We went to The Kennedy last night and, up until the end of the evening, we had a great experience…read more The food was good, the atmosphere was great, and the venue itself was beautiful. Unfortunately, what happened while we were waiting for valet completely changed how I feel about this place and is the reason I will not return.
While we were waiting for my car to be brought around, my friend and I were outside talking and leaning against her Bentley SUV. A security guard came outside and, in front of everyone waiting for valet as well as people dining outside, loudly told us that we needed to get off the vehicle because we were leaning on someone else's car.
I immediately explained to him that it was my friend's car.
Instead of simply acknowledging the misunderstanding and moving on, he responded that "it happens all the time" and continued going back and forth with me. I again explained that this was HER vehicle and that we were obviously not going to randomly lean against a stranger's car.
What bothered me most was the assumption in the first place and the way the situation was handled publicly. We were two Black women standing beside an expensive vehicle, and I cannot say what motivated his assumption, but I absolutely walked away questioning why he was so confident that the vehicle could not possibly belong to one of us. There was no initial question such as, "Is this your vehicle?" Instead, we were publicly approached as though it had already been decided that it wasn't ours.
That was embarrassing, unnecessary, and incredibly uncomfortable.
Mistakes happen. Had he simply said, "My apologies, I didn't realize it was your vehicle," that probably would have been the end of it. Instead, he chose to argue and justify the assumption after being told that the car belonged to my friend, which made an already uncomfortable situation significantly worse.
People should not have to prove that they belong somewhere, that they own what they own, or that they can afford something simply because of how they look, their gender, or someone else's preconceived idea of who "looks like" they should own a certain vehicle.
It is unfortunate because we genuinely enjoyed the dinner, the food, and the atmosphere inside. But customer service does not end when someone walks out the restaurant door. The valet and security experience is still part of the overall experience, and this one left such a negative impression that I will not return to this location.
I hope management addresses this with their security and valet teams. A simple question before making an assumption, and basic respect after realizing that assumption was wrong, would have made all the difference.