Greetings and wellwishes to all! I have been reviewing the threads back to 2001 and have found none that pertain to mine and my wife's particular situation. I believe this is the correct forum for this subject; at least, I hope so.
This morning at 6:00am Pacific my wife and I entered our local chain Pancake House (in which gambling via Video Poker is allowed, if that matters). We entered the bar area and intended to sit at a machine space, eat , drink and celebrate my just-acquired Graduate Assistantship in Spanish.
The very moment we entered the bar, the bartender addressed us very gruffly and asked: "Are you eating?" As we were about to answer "yes, we plan to eat, gamble and drink" he interrupted and said VERY nastily: "Then sit the fuck over there" - indicating an area outside of the bar (though it is VERY COMMON PRACTICE to eat, drink and gamble at the machines). As a little guy (5' 8", 155 and 29 y.o.), it seems people enjoy trying to goad me often in the presence of my (beautiful) wife of 4 years.
I bristled at his prejudistic comment (we are not minorities) and asked: "who the fuck are you?" intending to take the matter up immediately with his Manager on duty. I also stated that that was the most rudely I had been treated in all my time living in Vegas. My wife was VERY offended and I immediately spun on my heel and headed for the exit, while one guest had the nerve to tell me to "calm down". I assure you I kept my cool, though I lusted for some serious brawling. We were in the bar less than 60 seconds. We exited for about 10 seconds and decided that we should immediately inform the Supervisor on duty and demand an apology. We re-entered the opposite side of the building (restaurant side) and approached a waitress who was quite friendly towards us. We informed her of the situation and she offered to take care of us (food-wise) immediately. I held my hands out in a calming gesture and assured her we simply wanted to speak immediately with the Manager, who we come to find out is the Graveyard bartender, but the "real" Manager would be in at nine. We got his name and as we were about to leave again, the bartender purposely strode into the dining room and stated loudly: "You have something to say to me?" All the while, a Police Officer was sitting at a table behind us and the bartender.
What was I to reply to that very confrontational question? I believe there was a sous-entendre behind his query that belied a desire to fight. Since he is naturally far bigger than I (which in my mind would make him fair game since I never swing first) I did indeed feel goaded and threatened. I replied in a very rational manner that "I have absolutely nothing whatsoever to say to you," and my wife and I exited the restaurant and drove the block home.
At this moment, we are counting the minutes until shift change to confront the General Manager with an accusation of professional misconduct, discrimination, and goading/baiting on the part of his employee/supervisor. I intend to state that I have retained legal counsel, and am currently in the process of writing letters to the editor of the Las Vegas Review Journal as well as my university paper describing what type of conduct is practised by the employees of this well-known chain.
Every instant of this brief confrontation is recorded on camera, as gambling is being conducted in the area where the verbal abuse occurred. We intend to state that our attorney is in the process of filing a subpoena for the tapes as evidence (primarily to intimidate the Manager as well as assure that he witnesses this misconduct and does not destroy the record) while mentioning that I am letting the public know what transpired through letters to local news editors.
We visit this restaurant for take-out and gambling at least twice a week, but never so early, and would really like some financial compensation (maybe less than $1,000 and at the VERY least an open tab for a similar amount) for these unprofessional acts in exchange for our silence. I still am truly under the impression that the bartender, for whatever foolish and probably drug-induced reason, intends to assault me. I want a written apology from him to myself and my wife for his verbal harassment and apparent discrimination, but have no interest whatsoever in his punishment by Management. We simply want to be able to feel comfortable in the restaurant and not have to fear physical retaliation by the bartender. We also want a "free lunch for a monh" so to speak.
Do we have a case? Do you think this approach will be successful? And, what if he does assault me physically? If I let him swing first and then crush him in self-defense (which is well within my power) with witnesses present can I take this to a criminal level? Will he be liable for any medical bills I incur from his assault? More importantly, will I be thrown in jail and charged with a crime if he does swing first and I simply defend myself?
Thanks so much for your time - I will let you all know immediately the result of our chat with the General Manager. Your opinions are very much appreciated in this matter.
