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19
“No Means No!”: Café Owner Calls Out “Entitled” Customers After They Left Teen Worker In Tears
A small business owner in Victoria, Australia, has ignited a larger conversation about civility and respect in the hospitality industry after publicly calling out a group of diners who reduced a teenage staff member to tears.
Ben Arnold, owner of My Little Kitchen in the scenic town of Healesville, took to Facebook to denounce the behavior of a group of eight customers who became irate after being turned away due to lack of space.
Highlights
- Ben Arnold, cafe owner in Victoria, Australia, publicly condemned diners who reduced a teen staff member to tears after being turned away.
- The incident began when a group of eight diners was denied seating due to limited space.
- Arnold believes disrespect toward hospitality workers is on the rise.
“No means no! It’s that bloody simple,” Arnold wrote in a fiery post that has since gained traction online.
“If you think it’s okay to make a teen cry while at work you can kindly f*** off from my venue.”
RELATED:
A café owner in Australia went viral after calling out a group of diners who reduced a teenage staff member to tears
Image credits: My Little Kitchen / Facebook
According to Arnorld, it all began when the group entered the establishment without a reservation and became aggressive when informed there were no tables available, which, while a frustrating situation, is not precisely rare in restaurants.
What he couldn’t have anticipated was that the group would become so irate that they would start throwing demeaning insults towards one of his youngest employees.
Image credits: My Little Kitchen / Facebook
“Now, if you ever walk in with a group and we say ‘no sorry we can’t take you,’” Arnold wrote.
“That conversation might be had with Ben, Danielle, Caitlyn or any of our other members of staff, many of whom are not decade-long seasoned hospo!”
Image credits: My Little Kitchen / Facebook
He added that his café often has to turn away large groups due to its limited seating, which is why reservations are so important.
Image credits: My Little Kitchen / Facebook
“We have turned away thousands of people in groups of over 8,” he explained.
“We are not turning you away because we don’t like something about you. We are turning you away because that’s the decision that has been made for that time period on that day.”
Arnold took the chance to address what he sees as a rise in disrespect towards hospitality workers by customers
Image credits: My Little Kitchen / Facebook
For the owner, the situation was about more than just the momentary pain of seeing one of his staff reduced to tears.
It reflected what he sees as a growing erosion of respect toward hospitality and service workers, who he believes are being disrespected and attacked now more than ever.
Image credits: My Little Kitchen / Facebook
“The future of hospitality is standing in front of you,” he said, emphasizing that much of his team is made up of junior staff, many of whom are having their first experience in the labor market.
“If you burn them now our industry is over,” he added. “The people who will own and operate the venues you will want to go to in 10 or 20 years… will be gone if this is what they face.”
Image credits: My Little Kitchen / Facebook
Arnold concluded his post with a reminder that his establishment’s policies are non-negotiable and that any issues a client might have with them should be brought directly to him.
“Once again, no just means no. We do not need to give you a reason why,” he wrote.
Netizens congratulated the business owner for standing up for his junior staff members
Image credits: My Little Kitchen / Facebook
The community swiftly rallied around Arnold’s message, with many sharing their stories of both seeing and experiencing mistreatment towards hospitality workers.
“Well said. The stories I hear about the way some entitled people treat young staff, kids who are actually out there having a go and contributing to their community, are absolutely disgraceful,” a reader wrote.
“Thank you Ben. Hopefully your staff member regains their confidence,” another added, while others encouraged the owner to keep “calling out the bullies who think they are so smart when in a group.”
Image credits: My Little Kitchen / Facebook
Arnold’s post touched on a broader issue facing the hospitality industry around the world.
With businesses and customers feeling the pressure from rising costs, lowered standards, and hostile interactions, even venues as large as McDonald’s have been forced to implement unprecedented measures.
Image credits: My Little Kitchen / Facebook
As Bored Pandapreviously reported, specific McDonald’s restaurants in the US and UK have implemented a ban on students under 18 from eating inside after 5 pm unless accompanied by an adult.
According to a spokesperson, the measure was implemented after staff were subjected to “verbal and physical abuse” from customers.
“A boss I’d like to work for.” Netizens praised Arnold for defending his employees
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Ace 3 months ago
I want to hear from the 5%, presumably one person so far, of the poll who answered "the customer should always be prioritized". What should they have done?
Michael Largey 3 months ago
The customer should remember that "the customer should always be prioritized" doesn't stipulate what priority will be possible in a given situation.
Load More Replies...
