Rough times with computers and work
First off, I've about had it with my computer's internet connection. The damn thing takes ten minutes and a few tries turning things off and back on before it'll even recognize a connection. And then it still won't load any web pages for at least another five minutes and a couple more rounds of Off/On. Seriously, I'm not happy. Especially since we pay quite a bit each month for this wireless crap. Grrr...
A funny thing happened today...well, not so funny. It's actually had me kinda upset most of the night. Tonight I had someone accuse me of being prejudiced toward Hispanic people. Yeah.
This group of nine latinos came into Outback tonight during peak hours when we really didn't have anywhere to put a party of 9 (we already had all our big tables taken up by other large parties). We told them it would be a little bit, and the guy got agitated. They said they would take two booths instead of one large table, but for that we would need two of our larger booths, and none of those were available close to each other at that point. Basically, their timing sucked, and the guy wasn't helping matters by standing over us at the host stand and asking where their table was.
I finally found a place for them at two of the smaller booths with a chair pulled up at the end. I apologized for their wait, and one of the ladies apologized for the guy's behavior as I sat them. I really thought that would be the end of it.
Apparently not. They tried to order things we didn't have (Outback doesn't have chili cheese fries...just cheese fries, but they wanted chili...), one of their orders was wrong and they sent it back, the new order took forever to get there, etc. I'll admit that the service in the restaurant tonight definitely wouldn't have won any awards, but it wasn't anything we were doing on purpose.
So I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I think they decided to leave before the replacement order got there because it was taking so long. Not unusual. But I think the lady didn't want to pay for the entire meal since so much went wrong. Again, not unusual. Unfortunately, it took for freaking ever for the front manager to get her bill and make the arrangements and get her paid out. She waited for (I'll admit) too long on the check, and Jarvis really should have been more on top of things. Apparently, the kitchen was crap tonight and having crisis after crisis. Such is life at Outback on Lakeshore.
Anyway, the lady asked me once again where the check was so she could pay. I told her that the manager would be back out in just a minute. She finally lost her patience and said that they just wanted to pay so they could go because they hadn't gotten their food and they were still hungry and such. I tried to tell her that I as a hostess couldn't do anything about her bill besides get the manager...which had already happened.
That's when she said that this is what always happens when the people are Hispanic, in a very accusing tone of voice. I was very taken aback. I've never before been accused of being prejudiced against Hispanic people. I immediately spluttered that no, of course that wasn't the case! She shook her head and pointed at me said "No, you...we are Hispanic and so you treat us this way." Again, I argued with her and tried to tell her that she was wrong about me. By this point, I felt very singled out by her. She wasn't talking to the restaurant in general or the other people standing behind me. She was talking just to me; in that moment, I was the one she was calling prejudiced. I finally realized that nothing I could say would convince her that I didn't think that at all. I just looked her in the eye and said "I'm really sorry you feel that way." I didn't know what else to say. I thought about spitting out some sentences in Spanish, but I really didn't think that would help matters any. I felt like crying right then and there. She was looking at me with this utter disgust and to be perfectly honest, I felt like the one who was being judged. I love the Hispanic culture, and I would never do anything to make anyone, latino or not, feel inferior. Not to mention, I'd been the one running around trying to make sure we could find a place for them all to sit together in the first place. And I'd been nothing but polite to them since the moment they walked in the door. It just didn't feel fair, and it hurt.
In happier news, I'm about three weeks away from starting my interim in Argentina! Yay!!! I'm getting really pumped about it! Right now I'm getting together stuff that I might pack and reading up on Argentina. I'm so excited! :-D
Ok, that's all for now because I need to go to bed. Hopefully I'll update again soon! Love!
A funny thing happened today...well, not so funny. It's actually had me kinda upset most of the night. Tonight I had someone accuse me of being prejudiced toward Hispanic people. Yeah.
This group of nine latinos came into Outback tonight during peak hours when we really didn't have anywhere to put a party of 9 (we already had all our big tables taken up by other large parties). We told them it would be a little bit, and the guy got agitated. They said they would take two booths instead of one large table, but for that we would need two of our larger booths, and none of those were available close to each other at that point. Basically, their timing sucked, and the guy wasn't helping matters by standing over us at the host stand and asking where their table was.
I finally found a place for them at two of the smaller booths with a chair pulled up at the end. I apologized for their wait, and one of the ladies apologized for the guy's behavior as I sat them. I really thought that would be the end of it.
Apparently not. They tried to order things we didn't have (Outback doesn't have chili cheese fries...just cheese fries, but they wanted chili...), one of their orders was wrong and they sent it back, the new order took forever to get there, etc. I'll admit that the service in the restaurant tonight definitely wouldn't have won any awards, but it wasn't anything we were doing on purpose.
So I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I think they decided to leave before the replacement order got there because it was taking so long. Not unusual. But I think the lady didn't want to pay for the entire meal since so much went wrong. Again, not unusual. Unfortunately, it took for freaking ever for the front manager to get her bill and make the arrangements and get her paid out. She waited for (I'll admit) too long on the check, and Jarvis really should have been more on top of things. Apparently, the kitchen was crap tonight and having crisis after crisis. Such is life at Outback on Lakeshore.
Anyway, the lady asked me once again where the check was so she could pay. I told her that the manager would be back out in just a minute. She finally lost her patience and said that they just wanted to pay so they could go because they hadn't gotten their food and they were still hungry and such. I tried to tell her that I as a hostess couldn't do anything about her bill besides get the manager...which had already happened.
That's when she said that this is what always happens when the people are Hispanic, in a very accusing tone of voice. I was very taken aback. I've never before been accused of being prejudiced against Hispanic people. I immediately spluttered that no, of course that wasn't the case! She shook her head and pointed at me said "No, you...we are Hispanic and so you treat us this way." Again, I argued with her and tried to tell her that she was wrong about me. By this point, I felt very singled out by her. She wasn't talking to the restaurant in general or the other people standing behind me. She was talking just to me; in that moment, I was the one she was calling prejudiced. I finally realized that nothing I could say would convince her that I didn't think that at all. I just looked her in the eye and said "I'm really sorry you feel that way." I didn't know what else to say. I thought about spitting out some sentences in Spanish, but I really didn't think that would help matters any. I felt like crying right then and there. She was looking at me with this utter disgust and to be perfectly honest, I felt like the one who was being judged. I love the Hispanic culture, and I would never do anything to make anyone, latino or not, feel inferior. Not to mention, I'd been the one running around trying to make sure we could find a place for them all to sit together in the first place. And I'd been nothing but polite to them since the moment they walked in the door. It just didn't feel fair, and it hurt.
In happier news, I'm about three weeks away from starting my interim in Argentina! Yay!!! I'm getting really pumped about it! Right now I'm getting together stuff that I might pack and reading up on Argentina. I'm so excited! :-D
Ok, that's all for now because I need to go to bed. Hopefully I'll update again soon! Love!