Amanda Cartagine is so much more than a business owner. She’s a mother to a special needs child, a stalwart of the community, a boss to a lot of happy staff, amongst other things.
Which is why when Amanda learned that one of her employees had been harassed by a customer, she knew she had to act.
It’s common within the service industry to smooth over such problems by saying “the customer is always right”. Of course, the customer isn’t always right, and when Amanda heard what had taken place inside her restaurant, she was left disgusted.
She decided to take action against a person who sought to make her employee feel embarrassed about who they were deep down …
As the mom of a child with Downs syndrome, Amanda knows that often those with special needs require a little more time to master certain tasks and responsibilities. Once they manage it, however, the possibilities are endless!
As per WYFF News, Amanda explained that her son is the inspiration behind hiring such a large population of disabled men and women to work in her restaurant.
“We parents with special needs (children) are always faced with breaking down barriers, stigmas, teaching other people that our children are more like them, than different…” she said.
“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.”
A motherly figure, Amanda seeks to guard her employees as though they were family. News of a customer making one of her staff feel worthless left her angered.
According to reports, the customer had asked the employee to refill a lettuce bowl in the salad area. It wasn’t something the boy was trained to do, however, with each member of staff at Pizza Inn having a specific responsibility.
Amanda’s unique way of running her place didn’t sit well with the customer, though, and he went on to attack the employee, the manager and others in the establishment.
“My manager explained to him the situation privately, ‘That’s not his job. We’ve trained him to do this and there are special circumstances,’ and the customer was still not happy,” Amanda said.
Sadly, though, that wasn’t the end of things. Before storming out of the restaurant, the disgruntled customer screamed that Pizza Inn should hang a sign on the outside “warning” other people about the restaurant’s disabled employees.
So, Amanda did just so …
She saw the sign as the perfect way to protect her employees and make them feel appreciated, whilst at the same time sending a clear message to all those who don’t see the world through the same eyes.
“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 said.
See more on Amanda’s fantastic sign below:
Well, we have to say that we fully support Amanda’s decision, as well as her approach to running her restaurant!
If you believe Amanda did the right thing, let us know in the comments box. Share this article to show your support.
