Case Study: Another Situation
Let’s look at another situation. Two men came to a restaurant after it closed. The manager agreed to restart the oven and make them a pizza. The cook had already gone home. The server was required to stay but was bated and spoken to rudely by the customers, “I bet you want us to go home,” they said, then made a point of sitting there after the meal was done for two hours. After all this, they left her a $2 tip. The server left extremely angry and upset.
Have you waited tables? If you have, have you had bad experiences with customers? Have any of you been treated rudely by customers for what seemed like no reason other than you were the server and they were the served? Our customers are the whole point we are in business, but they are NOT always right.
We need to be sure we are hiring servers who will be capable of dealing with the general public. Not everyone can do that comfortably. We can give them specific training to deal with upset customers, but there are times when customer behavior is downright abusive, particularly when alcohol is part of the equation. It is management’s responsibility to protect servers from abusive customers.
Let’s analyze this situation to determine whether we have a problem that could have been avoided and whether it is an ethical dilemma or just a management dilemma.
Decision Option and Stakeholders
The Ethical Analysis Form below has spaces for the decision option we are considering, the stakeholders, the ethical principles involved in the situation, and the consequences of the particular decision on the various stakeholders. The first thing we always do is to identify the decision option. The manager made the decision when he or she re-opened the restaurant.
Ethics Analysis Form
Decision Option:
Stakeholders / Principles / ConsequencesLet’s call the manager “Bill.” He first decided to re-open the restaurant - - perhaps these were regular customers. Who knows? It wasn’t necessarily wrong to re-open the restaurant; It depends on the restaurant and the circumstances. His second decision was to have the server, let’s call her “Ann,” stay to serve them. This second decision is a little more problematic.
Enter “Reopen the restaurant and make the server stay to serve customers” on the form. Now, Who may be affected by Bill's decision? Enter the Stakeholders, Bill, Ann, the customers, other employees, and the restaurant on the form.
Have you even gone to a restaurant at night and been told the kitchen was closed, and they couldn't serve you? If yes, did you get mad? Bill could have told the customers they were closed, and it would have been okay. Instead, he chose to turn on the oven and cook the customers a pizza. This is fine. It's his choice, and if he wants to, so what? However, it wasn't so fine with Ann, the server who he made stay to serve the customers.
Bill, Manager (Decision Maker)
What are some things Bill could have done in this situation to make it okay for the server? (Let Ann go home and serve them himself. Ask Ann if she wants to stay and take the party, giving her the option so she isn't resentful to begin with. Give the customers the pizza to go. Tell the customers they have to be out of the restaurant by a particular time. Etc.) Any of these options could have avoided the problem.
What consequences might Bill suffer for his decision to make Ann stay and serve the customers? Write your answers to the following questions on the form. What should employees be able to do if customers are being abusive? (Go to the manager for help.) We need to be sure that we know what is going on in our restaurant. Our employees must be safe to talk to us - - to tell us what is happening. If we do not respond to them, or respond in a way that hurts them, they will not keep us informed of what's going on in the future. And then we end up with unresolved problems that can have painful and/or expensive consequences.
So, if the customers were being rude, abusive, or harassing Ann, and she was unable to handle the situation, she should have been able to tell Bill and what could Bill have done? (Bill could have told Ann to go home and finished the party himself. Bill could have let the customers see him keeping an eye on the interchange between them and Ann. Bill could have intervened and asked the customers to finish up and leave because it's way past time for Ann to be there. Etc.)
But, Bill didn't do any of these things. He maybe didn't know his server was being bated and poorly treated, but he should have. Ann should have felt free to tell him, or he should have been around and noticed. Instead, his failure to do anything resulted in further damage.
Ann, Server
How might Bill's failure to protect Ann from customers affect Ann? Now I would like you to finish the analysis. Go through possible consequences for Ann, Customers, Other Employees, and the Restaurant. Enter your answers on the form. Go through the Ethical Principles below, and determine if any were violated by the manager’s decision to reopen the restaurant, making Ann stay, and not intervening when Ann was being poorly treated by the customers. Do the work on your own and then compare it with the key at the end of the lesson.
Other Decision Options
It was maybe okay for Bill to let the customers in after the restaurant closed. But his decision to make Ann stay and serve them, and then doing nothing when the customers were poorly treating her, was a bad one. Numerous Ethical Principles were violated, and, at best, there were bad feelings as a result. We are responsible for our employees. That means we have to know what's going on. We can foster an environment where our employees feel safe to come to us - - in fact, know they are expected to come to us when there is a problem, and trust that we will take care of it, without any negative consequences to them.
