We had the most awful and traumatizing experience here today at lunch. I am also a cafe owner and food writer, so I hate to speak negatively about ANY small business, but the treatment my family received at Red Door today was so unbelievably appalling...& disgusting that I need to share it, because I believe diners need to know about how poorly the owner treats their customers.
My elderly parents took me, my husband and my 7-month-old baby here to celebrate my birthday. The food was okay—not worth writing about—but the real issue here was when my parents got up to pay for our meal. They were told by the owner, a blonde lady, that the ATM machine was down and that they needed to walk down the street to withdraw cash. My parents (who are in their 70s) were obviously a bit reluctant and slightly upset because they are old and it was extremely cold and windy outside. Of course, they still did it and went out to go withdraw cash down the road (both of them together because my dad has Parkinsons and needs mum's assistance).
That was when the problems started. The owner stopped them rather rudely and said “only one of you can leave, because you haven’t paid the bill.” (As if these two seniors were about to skip the bill!). She was also completely unapologetic about the fact that the ATM machine was down. We understood that that was NOT her fault (I am a cafe owner myself and I know that these things happen) but it was the cruel way she went about it. Rather than just saying “I understand it’s frustrating, and I’m sorry you have to go out into the cold” (which is what I would have said to my customers) she said (to my 73-year old mum!!!) “It’s not my problem. I'm the one who is inconvenienced here. This is the bank's problem. You need to go out and get cash to pay for your meal."
The words "I'm sorry for the inconvenience" (even just as a courtesy) never left her mouth. She was just so rude and awful to us.
Then it somehow got worse! When my poor dad gets up to leave by himself (I'm at the table holding my fussy 7-month-old so my hands were full) I come up to her, holding my baby, to try to suggest that they should have warned customers in advance that they needed to have cash because the ATM machine was down, and told her she was being unnecessarily rude to my family. For whatever reason, this blonde woman completely lost it and went into a blind fit of rage. She completely turned the situation around on us and started screaming that *I* was being rude and that she didn't have to take it (I'm literally holding my 7-month-old baby!).
My dad comes in, pays the bill and is very shaken, and says "I think we won't ever come here again," and then she literally screams at us: "Good. I don't want you! Get out of my restaurant!"
If you can imagine a blonde lady screaming at two seniors, a woman and her 7-month-old baby who JUST paid for a meal at her restaurant....
Not to mention just agreed to go out and get cash in the freezing cold! My Dad has Parkinsons for crying out loud. It was just so surreal. I'm still shocked and shaking at what happened, I feel like it was a verbal assault. We are so traumatized, my mum started crying as soon as we left.
It wasn't even the fact that the ATM machine was down! We didn't even care about that. We were so upset at the way she treated her customers, and I was simply trying to explain. Just the nastiest dining experience I've ever had. Customers deserve to know who owns this restaurant. (If you look at some Google reviews, they also mention how awful and mean this blonde owner is).
I am so deeply disappointed, hurt and traumatized and would never recommend this establishment to anyone.More