Note: Please see “Racial Discrimination in Restaurants? Part I”
Faithful readers, you know so far that my husband, daughter, and I were mistreated at a Denny’s restaurant in South Carolina. We believe it was a result of racial discrimination. The following is a continuation of this story.
When we returned to Maryland, I knew that I needed to call Denny’s customer service. So, I went to the Denny’s website and found the phone number. I was greeted by a customer service representative who asked how she could help me. Humph…she was in for a surprise. I don’t remember her name, but she was very polite about the whole thing. When I told her that I wanted to report my dissatisfaction at a Denny’s location, she asked me what happened. I began to explain the story, and when I told her I thought we had been the victims of racial discrimination, she stopped me.
Apparently, when they get a report of alleged racial discrimination, there is a specific procedure that they have to follow. She told me as much and then proceeded to tell me that Denny’s takes discrimination very seriously. I sure hoped so! She first asked me what race my family is. She then asked what race(s) the waitstaff was. She then asked me to tell her what happened. After I had finished explaining the night’s events, she said that the next question was crucial and that she had to take my answer verbatim.
She asked me why I thought that this issue was a matter of racial discrimination. I spoke slowly knowing that she had to type every word I was saying. I told her that since we had been sitting there for twenty minutes with no one looking at us, then a black man walks in, gets seated, and his order was taken right away, we felt that we had been victims of racial discrimination.
She then said that the report would be forwarded to the appropriate department and asked if I wanted to be contacted. Of course I wanted to be contacted! She took my name and address and said that someone would be in touch. It has been two weeks and so far, I have heard nothing. I will let you know when I am contacted.
Look for the conclusion of this story, hopefully coming soon!