Who walks in with party of 25 without reservation and expect to be seated quicker?
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Blacks Asked To Leave Restaurant Because White Customer Felt Threatened
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Who walks in with party of 25 without reservation and expect to be seated quicker?
Ace Harding
Member
I wouldn't. I would have left long before that. Then again, I would have called ahead.
Point is that it sounds like some kind of argument occurred before they got seated, not after 2 hours.
Other point is that we don't really know the full story and we've heard this other, more complete account. We still don't have any video. So accusing a restaurant of being racist under all of these circumstances seems a little extreme.
smokeandmirrors
Banned
You'd be shocked at how often this happened to me when I was a host on sunday mornings. This was at one of those 'famous' 'southern' family restaurants. We didn't take reservations but people in large groups on sundays would always get pissy if we couldn't seat them within 10-15 minutes of their arrival, even if they were parties of 10, 12, 18, or 25 or whatever.
Azwethinkweiz
Member
North Charleston? Yes, it most definitely is.
Jest Chillin
Member
Who gets a reservation for a wing place? I don't care how large the group is, wing restaurants are basically sports bars. Sure you could make a reservation but most people just show up. Reservations are typically made when a dinner is planned well in advance. This was probably just a relatively last minute decision.
I'd also say that in a lot of towns, restaurants like this get busy pretty quickly. If every spot in the area was busy, they may have just decided it was best to just wait there rather than try another spot that was just as busy and have to start their wait again.
I'd also say that in a lot of towns, restaurants like this get busy pretty quickly. If every spot in the area was busy, they may have just decided it was best to just wait there rather than try another spot that was just as busy and have to start their wait again.
Simple guideline to help determine "Should I be outraged by this thing I read on the internet":
Step one: Determine if the source of the story is a local TV news station.
Step two: If yes, stop being outraged and move on with your day.
Local TV news stations are not interested in thorough and thoughtful coverage of important issues; they are interested in eliciting, in under 3 minutes, an emotional response that will keep you watching their dumb and pointless show. To that end, it is in their interest that they keep these "stories" as vague and one-sided as possible. Getting worked up over this stuff is little more than confirmation bias masturbation.
Step one: Determine if the source of the story is a local TV news station.
Step two: If yes, stop being outraged and move on with your day.
Local TV news stations are not interested in thorough and thoughtful coverage of important issues; they are interested in eliciting, in under 3 minutes, an emotional response that will keep you watching their dumb and pointless show. To that end, it is in their interest that they keep these "stories" as vague and one-sided as possible. Getting worked up over this stuff is little more than confirmation bias masturbation.
Ace Harding
Member
Ok, agreed that a wing place is like a sports bar. Personally, if I wanted to bring 24 other people with me to all sit together at a sports bar I would make a reservation. Ever go into a sports bar on game day and see those large tables with prime TV viewing spots with big cards on them that say "reserved?" I see that all the time.
Jest Chillin
Member
I have seen it and those tables are typically reserved by regulars who are there every week during a season. It's a standing event for them, so they always reserve tables so they have good seats.
I'm not saying people shouldn't make reservations but the bottom line is that most people don't think of reservations as necessary for such a casual eating establishment. They just show up, knowing that if they have a particularly large group, they'll have to wait.
Surprised at the number of people in here commenting on the 2 hour wait. They most likely expected to wait that long with a party that size. I didn't read anything where they were complaining about their wait to be seated.
Shoot, I have waited 2 hrs to be seated with only a party of 6. Or even just me and a friend can wait for 45min-1hr to be seated if it's the weekend and a busy night for a restaurant. People in this thread must not eat out much. Spontaneous eating happens folks, unless it's a super fancy restaurant I wouldn't think of calling for reservations. Groups (the larger the less likely) don't plan where they are going to be eating days/hours in advance. It's usually just; 'Hey we are hungry, where should we go.' right before leaving to go there.
Shoot, I have waited 2 hrs to be seated with only a party of 6. Or even just me and a friend can wait for 45min-1hr to be seated if it's the weekend and a busy night for a restaurant. People in this thread must not eat out much. Spontaneous eating happens folks, unless it's a super fancy restaurant I wouldn't think of calling for reservations. Groups (the larger the less likely) don't plan where they are going to be eating days/hours in advance. It's usually just; 'Hey we are hungry, where should we go.' right before leaving to go there.
