Pizzeria Owner Complies With Rude Customer’s Demand For Warning Sign About Employee With Functional Needs

Mar 27, 2023 by apost team

The owner of Pizza Inn in Greenville, South Carolina, posted a sign on the front door of the restaurant about her hiring practices after a customer complained about an employee with autism.

A customer who visited in 2018 had a problem with the restaurant's policy of hiring staff with special needs. He reportedly told owner Amanda Cartagine she should hang a sign outside their door, according to Yahoo News, that explicitly explained that. Although the pizzeria’s manager explained to the customer that this was not the employee’s specific job, he wouldn’t budge.

So, like any good business manager, Cartagine knew the customer was always right, so she decided to comply.

There’s no doubt that her employees mean the world to her, and she would never want them to be rudely treated like the customer suggested. Cartagine wanted to make sure people knew that rude and entitled behavior like that would not be tolerated. Creating a sign was the first idea she came up with.

If the customers didn’t have the patience to be more accepting of her employees, then she had no reason to accept their rudeness in return. Although Cartagine wanted to speak on the issue, she didn't want to come across as hateful. Instead, she wanted to express her opinion as maturely as possible.

"These are like my kids, and it made me angry. I wanted to do something that was not rude, but got my point across," she explained.

Cartagine posted a sign on the restaurant entrance that said that she hired "ALL of God's children!"

According to WYFF4, Cartagine said that 63% of her kitchen staff has functional needs. No matter what the circumstance is, the pizza shop owner has always worked hard to make everyone feel included and instrumental to the team. When it comes to having employees that mainly have functional needs, Cartagine said that once she taught them how to do their jobs, all it took was a bit of practice before they were amazing at it.

"If you have the patience to let them take their time and learn at their pace, when the light bulb comes on, they are unstoppable," she said.

So, Cartagine put up a sign to express her support for her staff. The sign in its entirety read, “We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and hire ALL of God’s children!”

Social media was taken by storm when they heard of Cartagine's amazing sign. People agreed that the customer was rude, but more importantly, people were in awe of how well the pizza shop owner handled the difficult situation.

Cartagine spoke with WYFF4 about potentially losing a customer. "If he is not OK with that, then I'm OK with him not coming back," she said. "That's a dollar that I don't need."

In June 2020, the owner proved that she was still proud to stand by her staff with a Facebook post. The post included a heartwarming photo of the team with the caption, “Service that feels just like home – that's what we're known for.”

It is best to handle moments like this in a mature manner, and it’s clear that customers and people from all walks of life agree that Cartagine handled her situation extremely well.

apost.com

Do you think Cartagine handled the situation well? What would you have done in this situation? Let us know, and don't forget to spread the love by passing this story on to your friends and family.