Retail Hell Underground

Latest Update on Amy's Baking Company: Reopenng a Snooze, Samy Faces Possible Deportation

We've been posting lots of stories on RHU about Amy and Samy Bouzaglo, the monstrous owners of Amy's Baking Company in Phoenix, Arizona. If you don't know who they are right away, they were featured on the TV show Kitchen Nightmares and displayed some of the most shocking and horrendous behavior Gordon Ramsay had ever encountered.

I am a Gordon Ramsay superfan and having watched all of his shows from the beginning ( I can't get enough of Hell's Kitchen and it's so badass to watch him take out complaining custys!) But when I watched him at Amy's Baking Company my mouth was pretty much slack-jawed the entire time. I was stunned that that these two people could be running any kind of business where custys frequent!

“After nearly 100 Kitchen Nightmares, I’ve met two owners who I could not help,” Ramsay said after he walked out of filming the episode in December 2012. “And it wasn’t because I didn’t want to, it’s because they are incapable of listening and in a short period of time, they’ve managed to piss off the community and go through over 100 employees in one year. Samy and Amy continue to blame everyone else, but their biggest problem is themselves. And I know, whatever changes I would have made, they were never going to stick to them and that’s why I’ve decided to do something I’ve never done before. It’s such a shame.”

Israeli-born Samy Bouzaglo spent time in jail before coming to the US and he could be facing deportation from the United States in a two-year-long immigration case. According to reports, his legal woes may be linked to his past criminal history involving drug distribution, threats and extortion. He was even banned from entering both France and Germany, according to an anonymous source who spoke to NBC.

Amy spent 14 months in federal prison having pled guilty to misusing a Social Security number when she applied for a $15,000 bank loan back in 2003. She was known as Amanda Bossingham then (okay - that is just FUCKING FUNNY! Bossingham? The only better name would be Bitchingham!)

And then we've all seen what they did on TV to their employees and custys!

Such lovely people! 

I was BEYOND thrilled to see their grand re-opening was a flop. They hired a bunch of security guards (photo above) and only a handful of custys showed up - probably friends. One was a local food blogger who claimed his food was good (of course it was! he was the only blogger allowed inside!)

A few days later the public relations company that starting working with Amy's said that it was calling it quits after only five days, citing "differences on public relations strategies." It was no longer representing the restaurant after the grand reopening on Tuesday.

And today I brought my bony hands together in thunderous applause when I heard FOX forbid them from having a public press conference talking about the alledged hacking and the episode. It was canceled after lawyers representing the production company behind "Kitchen Nightmares" notified Mr. and Mrs. Douchebag they were forbidden from talking about their experience on the show without prior approval from Upper Ground and Fox — unless they wanted to pay up.

Hahahaha! Sweet justice!

Can't they just crawl back into the sewer and go away? Maybe they could open up a cafe for the roaches and rats...

UPDATE:

If you just can't get enough of this insane story like myself, Radar Online has a million posts about it: http://radaronline.com/?s=amy%27s+baking+company&submit=Go

Travelpro's Shared Story About A Sort-Of Step-Brother Supervisor

Hey, RHU.

My friend Travelpro always has the juiciest retail stories, and I got permission from her to post this one as well.

The set-up: Travelpro has recently gotten a job at a hardware store in town, and while some days are more "Ugh, Thrognar take me now," than others, she seems to like it well enough.

When she was hired, she got a weird surprise: her kind-of stepbrother, Celsius, was working there as well. He was, in fact, her new supervisor. (The "kind-of" part refers to the fact that their parents are not married, simply dating. They're not actually related by blood OR marriage.) They decided not to say anything, and keep things strictly professional. This was easy enough on Travelpro's end, but Celsius... there were some casual bets in Travelpro's circle of friends as to how long he would last. Celsius has had some issues with hard drugs, and also, some bi-polar problems that he seemed to want to ignore.

The first official day of work started out wrong. This store was brand new, and had to be merchandised before opening. The first day of merchandising fell on a day that Travelpro had indicated that she could not work due to her school schedule. She had it off, and had checked twice with management that she was scheduled off that particular day. They both told her yes. So she ran a few errands first thing in the morning that day, and I happened to go with her.

