O'Charley ripoff Made racist comments about black guest, harassed me for reporting management, terminated me wrongfully Charlotte Tennessee South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia

I too worked as a server in an at will employment state arkansas. There is lots of crap that goes on in the restaurant business. i was passed up twice for a head server job and my cook hours were cut for no reason other than my general manager could. I would never say that racism is right, but sometimes stereotypes are stereotypes because they are true. I waited on white, black, mexican, rich, poor, oil workers and they all have their stigmas. While it sucks to have that reputation lots of servers don't like serving black people because they don't tip. same with college kids. sometimes rich people don't and poor people do. Sometimes loyal customers would tip a female waitress who sucked more than me, just because she was a girl. I saw a customer reduce a tip from ten dollars to five because a kid didn't go to church. People are bad and good. I know it sucks but when people like us who aren't in charge have to either quit the job or just suck it up and deal with it. good luck with your new job.

Dear Carlos,
I am a former employee of O'Charley's (Columbia). I have dealt several times with Mr. Fortner. He is quite two-faced and will say whatever you want to hear to be placated without actually solving a situation.

This company has a standard practice of moving problem managers instead of firing them. You might be happy to hear that he has been demoted from regional manager to district manager. I know it probably doesn't completely satisfy you.

Prejudices are hard to deal with, but as long as we don't allow other's problems to corrupt us we're on top. The restaurant business seems to fall outside regular business rules. I'm glad you are not just accepting their cop-out. Keep us updated.
Kara

This joe guy sounds like a real piece of work but not unlike most un-educated food service managers. If he had called anybody, I mean any woman, especially one of my customers, a "b***h", then the good people eating in that resteraunt would have gotten to see him with my foot up his arse. I'm really surprised that no one else stood up and popped him one right in the pie-hole.

Joe's language was pathetic. He should at least have the common decency to understand that a filthy mouth like his is not acceptable. Workers shouldn't have to listen to his mouth and especially not customers.

O'Charley's sucks anyways. I swear I think the same food truck stops at O'Charley's, Bennigans, TGIFridays, etc. There food is just like evry other trendy over-priced place.......It sucks!

Carlos I waited tables for 9 years and saw alot of messed up stuff in that time. Your story does not seem at all far fetched to me. I have seen very similiar things transpire in the course of my career. I think you are very well spoken and you are just in your cause for redemption. However I must agree with the first rebuttal that according to what you wrote that this is not a race issue and shood not be made one but rather a issue of abusive management.

I do not agree that everyone is allowed a bad day and therefore has the right to berate a fellow employee that is below them in the food chain. That is simply unprofessional. Your former boss should not be in a position of authority and I support you 100 percent in getting them removed for what they made you endure.
Good luck, keep us posted!

I just wanted to say that Carlos has every right to feel the way he does. I am white, and most of my friends are not. I see what people have to endure constantly. It's very evident what disadvantages occur in 'Corporate America'. If he acts a certain way, or is "having an off day", he is chastized or over evaluated. IN NOT ALL, but most cases, if a white person is "having an off day", it's not perceived as severe or is more often overlooked.

I'm not trying to take sides or put anyone down. I just know what happens from my experiences. All my friends grew up in the same area, with most of the same grades and equally defined skills. A white person will, again, IN MOST CASES, have the edge.

Carlos, I hope you get all of what you deserve back. It'd be nice if everyone just kept it real for once instead of trying to deny that for once, they could actually be wrong.

Peace!

The manager was never reprimanded and I DID try and let him know what was going on. Per company policy, if a guest ask for the name of management or the corporate number, you give it to them. Let me give you some more background. This manager has a history of being very nasty toward some black employees. This particular store is in Charlotte. I reside in Fort Mill South Carolina. yes it is still a right to work state, however once an emplyer gives you a reason that is not consistant with the events surronding your termination, you have a right to sue. I don't want to sue o'Charley's for a bunch of money. I want them to acknowledge his wrong doing, fire him and give me my vacation pay that I earned, plus six months severance. That is only fair Robert. You say we all have our off days? Why is it that I as a Black man must always be held accountable for ALL my actions, but he "was having an off day'? O'Charley's in Charlotte NC "supposedly" fired a White kitchen manager for smoking weed. The company policy for this is automatic termination and rehire elgibility after 6 months, drug treatment and submission to random drug test. All they did was sit him down for 60 days then transfer him to the Monroe store for 5 months. He is now back in the Charlotte store. They did the same thing to a server who admittingly disrespected a Black customer. They let the rest of the staff think he was fired until someone went down and saw him working in the Monroe store a week after the incident. Kenny, a former kitchen manager, quit after being told he didn't fit the O'Charley's management profile. The white manager who hired me can tell you that I was ready to snap the neck of a black guest who disrespected her in front of me one night. Corporate has called me several times and said," We will seek legal action if you print your story" Why are they doing this Robert?

Why do you find "racism" in everything that happens. You gave quite a report, and most, if not all, the words are spelled correctly and proper grammar usage. Interestingly enough though, in all of the quotes you give, not one mentions anyones RACE. That would be required for a RACIAL comment to be spoken. Were you disrespected? Probably. Did you give back as well as you got? Probably. Did you follow company policy and turn the matter over to your manager concerning the drink issue? Nope. Did this whole thing get blown out of proportion? Probably. Here's a thought Carlos. At your next job, try NOT thinking the world is out to get you. Try being upbeat and positive and NOT looking for RACISM where it doesn't exist. The manager was probably very unprofessional in his demeanor, but we all have our "off" days. I dogged out my Lead Tech the other day for stupid s**t that could have been taken care of better, and in front of a customer no less. He could have walked right then. But, he didn't and we let the issue drop. The issue at hand was over a scanner that went bad. At $2500-$8500 per unit, I tend to get pissed off when they go down. It wasn't his fault, but he got the bad end of the stick. That's how life works in the real world. I don't know who your attorney is, but SC is a "right to work" state and as such, you can be terminated for any reason. If you worked there long enough, you may be able to collect unemployment. You don't need an attorney for that. Good luck though on that lawsuit. It's the American Dream to sue someone and live happily ever after. The problem is, money won't make you happy. You and Aeropostale in Lousianna will still see everything with a racist slant, including any award a Judge or Jury gives you. Too many whites on it, "they are racist and won't give a black man a break". Too many blacks on the Jury and you'll be, "bunch of self hating Aunt Jemimas and Uncle Toms doing the work for THE MAN". It won't matter if they give you $1 or $1M. You'll still be looking for the problem instead of the answer. Good luck with that.