We reached Porto from England last Saturday, which was 28th of September, 2024. This was the first time we were visiting Portugal, needless to say we were extremely excited. We searched a few places in the vicinity of our hotel, to have our first dinner. This restaurant popped up in our search which had amazing reviews, so we decided to go even though it was around 40-45 minutes by walk from where we stayed. We were really looking forward to have our meal at this restaurant. When we reached we asked one of the staff members if they had any English menu and he very sweetly helped us and asked us to get our table booked through the other staff member who was standing on the counter. We went and patiently waited for him to get free and then requested that if he could write our names for the table. Then what happened was so shocking to us that we could not really understand how to react. While we requested, this staff member who was incharge, snapped at us with utmost arrogance and rudeness, as if we had interrupted him and that it was his right to shout at us. At that moment we could not really process what had happened, so we just gave our names and went outside. Then after a few seconds when we got into our senses from this shocking incident that happened, we went inside and asked the man in charge to cancel our booking as he was extremely rude to us.
This is the whole incident that happened on which I would like to elaborate certain points.
* I think in the profession of hospitality, one of the most important things that is taught, is to be polite and attend the customers nicely. I am not even saying have a fake smile or go an extra mile to do anything, but you can't be a jerk, while you are on duty.
* It is more so shocking because it is just not someone who we happened to have met on the street, who behaved inappropriately. We hold the employer equally accountable because not only have you employed such morons, you have also failed to teach your staff to have basic manners and courtesy. Also, I would like to call out the person directly for what he is, A RACIST! We know for a fact this moron would not have been a piece of shit, had it been a white customer. But the fact that he thought he could behave in this abhorrent manner to brown customers and that it was okay, I genuinely feel bad for his pathetic mindset and his pea sized brain.
* I also want to clarify, that everyone has bad days, and sometimes one says or does something which they did not mean, because of some stress or something else. This incident was not one of those, the man on the counter was an ill mannered, indecent, pathetic racist.
* Dear concerned employers, the food in your restaurant might be good, or not, I don't know, but if you are employing such kind of people, who do not even possess the basic decency, I don't care about your food, and I can't and will not step inside any of such shit holes, where people of colour are treated in this manner.
Thankfully our rest of the trip went fine, and we didn't encounter any such incident in any other place. Because if something like this happens to you in a foreign country, you do somehow lose the will to explore, let alone be enthusiastic about it. read more