Mari R.
Yelp
I am genuinely disappointed, though not entirely surprised, by your response. Instead of demonstrating any willingness to listen to a customer's concerns, you immediately chose to respond with hostility, personal attacks, and baseless assumptions. Your decision to publicly defend your employee without reviewing the facts or the video footage first reveals a clear bias and a complete disregard for basic customer service principles.
Your statement that "respect is earned" is particularly concerning coming from a business owner. Respect should be the foundation of any customer interaction, regardless of who the customer is. Unfortunately, your response--and the behavior of your manager--reflects an environment where disrespect and mistreatment are normalized and even justified.
I welcome your decision to review the video footage. In fact, I encourage you to do so and to share it with the police, as it will clearly show that I was calm, that I was harassed, and that your manager chose to follow me outside to continue the confrontation. This footage will serve as an unbiased record of the events, and I stand by my account of what took place.
Your message makes it clear that your establishment is not a safe or welcoming space for all customers, particularly those willing to speak up against mistreatment. Fortunately, there are countless other businesses that value and respect all customers--businesses I will be happy to support moving forward.
here's the story people -
I had an extremely upsetting experience at this coffee shop, which I feel compelled to share, especially with other people of color.
After placing an order, I waited patiently for an extended amount of time while the barista stood chatting with someone instead of preparing my drink. Trying not to be rude, I eventually approached another employee at the register to politely ask how much longer it would be. She quickly realized my drink had been sitting unfinished on the counter. She directed the barista to complete it, and as I stood to the side texting my son's autism therapist, I overheard her falsely describing my approach to the barista, exaggerating and fabricating details to paint me in a negative light.
I immediately addressed this, calmly explaining that her version of events was inaccurate. Rather than resolving the situation, she began insulting me and justifying her behavior, even after I requested to speak to a manager--only to be told she was the manager herself. Her condescending remarks escalated, and when the barista eventually handed me my drink, I chose not to accept it, explaining I wouldn't support a business that treated customers this way. Her response? "You already paid for it, so who cares."
Thinking the ordeal was over, I walked away to eat with my family. But 15 minutes later, she followed me outside, approaching me and my children to continue harassing me and say " your disgusting you should be ashamed of yourself" My son's therapist, who witnessed everything, intervened to de-escalate, making it clear that this behavior was harassment. I ultimately had to call the police to file a report against her. I fully plan to follow up on this as this was clearly unprovoked harassment. My walking away to return to tend to my family should have been enough, but looking for someone in a busy market to approach them and their family to disrespect them further? how do you justify that?
As a woman of color in a predominantly white establishment, this incident was not just poor customer service--it felt like a clear display of disrespect and hostility. I love supporting small businesses, but I encourage people of color to carefully consider where they spend their money. There are many businesses out there that value and respect all customers--this is not one of them.
