My family and I ate here last weekend while visiting from out of town. It was a chance for us to spend some quality time together, as we live in different states and don’t get to see each other often. Unfortunately, due to a severe medical condition, one of my family members had an accident while we were eating. For the sake of privacy, I don’t feel comfortable sharing too much information; however, I will share that this person is 77 years old and, despite taking every precaution, has no control over what their body does at times. As soon as we realized what was happening, we, of course, focused our priority to helping my family member. They were humiliated and sobbing from embarrassment. As soon as we get them calmed down and taken care of, I walk back to this restaurant to notify the staff of what happened and let them know that they need to pull the chair from the floor. When I arrived, the chair was gone and all three staff were with customers. Two of us continued to shop in the complex while the other two went back home to address the situation that just occurred. As I’m shopping in another store, one of the owners of the restaurant finds me, pulls me aside, and says something to the effect of “I know this is embarrassing, but did someone have an accident?” I told her yes, apologized, explained the situation, and told her that I had come back to notify the staff but I saw they were already aware of the situation because the chair was gone. She then proceeded to berate me, compared my 77 year old family member to a toddler, told me they’d have to throw away an “expensive chair”, and expressed over and over that it was a Friday night and now they’re down a chair. She eluded that I should pay for the chair. When I explained to her that I thought owning a restaurant means assuming responsibility for the things you choose to put it in, like CLOTH chairs, and your customers are using the chairs as intended, to sit, you’re going to have accidents and chairs will need replaced. She responded with “I’m not putting plastic chairs in my restaurant”, implying she’s above that. Ultimately, it ended with me giving her my information so, when she talked to her partner and they came to a solution, they could call me and possibly send me a bill for a new chair. I have never experienced such a lack of compassion and insight from a business owner. Never once during our conversation did she express empathy or knowledge of what it’s like to serve the public. If an “expensive” chair causes you to put material items above the feelings of others, don’t have expensive chairs. And if having to buy ONE chair puts you out so much that you ask a customer to pay for it, then maybe you should rethink your business model. It was the literally two bites of greasy tacos that caused the accident in the first place, and I hope you’ve realized how shameful of a way you handled this situation and when it happens again- and it will because you serve the public and accidents happen- you handle it differently.
Update: based on the owner’s response, I would recommend never stepping foot into this place. It was clear that I wanted to respect the privacy of my “family member” yet she had no problem outing who it was. Second, I did come back into the restaurant to notify someone, and I did apologize when you pulled me aside. They were the first words out of my mouth. Finally, for you to make assumptions based on what you saw and without knowing the whole story, is irresponsible. I’m not going to waste any more time and energy to explain, nor do I think I need to justify putting my mother first before returning to tell you about your precious chair. If this ever happens to someone you love, I hope you’re treated with...
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