Grill'd Southern Cross — Restaurant in Melbourne

I am writing to express my deep disappointment and concern about the treatment I received in this establishment today, around (28/05/24) at 2:15 PM. I have been a regular customer, typically came the grill at Southern Cross around 6:30 PM. However, the experience I had today was markedly different and unacceptable at this time from some member of the staff. I have never in my time here in Melbourne post a complaint of attention to the customers.

Upon my arrival today, I encountered behavior from your staff that was both discriminatory and extremely rude. I have never been treated so poorly as a customer. The service I received from the lady with the band in her hair and another female staff member was appalling. They displayed clear favouritism, attending to customers but neglecting others like me that are with some disability.

The staff member that attend me in the tile rolled her eyes at me and took my order in a dismissive manner. An a lady with band on hair that is a staff member and apparently the manager as she mentioned me. She was yelling me in a highly unprofessional way. When I pointed out the poor service to them, this lady responded rudely and began to yell at me. This escalated to the point where I raised my voice as well, despite being in pain from an injury that I have in my leg. Notable she didn’t care.

I took a sit because I felt on pain. Then the same lady continued to yell at me, offering an insincere apology in a confrontational manner. At one point, she even touched my shoulder to move me away which was entirely inappropriate and escalated my discomfort and frustration. Since I didnt want she attand me and leave my food on table. I fell so odd.

As I waited for my food, this staff member continued to behave aggressively, even shaking glasses near my head in a threatening manner. When I asked for her name to file a formal complaint, she refused and told me it was none of my business. Instead, she insisted I should place my drink in a specific spot when done, which is not my responsibility. I asked for paking up my food to gone hovewer my leg was in pain that I nedded to keep sit there.

Despite my objections from her, she sat down at my table to chat about the issue, she mentioned me that she is the manager of the place that for me was so rare that rude one can be the manager from there. Her behavior was far from what I would expect from someone in a managerial position. Instead of addressing the issue professionally, she was defensive and aggressive, telling me not to take things personally while having been the one to initiate the personal attack.

Additionally, other staff members, including the cook lady shore her and another server, were extremely rude, using inappropriate language and further adding to the hostile environment. This is not acceptable behavior for any establishment with anyone.

I strongly urge you to review the security footage from today to see the harassment and mistreatment I endured. This experience has left me feeling discriminated against and deeply upset and not comfortable to eat in this place or any grill any more. I will not recommend this establishment to anyone, especially those with disabilities or vulnerabilities, as the staff’s behavior is discriminatory.

There is no justification for yelling at customers or being rude due to a busy environment or loud music. Your staff’s behavior was inexcusable, and I did not receive a genuine apology.

I hope you take this matter seriously and address the issues with your staff promptly to do No repeat with anyone again.

as I felt unsafe and vulnerable from This...

Upon entering the location we noticed a worker running around frantically and clearly not coping with his workload. All other staff were busy and calm. The gentleman running around took our order. The first thing my husband mentioned was that he wanted the free burger due to our team winning. The worker missed him ordering some nuggets and my husband didn't look at the screen. To be honest he felt uncomfortable as the worker was so frantic it was very uneasy to be around. Whilst we were waiting, I asked the frantic worker for some water. He told me I was going to have to chill and wait..........We could see it was busy, and we're more than happy to wait. We didn't need to be told to chill and wait. When our food came there was no nuggets. The waitress, who was super friendly, got the other gentleman. He said no nuggets were ordered and that my husband should have read the screen. I agree, he was correct, my husband should have looked at the screen but in saying that, my husband made it clear we were after the free burger, and we ordered over $20. The guy assisting us was so frantic and never asked what free burger we wanted. We scanned our membership and it should have come up. The frantic worker shook his head at us and said he would bring us nuggets. He stormed off shaking his head and continued shaking his head in disgust when he placed the order. The gentleman sitting next to us overheard everything and stated that the same guy who helped us messed up his order as well. He just didn't bother saying anything as he didn't want to deal with the worker. On a side note my husband's burger and fries were cold. It was a horrible night. The worker was so frantic and clearly not coping it was really uncomfortable to be around. Talking to him was unpleasant as he was melting down from the workload. It was busy but not ridiculous. Everyone else at this location was coping with their workload and friendly. I did message two weeks ago however no one from Southern Cross bothered to respond back to me. I was hoping to have a friendly discussion to discuss the errors made on both sides however they chose to ignore...

I really appreciate that Grill’d partners with Vinnies and Salvos to feed people in need through their city support program — it's a generous and meaningful initiative. However, my experience tonight left me, and many others in line, feeling frustrated and uncomfortable.

It was clear that staff and volunteers were stressed, and the vibe was tense. People lining up for food were being judged on whether they "looked" like they needed help or could explain their situation well enough to be allowed a meal. That’s not right.

Yes, I understand the concern around people abusing the system, and I agree that it’s not okay for someone well-off to take food meant for those in need. But trying to assess someone's situation on the spot — based on appearance or ability to argue — is just not a fair or respectful approach.

Especially when your website clearly states: "For the rest of the night, our burger-slingers team up with Vinnies and Salvos to feed anyone for free — no questions asked."

If that’s no longer the policy, it needs to be updated. If it is the policy, then it should be followed in spirit and in practice.

I’d suggest either returning to the true "no questions asked" model, or consider introducing a simple system like meal tickets that are handed out in advance by support organisations — maybe with a hole punch or exchange token to keep things smooth and dignified for everyone involved.

The heart is in the right place, but the execution tonight really...