Waiting tables is considered to be one of the most challenging occupations in terms of providing good customer service, despite the fact that working in this industry can be highly satisfying and even borderline romantic at times.
The reason for this is that you are forced to interact with a large number of diverse individuals, some of whom may be entitled, arrogant, Karen-like, or just downright awful.
However, there are other instances in which one may take something positive away from it, and in which human decency emerges victorious.
One such anecdote has recently been making the rounds on the internet, in which a front-of-house staff at a restaurant had a tense encounter with some impolite customers, and the head chef decided he would have none of it and confronted the customers.
Although you can’t pick and choose who your customers are, you can certainly kick problematic customers out of your establishment, as Chef Lee Skeet did.
Lee Skeet is the creator and chef of the Cora restaurant in Cardiff, which is located in the United Kingdom. He recently described how he dealt with some unsatisfactory customers that dined at his establishment.
It is said that a group of wealthy people visited his restaurant and finally racked up a bill of £1,100 (which is around $1,350 at today’s exchange rate). However, the issue was not the law; the problem was their patronage.
You need to understand that, in Skeet’s estimation, they were a very impolite group. His explanation that the 22-year-old front-of-house employee called Lily was spoken down to, mistreated, and groped without her will by people in this group was included in the post that he made on Twitter and Instagram, which was really his e-mail to said customers.
In a tweet that has now gone viral, he recounted how he had taught the impolite customers a lesson by banning them from the establishment and handing the money they had paid him to an employee who was 22 years old.
Skeet believes that the actions of the group were improper since they spoke down to the employee, displayed contempt, and touched her without her consent.
At first, he considered giving Lili some of the money back, but in the end, he decided that it would be more appropriate to give her the whole amount as a kind of equitable restitution.
After having a lengthy conversation with her, he came to the conclusion that it would be in everyone’s best interest if the customers never came back to the restaurant again. And at first, he intended to also pay them back the money that he had taken off the bill as a tip for Lily, which was about 10%, or £100, but he ended up giving her the whole amount, which was £1,100. He did this because he felt that she deserved it.
In the last paragraph of the letter he sent to the customer, Skeet said, “I also believe you should evaluate the individuals you surround yourself with.” It didn’t take long for the letter to make its way into the social media sites we’d already discussed, and once there, it didn’t go ignored.
As soon as it was posted, Skeet’s statement became viral, which not only prompted further media attention but also a lot of praise for sticking up for his teammate and setting a good example for restaurant managers. Skeet’s comment went viral shortly after it was posted.
In a subsequent post, he also mentioned how proud he is of Lily for maintaining a high degree of class and integrity in all that she does.
It has been noted by other chefs, waiters, and relatives of those workers that workers are not “playthings,” and it has been suggested that the next time something similar occurs, someone immediately steps in and asks the customers to leave. This has been stated by a number of people who have left comments on the original article.
