http://patch.com/maryland/silverspring/eritrean-immigrant-discriminated-against-store-employees-silver-spring-potbellys?
Letter to Editor: Eritrean immigrant discriminated against by store
employees at Silver Spring Potbelly's
Two Potbelly employees engaged in linguistic discrimination towards an
Eritrean immigrant.
By jerry.bell864 (Open Post)Updated November 6, 2014 at 10:17 am
On Sunday, November 2, 2014, at 1130 hours, my family and I decided to have
lunch at Potbelly’s, located at 917 Ellsworth Dr. Silver Spring, MD 20910.
Upon entering the Potbelly’s store my wife proceeded to order Tuna Salad
sandwiches for our daughters and herself.
My wife, a non-native speaker of the English language, walked up to the
counter and waited until it was time to place her order. When it was her
turn, she told the Potbelly employee (Joanne St. Hilaire) she would like to
order three Tuna Salad sandwiches. Ms. St. Hilaire and another Potbelly
employee (Gena Danowski) immediately began mocking my wife’s accent
repeating the following statement to Ms. Danowski “You want Tuna, Tuna,
Tuna” in a condescending, intimidating demeanor. My wife observed the
manager on duty (Ms. Rachael Wright) snicker as Ms. Hilaire and Ms.
Danowski went back and forth reciting the statement, in my wife accent “You
want Tuna, Tuna, Tuna” seeking to insult her inability to speak fluent
English.
After becoming emotionally upset my wife ran over to me and informed me of
what had occurred. At this time I asked to speak with the manager on duty
(Ms. Rachael Wright) for the names of the employees who were intimidating
my wife accent and English speaking inability. At this time, I observed
Montgomery County Police officers walking by the Potbelly’s store, I walked
outside to ask if they could come into the establishment so that we can
proceed with filing a complaint of the incident. However, the police
advised that we would need to file a complainant with Potbelly’s. I asked
Ms. Wright for a receipt or some form of documentation confirming our visit
at the Potbelly establishment. I was given four Potbelly’s coupons.
My wife is shocked, appalled and frankly in a state of disbelief that a
well-known business establishment would hire people who have the gall to
single out and participate in language discrimination due to my wife
inability to speak fluent English. Why would a company employ people who
seek to freely engage in discriminatory behavior to single out and attack
an innocent customer who was only seeking to order Potbelly’s sandwiches
for our children. Not only did this language discriminatory treatment
directly impact my wife, but also our seven-year-old daughter who was hurt
when my wife told her what occurred and why we were not welcomed at the
Potbelly’s establishment. We immediately departed the store and went to
Panera Bread. This experience harken back to memory the stories my parents
told me as youth when they were not welcome in business establishment due
to the color of their skin. Thank you Potbelly’s for providing my family
with the most insulting and humiliating experience I have ever witness.
Received on Fri Nov 07 2014 - 20:49:37 EST