When her phone rang, she was surprised to see that it was Celsius, wanting to know where she was and saying that he was calling in the capacity of "concerned stepbrother" rather than as a supervisor. He stated that everyone else was scheduled to work that day, and why wasn't she at work?

She explained that she was told that she had that day off and asked if she had actually been scheduled. She asked him to check the schedule and call her back. When he did, he said that he hadn't looked for her name specifically, but had seen everyone else's name.

They finally decided that she was not working, but guess who called next? Travelpro's mom. Celsius has said something to his dad, who had said something to her mom, who had called her. Frustrated, Travelpro phoned Celsius' supervisor to find out what the deal was, and he replied that she could come in if she wanted to, but that she was not scheduled to work.

A few weeks later, Travelpro was having dinner with a friend when she received another phone call from Celsius, asking about beer. She told him that she was out with a friend already, but that maybe they could hang out the following weekend.

He clarified: he wanted her to BRING him beer, then leave.

He wanted a beer delivery service because, as a minor, he could not buy his own. He tried to pull, "I'm your supervisor," on her a few times, and she delivered her no in the kind of customer service voice that one reserves for crusties with expired coupons.

It was a shortly after this that Travelpro learned from her mother that Celsius had lost his job. He had told everyone that a whole bunch of people had gotten fired that weekend, when in fact, it had just been himself and another guy.

He told his father that he had been fired because of his seizures (no), which Travelpro leaned of through the Rumor Mill. The other guy was fired for juggling dangerous tools. Celsius was caught jousting... at a stack of birdseed...with a pallet jack. I just... damn, RHU. Damn.

May Your Kind-Of Relatives Stay the Hell Away From Your Jobsite,

--Without Nametag

The Banquet Staff is Embarrassed to Serve Baker Bitch's Dessert

Hey RHU, Without Nametag here with another story. Several of you seemed to... well, not only enjoy my story about Baker Bitch, but wanted to hear others, so here is The Banquet Staff is Embarrassed to Serve Baker Bitch's Dessert.

So a quick catch-up: Baker Bitch and I worked for a mid-priced hotel bakery, making pastries and breads for the hotel's restaurant, and the banquet halls adjoining. The bakery area was a tiny, galley-style, and you had to turn sideways to get past someone, it was that small. If you didn't like your co-workers, you were kind of screwed, being that close physically. Baker Bitch and I were the only ones working in the bakery at that point, and while I didn't hate her, I mostly tolerated her while secretly cleaning up her messes. Now, because the bakery was just the two of us, and open 7 days a week, there were days when our shifts overlapped, and days when we would work by ourselves and maybe leave notes to keep the other person up to speed. This story occurs when the schedule happened to be just BB on her own the first day, and me on my own the next.

There was a large-ish banquet scheduled for my day on, and I had mostly nothing to do with it, as the group had ordered cheesecake for dessert and Baker Bitch had made them the day before. All of the individual plating was done by the banquet staff, so I anticipated a quiet day of prep.

Not so fast, Without Nametag! Remember that your supervisor is Baker Bitch, who is not only ignorant, but thinks that she's Thognar's Gift to Baking. Near the end of the banquet, the staff very quietly approaches me (this very quiet approach was quickly becoming a common occurrence, and meant that BB had fucked something up again, which I would have to fix, also quietly). They brought me a slice of plated cheesecake (no really, "they" is correct: several people wanted to see my reaction), and asked who had made it. Baker Bitch, of course. It was pretty enough, white and creamy-looking, like cheesecake should be, but they appeared nervous. They told me that they were embarrassed to serve this cheesecake. They requested a tasting, which I did.

RHU, do you know what corn starch tastes like? Yep. Now, do you know what corn starch feels like? For lack of a better word, it feels squeaky. This cheesecake had both the mouth-feel and taste of corn starch. After several customer complaints, the banquet staff tried a slice and were horrified. They came running to me.

