Waitress fired, restaurant owner sorry after customers labeled 'black couple' on receipt

[Archivist]

What a load of false indignation over nothing. I tried putting myself in the woman's shoes. What if me and my partner, who were a minority in the restaurant, were referenced on the receipt as 'white'? Would I care one iota? And the answer, I have to say, is an emphatic 'no'. I wouldn't care. I am white, and if I was the only white person in the restaurant, it's reasonable to remember me in such a way.

First, there is a difference between being white and being a minority.

Second, and I keep asking this, why not just reference the table number?

 

[LyraJean]

I don't there is a difference anymore. I think it's less about color and more about socio-economics.

 

[Soyeong]

Being racist is not about noting that people have differences in skin color and not being racist is not about pretending that there are no differences in skin color. It's a heart matter.

 

[KimT]

I think the whole thing is very sad. I feel bad for the woman who was offended, bad for the waitress who lost her job, and bad for the owner. I just pray that all will forgive and count their blessings.

 

[Archivist]

6 is one. I know a lot of people tie that number to the devil and who wants to be referenced in such a way.

I know of no Satanic references to the number six. The number 666, yes, but not six. In any event it is just a number. "Black couple" is a reference based on skin color. Much different.

I was actually thinking about this when I went out to lunch. I graduated high school in an almost all-white class. Almist 300 white students and one black girl. You don't think that after being referred to as "the black girl" throughout high school that she wouldn't be offended had this happened to her?

BTW, I noticed that every table at the restaurant where I are lunch had a number attached to it. Once again, why is it such a problem to refere to the table number.

Liberals looking to be offended will somehow find a way.

I knew that someone would eventually try to turn this into a liberal/conservative thing.

 

[Archivist]

I think the whole thing is very sad. I feel bad for the woman who was offended, bad for the waitress who lost her job, and bad for the owner. I just pray that all will forgive and count their blessings.

This is probably the best post thus far in this thread.

 

[AirPo]

Perhaps that works for you. I had a student assistant one time who was 4'11"--she would be highly offended if she received a receipt that said "short girl".

Agaiun, the tables were numbered. Why not just reference the table number. That isn't a difficult concept.

It can be for some folks.

 

[abysmul]

Welcome to the United States of the Offended.
How dare someone offend me! Anyone who offends me should be fired at a minimum (and never allowed to work again) or thrown in jail!

 

[Archivist]

Welcome to the United States of the Offended.
How dare someone offend me! Anyone who offends me should be fired at a minimum (and never allowed to work again) or thrown in jail!

Neither the video nor the article indicate that the woman who was offended asked that the waitress be fired. It appears that this was an action taken on the part of the owner.

And, again, this wouldn't be an issue if the waitress had simply referenced the table number.

 

[abysmul]

Neither the video nor the article indicate that the woman who was offended asked that the waitress be fired. It appears that this was an action taken on the part of the owner.

And, again, this wouldn't be an issue if the waitress had simply referenced the table number.

It's indicative of our current culture, God forbid the owner not fire her.... or social media and the media in general attempt to destroy the business and their personal lives. Anyone paying attention to current events and the happenings in our society could predict what would happen if the waitress had not been fired.

 

[ChristsSoldier115]

Neither the video nor the article indicate that the woman who was offended asked that the waitress be fired. It appears that this was an action taken on the part of the owner.

And, again, this wouldn't be an issue if the waitress had simply referenced the table number.

I think Missouri is an at will state. So the owner is well within his rights to fire her for any arbitrary reason. If people disagree with the owner, oh well. Don't go to the restaurant in protest then. If you don't like the fact that an owner can fire you for any reason then don't work in at-will states. lol

 

[Archivist]

I think Missouri is an at will state. So the owner is well within his rights to fire her for any arbitrary reason.

Well said.

 

[whatbogsends]

While it seems a bit odd - i've never written a description of the customer on the bill (or anywhere else) when i was waiting tables or bartending, but unless the service was somehow discriminatory, the reaction seems inappropriate. I would certainly advise the waitress to NOT put these types of notes on the bill, but unless there's more to it, it doesn't make a lot of sense.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

I know that witresses do sometimes need to identify people. However this waitress could have come up with a better designation for this couple.

Would you want your bill to say something like "guy with rash" or "nose picker" or "man with hair growing out of his ears" or "bald as a cue ball" or "guy with a cold sore"?

All of that applies to me...guess I would stand out in a crowd a bit.......