Sincerely,
Chris Erich
Summa Cum Laude - Romance Languages
UNLV class of 2005
This morning at 6:00am Pacific my wife and I entered our local chain Pancake House (in which gambling via Video Poker is allowed, if that matters). We entered the bar area and intended to sit at a machine space, eat , drink and celebrate my just-acquired Graduate Assistantship in Spanish.
The very moment we entered the bar, the bartender addressed us very gruffly and asked: "Are you eating?" As we were about to answer "yes, we plan to eat, gamble and drink" he interrupted and said VERY nastily: "Then sit the fuck over there" - indicating an area outside of the bar (though it is VERY COMMON PRACTICE to eat, drink and gamble at the machines). As a little guy (5' 8", 155 and 29 y.o.), it seems people enjoy trying to goad me often in the presence of my (beautiful) wife of 4 years.
I bristled at his prejudistic comment (we are not minorities) and asked: "who the fuck are you?" intending to take the matter up immediately with his Manager on duty. I also stated that that was the most rudely I had been treated in all my time living in Vegas. My wife was VERY offended and I immediately spun on my heel and headed for the exit, while one guest had the nerve to tell me to "calm down". I assure you I kept my cool, though I lusted for some serious brawling. We were in the bar less than 60 seconds. We exited for about 10 seconds and decided that we should immediately inform the Supervisor on duty and demand an apology. We re-entered the opposite side of the building (restaurant side) and approached a waitress who was quite friendly towards us. We informed her of the situation and she offered to take care of us (food-wise) immediately. I held my hands out in a calming gesture and assured her we simply wanted to speak immediately with the Manager, who we come to find out is the Graveyard bartender, but the "real" Manager would be in at nine. We got his name and as we were about to leave again, the bartender purposely strode into the dining room and stated loudly: "You have something to say to me?" All the while, a Police Officer was sitting at a table behind us and the bartender.
What was I to reply to that very confrontational question? I believe there was a sous-entendre behind his query that belied a desire to fight. Since he is naturally far bigger than I (which in my mind would make him fair game since I never swing first) I did indeed feel goaded and threatened. I replied in a very rational manner that "I have absolutely nothing whatsoever to say to you," and my wife and I exited the restaurant and drove the block home.
At this moment, we are counting the minutes until shift change to confront the General Manager with an accusation of professional misconduct, discrimination, and goading/baiting on the part of his employee/supervisor. I intend to state that I have retained legal counsel, and am currently in the process of writing letters to the editor of the Las Vegas Review Journal as well as my university paper describing what type of conduct is practised by the employees of this well-known chain.
Every instant of this brief confrontation is recorded on camera, as gambling is being conducted in the area where the verbal abuse occurred. We intend to state that our attorney is in the process of filing a subpoena for the tapes as evidence (primarily to intimidate the Manager as well as assure that he witnesses this misconduct and does not destroy the record) while mentioning that I am letting the public know what transpired through letters to local news editors.
We visit this restaurant for take-out and gambling at least twice a week, but never so early, and would really like some financial compensation (maybe less than $1,000 and at the VERY least an open tab for a similar amount) for these unprofessional acts in exchange for our silence. I still am truly under the impression that the bartender, for whatever foolish and probably drug-induced reason, intends to assault me. I want a written apology from him to myself and my wife for his verbal harassment and apparent discrimination, but have no interest whatsoever in his punishment by Management. We simply want to be able to feel comfortable in the restaurant and not have to fear physical retaliation by the bartender. We also want a "free lunch for a monh" so to speak.
Do we have a case? Do you think this approach will be successful? And, what if he does assault me physically? If I let him swing first and then crush him in self-defense (which is well within my power) with witnesses present can I take this to a criminal level? Will he be liable for any medical bills I incur from his assault? More importantly, will I be thrown in jail and charged with a crime if he does swing first and I simply defend myself?
Thanks so much for your time - I will let you all know immediately the result of our chat with the General Manager. Your opinions are very much appreciated in this matter.
Sincerely,
Chris Erich
Summa Cum Laude - Romance Languages
UNLV class of 2005