StickSoldier
Member
Why not just have a cook out instead? Way better and a lot of fun
Dude Abides
Banned
No, those tables are reserved for whoever makes a reservation, not regulars. There is a popular sports bar near me that I go to for about 2-3 NFL games a season and we always make a reservation so we know we'll have a table. If we can't get a reservation we don't bother going. If you don't make a reservation, expect to either wait or stand.
DietRob
i've been begging for over 5 years.
Haha.. Whatever you say man. You do realize that most 'news' in the US that you later see on CNN and the likes is picked up first by local stations. It works this way because local stations are actually, well local and have better intel on a local level than the 'big boy' news stations.
So don't be outraged until we see something on the joke of a network CNN right?
BronsonLee
Member
That whole response thing seems...well, made up.
I'm tapping out on this thread until there's more news, but it really seems like they're just trying to justify making a large group wait because of one person.
I'm tapping out on this thread until there's more news, but it really seems like they're just trying to justify making a large group wait because of one person.
CornBurrito
Member
Not for the cook presumably.
Jest Chillin
Member
And people like yourself are a more rare occurrence. The people who regularly reserve all the good spots in a sports bar typically groups of friends who frequent the restaurant often and for the specific intent of watching the games while enjoying food.
We're talking about a large group of people who just want food. And yes, I think everyone who walks into any of these casual restaurants fully knows that they may have to wait and that the larger the group, the longer a wait they'll have. It doesn't mean that they automatically think to make reservations or that they even had planned far enough ahead that making reservations would actually be effective.
Edit: It seems like you may have thought that I meant it's a standing reservation specifically for regulars. That wasn't my intent. I was saying that it's regulars who take the time to reserve good tables every week to make sure they always have a good seat for games.
So that person who said "there are two sides to every story" and was then mocked and ridiculed (including by a mod) was right, after all?
Huh.
NinjaBoiX
Member
Why didn't the waitress ask the racist scumbag to leave instead? How entitled is that anyway? "I don't like the look of them, please remove them from my presence."
Yeah, there may be more to this story than meets the eye, but taken at face value, it's kind of horrendous.
Edit: (above post) OK then. That about wraps it up!
Yeah, there may be more to this story than meets the eye, but taken at face value, it's kind of horrendous.
Edit: (above post) OK then. That about wraps it up!
Jest Chillin
Member
Eh.. not really. People are focusing on the 2 hour wait though that doesn't appear to be a factor in why they were dismissed. There's supposedly some other story floating around about "what really happened," but I haven't seen a link to it anywhere. I don't think anyone has said how credible that story is.
Well, that would definitely put a different spin to the story if anybody could confirm it was true.
I, too, have an anonymous source and they said that one of the patrons was Oprah.
True story
We shouldn't discuss credibility regarding only one side of the story.
There's a link to a story from an anonymous source who supposedly works for the restaurant several posts back. It does make some accusations against the party, including the notion that the wait contributed to tensions.
Dude Abides
Banned
I doubt either of us has done the research necessary to assert with confidence that the people who reserve tables in a sports bar either are or are not typically regulars.
We can, however, agree that it's unreasonable to show up with a group of 25 with no reservation and expect not to wait a long time.
Jest Chillin
Member
One side has put themselves out there by contacting the news and having their images broadcasted along with the story. Another side has anonymously (understandably since their job could be lost) called a radio show and offered a different story.
If it's fine to question credibility of the first side when the article initially surfaces, I think it's fine to question the second side when their story is given in such a secretive way. Why wasn't the manager the one to give the story especially since that manager's job is on the line regardless of whether or not they speak?
I understand the point you're making but I think it's a little late to make it. Personally, I think it's fine to doubt the anonymous source until Wild Wings Cafe Corporate finishes their investigation and reveals what they found.
Yeah I was looking for it earlier but couldn't find any link. But someone quoted it in the meantime since my previous post and I was able to read it. Thanks.
Yes, I think that's a given. My only point was that it's not some weird or out of place occurrence to show up without a reservation and wait.
I'm saying don't be outraged unless what you are reading has actual substance behind it. A one-sided, purely anecdotal story with zero corroboration (which is basically every local news outrage story ever) has no substance.
Keep in mind that plenty of people are going to read that "waitress testimony" (a one-sided, purely anecdotal story with zero corroboration) and immediately say "AH-HA! I KNEW IT!" because it confirms their own biases. They are doing nothing different from people jumping to conclusions based on the original story.
What exactly makes this story more plausible?
It's more plausible that a bunch of black guys were unruly, is that what you're saying?
