Forest S.
Yelp
I No Longer Recommend the Shake Shack in Downey...
One unprofessional and prejudiced employee is all it takes to ruin one's experience and a store's reputation.
I entered the Downey store at about noon on Tuesday July 22, 2025. I stood looking at the menu on the wall for a few minutes. I decided rather quickly...But despite the store being close to empty-when I entered only a total of 3 people at 2 tables were lunching. I waited to be served at the empty and abandoned counter for some 5 to 8 minutes. The manager finally walked by and said, "We'll be with you in a second." It was almost 3 or 4 more minutes before anyone showed up behind the counter. It occurred to me that they thought I was homeless or something and were hoping I'd leave if they ignored me long enough,
A young female employee finally walked up to the register from the back kitchen area and I noted she did so most unenthusiastically. Oddly, she didn't say a word to me, she just looked up at me as though she was thinking, "Yes? What are you doing here? What is it?" That is certainly what I read in her demeanor and countenance and how I felt in any event. The irony is that I match her general physical description as I'm also short and dark (although I'm a male.) I bought $30 worth of food to go and I handed her a $100 bill. As expected, she marked it with a pen to ensure its authenticity. I wasn't upset-my wife is a mid-level executive for a major financial institution and I used to work in criminal prosecution, for the District Attorney's Office-so I know full well the proliferation of counterfeit bank notes going around and the need for companies to prevent losses.
After marking it, she suddenly and silently handed it back to me and quickly walked away, leaving me standing there like I'm some kind of undesirable riffraff or some other something...She reappeared with the manager who is a light-skinned female. I looked at the young employee and I said in a calm and casual voice, "What's wrong...It's not counterfeit..." The young employee, her obvious disdain for me palpable, neither looked at me nor answered my statement, as if I did not rate her attention. My instinct was to walk out right there, for I'm Very wary of Any person who carries such a sulking and cold disposition being anywhere near me-let alone near my food. You know, bad vibes and all. The manager nodded her approval of the note so the young employee silently took the bill, counted the change and handed it back to me as though I were the Invisible Man, she didn't look at me and she didn't say one word to me. Not a single word. What is one to conclude from such random and "unearned" rotten treatment?
For the next 10 or 15 minutes I stood off near the middle of the dining area and watched this same young employee warmly greet every single individual and party who walked in and approached her at the counter with a loud, "Welcome in!" and "Hi, welcome!" and "Welcome, what can I get you?" I don't know what I did but I was greeted with an unhappy muted frown.
As my food was ready, a different and very helpful and pleasant female employee brought out my bag and I asked to speak "To whoever is in charge."
The same female manager came out. It didn't go so well. I concluded her reaction to my experience to be condescending and trivial:
The first thing I said was, "This isn't about the inspection of the $100 bill, I don't care about that. It's about that employee at the counter. I just spent $30 here. She didn't say a single word to me when she walked up to take my order, she didn't say anything to me when I handed her my money, she ignored me when I asked her about checking the bill I remitted to her, and she didn't once say 'thanks,' not when I paid my bill and not when she handed me my change." Just as I expected, the manager lacked customer care skills: The very first thing she said in reply to me was, "Oh, we always check the high dollar bills so you..." I interjected, "Your reply shows me you're not listening to me. The very first thing I told you just now is that I don't care about the counterfeit inspection. I'm addressing your employee's rudeness, inhospitality and unprofessional conduct. I mean what is it, do you guys think I'm some kind of homeless guy coming in here?" "Oh no, we don't discriminate..." "Yes you do, you guys just did it to me now. Everyone else got a 'welcome in' and I got cold ugly looks and silence." She did interject a "Sorry, I'll talk to her about it."
What a drag...I just wish employees like the aforementioned would not visit upon me whatever trouble is within them. I work as an executive assistant to retired MLB and NFL players, I work in elite-level Baseball, I'm a 2-branch US veteran, a top-20 university grad and I often wear Burberry apparel--but even those modest achievements/traits do not immunize me against appearance-based prejudice and discrimination.