CHARLESTON, South Carolina (AP) -- Rose Rock, the mother of comedian Chris Rock, claims she was racially discriminated against when she was seated but ignored for a half hour at a Cracker Barrel restaurant along the South Carolina coast.

Rock said Tuesday she planned to sue the Lebanon, Tennessee-based company. A Cracker Barrel spokeswoman said the restaurant chain was investigating and taking the complaint "very seriously."

Cracker Barrel has in the past faced numerous lawsuits and a federal inquiry over complaints of refusing to serve black customers, discriminating against minority workers and firing gay employees. The company has taken steps to rebuild its folksy image and reach out to minorities.

Rock, who is from Georgetown, said she and her 21-year-old daughter were the only blacks at the chain's Murrells Inlet restaurant in April. She said when she asked the manager about the delay she was told they could have a free meal.

"He never called over the waitresses and asked, 'Why did these people sit here for a half hour without service?' " she said. "The only thing he said was we could have a free meal and neither of us wanted to eat."

Cracker Barrel spokeswoman Julie Davis said the company doesn't "tolerate any form of discrimination."

"It has always been a violation of our policies and procedures and it is neither condoned nor allowed," she said. "We do not allow the type of behavior you are describing," Davis said.

Rock said she contacted the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission and was told her complaint would be handled, but "nothing ever happened."

The head of the commission, Jesse Washington, said Tuesday that after initial discussions, the complaint was finalized August 7 and his agency also was investigating. He would not comment on the complaint.

"We get thousands of charges coming through here in the course of a year," he said. "It's not out of line -- the time frame on this. It is being investigated and we will be in touch with her when we have a report."

The Rev. Al Sharpton will join Rock on Wednesday in South Carolina to announce that Sharpton's Action Network will finance the planned lawsuit.

"I'm getting reports from all over the country about Cracker Barrel," Sharpton said from New York on Tuesday.

He also said state officials are slow to act on such complaints.

"When people are talking about there is no more discrimination, a lot of it is because they are not following this stuff up," Sharpton said.

Cracker Barrel, established in 1969, operates 547 restaurants in 41 states, according to the company's Web site.

Georgetown is about 60 miles northeast of Charleston.

I read through this and had several thoughts. The first one was -- this was not discrimination, this was just plain bad service.

In reading through the story, I do not personally see any evidence of discrimination, it speaks to bad restaurant service. What further got me a little hot under the collar was the fact that it went all the way to Cracker Barrel corporate office, not becuase of a complaint but of who was doing the complaining. It has also been elevated to the State Commission and now public funds are being used to investigate and determine if it was discrimination or bad service. If you or I (or any other Joe Schmoe) were to complain, would we get the same attention? I doubt it. Would Al Sharpton come to our rescue and finance a lawsuit? I doubt it. Would it even make the CNN news? I doubt it.

So once again, a celebrity (albeit by relation) has created a stir and because of who they are (not the issue itself) it actually makes the news. Now increasing the already letigious society we live in...

I had bad service at a Cracker Barrel once. My waitress was Latino. Should I have complained I was discriminated against to corporate? Should I have complained to the State commission?

Or should I have just taken my free meal and went on my way and vowed to never eat there again?

Hmmmmmm......

After a discussion, the Moderators feel that this thread can be posted. Please keep your posts clean and free from stereotyping.

Thank you.

After a discussion, the Moderators feel that this thread can be posted. Please keep your posts clean and free from stereotyping.

Thank you.



Huh???????????

Huh???????????

CycleMike,

The moderators here in the cove review posts that may bring in discussions of Politics or Religion. Anytime there is a controversial thread, the Moderators step in to eliminate these issues, before they get started. These are discussed between the Moderators and a decision is made. The experience here is to be enjoyable.

Review the following forum which defines the rules on the use of the Cove:

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I'm afraid I lack IEGeek's apparent omniscient ability to divine the causes of this little dustup, and the moderators' acquiesence notwithstanding, it seems a singularly inappropriate topic for discussion here. But here it is, so perhaps we can make some lemonade.

