Woman says she booked her favorite restaurant for 3 nights in a row. Then an employee leaves her a voicemail: ‘Who is she to make that decision?’

A woman says an employee at her favorite restaurant canceled two of her three consecutive reservations and left a voicemail telling her not to come back if she could not make the remaining night. Sophia Rowan shared the account in a TikTok video.

Rowan said she had booked the restaurant for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights because she had three different special occasions planned and intended to go all three days. She stated that a woman at the restaurant called her and left a voicemail saying she canceled the Saturday and Sunday reservations but left the Friday one open.

In the video, Rowan asked, “Who is she to make that decision?” and said she would be speaking to the employee’s manager because there was no way. She recounted the voicemail message, stating the employee told her, “if you can’t come on Friday at 7, don’t even bother trying to come back.” Rowan described it as the worst restaurant experience she had ever had.

Rowan later posted updates reenacting the hostess and employee sides

Rowan later posted a TikTok video reenacting the perspective of a manager at a fine dining establishment as an update on what happened. She said the manager received a complaint that day about one of the hostesses and had to fire her. In that video, she explained that a woman called saying she had scheduled three reservations for three nights in a row. Disputes between diners and restaurant staff can also play out online, like when an Alabama manager confronted a one-star reviewer mid-meal.

The reenactment stated that the hostess canceled two of the three reservations, keeping only Friday at 7 open. Rowan, in the manager role, noted that booking three nights in a row is kind of unheard of. She added that the customer told the manager she was intending to come all three nights.

She described the hostess as leaving a nasty voicemail to the customer. Rowan said the message included the line, “If you can’t make Friday, don’t come back at all.” She claimed the hostess was not adhering to the welcoming environment the restaurant tries to create for customers.

In the video, Rowan said the manager spoke to the hostess, who was very pi–ed. She stated that the manager found out the hostess had posted a video on social media about the situation, which made everything worse. Rowan added that the manager told the hostess, “Unfortunately, we’re gonna have to let you go.”

She claimed the hostess was not happy and threw a chair across the room before leaving. Rowan addressed restaurant industry workers in the video, saying not to let anything like this fly at work and that if it gets to a certain point, you gotta fire them. Clashes between hostesses and customers have cost workers their jobs before, such as when a Las Vegas hostess was kicked out after a name-calling dispute.

Some viewers commented on the original video. One commenter suggested the employee should have confirmed the bookings first, writing, “Had I been the employee, I would have made sure you meant to reserve all three days before just cancelling.”

Another pointed out that customers sometimes hold multiple reservations and cancel last minute, stating, “Because people hold reservations at multiple places and times and cancel last minute. It’s leaving restaurants with empty tables.”

A third commenter noted that the poster had not even shown up yet, writing, “The worst restaurant experience and you haven’t even showed up yet.” Another advised contacting the restaurant directly, saying, “I feel like common sense tells you to call the restaurant directly to let them know you need three reservations back to back.”