Do you remember my telling you that Baker Bitch was a vegan? Again, I think veganism is admirable. Many vegans follow this lifestyle because of deeply held beliefs, and it's not easy. The vegans that I can't stand, though, are judgmental vegans, the ones who look down on you for not making the same lifestyle choice as they do. Baker Bitch was this kind of vegan. She got on my case all the time.

I had developed blood-sugar issues earlier that year, and she insisted that my problems would go away if I became vegan. Um no, you dumbshit. My blood-sugar problems actually improve when I consume more animal protein. Don't tell me that beans will provide me enough protein, you're not a fucking doctor.

Back to the story: Baker Bitch, in her infinite, self-righteous wisdom, decided to make enough vegan cheesecakes to feed a banquet of 100 + people, and not say anything. This way, when people came back raving about how good the cheesecake was, she could happily declare that it was vegan, and wouldn't they all be pleasantly surprised? (There is no doubt in my mind that this was how it played out in her mind. I can see the smarmy smile on her face, too.) This was not what the client had ordered. And they were not happy with it.

How did her "brilliant" plan go so horribly wrong? Baking is like chemistry: one cannot simply substitute one ingredient for another without the possibility of failure. A new recipe requires experimentation before the recipe is acceptable, and the ratios of dry and wet ingredients must remain within certain limits in order to bake correctly. Vegan food prep is similar: simply swapping out one vegan ingredient for a non-vegan one rarely works as well as intended, and it will always taste different than the original. Well-done vegan cooking and baking occurs when the chef/baker has spent a while experimenting with the substitutions in a certain recipe and has found a happy medium of taste, consistency, and vegan ingredients. Baker Bitch had not done this. She had swapped out vegan ingredients and probably ended up with a mixture that was too soupy, and so added corn starch... too much corn starch. Sadly, I imagine that she had brought her own vegan substitute ingredients from home, as the restaurant did not stock items like that.

Like many stories on RHU, this one does not have a happy ending. If the banquet had been a small meeting, say 10 people or so, I could have pulled some of the restaurant's desserts and given those to the banquet staff to serve instead. But this was 100 + people. There was no way that I could have found anything that quickly to feed that many people an alternate dessert on the fly.

So the client complained. And I think (I hope) that the head chef gave an earful to Baker Bitch when she came in next. I imagine that she told him that she wouldn't pull any more crap like that in the future. Unfortunately, that's the end. I can't imagine how many of those people at that banquet advised others to stay away from the baked goods at our hotel: "The food is good, but the desserts are inedible."

May you live a thousand years and never eat Corn Starch Cheesecake,

--Without Nametag

 

Fast-Food Workers Decry Widespread Wage Theft In New York

Huff Po: Vicente de Jesus Garcia says he had a bad feeling when he arrived at a Harlem housing project three years ago to deliver a pizza. He didn't like the looks of the place, so he told the customers to meet him outside. As he waited, a group of men pulled him into the lobby, threw him to the ground, kicked him until he was black and blue, and stole $400.

On Thursday, Garcia, a Mexican immigrant and a father of seven, appeared at a rally outside a fast-food outlet in New York City to denounce the people he views as the real thieves -– not the men who took his cash in the lobby but the multinational corporation that employs him.

According to Garcia, the owner of the Papa John's franchise where Garcia worked held him accountable for the stolen money.

"I had to use my rent money to pay him back," he said through an interpreter. "It’s bad enough that it’s dangerous and I get robbed doing this job. To make me pay back the money if I want to keep my job, is an insult on top of it."

Garcia's story is just one of the more dramatic episodes highlighted in a new report from the labor campaign Fast Food Forward on the prevalence of wage theft in New York's fast-food industry. In a survey commissioned by the campaign, which advocates for higher pay for fast-food workers, 84 percent of those surveyed said that their employers engaged in practices that amount to what the group has identified as theft. Respondents described performing duties before and after clocking in, working during scheduled meal breaks, working overtime without getting paid extra for it, and, in the case of delivery workers, receiving no reimbursement for money spent on gas, bicycle helmets and other job-related necessities.

On Thursday, the New York state attorney general's office acknowledged that its investigators are looking into these practices. In an email, spokesman Damien LaVera called the report's findings "deeply troubling" and said they "shed light on potentially broad labor violations by the fast food industry."

