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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHow my restaurant successfully dealt with harassment from customers
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-my-restaurant-successfully-dealt-with-harassment-from-customers/2018/03/29/3d9d00b8-221a-11e8-badd-7c9f29a55815_story.htmlErin Wade is a chef, restaurateur and co-author of The Mac + Cheese Cookbook.
We decided on a color-coded system in which different types of customer behavior are categorized as yellow, orange or red. Yellow refers to a creepy vibe or unsavory look. Orange means comments with sexual undertones, like certain compliments on a workers appearance. Red signals overtly sexual comments or touching, or repeated incidents in the orange category after being told the comments were unwelcome.
When a staff member has a harassment problem, they report the color I have an orange at table five and the manager is required to take a specific action. If red is reported, the customer is ejected from the restaurant. Orange means the manager takes over the table. With a yellow, the manager must take over the table if the staff member chooses. In all cases, the managers response is automatic, no questions asked. (At the time of our meeting, all our shift managers were men, though their supervisors were women; something else weve achieved since then is diversifying each layer of management.)
In the years since implementation, customer harassment has ceased to be a problem. Reds are nearly nonexistent, as most sketchy customers seem to be derailed at a yellow or orange. We found that most customers test the waters before escalating and that women have a canny sixth sense for unwanted attention. When reds do occur, our employees are empowered to act decisively.
The color system is elegant because it prevents women from having to relive damaging stories and relieves managers of having to make difficult judgment calls about situations that might not seem threatening based on their own experiences. The system acknowledges the differences in the ways that men and women experience the world, while creating a safe workplace.
brush
(53,743 posts)WhiskeyGrinder
(22,308 posts)* A rating system that takes away the inclination to explain away behavior and replaces it with a sentiment/judgment. People don't get hung up in explaining, justifying, weighing or debating.
* "In all cases, the managers response is automatic, no questions asked."
LiberalBrooke
(527 posts)No one is questioned about why they are uncomfortable.
forgotmylogin
(7,520 posts)When I was a waiter, we had a code. If you saw "TT-16" on the board in the kitchen, it meant "tag team table 16"...the customer or the table is being in some way abusive or rude, the original server assigned ditches, and the table never sees the same server twice for the rest of the night as we bugged the absolute shit out of them being over-polite way too often.
It wasn't just for sexual harassment, but it worked for that too - one stupid guy ordered a dessert with lurid innuendo that his young female server needed to feed it to him and he would share it with her. The dessert was hand delivered by our burliest male waiter along with an extra spoon in case he still wanted to "share".
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,525 posts)DemocratSinceBirth
(99,708 posts)unblock
(52,123 posts)Arkansas Granny
(31,507 posts)BobTheSubgenius
(11,560 posts)FSogol
(45,448 posts)Neema
(1,151 posts)Which I daresay would probably be an improvement over what's currently going on.
ismnotwasm
(41,967 posts)zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)Won't work in other places, but any place with retail customers, it sounds excellent. The best part is how quick and decisive it is. Talk about "empowering" your employees.
A friend of mine in high school worked in retail in a mall. It was my first exposure to the abuse some women have to endure on the job. They were required to wear name tags, and she and her coworkers requested that they be allowed to use fake names. Too many guys could use the real names to stalk them and cause trouble. So when they got a call at the store for their fake name, they knew it wasn't a friend or family member. When someone "stopped by" and asked for them, the coworker could just say "they're busy, can I help you?".
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,816 posts)the employees routinely had name tags with fake names. I have no idea if it had anything to do with harassment, but I found it amusing. It did seem strange however that a couple of newer co-workers didn't actually know his real name.
Anyway, either the system described in the OP or what you've mentioned could be quite effective in a lot of workplaces. It might not be possible in an office or factory situation, but someone a lot smarter than me who understands HR could probably figure out a variation that would work.
zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)Old acquaintance of my did "exotic dancing" for a while. Almost none of the strippers use their real names. And I don't mean silly suggestive things. Frequently they just use a "professional" name. Avoids alot of problems all around.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,816 posts)I've never been a stripper but I would not use Poindexter Oglethorpe if I took up that career.