This did not happen in this situation. If Bill had thought about his decision before he made it, he could have determined that it would be better to do any of the alternatives we suggested earlier. He could’ve asked Ann if she wanted to stay, sent her home and served them himself, made the pizza to go, or put a deadline on how long they could stay. If he had not done any of those things, he was still responsible for making sure Ann was not being abused by customers and should have intervened in any of the several ways we suggested.
Ethical Principles for Hospitality Managers
Honesty: Hospitality managers are honest and truthful. They do not mislead or deceive others by misrepresentations.
Integrity: Hospitality managers demonstrate the courage of their convictions by doing what they know is right even when there is pressure to do otherwise.
Trustworthiness: Hospitality managers are trustworthy and candid in supplying information and in correcting misapprehensions of fact. They do not create justifications for escaping their promises and commitments.
Loyalty: Hospitality managers demonstrate loyalty to their companies in devotion to duty and loyalty to colleagues by friendship in adversity. They avoid conflicts of interest; do not use or disclose confidential information; and should they accept other employment, they respect the proprietary information of their former employer.
Fairness: Hospitality managers are fair and equitable in all dealings; they do not abuse power arbitrarily nor take undue advantage of another’s mistakes or difficulties. They treat all individuals with equality, with tolerance for and acceptance of diversity and with an open mind.
Concern and Respect for Others: Hospitality managers are concerned, respectful, compassionate and kind. They are sensitive to the personal concerns of their colleagues and live the “Golden Rule.” They respect the rights and interest of all those who have a stake in their decisions.
Commitment to Excellence: Hospitality managers pursue excellence in performing their duties and are willing to put more into their job than they can get out of it.
Leadership: Hospitality managers are conscious of the responsibility and opportunities of their position of leadership. They realize that the best way to instill ethical principles and ethical awareness in their organizations is by example. They walk their talk!
Reputation and Morale: Hospitality managers seek to protect and build the company’s reputation and the morale of its employees by engaging in conduct that builds respect and by taking whatever actions are necessary to correct or prevent inappropriate conduct of others.
Accountability: Hospitality managers are personally accountable for the ethical quality of their decisions as well as those of their subordinates.
KEY – Ethics Analysis Form
Decision Option: Reopen the restaurant and make the server stay to serve customers
Stakeholders / Principles / ConsequencesBill, Manager (Decision Maker) / Trustworthiness
Loyalty
Fairness
Concern & Respect
for Others
Commitment to
Excellence
Leadership
Reputation &
Morale / · The customers might think Bill is terrific for making them a pizza after the restaurant is closed.
· The customers could come back other times after the restaurant is closed. They could tell their families and friends that Bill will stay open later if they show up after closing.
· Ann may be angry at Bill for making her stay. She could be less cooperative in the future.
· Ann could tell other employees and they could think it was unfair that Bill made her stay after closing. These employees could be less cooperative in the future.
· If morale falls because Bill is inconsiderate of employees, turnover and absenteeism could increase. Bill will have to deal with this.
Ann, Server / · Ann was hurt and angry and felt exposed to abuse. She could decide to look for another job.
· Ann could tell family and friends how awful it was to work at the restaurant. The reputation of the restaurant as a good place to work or dine could be damaged.
· Ann could tell her fellow workers what happened and they might feel Ann was poorly treated and blame Bill for it.
· Ann could become less cooperative, and her job performance could suffer.
Customers / · The two customers might think it's okay to treat servers poorly and continue to do so.
· They could come back and misbehave again.
· They could come back and make other customers uncomfortable if they continued to misbehave.
· If they come back, the customers could receive bad service if Ann tells other employees about the way they treated her.
· They might know, at some level, that they were rude. Their own misbehavior could flavor their perception of the restaurant, and they could tell friends and family that the restaurant is not a good place to go.
Other Employees / · Other employees might feel that Ann was poorly treated and think Bill was inconsiderate making her stay.
· Other employees might be less cooperative and their attitudes could change negatively.
· Morale could decline and turnover and absenteeism rise.
Restaurant / · The reputation of the restaurant as a good place to dine or work could be tarnished.
· Business could decline and it could be harder to replace employees with good workers.
· Service levels could decline if servers become dissatisfied with their jobs or management.