Because there's no way for us to know what went on, let's look at it with the assumption that the failure to serve the complainant was unintentional. What can a service-oriented business do to avoid such situations? The likely cause for a restaurant customer to be overlooked is almost always confusion with regard to the servers' table assignments: two different servers each think that the table in question is the other's responsibility, and thus pay no attention to the customers languishing in wait of sustenance.

If the wait staff is oblivious to all customers other than the ones in each individual's own zones of responsibility, there has been a management failure (or the incident is some sort of outlier, but this would be a prime example of how dangerous the tails of the distribution can be). The chances are good that the servers are doing what they've been told to do--take care of their own tables and don't mess with anyone else's. It seems that if people who make their living serving the public--whether in a restaurant, store, gas station, whatever--are given the responsibility for making sure that all customers are taken care of promptly and courteously, a lot of this sort of thing could be avoided.

In this case, it is rather odd that the complainant waited thirty minutes before complaining, but the fact is, even if her motives were questionable, the restaurant staff created the opportunity.

It's bad management, either way you look at it.

I've gotten the same at a couple of Cracker Barrels and I'm 100% WASP.
So I'm with the "just bad service" argument.
In fact, I don't go to Cracker Barrel anymore becuase the last few experiences, at different restaurants, have not been good ones.

I'm not going to comment on the recial discrimination as I doubt all the facts are contained within the story. One thing that did annoy me was this though:


"He never called over the waitresses and asked, 'Why did these people sit here for a half hour without service?' " she said. "The only thing he said was we could have a free meal and neither of us wanted to eat."



I would not ask these questions on the middle of a restraunt floor in front of customers. I would ask the questions but it would be in private and I would be happy to inform the customer of the reason once I had interviewed the employee.

Based on what is in the article it sounds more like a case of bad service and the customer didn't get their pound of flesh by way of putting the employee on the spot.

I have been in several establishments where the servic is not up to par, and many are not. My big judge and what I base my tip on is, "do they keep my drink filled"

I agree with most of what was said here, but I do want to make a point that if you really can't beleive there is not a possiblility of racial discrimination still going on this country - espescially in the south - well your just wistling Dixie (if you get my drift)

I have been to numerous Cracker Barrels in several states.
I have waited for more that 1/2 hour in a few. Just poor service, and we also was offered free meals by the manager after I complained. The manager did talk to the waitress but not in the dining room.
I have had the same experiences at other places too over he years. Most recent was an Applebeys.

I agree with most of what was said here, but I do want to make a point that if you really can't beleive there is not a possiblility of racial discrimination still going on this country - espescially in the south - well your just wistling Dixie (if you get my drift)

Gee, it seems that there is geographical prejudice still going on in this country, too. So, what if this had happened in Wisconsin? Would that have made a difference?

Give me a break.:rolleyes:

Bad service is bad service, and it does not matter if the customer is black, white, or from Mars.

So, what if this had happened in Wisconsin? Would that have made a difference?


Only if the complainant was a Bears fan.:D

There are way too many details missing from the OP to really determine anything here. However I was in a Cracker Barrel just last week in Southern Illinois.

We were seated 2 tables away from 3 "persons of color". The only reason I noted it at all was that I knew there had been some new items in the past relating to Cracker Barrel. Anyway I noted no difference in the service to anyone in the resturant at the time.

However, eating at the same store a few days later on our way back, the service was slow - of course it was also the lunch hour and people were lined up to get in.

Like I said above, too many details missing

James

Only if the complainant was a Bears fan.:D

:topic:

Hey, wait a minute... Although I have lived in the south since the '70s, I was born in Chicago, and lived there until age 12. And, because of that...

I am a bears fan.

Dick Butkis (No. 51) is still the greatest.

Sheesh, just can't win one today.

I have only been to Cracker Barrel twice and was not impressed :nope: Both times were business related; I'm starting to think we went there to extend our day!

