28 Dec Why your favourite “Special Days” are hospo’s least favourite shifts

The votes are in! Here are the top 5 worst shifts to work in hospo according to the people I polled.
If you’ve ever cheerfully said to a hospitality worker, “You must love working Valentine’s Day — it’s great for business!” and been met with a polite smile and dead eyes… this article may explain why.

From the customer side, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Easter, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve feel festive and indulgent. From the venue side, they’re a perfect storm of pressure, logistics and expectations.

1. Valentine’s Day
Romantic? Yes, possibly, unless he/she/they say NO when you whip out that diamond encrusted ring!
Operationally? A nightmare. A whole restaurant full of tables of two destroys normal table flow, lessening venue capacity and turnover. One slow course backs up the entire service. Add fixed menus, proposals, breakups, champagne expectations and the belief that the night must be perfect (let’s not mention those that are curating their dining experience for socials) — and suddenly a missed garnish feels like a relationship-ending event.

2. Mother’s Day
This is the busiest single service of the year for many venues. Everyone wants the same seating time, Mum wants someone else to cook, Dad wants this meal to make up for a year’s worth of sins, kids are bored, Grandma wants gluten-free, and no one wants to wait. Kitchens are maxed out, staff are sprinting, prams everywhere, kids hooning around and any delay feels personal because “it’s Mum’s special day”.

3. Easter (aka the Four-Day Marathon)
Four public holidays in a row sounds delightful — unless you’re running a venue. Supplier deliveries often stop entirely, meaning kitchens must predict demand days in advance and hope they guessed correctly. Staff availability shrinks, fatigue skyrockets, and customers somehow expect everything to run exactly as normal… while loudly questioning holiday surcharges. Don’t forget that Easter moves around on the calendar each year, so there’s sometimes 5 or 6 public holidays within 1 or 2 pay periods. Whoever’s in charge of rostering and managing wage costs might be needing some therapy come May!

4. Christmas Day
While many people are celebrating with family, hospo staff are serving long lunches, with one-off menus and high emotions. Many miss their own family celebrations to create someone else’s. The expectation? Festive perfection, zero stress, and no reminders that it’s a public holiday (especially on the bill).

5. New Year’s Eve
A packed venue. Inflated expectations  .  .  . with a countdown clock. Alcohol-fuelled impatience – often from those that don’t usually party hard. If your venue has a view of NYE fireworks, expect staff to be managing crowd control as those without a window seat crowd the guests who paid a premium for theirs. Countdowns, intoxication, price complaints and the disappointment that midnight didn’t instantly change my life.
Services must align perfectly with midnight, alcohol consumption is high, and tolerance for delays is low. Venues are juggling security, staffing, and guests determined to have “the best night ever,” whether reality cooperates or not.

Yes, these special days can be great for revenue. Plenty of venues do it well, for the team and their guests — but they’re often the most physically exhausting, logistically complex, and emotionally intense days to work.

So, if you’re dining out on a “special day”, a little patience; understanding around surcharges; and a genuine thank-you can make a huge difference.