"Shifts Must Be Respected." A restaurant asks diners to vacate tables to make room for the next guests, but the customer isn't happy about it. Here's what happened.
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The News
Jose Hita and Nacho Martin keep us updated on the latest restaurant controversies. In their well-known podcast "Una Estrella," they comment in an ironic and light-hearted tone on the most original and bizarre one-star restaurant reviews they find online. In one of their recent episodes, featured by La Vanguardia, the controversy stirred by a diner already present in the restaurant took center stage. Apparently, after spending a few hours at the restaurant for drinks, the diner wanted to occupy a table already booked for dinner.
Mentioning that they were at the restaurant to celebrate an occasion with family and friends, they wrote in the infamous review: "We had some coffee and other drinks. Then the evening went on, and we decided to stay for something to eat on the spot; unfortunately, however, the waiter brought us the bill in a threatening and disrespectful manner, asking us to leave because, according to them, that table was already booked." The restaurant's response quickly followed, sparking hilarity and jest from the two hosts and their audience; it seems that the reviewer behaved inappropriately and aggressively in response to a completely legitimate request, later accusing the restaurant owners online.
After specifying that they had received apologies from the customer's friends for their exaggerated reaction, the restaurateur wrote: "In the end, you left and you were even in two cars, forgetting the child at the restaurant as if it were a remake of 'Home Alone.' Our waitresses had repeatedly and kindly informed you that the tables were reserved for 9:00 PM. Your attitude was very aggressive, our girls were intimidated, and some nearby tables had to intervene to calm your anger."
We will never know if the group had actually been aggressive towards the waitresses (as implied by the counter-review) or if the employees were stressed due to a busy service, or both. However, schedules must be respected if the "double shift" is appropriately communicated by the establishment. After a child was "forgotten" at the restaurant, more doubts arise about the group... who knows what Jose and Nacho will tell us in the next episode!