If the wait staff is oblivious to all customers other than the ones in each individual's own zones of responsibility, there has been a management failure (or the incident is some sort of outlier, but this would be a prime example of how dangerous the tails of the distribution can be). The chances are good that the servers are doing what they've been told to do--take care of their own tables and don't mess with anyone else's. It seems that if people who make their living serving the public--whether in a restaurant, store, gas station, whatever--are given the responsibility for making sure that all customers are taken care of promptly and courteously, a lot of this sort of thing could be avoided.

I used to wait tables at a local place similar to Cracker Barrel and yes we had assigned sections. However, if I saw someone sitting...and sitting...and sitting - I would ask the host or hostess "hey who has table number 22?"

I wasn't trying to get another server into trouble - just trying to find out why the heck are these people sitting there and is it possible that I'M supposed to be their server in the event that someone went on break, etc.

In my opinion, its not just the management that failed here. Problem is, when you pay servers $2.04 per hour plus tips, no one really wants to get involved - just pull their shift and go home. My :2cents:

Craig is absolutely right. Bad service is bad service. I am a relative newcomer to the South, and I am constantly being reminded that "if the cat has kittens in the oven we don't call 'em biscuits :D " One thing that I have to say is that the south is not what you see on television, all the old re-run images from the 50's and 60's.

As for lrowe's comments, Craig is correct, we need to leave the geographical bias outside this thread. I have seen prejudice against persons of other races in the north, south, east and west. Anyone who thinks that this type of bad service (and that is exactly what it is) could only happen in the south is badly mistaken.

I am not sure about the original story. I briefly searched Snopes, and did not see any listings as to it's validity. It seems to have the makings of an anecdotal story, but I am not dismissing it as if it did not/could not happen.

I believe, and always will believe, people are basically good at nature. The problem is that it only takes one to ruin your day. But, there is still a lot of sunshine around, if you will just look for it.

Yep, there are still people everywhere that are prejudice, ignorant, hateful, and cruel to animals and kids. But there are so many more- that accept people for who they are, that love and hug kids, and belief in their fellow man and the advancement of the human race. That to me is the essence of humanity, and that which should be dwelled upon.

As for waiting tables, I trained waiters/waitresses while in college. I told them: throw the stereotypes out the window; otherwise, you will be missing tips. You do not know the background/feelings of the individual you are waiting on. They may have waited tables before, you don't know. Treat everyone the same. At the end of the day, you'll have more tips than those who did not practice acceptance. Plus, good restaurant managers know the servers that take care of their customers. In return, the manager take care of them.

:topic:

Hey, wait a minute... Although I have lived in the south since the '70s, I was born in Chicago, and lived there until age 12. And, because of that...

I am a bears fan.

Dick Butkis (No. 51) is still the greatest.

Sheesh, just can't win one today.

God bless you! I'm also a Bears fan, working in the heart of Cheesehead country. I was born in the South, though (NC).

Well allow me to chime in here.

As I read through the story it was apaprent that many of the crucial details were missing to form an opinion on whether this was discrimination or just bad service. Knowing the history of Cracker Barrel and service, I would guess that was the case, but also knowing what has been in the news lately it stands to reason that this should be explored as well.

That all being said (and using the details provided) at what point did Rose feel discriminated against? Was it in the restaurant at the time of service (or lack of service)? Was it after she got home and talked to a girlfriend? Was it while she was on the phone with her celebrity son? We don't know, however that is a crucial element in proving discrimination. Furthermore, if this had been a woman off the street that worked at the local factory or office building and not related to a celebrity would it have received the national attention it did? I have read and re-read the story several times, looking for nuances and clues and can find none,other than Cracker Barrel customer service leaves a lot to be desired.

I still hold to the point of this; an average Joe (or Jane) off the street receiveing bad service and crying discrimination would not have had a formal response from the State Commission, nor a formal response from CB Execs, nor the Rev. Al Sharpton leap into the fray with money to "end" this type of discrimination. I think if Al can "end" bad service we all win.

