28/08/2026
Last night, we encountered a first for The Hut…
Our first male “I want to speak to the manager” customer. 😂
So, let’s call them Karen and Kevin.
During one of our busiest periods, with a huge queue waiting to order, Karen asked for cheesy fries — but wanted the fries in one container and essentially another container filled with cheese.
William explained that we could do it, but there would be an additional charge for the extra cheese.
What followed was nearly six minutes of debating why there should be an additional charge.
Six minutes.
When you’ve got a queue stretching out in front of the van, six minutes is a VERY long time.
Eventually, William did exactly what we ask our team to do at particularly busy events. He politely explained that we couldn’t continue making modifications, put out our “no modifications during busy periods” sign, took an order for plain fries and moved on to the next customer.
The next customer, incidentally, was absolutely brilliant and immediately praised William for how professionally and calmly he had handled the situation.
Fast-forward five minutes.
We’re calling the ticket number for the food. No response.
Calling again. No response.
Then along comes Kevin.
“I want to speak to the manager.”
Apparently Karen was upset by the way William had spoken to her.
I spoke to him, explained that I’d heard the interaction and that William had done absolutely nothing wrong, although I was sorry she had been left feeling upset.
At the time, with a van full of orders and a queue of customers, that was about as much as I had time to say.
But afterwards, there was something I realised I should have said.
Sorry, William.
Sorry that at just 16 years old you had to spend six minutes being challenged over a portion of cheesy fries by an adult while trying to do your job.
Sorry that after handling it calmly and professionally, you then had another adult demand to see your manager because they didn’t like the answer.
And most importantly, thank you.
Thank you for keeping your cool.
Thank you for being polite.
Thank you for looking after the customers patiently waiting behind them.
And thank you for representing The Hut exactly the way we would want you to.
For those who don’t know, William is our middle son and he’s only 16. He has literally just finished his GCSEs.
And, on a much happier note, the day before all this he enrolled at Weymouth College on the Creative Media Production course he really wanted after his GCSE results surpassed even his own expectations.
So this post isn’t really about Karen and Kevin.
They’ve already had far more than their six minutes.
It’s about William.
Our middle boy, working hard, learning how to deal with the public, doing a brilliant job under pressure and now starting the next chapter of his life.
And actually, last night deserves celebrating for another reason too…
For the first time ever, The Hut completely SOLD OUT! 🍔🍟🙌
So a massive thank you to everyone who came along, queued patiently, chatted to us and bought a burger or some loaded fries. Nights like that make all the hard work worthwhile.
And a huge thank you to Freshwater Beach Holiday Park for inviting us back again this year. We genuinely appreciate being asked back and loved being there.
So, William…
Congratulations on your GCSE results.
Congratulations on getting onto the Creative Media Production course you wanted.
Congratulations on helping us achieve our first ever sell-out night.
…and congratulations on surviving your first “I want to speak to the manager.” 😂
You handled it better than plenty of adults would.
Very proud of you, mate. ❤️
And Karen and Kevin?
Thanks for the content. 😉
