, which are based solely on @ms.fiji000’s account shared on TikTok.
