It all started with a highly unfavorable Yelp review.
Well, no. It all started with a recent racist encounter Michael C. had with wait staff while dining with colleagues at The Old Pro in Palo Alto, California, where a server referred to Michael and his co-worker as "ching chongs." Seriously. As in, "Oh, those CHING CHONGS are with you?" Oh, hell no.
Michael recounts the incident in his one-star review of The Old Pro:
That being said, I dined at the Old Pro last night for a going-away party (my going away party to be more specific). My co-workers and I stopped by for drinks and appetizers. While the food and drinks were not an issue, the wait staff definitely was. We were all sitting together at the high top area when server came over and asked one of my co-workers if "they" were part of the group. To bring clarity to the seating situation, there were a total of 8 people in our group. I am Korean and I was seated towards the end of the table, across from my Chinese co-worker. Everyone else in the group was Caucasian. So when the server, Tristyn, asked my Caucasian co-worker if "they" were with part of the group, she was referring to me and my Chinese co-worker, the two Asians in the group. This in itself is offensive to think that in today's world Asians and Caucasians cannot be part of a group gathering. What made it even more offensive was the fact that after my co-worker confirmed we were with the party, our server replied, "Oh, those CHING CHONGS are with you?"When Michael confronted the server about her remark, she blew him off. When he talked to the manager about what happened, she was equally unhelpful, dismissing the situation with a simple, "Oh, she didn't mean it that way." For real? That's all you've got?
I decided that the manager should now be involved with the issue. I approached the manager and let her know what Tristyn (the server) had said. She took the check away and said she would take a look at it. Bear in mind, she didn't apologize for her server's atrocious comment. She came back after about ten minutes later and she had only taken the gratuity off the bill. I questioned her and said, "Considering your server highly offended us with such a racist remark, that's how you're taking care of the situation?" The manager responded with, "Oh, she didn't mean it that way."Right, so how exactly did she mean it? After Michael dropped that Yelp review on The Old Pro's ass, things kind of blew up, and the restaurant got flooded with a truckload of negative reviews. That got somebody's attention.
In a follow-up review, Michael shares that he met with the owners of The Old Pro, who apologized and assured him that they're dealing with the situation. If you ask me, the server in question needs to get fired -- do you really want someone that stupid on your staff?
More here: The Old Pro restaurant in Palo Alto embroiled in the middle of a racism debacle.
UPDATE: I've received word that The Old Pro's management had a staff meeting over this incident, and as of this morning, the server in question has been fired. Some local news coverage: Racist Allegations At Palo Alto Restaurant.