Here is my beef -- a legitimate discriminatory complainant that was denied employment or health care due to race, sex, creed, sexual preference etc. is now moved down a notch in the order of importance and resources because a celebrity's mother got bad service in a restaurant known for BAD SERVICE and was upset and fought back the only way she knew how - -she used her son's celebrity status to embarass CB publicly. Now there will be lawsuits (albeit civil) and CB will have to use and pay attorneys to fight, the State commission will have to use resources to attest, testify, rectify etc. and our court system ONCE AGAIN gets bogged down. All because she was upset.

I have been upset, heck I have even felt discriminated against, but never in my life have I ever called up the State Commisison and cried foul and even if I did - who would come to my aid? Not a soul. My better half would console me, my friends would listen and then make jokes, my co-workers would listen with feigned interest and then after a day or so it would go away.

In the words of another famous person, "You can have a tall glass of shut the h*ll up."

Move on and let the real people that have legitimate complaints get their due justice. I would rather hear about a 27 year old (insert your own race, sex, preference here) that got denied health care and by using the system as it was intended receiving the much needed health care they deserved.

Just some thoughts...

The bottom line in my opinion, is that this is a simple case of really bad customer service that is always around us. Doesn't matter where in the USA this happened.

Yep, there are still people everywhere that are prejudice, ignorant, hateful, and cruel to animals and kids. But there are so many more- that accept people for who they are, that love and hug kids, and belief in their fellow man and the advancement of the human race. That to me is the essence of humanity, and that which should be dwelled upon.



What he said. Yep.:agree1:

I still hold to the point of this; an average Joe (or Jane) off the street receiveing bad service and crying discrimination would not have had a formal response from the State Commission, nor a formal response from CB Execs, nor the Rev. Al Sharpton leap into the fray with money to "end" this type of discrimination. I think if Al can "end" bad service we all win.

Wrong. Have a look here (http://www.ou.edu/deptcomm/dodjcc/groups/02C2/Denny's.htm), here (http://www.cnn.com/US/9601/mlk/denny/index.html), here (http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2004-05-07-cracker-barrel_x.htm) and here (http://www.eeoc.gov/press/8-11-04.html). No celebrities involved, and I could cite a lot of other cases.


Here is my beef -- a legitimate discriminatory complainant that was denied employment or health care due to race, sex, creed, sexual preference etc. is now moved down a notch in the order of importance and resources because a celebrity's mother got bad service in a restaurant known for BAD SERVICE and was upset and fought back the only way she knew how - -she used her son's celebrity status to embarass CB publicly. Now there will be lawsuits (albeit civil) and CB will have to use and pay attorneys to fight, the State commission will have to use resources to attest, testify, rectify etc. and our court system ONCE AGAIN gets bogged down. All because she was upset.

This is needlessly inflammatory. You have no evidence to support any of this. We simply don't know what happened and why.

I have been upset, heck I have even felt discriminated against, but never in my life have I ever called up the State Commisison and cried foul and even if I did - who would come to my aid? Not a soul. My better half would console me, my friends would listen and then make jokes, my co-workers would listen with feigned interest and then after a day or so it would go away.

If you felt you were the object of some sort of illegal discrimination and did nothing, that's your choice to make, but it has nothing whatsoever to do with the subject at hand, unless you're suggesting that everyone who thinks they've been discriminated against should just "...have a tall glass of shut the h*ll up."

No, I think that legitimate complaints of discrimination need and warrant the attention they deserve, however this was not a case of that at all.

I am well aware of the legal cases surrounding this type of activity in restaurant chains (I do research) and again this was not one of them.

I think you are missing the entire point. This woman used her son's celebrity status to get attention because she FELT she received bad service. End of story. She has exploited a system designed to aid those in real need. Plain and simple.

There was a woman here in Orange County that was blatantly disciminated against in a hiring action with a company. Al Sharpton has not called her yet, the company has not responded to her formally, and no state commission has issued a press release, but had she been the mother of a Hollywood celebrity...

