To The Customer Who Smacked Me With A Menu,
First of all, how dare you touch me, and then how dare you tell my manager that I “overreacted” because I politely asked you to leave for laying your hands, or should I say, your menu on me. I sincerely apologize that you didn’t enjoy your dining experience as much as you would have hoped, but that was never my fault. I am a hostess. My job is to get your butt in a seat, and that is exactly what I did.
Little do you know was that I paid extra attention to you and your wife while you two were waiting. For some reason, you two reminded me of somebody who used to be in my life. I rushed to clean off every table in the restaurant because I knew you two as well as other customers were starving. I had this special thought in my mind, and I was going to do a good deed. There are so many stories about paying it forward, and because you reminded me of this person who was so dear to my heart, I laid my eyes on you two; I was going to pay for one of your meals out of my own pocket. But, before this could even happen, this man stormed out of the restaurant with his menu and smacked it on my arm screaming at me.
I was astonished and shocked. Without a second thought, I said, “Sir, please get out of the restaurant. You have absolutely no right to hit me.” Before you know it, A GROWN MAN starts mimicking my lisp. They were out before I could go and get my manager. But, of course, his wife comes back in and has the decency to say, “he did not hit you with the menu, he threw it at you.” I am sorry, but what is the difference? Back to the old phrase, sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me. I would have listened to hurtful words (I mean, every restaurant worker, or heck, every person who deals with the public on a daily basis does). However, as soon as somebody hurt me in a PHYSICAL MANNER, that is what is going to make me “overreact” as his wife told my manager.
Even though I am just a hostess, I have been working in a restaurant long enough to understand what irks a restaurant worker the most. I love my job because I get to socialize with and meet new people on a day-to-day basis and that is why I choose to stay up front at the host stand. Listening to servers and my own restaurant experiences have allowed me to write this letter. We love our customers because that is what allows the company we work at to thrive, but sometimes, there are just a few things that the general public needs to be aware of.
