Cashier and Supervisor Extremely Disrespectful to Waiter - Company Culture Seems Lacking!!
I am disturbed by my experience at this diner. My friend has also posted about this same incident, but I feel so strongly about how establishments *treat their workers*, that I feel it is necessary to express my disgust with what we witnessed.
This incident happened Sunday, February 5, 2017, between 1AM and 1:30AM.
My friend and I came to have a late meal past midnight. The food was great, the restaurant was cute and charming, the hostess and waiters were friendly, attentive, and provided great service.
Then we went to the front cashier to pay our check, and found out that our waiter made a mistake on the bill. He didn't include a $2-$3 side of bacon for my friend. The front cashier attendant was a blonde woman with a white top on, and she was accompanied by an older man in a grey top, who I assume was the supervisor.
They immediately criticized the waiter in front of us, which was not only very uncomfortable but extremely unprofessional. Instead of just apologizing with a pleasant attitude, and taking the cost for the billing mistake, the supervisor had this look of disapproval and disappointment on his face as he worked the bill out. We stood there. The supervisor stood next to the smug cashier attendant, as the waiter apologized repeatedly. Then, right in front of us, the supervisor told him to make sure he doesn't do this again. A pleasant apology could have sufficed, and then he could have addressed this later when customers were not around. That would be the professional thing to do. This was uncomfortable enough, but there's more...
As the supervisor walked away, the blonde cashier proceeded to tell my friend, "You can go yell at him if you want to - it was his fault." She said this twice, when the waiter was still near us. Yes, that's right. After he had already apologized and been embarrassed in front of us, she insisted that we go yell at him. This is extremely rude, classless, nasty, and extremely unprofessional. This woman should not be working up front if she does not know how to conduct herself in a professional manner and has the nerve to encourage customers to humiliate and further embarrass a waiter who made a mistake. If she's this disgusting on a regular basis, I strongly suggest professional training and removing her from interaction with customers. She ruined our night. I also have to wonder about someone's character and psychological state, if they find pleasure in humiliating their coworkers.
Being a waiter isn't easy and everyone makes mistakes. The waiter was so friendly and pleasant that it was sad to see him treated this way. It makes me wonder how this establishment treats its employees on a regular basis. Is disrespect, a lack of professionalism, and intentional humiliation an accurate reflection of management? If not, it would probably be wise to address this situation, and maybe invest in some professional development in general. It should NOT be okay to treat wait staff like this. Very disrespectful and disgusting.
I had intended to bring a group of friends to this restaurant again, as the experience for us was great until the time to pay, and it's open at late hours. But I can't say I will now. I can only hope that management would look into the quality of the company culture here, and demand that employees value and respect their coworkers. And possibly remove that disrespectful woman from the cashier, if she can't be a decent human being.
Also, my friend called the restaurant to speak with the manager today and received attitude. She was first denied to speak to the manager and then the woman on the phone asked her, "Who are you?" and said she wasn't going to give that information out. She eventually did give a name. This is a business, not a private party at your friend's house. Apparently some of the employees here don't understand that.
It's sad that some small businesses can get away with being unethical in their business practices like this. They should be ashamed. read more