FYI - Kansas City Star reports this as "a problem during a shift change"

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/breaking_news/15792777.htm

FYI - Kansas City Star reports this as "a problem during a shift change"

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/breaking_news/15792777.htm

Thanks for the Link to KC Star.

No, I think that legitimate complaints of discrimination need and warrant the attention they deserve, however this was not a case of that at all.

I am well aware of the legal cases surrounding this type of activity in restaurant chains (I do research) and again this was not one of them.

I think you are missing the entire point. This woman used her son's celebrity status to get attention because she FELT she received bad service. End of story. She has exploited a system designed to aid those in real need. Plain and simple.

There was a woman here in Orange County that was blatantly disciminated against in a hiring action with a company. Al Sharpton has not called her yet, the company has not responded to her formally, and no state commission has issued a press release, but had she been the mother of a Hollywood celebrity...
I'm well familiar with the use of false claims of racial discrimination, having witnessed one first-hand a number of years ago. A black employee in a company where I worked was caught red-handed in a significant act of theft, and was summarily and deservedly fired. While the company was considering pursuing a criminal complaint and a possible civil suit for recovery, the employee filed a defensive and totally ungrounded discrimination complaint with the state EE department. The strategy was simple: forget about the criminal complaint, and I'll drop the discrimination complaint. The company caved, unfortunately, seeking to avoid expense and negative publicity. To add insult to injury, the thieving ex-employee also wound up with an undisclosed monetary settlement from the company!

Other black employees at the company were outraged at the turn of events, knowing the harm being done to complainants in legitimate cases of discrimination.

But to get back to the subject at hand, you have formed an opinion based on speculation, innuendo, and ignorance of the facts in this particular case (unless you believe all newspaper reports to be unambiguously factual). If this is a baseless claim, then shame on the complainant. But if it's not...

God bless you! I'm also a Bears fan, working in the heart of Cheesehead country. I was born in the South, though (NC).

C'mon Jim...get serious. Southeast Wisconsin is far from the heart of Cheesehead country. Your obviously in the left leg:cool:

C'mon Jim...get serious. Southeast Wisconsin is far from the heart of Cheesehead country. Your obviously in the left leg:cool:

I chose "heart" as a polite alternative to the part of the human anatomy that first came to mind. :notme:

Ya'll mean that if I get poor service I can sue claiming it's because I'm Vietnam era veteran?

How about my being over 55? Would that work?

How about being a bit on the "stout" side of big?

How about being person who has a history of voting for 1 party instead of another?

How about because of my accent?

How about because I'm right handed?

How about being German-Irish-Shawnee-Cherokee? (because of the subject I will exclude my documented African heritage derived from a person that had been held in bondage in Colonial Virginia)

How about whatever else BS bogus claim can come up with?


I got beefed one time because a "citizen" claimed I was prejudice because I told him I really didn't give a "S--t" what flavor he was, and that the only reason I was stoping him was because of our "difference in shade" (the last bit is to soften the story a bit for the sensitive crowd). Of course his driving over 80 on the wrong side of Interstate 67 actually had nothing to do with my stopping him, it was because I was a cop with an agenda.

I don't believe there are enough facts contained within the sketchy article to warrant comment on whether this is legitimate or not. One point I will make however, is that celebrities have the same human rights as everyone else. The reason they get taken to the level that they do is because of the public's thirst for the story. If people didn't buy Newspapers or Watch News on TV for this kind of story, then this would not get printed!

On the other note, I don't believe in the censorship of posts in any forum. We are all adults (obviously I don't want to see or read anything in these forums that is objectionable for children) and we can all form our own opinions. As long as the post is posted in the correct forum, then I see no issue in having these sorts of debates. I don't however condone any kind of abuse or in making this a place of unpleasantness!

Just my :2cents: (2 pence)

I don't believe there are enough facts contained within the sketchy article to warrant comment on whether this is legitimate or not. One point I will make however, is that celebrities have the same human rights as everyone else. The reason they get taken to the level that they do is because of the public's thirst for the story. If people didn't buy Newspapers or Watch News on TV for this kind of story, then this would not get printed!