Representatives for Papa John's and the National Restaurant Association did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Melissa Mark-Viverito, a Democratic New York City councilwoman who represents parts of Harlem and the Bronx, was among several local leaders at the rally who framed the report as evidence of a "hidden crime wave."

"This is a crime wave that is not being engaged in by petty thieves, but by a multimillion dollar industry," she said.

The demonstration, which took place outside of a KFC on the Brooklyn-Queens border, came on the heels of a series of strikes and protests by fast-food and retail workers around the country. In November, about 200 workers affiliated with the Fast Food Forward campaign walked out of their restaurants in New York City, demanding better pay and the right to form a union.

In April, more than 400 workers participated in a second New York strike, inspiring a wave of similar actions in Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit and Milwaukee.

By law, fast-food workers must be paid at least the federal minimum wage, which is now $7.25 an hour. In recent years, these jobs have become much more common; since the official end of the economic downturn, jobs in the fast-food sector and other low-paying industries have grown nearly three times as fast as jobs with better pay.

One of the workers who spoke at the rally was Joseph Barrera, a 22-year-old employee of the KFC that loomed in the background. Barrera was the subject of a recent Huffington Post story exploring the prevalence of poverty among people who work for a living.

Although some employees at the franchise where he works end up contributing more than 40 hours a week to the company, Barrera said, the boss divides their hours among different franchises, so that he doesn't have to pay them overtime.

"They want to play games with us," Barrera said. "We're not playing games no more."

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Psycho Custy Throws Tantrum Over Potato, Then Comes Back Later And Surprises Staff

Hiya RHU, I'm yet another in a long list of long-time-lurker, first-time-posters. I guess since I worked at a Wendy's, you can just call me Where'sTheBeef.

I have a ridiculous amount of stories fit for RHU (seriously, I've found my people) but this particular one comes from my last few weeks working at a Wendy's. It is sort of long, but I think worth the read. Little bit of background; I was what they refer to as a 'Team Leader', which is basically the last rung on the management ladder. I would get stuck up front with the regular employees while the real (aka salary) managers sat in the office eating, when one of them happened to be on shift with me. Since I was more responsible than some of my fellow Team Leads, I often got left alone to run shifts by myself (which Team Leads were not supposed to do.) This happened while I was on shift alone, as the only manager.

A well dressed man came in and ordered quite a bit of food fairly late in the evening (around 8:30pm). He was more or less polite, and it didn't take us long to get his food together. Seems like a forgettable experience, right?

It was, until nearly an hour later he came in, fuming, ranting, raving and just generally being a complete crusty. He cuts in front of the line of customers (a group of young-ish, built outdoorsy guys) and literally throws an old baked potato at my cashier's face. By the time I make my way from the drive thru (like, 4 feet away) he already has my cashier in tears.

I excuse her to the back to calm down and take over the conversation like the good fast-food robot I am. "I'm sorry sir, I'm the manager on duty. What seems to be the problem?" I ask, politely even though I really want to kick him out for making my sweet cashier (lets just call her Sugar, because she was a total sweetheart) cry.

"I JUST ordered this potato, look at it? Would you eat this? Do you expect me to feed this to my family? This is disgusting! What are you going to do about this!?"

Now, if you've ever been to a Wendy's you may know that they sell baked potatoes. Unlike some places that might microwave their potatoes, Wendy's actually does bake them - and they take a freakin' hour to bake, so we really had to plan the numbers ahead of time. That late at night, we stopped cooking potatoes because they usually just went bad, they didn't sell well at night. So by the time the crusty has come back, we didn't have any left.

Attempting to salvage the situation, I calmly look to the crusty's potato (which is pretty black and nasty, but.. it's been an HOUR!) and say "Well, sir, I'm sorry but we don't have any potatoes left. We don't cook them this late at night. I will, of course, be happy to refund the cost of the potato and get you a different side in place. Would you like french fries?"

Pretty good so far; I've kept my cool and not flown off the handle.