I got a receipt once with the name "mustache" typed in. I left the receipt on the table with my number and the name "mustache" written on it for her but she never did call me back.
I really hope she didn't get fired for that because I didn't take offense to an obviously helpful identifier.

Man, just when I think I have heard it all......

 

[grasping the after wind]

I know that witresses do sometimes need to identify people. However this waitress could have come up with a better designation for this couple. Would you want your bill to say something like "guy with rash" or "nose picker" or "man with hair growing out of his ears" or "bald as a cue ball" or "guy with a cold sore"?

Are you really going to go to a place where "black couple" is equivalent to "nose picker". You have chosen some phrases that go beyond merely descriptive to somewhat mocking. The one is obviously meant as an insult and some others are things no one would bring up to a person's face so doing so behind their back is inappropriate. I do not know about you but I do not see being a black couple as something to be ashamed of or something to be embarrassed by, unlike being a nose picker or having a rash .There is nothing wrong to me about a waitress noticing hair growing out of an ear( which I actually do have and would not be offended if a waitress were to use that to help here identify me when I have forgotten to shave it). "bald guy" should not offend a person that is bald but that is very different from "bald as a cue ball guy" which is about equivalent to "black as the ace of spades couple" and if the waitress had used that expression I would be applauding the owner for firing her.

 

[Archivist]

Are you really going to go to a place where "black couple" is equivalent to "nose picker". You have chosen some phrases that go beyond merely descriptive to somewhat mocking. The one is obviously meant as an insult and some others are things no one would bring up to a person's face so doing so behind their back is inappropriate. I do not know about you but I do not see being a black couple as something to be ashamed of or something to be embarrassed by, unlike being a nose picker or having a rash .There is nothing wrong to me about a waitress noticing hair growing out of an ear( which I actually do have and would not be offended if a waitress were to use that to help here identify me when I have forgotten to shave it). "bald guy" should not offend a person that is bald but that is very different from "bald as a cue ball guy" which is about equivalent to "black as the ace of spades couple" and if the waitress had used that expression I would be applauding the owner for firing her.

Perhaps you should have read my Post #21 in which I wrote "Obviously I was going to an extreme to make a point--why describe them based on appearance?"

I have asked over and over--why not simply identify customers by table number?

 

[Supreme]

First, there is a difference between being white and being a minority.

Second, and I keep asking this, why not just reference the table number?

She wasn't named 'black' because she was in a national minority. If there were other black people in the restaurant, it wouldn't make any sense to term her and her partner the 'black couple'.

 

[Archivist]

She wasn't named 'black' because she was in a national minority. If there were other black people in the restaurant, it wouldn't make any sense to term her and her partner the 'black couple'.

Please read what I actually wrote. I didn't say she was labeled black because she was in a "national minority." I wrote that there is a "difference between being white and being a minority." You don't think that those who are minorities are a little more sensative to be refered to by their skin color?

Second, and I keep asking this, why not just reference the table number? Why can't you provide a simple answer to a simple question?

 

[SepiaAndDust]

Second, and I keep asking this, why not just reference the table number? Why can't you provide a simple answer to a simple question?

You keep asking, and the employees of the restaurant keep not being Members here. You're unlikely to get a knowledgeable answer.

Some possible answers (any of them or none of them may be correct):

The restaurant doesn't have table numbers.
The tables are numbered by a computer, based on which server is assigned to them, and it was nearly time for a shift change.
Tips are calculated by a computer, and the employee was working a table outside of her assigned area. She wanted to make sure she got "tip credit" for the work.
The couple moved from one table to another.
Some event was scheduled, and the couple stood a good chance of being moved to another table later.

 

[Archivist]

You keep asking, and the employees of the restaurant keep not being Members here. You're unlikely to get a knowledgeable answer.

Some possible answers (any of them or none of them may be correct):

The restaurant doesn't have table numbers.
The tables are numbered by a computer, based on which server is assigned to them, and it was nearly time for a shift change.
Tips are calculated by a computer, and the employee was working a table outside of her assigned area. She wanted to make sure she got "tip credit" for the work.
The couple moved from one table to another.
Some event was scheduled, and the couple stood a good chance of being moved to another table later.

If you read the article you know that the tables were numbered because the waitress admitted that.

The woman said that they were sitting at the very first table. Perhaps they moved but she didn't say that they had changed tables.

The others are possibilities, but all a bit of a stretch.