Aussie diner’s fury over tiny detail in restaurant’s Google listing: ‘I was shaking, ready to attack but had to restrain myself’
A restaurant has expressed his frustration after arriving at a restaurant only to be told the kitchen had already closed an hour and a half before the scheduled closing time.
Matt Hey, from Sydney, and his friends decided to grab a bite to eat at a restaurant after a night out at the cinema.
He found a restaurant down the road, about a 15-minute walk, that Google said would close at 10 p.m.
But when the group of five arrived at 8:45 p.m., a waitress turned them away because the kitchen was already closed.
Matt, who had previously worked in the hospitality industry, knew he couldn’t take his anger out on the employee, but deep inside he was seething.
“I can tell you I was shaking inside, burning out and having hot flashes,” Matt said in his speech. video.
“The Karen was right here in my throat, poised, ready to attack. I really had to hold myself back and I’m glad I did. But if you had it on your Google listing it wouldn’t have been a problem, so let’s take care of that this year.”
Matt called on restaurant owners to update their Google listings to reflect the time the kitchen closes, rather than just the time the venue closes.
Matt Hey has expressed his frustration after arriving at a restaurant only to be told the kitchen had already closed an hour and a half before the scheduled closing time
“It’s something we need to normalize by 2025,” Matt said.
The comedian, known by his stage name Alright Hey, shared his recent experiences and explained how he used Google to find a restaurant that was still open late at night.
‘I went to the movies with my friends the other day, it was over, we were like, “Let’s go grab a bite to eat.” I like this restaurant, it looks great. It’s a 15-minute walk, it closes at 10 p.m., it’s currently 8:30 p.m.,” he recalls.
“I’m like, ‘Come on girls, let’s go.’ If we really tried, we could probably make it in twelve. We get there, we sweat, we go hungry, we’re ready to spend our hard-earned money because we just trekked through Narnia to get here.
‘It’s 8.45pm… I ask, “Can I please have a table for five?” She says, “Sorry, the kitchen closed at 8:30 p.m.
“Oh my god.”
Despite his anger at the employee’s response, Matt explained why he chose not to cause a scene at the restaurant.
“I worked in the hospitality industry, they won’t put up with that,” he said.
“We said, ‘Okay honey, don’t worry. Have a nice evening. Goodbye.’
The group ended up eating elsewhere, but Matt said he was unimpressed by the restaurant’s unexpected early closing time.
Matt called on restaurant owners to update their Google listings to reflect the time the kitchen closes, rather than just the time the venue closes (file image)
His video has been viewed more than 200,000 times, with many Australians saying they completely agree with him.
‘The fact that the kitchen is closed for an hour and a half and the restaurant is ‘closed’ amazes me. And that’s coming from a server whose restaurant kitchen doesn’t close until the last table is gone,” one person said.
“I went to a cafe/restaurant that closed at midnight, the kitchen closed at 7pm – WHY,” another revealed.
‘What in the world? I’ve worked in the hospitality industry for about eight years and I’ve never worked for a restaurant where the kitchen closes at 8:30 PM. 9:30 am is the norm! Never heard of turning a table at 8:30pm,” said another.
‘I’ve been somewhere and they say, “Sorry we’re closing early today, you should have called ahead.” But the hours on your website say you’re open late, so why would I call ahead?,” someone added.
Meanwhile, some pointed out that restaurants often close their kitchens early because it’s a “quiet night.”
‘It’s possible that because it was an incredibly quiet night they closed early. “If there was no one in the building, there’s no point in staying open,” one person said.
‘Kitchen close based on the day. When it’s quiet, they close. If you want them to stay open, book as soon as you find the restaurant,” another advised.