Tabitha 3 months ago (edited)
It’s an old saying, but it actually applies here; “ You can k**l more flies with honey than you can with vinegar”. More people will go over and above, and do their best job for you if you’re kind and handle any glitches that may happen with grace and understanding, than they will of you’re nasty and entitled and make one of them cry. The “squeaky wheel always gets greased” b******t doesn’t work anymore. That had its day back in the “Greed is Good” eighties—-and those of us in service jobs back then (myself included) got really f*****g sick of it really quick. The modern approach is to be reasonable, understanding, flexible, and willing to switch to Plan B if you can’t get what you originally wanted. Why? Because s**t happens, bad weather pops up, businesses close, equipment breaks, and a whole host of other unexpected s**t happens. Most of the time customers never know it happened, because it gets fixed PDQ, but sometimes it can’t and EVERYONE has to adapt, not just staff, but customers too. If you walk into a restaurant with extremely limited seating, and you’re with a large group that has NO reservation, and expect to be seated and served, then YOU are the a*****e, not the restaurant owner, manager, or staff. Only YOU. If you make the newest and youngest member of staff, a teenager, cry because of your insulting and vicious behavior, the you can just f**k all the way off to hell and suck Beelzebub’s a*****e for eternity—-and I will be happy to send you straight there right now. I don’t think I’m alone in that.
John McLeod VII 3 months ago
The squeaky wheel gets the grease still works if something that is supposed to work doesn't. But in this case it never applied as the restaurant just doesn't have the seating. On the flip side we went to a restaurant with reservations for 8 p m. for 2. We showed up at 7:50 expecting to wait 10 to 20 minutes to be seated. We finally left at 11, went home and ate what we could find in our refrigerator. I admit to being very unhappy at the hostess and the manager. The restaurant lasted less than 6 months because we weren't the only ones this happened to. (Do that to a food critic and just watch what happens).
Load More Replies...
Emilu 3 months ago (edited)
This cafe is out of my way, but close enough that I can go and support them. You remember if your boss goes above and beyond, and you also remember if your boss was a flaming PoS. I think I may have posted this elsewhere on BP, but I still remember being a crying teenager who'd just been told by a customer that "she hopes all my attempts at children miscarriage" because I wouldn't break company policy to issue a refund, and then this (at the time, acting) manager flits out of nowhere, "apologises on my behalf" and issues the c**t with her refund. Hope she choked on it. I later became friendlier with this manager (had to; I was working 40 hours or close to a week with him!), but about two decades later I still remember how he treated me. I forgave him but I won't forget it, and I sure as hell won't stand back and watch someone treat a teenager just trying to earn a few bucks badly enough to make them cry. You bet I'll call them out on it, and loudly.
Ace 3 months ago
I want to hear from the 5%, presumably one person so far, of the poll who answered "the customer should always be prioritized". What should they have done?
Michael Largey 3 months ago
The customer should remember that "the customer should always be prioritized" doesn't stipulate what priority will be possible in a given situation.
Load More Replies... Tabitha 3 months ago (edited)
It’s an old saying, but it actually applies here; “ You can k**l more flies with honey than you can with vinegar”. More people will go over and above, and do their best job for you if you’re kind and handle any glitches that may happen with grace and understanding, than they will of you’re nasty and entitled and make one of them cry. The “squeaky wheel always gets greased” b******t doesn’t work anymore. That had its day back in the “Greed is Good” eighties—-and those of us in service jobs back then (myself included) got really f*****g sick of it really quick. The modern approach is to be reasonable, understanding, flexible, and willing to switch to Plan B if you can’t get what you originally wanted. Why? Because s**t happens, bad weather pops up, businesses close, equipment breaks, and a whole host of other unexpected s**t happens. Most of the time customers never know it happened, because it gets fixed PDQ, but sometimes it can’t and EVERYONE has to adapt, not just staff, but customers too. If you walk into a restaurant with extremely limited seating, and you’re with a large group that has NO reservation, and expect to be seated and served, then YOU are the a*****e, not the restaurant owner, manager, or staff. Only YOU. If you make the newest and youngest member of staff, a teenager, cry because of your insulting and vicious behavior, the you can just f**k all the way off to hell and suck Beelzebub’s a*****e for eternity—-and I will be happy to send you straight there right now. I don’t think I’m alone in that.
John McLeod VII 3 months ago
The squeaky wheel gets the grease still works if something that is supposed to work doesn't. But in this case it never applied as the restaurant just doesn't have the seating. On the flip side we went to a restaurant with reservations for 8 p m. for 2. We showed up at 7:50 expecting to wait 10 to 20 minutes to be seated. We finally left at 11, went home and ate what we could find in our refrigerator. I admit to being very unhappy at the hostess and the manager. The restaurant lasted less than 6 months because we weren't the only ones this happened to. (Do that to a food critic and just watch what happens).
Load More Replies... Emilu 3 months ago (edited)
This cafe is out of my way, but close enough that I can go and support them. You remember if your boss goes above and beyond, and you also remember if your boss was a flaming PoS. I think I may have posted this elsewhere on BP, but I still remember being a crying teenager who'd just been told by a customer that "she hopes all my attempts at children miscarriage" because I wouldn't break company policy to issue a refund, and then this (at the time, acting) manager flits out of nowhere, "apologises on my behalf" and issues the c**t with her refund. Hope she choked on it. I later became friendlier with this manager (had to; I was working 40 hours or close to a week with him!), but about two decades later I still remember how he treated me. I forgave him but I won't forget it, and I sure as hell won't stand back and watch someone treat a teenager just trying to earn a few bucks badly enough to make them cry. You bet I'll call them out on it, and loudly.
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