We asked service workers and business owners their Valentine's Day pet peeves. Here are 4 ways to eat and shop responsibly.
- Valentine's Day is a busy day for business owners, restaurants, and service workers.
- Insider spoke with five industry pros to learn their tips for having a smooth, romantic holiday.
Valentine's Day is a romantic day of celebration for many couples, but it's often a hectic time for restaurant workers, jewelers, florists, and specialty-store workers.
Lying about having a dinner reservation, insisting the chef hide an engagement ring in your partner's meal, or ordering flowers at the last minute can turn the season of love into a nightmare for those working on the holiday.
Industry professionals shared four tips for how customers can help spread the love by making their jobs easier on one of the busiest days of the year.
1. Make a restaurant reservation in advance
Valentine's Day is one of the busiest days of the year for restaurants, so making a reservation in advance is a must.
Restaurants often begin taking reservations weeks, sometimes months, in advance and book up fast. Now throw a pandemic into the mix, and restaurants may also be subject to limited capacity and operating with less staff.
But according to Hamptons hot-spot owner Zach Erdem, who runs 75 Main and Blu Mar, not everyone thinks they need a reservation for fine dining.
"A lot of people show up at the restaurant all dressed up and expect to be seated without a reservation," Erdem told Insider. While he said he does his best to seat them, winging it on the holiday is not wise and not an ideal situation for the restaurant staff, who already have a lot on their plate.
"Some will even lie, claiming they called weeks ago and made a reservation and blaming our staff for the mix-up," Erdem said.
2. Don't ask the chef to hide an engagement ring in your unsuspecting partner's meal
If you're planning on proposing at a restaurant, think twice before involving the staff in your plans.
"We don't want the kind of liability that comes with hiding your engagement ring in food or beverages. It could get lost, and we definitely don't want to get sued if your prospective fiance breaks a tooth," Ashley Schuering, a former service worker turned food blogger who worked in restaurants in Nashville and Philadelphia, told Insider.
One customer, Schuering said, even asked to have a ring cooked inside an omelet, which she said she politely declined to do.
If you're going to propose in a restaurant, she suggested positioning the ring next to the dessert or inside a glass of champagne where it's more obvious and less likely to get misplaced (or eaten).
3. Don't wait until the last minute to order flowers or bombard your florist with unrealistic requests
Unlike some holidays like Mother's Day, Valentine's Day falls on the same date every year, so it's beyond frustrating when a client requests flowers the day of, Leneille Moon, an Atlanta-based floral designer and owner of Special Event Factory, told Insider.
Florists have to order the flowers in advance, so "if we have to pay a premium for last-minute flowers, be ready to pay last-minute pricing," Moon said.
Late orders aren't the only issue when it comes to ordering flowers.
Ivette Harrouche, cofounder and COO of Pomp Flowers, told Insider there are some requests that seem simple to customers but in reality can be challenging or impossible to solve at scale.
Requests like, "Can I please have this order delivered at exactly 10:30 a.m.?" or, "I'd like a different vase with this order. Here is a link to it via Amazon. Can I please have this vase delivered with my flowers instead?" can't be accommodated logistically due to all the moving parts involved with deliveries, Harrouche said.
As Pomp prepares to deliver an estimated 10,000 orders nationwide this Valentine's Day, she added that even changes to an order, such as, "I ordered 50 roses but I only want 35, as this is our 35th Valentine's Day together," can tack on a lot more work for a business than customers think.
4. Know your partner's preferences before buying a sex toy
"It would be great if you give the intimacy a head start so you'll know whether your loved one will appreciate the plaything you choose and purchase. There are no returns here! If you honestly don't know, get a gift card and go shopping together the weekend after Valentine's and get the conversation — and the party — started together," Queen said.