This incident happened at least 10 years ago. I was in a food court in a local mall with my niece (she was about 6 at the time) for her dance class. After dance class she wanted a frozen fruit juice from the new stand that just went in (not part of a chain). The girl who took our order looked like she was about 16. She was obviously new and so it was taking a bit longer than it should have, but it was okay as we were just patiently waiting and chatting. She even turned to us once and said she was sorry for the delay but she was still trying to get the hang of things. I told her it was fine, we had no problems waiting.
A little bit later an older woman comes out from the back and asks very curtly, “What you wait for?” I explained that we were already taken care of and everything was just fine. The lady (and I use this term loosely) then literally stomped over to the girl and proceeded to scream at her for taking so long. The older lady then grabbed the drink from the girl’s hand rather roughly and spilled half of it. She then screamed at the girl some more for making her spill the drink.
I was in shock and my niece was now standing behind me. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore, and so I said “Excuse me, Ma’am.” When the lady whipped around to face me, I asked who she was. She explained that she was the owner. I said something to the effect of, “And you think it’s good for business to berate your employees like that?” I went on to tell her that we had been patiently waiting and that the girl had been extremely nice and apologetic for the delay. But the lady just stared at me.
The poor girl who waited on us was in tears. So I turned to her and told her that no job was worth the abuse she was taking, to just walk out and go tell her parents what happened, they’d understand. And I turned back to the owner and told the owner that “We do not tolerate the kind of workplace hostility I just saw and that if you keep that up you will not have any customers.” I then told her that if I hadn’t already promised my six-year-old niece a juice that I would get my money back because of how SHE acted, not because of how long it was taking. The owner seemed taken aback by my words, mumbled what could have been an apology and quickly got my juice.
When I gave the juice to my niece, I told her in front of the owner that we would not be back to this place because the lady was mean to the girl. My niece said it was okay because the mean lady was scary.
A few months later, I went again with my niece to her dance class and then to get a treat afterwards, and the juice station was gone.
– Auntie
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Good for you!
You were polite and patient with a girl learning the ropes, a true dream customer.
AND you probably said exactly what the poor girl was thinking to that horrible woman.
The service industry thanks you!
THANK YOU for not only calling out the owner but also making sure your niece understood that her behavior was wrong. Employees can't stand up for themselves lest they be fired, so I cannot thank you enough for stepping in to help her out. As young as she was, it was probably her first job and she didn't know any better so it's good that you told her it's not okay to be treated like that.
Good for you for standing up for that girl… and for explaining to your niece what was happening in that situation.
Well, you stood up to the owner, but you still gave her your money. I would have left and gone elsewhere, after giving her hell for being so abusive to her employee.
Wow! That was a great story! It was awesome of you to stand up to that woman, owner or not. Not to mention, I think you handled it VERY well, especially in front of your niece, who was probably pretty freaked out by the "scary" woman! I bet the teenage girl also thanks you.
It's just amazing to see how owners act and treat their employees sometimes. I think the total "owner" kind of goes to their heads. An owner is not all about power, it's about being a leader…
It's nice to see a story where it's the owner or server being a total witch for a change instead of the customers. Thank you very much for sharing this story and wow, if only more people could be as awesome as you and know the difference between right and wrong along with how to handle a situation like an adult instead of a kid having a temper tantrum. And such a good example – (you having a talk with the owner about her behavior in front of your niece and all) – for your niece. Heh.
Should have thrown th juice all over the owner, I know I would have.
That would be as "shitty" as the "way" the owner treated that employee! Honestly, "sinking down" to their "level!" Ridiculous!