On the other note, I don't believe in the censorship of posts in any forum. We are all adults (obviously I don't want to see or read anything in these forums that is objectionable for children) and we can all form our own opinions. As long as the post is posted in the correct forum, then I see no issue in having these sorts of debates. I don't however condone any kind of abuse or in making this a place of unpleasantness!

Just my :2cents: (2 pence)


Definitely agree about total lack of all the facts:agree1:

As for everyone being adults....we have a problem in this country with what we term "political correctness" which means you can say what you want until the truth starts clouding the subject. Additionally if the truth can make somebody feel bad either don't say it or lie to keep others from feeling bad about reality.

As for me, I can't be insulted and pretty much go by the "sticks-and-stones" theory.

I got beefed one time because a "citizen" claimed I was prejudice because I told him I really didn't give a "S--t" what flavor he was, and that the only reason I was stoping him was because of our "difference in shade" (the last bit is to soften the story a bit for the sensitive crowd). Of course his driving over 80 on the wrong side of Interstate 67 actually had nothing to do with my stopping him, it was because I was a cop with an agenda.

Shorter Randy: If there's a test method that's state of the art, but known to produce false positives while also identifying legitimate positives, we should stop doing the testing.

I heard this on CNN yesterday. I've eaten at Cracker Barrel. Trust me, it's bad service.............

Jerry:yes:

IOn the other note, I don't believe in the censorship of posts in any forum. We are all adults (obviously I don't want to see or read anything in these forums that is objectionable for children) and we can all form our own opinions. As long as the post is posted in the correct forum, then I see no issue in having these sorts of debates. I don't however condone any kind of abuse or in making this a place of unpleasantness!

Just my :2cents: (2 pence)


We agree that all here are adults, and certainly agree with your mention that a post like this needs to be on the correct board.....

So long as it is on the correct board (and this one is I think), and the language is not inappropriate, and others opinions' are respected (whether you like them or not).....then OK.....

It is incumbent on all of us to make sure that if opinions are not respected and/or the language becomes offensive (by that I means name calling, lots of profanity, etc.), then we all need to police the post.....

Just MY two cents.....

Hershal

We agree that all here are adults, and certainly agree with your mention that a post like this needs to be on the correct board.....

So long as it is on the correct board (and this one is I think), and the language is not inappropriate, and others opinions' are respected (whether you like them or not).....then OK.....

It is incumbent on all of us to make sure that if opinions are not respected and/or the language becomes offensive (by that I means name calling, lots of profanity, etc.), then we all need to police the post.....

Just MY two cents.....

Hershal


I have debated whether to reply to these posts (no censorship, etc.) and decided that maybe some history is in order.

While there have always been some great quality practitioners on this site, there also used to be a very dark side. There were some political threads and other shenanigans that were less than savory, to say the least. We were driving away some very good members, and the focus was not always on quality. I am not sure which incident caused Marc to finally throw up his hands and say "enough", but he did.

One of the items that I feel sure led up to this was a thread called "Contemplating War", which was about our opinions concerning Iraq 2. To say that the thread was heated would be an understatement. I know, because I was an active participant. We also had certain members, who will remain nameless, play some fairly mean-spirited tricks on the other members.

Marc, with the help of the Moderators (I was not one at the time) have worked hard to "clean up" the site. In the time since, the quality, and indeed the quantity, of the members and their posts have grown at an incredible pace. The Elsmar Cove is truly one of the best resources the 'net has to offer the quality pro. That is why we, the Moderators, debated the topic of the thread. In my opinion, the reason this topic belongs in the forum is because of the customer service aspect. If it weren't for that, it would have no place.

I cannot pretend to speak for the other Moderators, and certainly not for Marc, but I thought some perspective might help at this point. In my experience as a moderator, other than the spam that we catch discussions about the appropriateness of a certain post are rare, which is as it should be. JMHO.