TGI Friday's sought-after "Mobile Mistletoe" drones may be doing more to injure customers than get them to kiss. One of the romance drones hit a photographer square in the face at the Sheepshead Bat location on Dec. 4, cutting part of her nose off, Brooklyn Daily reported.
The remote-controlled helicopter of romance holds pieces of mistletoe and was intended to get couples to kiss, holiday-style, inside the restaurant. But one of the machines got out of control and chipped photographer Georgine Benvenuto's nose with one of its rotating blades when it hit her in the face.
"It literally chipped off a tip of my nose," Benvenuto said, using tissues to stop the blood. "It took off part of my nose and cut me here, right under my chin."
The photographer said she's happy that above all else, it didn't hit her in the eye and she wasn't blinded for love.
David Quiones said an incident like this had never happened before. He said that Benvenuto was nervous and flinched when she saw the 10-inch blades of the drone, causing her nose to come in contact.
But Benvenuto said Quiones should be more careful since he's the operator of the helicopter.
A spokeswoman for TGI Friday said the drone operation had gone off in Long Island and Texas without any injuries and dismissed that concern that more could occur. Customers will stay away from the five-inch blades, she said.
"This was an isolated event during a demonstration for the reporter and photographer only, given by the licensed operator of the drone during the last day of this particular promotion. Of course, safety is our first priority and we are sorry that this isolated incident occurred," the restaurant told TIME in a statement.