At the movie theater they kids used regular names, like Eric, Steve -- I think my son was Steve. I was somewhat under the impression they did it to mess with management. The on site manager new and didn't care, but periodically upper management would drop by.
TeamPooka
(24,209 posts)zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)Some try to not be obvious that it's fake. This woman said that spice names were popular. (Heather, Ginger, Rosemary...)
PatSeg
(47,279 posts)askyagerz
(776 posts)But wouldnt work in most small towns. My ex was a waitress for many years. She got it everyday. Only a cook or two and one or two waitresses a shift. Sometimes during slow hours she would be the only person there.
Same assholes everyday. I eventually had to go threaten a few them. A 20 something kid and having to go tell a bunch of old men to be gentlemen.
I will never understand these guys that think they are gods gift to women...
question everything
(47,437 posts)The manager just comes in and asks him to leave? What if he refuses? Creates a scene? Comes later with pals?
I suspect that the "red" is an obnoxious individual by nature..
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,308 posts)question everything
(47,437 posts)WhiskeyGrinder
(22,308 posts)goes on.
TeamPooka
(24,209 posts)they are embarrassed to anyone they are with.
Every now and then someone makes a stink (back when I was a young waiter/bartender) and I'd just say "You can leave nicely or the police can make it harder on you."
Then you would just have to pick up the phone.
No one ever waited for the cops to arrive.
They'd be gone before I finished dialing.
OnDoutside
(19,948 posts)rainin
(3,010 posts)tazkcmo
(7,300 posts)And told why and done in a professional and calm manner. I've had to do this a quite a few times for various reasons, not all being crew harassment issues. Most go quietly and those that don't I give them the option of letting the police handle or the ownership if they were there and then they'd call the cops.
One of my favorites was when a table of 4 kept returning their steaks. After 3 attempts at meeting their needs, our owner told them to leave as he suspected they were fishing for free meals as happens especially at large chains like Applebee's and such. Anyway, they said they weren't leaving, wanted their meal and expected it to be free. They threatened to sue due to discrimination against African Americans. That was funny because of the 300 or so people eating at that time, 90% were AA and having a great time. Our owner responding by saying, "Look around you. Go ahead and sue. I have 6 lawyers, a line out the door and a faithful clientele most of who are AA. So go now or wait quietly for the police to remove you like a common criminal in front of all these nice people enjoying themselves right now.". They left, talked a little shit on the way but they left and the rest applauded our owner and thanked him for removing them.
TheFrenchRazor
(2,116 posts)Demovictory9
(32,423 posts)FakeNoose
(32,594 posts)How would a female manager handle the orange or red customers? Either they need special training for their managers, or they're only hiring male managers because of this program.
It's actually a workable system, but larger restaurants especially franchise restaurants have many more women as managers.
Just sayin'
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,308 posts)But women managers can certainly be the ones to ask customers to leave. Why wouldn't they?
TeamPooka
(24,209 posts)and that they have diversified the levels since then.
yardwork
(61,539 posts)Why wouldn't they be able to handle the situation, since they are empowered by the owners to act?
zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)My presumption on this was that there was an advantage of switching genders of servers. i.e. when the server was female, the male supervisor takes over so that we're not just putting one female in place of another to be harassed.
yardwork
(61,539 posts)Power is the difference. Servers are "servers" - they are vulnerable to abuse because their role is to serve customers. A manager of any sex can solve the problem by asking an abusive customer to leave. The server doesn't have that power.
Male servers are vulnerable to abuse as well. Any server is vulnerable.
zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)Their system had three levels. Level two involve replacement to try to diffuse the situation before it became level 3. (Actually, at the server's request, they could be replaced at level 1 as well). One thing they mentioned was that since they had started the system, they didn't get to level 3 anymore because these situations tend to build and by intervening early, it stopped the problem before it got out of hand.
yardwork
(61,539 posts)MicaelS
(8,747 posts)shenmue
(38,506 posts)Beartracks
(12,799 posts)... in the ways that men and women experience the world"
Very cool.
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burrowowl
(17,632 posts)Seems like a good system.
Kentonio
(4,377 posts)I wish all customer facing companies would roll out something comparable nationally.
Nitram
(22,768 posts)people of color. It has also been very effective.