A Texas-based IHOP is probably hiring after a waitress there was accused of refusing to serve a Black couple because of their race, leading to her firing and the termination of other staff members.
Keisha Mitchell told CBS News Texas that she and her boyfriend, Elvis Polley, went to a Mesquite IHOP franchise a day after Christmas to celebrate the latter’s 49th birthday — and they are still in disbelief at how their visit turned out to be something they never imagined.
“When we got to the restaurant, we were told that we were not going to be serviced because of our color,” recalled Mitchell. “It is a shock, and your brain is not processing what you’re hearing.”
Mitchell recorded and shared a video on social media of her and Polley’s subsequent chat with the location manager, who said, “One of our morning servers, she’s ‘picky.'”
“She didn’t want to say she was racist; she said she’s ‘picky,'” noted Mitchell. “No, that’s not being ‘picky’ if you’re selecting only a certain group of people that you want to serve.”
The manager informed Mitchell and Polley that the waitress had 25 years of IHOP experience.
Mitchell described it as a “very traumatic experience.” Unless you go through something similar, she said, you never know what kind of thoughts or behaviors you’ll have.
The couple learned via social media that the IHOP franchise’s owner, Anthraper Restaurants, subsequently fired the manager, the waitress and another server. Still, they said, the harm was done already.
In a statement, Anthraper Restaurants told CBS the company has thoroughly investigated the incident and taken the necessary action, including firing the workers involved. It said the “isolated incident” doesn’t reflect the company’s continued dedication to its guests and team members.
“Since our founding, we have strived to create warm and hospitable dining experiences for all guests, and we have zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind, or actions that allude to any form of discrimination,” said Alex Anthraper, president of Anthraper Restaurants.
“Additionally,” he added, CBS reported, “we will be providing additional anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training to ensuring that all remaining Team Members understand the company’s unwavering intolerance of any prohibited form of discrimination.”
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