I suppose I should have known better as this establishment is in a redneck part of the city where very few Black people frequent... But in this day and age, you get deluded into thinking racism is dead when in reality, it is very much alive.
My husband, my son and myself go out to dinner almost every Sat night, so it is not as if we aren't used to eating out and I have worked in food service for many years, so I know what does and does not constitute good service.
We entered Harbor One and were immediately seated in the back, which should have been my first clue, as the place was NOT crowded. A waiter came to take our drink order and before he could return, a different waiter placed a note on our table next to me, that said "I thought you'd like to know that your waiter said the only difference between blacks and canoes is that canoes tip. I was offended by this as I'm sure you are"
I had to read it several times for it to register - I couldn't believe this was actually happening. My husband saw the look on my face and asked what was wrong and I just stood up and said, "let's go, we're leaving". He and my son went to the car and just as I got to the front door, I decided I wanted the manager to see this note. So I asked for a manager and was told he was in the bar. I went in the bar, found the manager and showed him the note. He didn't seem to know what to say or what to make of the whole thing and wanted to keep the note, but I made him give it back to me.
The following Monday, I wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper (which never made it to print) and at the urging of several friends, called a couple of attorneys to see what they said. It seems that unless this waiter had done something like spit in my drink, right in front of me, there was nothing that could be done. So I called a couple of the local tv stations and one of them was very interested in the incident. They went to the restaurant to talk to the day manager (who was also the owner) and he convinced them to not put the story on the air til he'd had a chance to talk to me himself.
So I called him and he went on and on about how he was so shocked and appalled and how that was his "best waiter" but he'd "fired him anyway" when he heard what had happened (like I'm dumb enough to buy that lie) etc, etc. He wanted me to come back to Harbor One and have a meal on the house to make up for what happened, but I declined. Goodness only knows what they would have done to our food, if I'd accepted his offer. Like I stated earlier, I've worked in food service for many years and I know how the games are played. For all I know, the two waiters had the whole thing planned out together&probably was some kind of sick little game that two prejudiced little peons had played before.
I am posting this not to complain about how they didn't try to make things right, because I have to admit, the owner did do that. This is just to warn other minorities to stay away from this place unless you want to be insulted like we were.
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