If you went a bar or restaurant and they refused to serve you...

[Anonymous]

No explanation, just refused to serve you. How would you respond? Assume they continue to stonewall, won't say what the problem is or even that there isa problem, but just make it clear that they will not serve you.

There are other people there being served, they are not closed, it's not a private party, they are not even particularly busy and don't appear to be short staffed. They just don't want to serve you. You don't know anyone there so to your knowledge it can't be a personal issue.

What would you do?

[Anonymous]

Leave and yelp the hell out of the place.

[Anonymous]

Go somewhere else and not think on it again. Life is too short to have a beef with a hostess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Leave and yelp the hell out of the place.

We left and I'm considering a Yelp review. But I'm not even sure what to say, it was such a weird experience. Still trying to figure out if we did something inadvertently to offend them to cause the behavior because I'm so confused. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go somewhere else and not think on it again. Life is too short to have a beef with a hostess.

Fair enough. I would definitely like to shake it off but it is really bothering me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go somewhere else and not think on it again. Life is too short to have a beef with a hostess.

Fair enough. I would definitely like to shake it off but it is really bothering me.

If you’re visually obviously part of a marginalized group, you might bother to alert the management to your experience. Otherwise just move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No explanation, just refused to serve you. How would you respond? Assume they continue to stonewall, won't say what the problem is or even that there isa problem, but just make it clear that they will not serve you.

There are other people there being served, they are not closed, it's not a private party, they are not even particularly busy and don't appear to be short staffed. They just don't want to serve you. You don't know anyone there so to your knowledge it can't be a personal issue.

What would you do?

Say their name here. It’s even more effective than yelp. Maybe they’ll pipe up and explain their bad behavior to you. Was the person the same skin tone as you?

[Anonymous]

Are you a known person? Like we’d recognize you

[Anonymous]

Were they about to close? Were you underdressed? Were they being racist?

Is the restaurant a front for some other kind of business? Maybe they did you a favor.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I went to Yelp to consider leaving a bad review and discovered they have a zillion bad review on there, many people with similar experiences of being rejected for service. Actually feel way better -- they weren't discriminating against us, they are just terrible at customer service and apparently have a habit of hiring really hostile staff. Good to know, won't be back!

Don't want to betray my anonymity on here by saying their name, but Yelp your restaurant and don't go places with a ton of one-star reviews!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I went to Yelp to consider leaving a bad review and discovered they have a zillion bad review on there, many people with similar experiences of being rejected for service. Actually feel way better -- they weren't discriminating against us, they are just terrible at customer service and apparently have a habit of hiring really hostile staff. Good to know, won't be back!

Don't want to betray my anonymity on here by saying their name, but Yelp your restaurant and don't go places with a ton of one-star reviews!

Ok, I am really curious how they refused. They refused to sit you - saying there was not room? Or you sat down, asked for drinks and they said “not for you.”

The former just means they were full to the capacity their service workers could handle. It sounds like they do not say it very well or very nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Leave and yelp the hell out of the place.

We left and I'm considering a Yelp review. But I'm not even sure what to say, it was such a weird experience. Still trying to figure out if we did something inadvertently to offend them to cause the behavior because I'm so confused. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.

I am sorry it happened to you!
Something like this would seriously mess me up!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I went to Yelp to consider leaving a bad review and discovered they have a zillion bad review on there, many people with similar experiences of being rejected for service. Actually feel way better -- they weren't discriminating against us, they are just terrible at customer service and apparently have a habit of hiring really hostile staff. Good to know, won't be back!

Don't want to betray my anonymity on here by saying their name, but Yelp your restaurant and don't go places with a ton of one-star reviews!

Ok, I am really curious how they refused. They refused to sit you - saying there was not room? Or you sat down, asked for drinks and they said “not for you.”

The former just means they were full to the capacity their service workers could handle. It sounds like they do not say it very well or very nice.

No we came in, sat down at the bar, and ordered, but they refused to give us our drinks and when we asked about them after a normal amount of time (like 10 minutes, and because we though they'd just forgotten about us) the bartender said "sure, I'll get right on that" and then walked away and served other people. And then when she was nearby again, my companion said "I'm sorry, did we do something wrong? I don't understand." And the bartender looked at us and said "No, everything is fine, I'll be right with you." And then walked away and started filling other people's drink orders.

The annoying part was that we'd already put down a card when we ordered so had to ask for that back and ask to have our check cleared (we weren't going to pay for drinks we never got from a bartender who had been openly hostile, plus I didn't trust her not to just add a tip for herself).

It is one of the weirdest things I've ever experienced in a customer service situation. But some of the Yelp reviews described almost identical situations -- waiters/bartenders who just ignore customers, refuse to serve people, refuse to fill certain orders, etc. Strange business model.

[Anonymous]

It's a big deal only for you. Bars do it all the time, but restaurants not so much. Someone looking like you left without paying?
I'm surprised you don't know why. Think again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a big deal only for you. Bars do it all the time, but restaurants not so much. Someone looking like you left without paying?
I'm surprised you don't know why. Think again.

Well I'm mid-40s and it's never happened to me. I don't understand why someone would refuse service to (and a tip from) a paying customer unless that person had done or said something offensive. I also work in client service and I've never randomly refused to work with someone I just met because I felt like it -- that would be a good way to ruin my career.