In 2024 it feels impossible to guess which videos will go viral, but it turns out what people really want to watch is an employee at a West Midlands chippy.
Internet users are gushing over one staff member from Merchant’s Fish and Chips in Bewdley, Worcestershire, branding her a ‘diva’ and ‘iconic’.
The chippy has been posting short-form clips on TikTok and Instagram for a while, garnering hundreds of thousands of views.
But it wasn’t gimmicks or trends that got the business some 24 million views on a single video (and a subsequent 160,000 new followers).
Nope, it was 20-year-old Destiny Harolld, pretending to serve a customer.
The video was nothing special in TikTok terms: Destiny, who has worked at Merchant’s since she was 16, simply took the man’s order, offered him his battered haddock and displayed the drink options.
But people ate it up, complimenting the staff member’s sales tactics and highlighting how courteous the interaction was, with repeated please and thank yous and Destiny saying farewell to the customer with a friendly, ‘have a nice day’.
‘Never hear such politeness and niceness in the United States,’ wrote Colin Waterworth, while Shell added: ‘She sounds so nice and humble’.
Others found the scripted scenario amusing, saying they thought the video seemed like an English language test.
One commenter posted: ‘Sounds like a scenario a French student would have to listen and translate for his exam.’
Destiny specifically has become something of a star off the back of the clip, drawing comparisons to Brigitte Bardot and earning legions of ‘obsessed’ fans for her indifferent yet warm demeanour, including Simon Paul who wrote: ‘I hope this diva is on I’m a Celebrity this year.’
A number of people from around the world also commented – proving her unique brand of straight-faced customer service has officially gone global – with Eric R calling the employee ‘QUEEN OF THE US right now’.
Also in response to the sensation, numerous recreations of the original video have appeared, and one impression by Lucia Blayke has racked up a whopping 2 million views.
While the parody could be seen as poking fun at Destiny, the creator made sure to let her followers know that she loves the ‘OG chippy diva’, adding: ‘I think she’s an ICON.’
Antony Akathiotis, who runs the shop, told the Kidderminseter Shuttle: ‘Something just went bang and here we are with over 150,000 followers. ‘People love British tradition and that’s what we are as a fish and chip shop, at the end of the day.
‘Destiny is such a lovely, genuine, hardworking girl and we want to support her.’
The chippy didn’t exactly need the publicity though, having been named as one of Tom Parker Bowles’ ‘ultimate chippies’. It’s also apparently a favourite of Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant.
But it’s still done the trick, as one chef commented on an Instagram video that he’d be willing to fly over from Australia just to give it a try — and he doesn’t even like seafood.
‘I’ve never liked seafood ever,’ wrote Henry Tadevosian. ‘But I’ve never seen fish and chips look so perfect before!! Might need to book a holiday.’
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People were also taken by the shop’s battered chips on the menu, which many hadn’t heard of before.
The only downside to Merchant’s current online fame is that there have been some unwanted comments on Destiny’s looks, so owner Antony has been trying to shield her from the negative consequences of their virality.
‘Destiny and Mitch work really well together, but social media can be a scary business,’ he said.
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‘It does worry me, and we want to make sure we are protecting Destiny. But she’s loving it and she’s doing really well for herself off the back of it.’
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