They say that the customer is always right. This saying doesn’t necessarily mean everything the customer says or does is correct, but what it does mean is that the customer should be treated with respect and have their requests tended to, even in the event that they are actually wrong.
But, of course, there comes a point where a customer crosses the line, and they must be denied and turned away. Something similar happened one day when an angry customer screamed at a restaurant owner telling her that she should post a sign on the window “warning” other customers that the restaurant has employees with special needs.
The whole fiasco began when the customer asked an employee to refill his salad bowl. However, the employee did not understand what his request was. Furthermore, he wasn’t trained on a situation like the one he faced, but the man wasn’t cooperative. The customer quickly lost patience and got very upset.
“My manager explained to him the situation privately, ‘That’s not his job. We’ve trained him to do this and there are special circumstances,’ and the customer was still not happy,” said restaurant owner Amanda Cartagine.
But, boy did Amanda comply with the customer’s request for posting a sign on the outside of her restaurant! However, instead of providing a “warning,” she defended her employees by posting a sign that read, “We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and hire all of God’s children!”
While we are told not to fight fire with fire, what the restaurant owner proves is that it is important to stand up for what, and who, you believe in – and there is a right and a wrong way to do it. In the case of the Pizza Inn owner, she did the right thing by defending her innocent employee who faced discrimination from a bitter customer.
“These are like my kids, and it made me angry. I wanted to do something that was not rude but got my point across,” Amanda told WYFF News. “Some of us have different colored hair. Some of us have tattoos. Some of us have, you know, different walks, different personalities – but as a unit, we’re family.”
In fact, there’s a reason why Amanda has a special heart for hiring people of all different backgrounds. According to her, her son with Down Syndrome inspired her to hire people not based on their looks or their abilities but on their character and willingness to work.
In reality, every place of work should be open to hiring people of different walks of life. The world would be a better place if we would judge less and see potential in everyone. Too often, we wear negative lenses and only see the flaws in people, ignoring the positive. But, if we were more understanding, empathetic, and open-minded, we could all be a little more like Amanda and her heart of gold.
Learn more about how Pizza Inn owner Amanda Cartagine tackled the tough situation by watching the video below.
If Amanda’s kind act, in honor of her employees, touched your heart then please share the video on social media!