Boom Boom Pow
Banned
the sister of one of the person in the group said that they did call ahead to let them know a large group was coming. the place doesnt take reservaiton though
It's more plausible that a restaurant kicked customers out for being unruly rather than just simply being racist, yes. Consider which scenario is more newsworthy.
Dunno if it's more plausible. It's anonymous.
It's easy to to assume the worst, especially when it comes to racial discrimination so soon after the Zimmerman case. Personally, I've jumped to the worst conclusion a bunch of times and am trying to do better.
Yes. A party of 25 people are going to be likely loud regardless of race. So yes, it's more plausible that a large group blocking the entrance of a restaurant is going to be agitated by the constant flow of staff and customers asking them to step aside to allow proper foot traffic. For a restaurant to ask a party of 25 to leave is throwing money away. I refuse to believe any business owner is dumb enough to do all that just to accommodate one person. There is more to this story than we're led to believe.
StickSoldier
Member
Weird, people love cooking on the grill out here. We always have water volleyball at my friends mom's house, and one of the guys always cooks amazing food, but he's always cooking on his grill for somethin.
Jest Chillin
Member
I think the odd part is really the two hours. That the Manager would put up with a (according to the anon source) rude, disruptive, and large group like that for two hours before asking them to leave seems odd.
Zoe
Member
Not when you consider that recording the incident didn't enter the mix until the 2 hour mark.
If you turn down all your rude customers, you'll have a failing business. A manager would understand the frustration of a large party waiting that long and should be patient with them. It's an unfortunate situation for everyone involved.
...what kind of wing restaurant takes reservations?
Coming from someone who used to work in the restaurant bus. and still has family there: No, no it is not. Customers, especially large groups that are going to have a huge bill, can get away with basically murder before they'll be asked to leave.
One worth waiting over 2 hours for, apparently.
ANY restaurant would love to get a call in advance to better accommodate a large party.
AyaisMUsikWhore
Member
This is why the south is never going to be a destination of mine. Ugh, I love the north and I will be here as long as I live. I'll even go to natural disaster cali before I go down south. The only thing good is the food imo.
Business owners do dumb shit all the time because for dumb reasons. For someone to be racist, they have to be pretty dumb already, so it's not exactly a leap. I just don't see how there's an expectation of unruly behavior from a group of 25 people waiting at a restaurant. Maybe I'm just being naive, but if you bring 25 people anywhere you're going to expect a long wait to get seated together and you'll wait patiently if you really want to eat there.
My perspective may be skewed on the matter though.
Jest Chillin
Member
If that was indeed the catalyst. According to the anonymous source, it was other problems. That's kind of why I find that source a bit dubious. I find it more likely that the 2 hour wait was due to space constraints and that the manager was opposed to being recorded than it would be for a Manager to put up with all the things that were stated in that anonymous sources story for two hours.
I understand that but two hours is an incredibly long time to put up with the extremely disturbing actions (disturbing in the sense of being a disturbance/nuisance). Money is great but I can't see any Manager putting up with what was reported by that source, subjecting the staff and other customers to that kind of behavior for two whole hours and then only kicking them out right before they're to be seated.
Up to and including an shouting match laced with expletives with another customer? Seems overly passive to allow all of that for the sake of a bill.
V
Vilix
Unconfirmed Member
In other words, yes: knee jerk GAF is too quick on the draw...again.
calling in advance != reservation.
Here in Houston, many restaurants won't even let you call ahead to get your name on the list. Only upscale pricey restaurants take reservations here.
Again, its a friggin wing restaurant.
If the establishment was truly racist, they would've refused them from the start. And boy do I wish people who go out think like you, I really do. That's just not how it is though.
I jumped the gun with my response, you're right. The point I was trying to get across was a call in advance would give the customer a good idea of what to expect and what a restaurant can do for them. Telling them then the waiting time would shift the responsibility to the customer so they can decide what's best for them. My point had nothing to do with yours.
Nothing I read from that side of the story equates to "extremely disturbing actions." Anyone who've worked a service job knows that we put up with a lot.
Jest Chillin
Member
Insulting a deaf patron, blocking the exit for other customers and refusing to move, and a loud cursing match with a separate patron would be a pretty big disturbance to my evening had I been eating there. I can imagine that staff puts up with a lot but I'd assume being a disturbance to other customers isn't as well received.
It's a wing joint, not a 5 star restaurant, so in most cases that would be a yes. My cousin has been a server at all sorts of places and he's put up with some stuff that would truly turn your stomach, especially at some of the lower end joints of the restaurant spectrum.
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