Then it goes from bad to worse, crusty explodes. "What do you mean you don't have any potatoes? I JUST BOUGHT THIS. I DON'T WANT YOUR NASTY FRIES. I AM GOING TO SUE YOU FOR TRYING TO POISON MY FAMILY. I AM GOING TO SUE YOU. I AM GOING TO SUE THIS COMPANY. I WILL OWN YOU."

This is where I start to lose my cool. I grab the receipt that he threw at Sugar with the potato, and hold it up for him to see, and in a very cold tone of voice; "You ordered this an HOUR ago. I'm sorry, but I do not have magical food that will stay good forever. You failed to consume the food in a reasonable amount of time. I cannot be held responsible because you let it go bad. I offered you replacements, and a refund. I don't know what you expect me to do for you."

Cue more ranting and raving about suing me, wanting my name and corporates number. Then crusty crosses my ultimate line. He gets millimeters from my face (leaning over the counter) and yells so vehemently he gets spit on me. That's it for me. "Sir, the door is right there. You have ten seconds to leave my establishment before I call the police and have you arrested. You spit on me, and that is considered assault. I WILL press charges. My name is WHERE'STHEBEEF, the number for corporate can be found on our website - Oh, and by the way, you can't sue me because you let your food go bad. Now. Leave."

Apparently the buff outdoorsy customers behind him thought he was being out of line as well, because when I mentioned the police they cheered and started pelting him with coins. "Really dude? Over a potato? Here's your refund!"

Crusty leaves, they smile at me and are freakin' awesome customers, and the night gets a little better. Seeing that man get hit with change was awazing. So... end of story? Not hardly.

Fast forward 3 weeks, and I am working drive through while an actual salary manager is running the floor. I've put in my 2-weeks notice (because I'm moving, but also because that place was greasy hell) so my give-a-fuck-o-meter is pretty damn low.

Sugar calls over the headset; "Hey Where'sTheBeef... a customer wants you up front.."

She sounds kinda terrified, and all of the other employee's freeze. I walk out front and guess who is standing there? Yeah, you guessed it. Crusty Potato Jerk. I walk up, very cautious and ready for another scene when he shocks me in to utter silence.

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior a few weeks ago. It was completely inappropriate, and I feel terrible. I know that my actions were reprehensible and I acted like a spoiled child. I just wanted to say that I am very sorry, I was completely in the wrong." He then offers his hand, for a handshake.

I have absolutely nothing to say at all. Did a crusty just.. apologize? What? Every single employee was just as stunned as I was; most of them had been working the night he'd made his scene. Later on, Sugar tells me he has apologized to her as well, just before she called me to the front. Apparently crustys can see the error of their ways.

--Where'sTheBeef

14 Retailers Decline To Sign Bangladesh Factory Safety Accord

Huff Po: The deadline to sign onto the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh passed on Tuesday, and at least 14 major North American retailers declined to participate.

The agreement, which demands a five-year commitment from participating retailers to conduct independent safety inspections of factories and pay up to $500,000 per year toward safety improvements, has seen greater support abroad than in the U.S.

Major European retailers -- for example, Marks & Spencer and Carrefour -- have joined the agreement. Others who've signed on include companies recently involved with factory disasters in Bangladesh, such as Swedish retailer H&M and Italian fashion house Benetton. A 2010 factory fire at a facility that made cardigans for H&M killed 21 people, and Bennetton had a supplier in the Rana Plaza factory that collapsed last month, killing more than 1,100 people.

PVH, parent to Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, signed the accord, along with Abercrombie & Fitch, which agreed just hours before the deadline. That leaves plenty of U.S. retailers absent from the agreement, according to the Worker Rights Consortium, an international labor monitoring group. However, some retailers, like Walmart, claim they are working on separate initiatives to improve conditions and workplace safety in Bangladesh.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Abercrombie and Finch's Reputation Taking a Nosedive According To Brand Researcher

Huff Po: Abercrombie and Fitch? More like Abercrombie and Ditch.

The apparel retailer has seen its reputation nosedive over the past two weeks since controversial comments made by its CEO Mike Jeffries resurfaced online, according to brand researcher YouGov BrandIndex.

(In case you missed it, Business Insider published a story that contained comments Jeffries originally made in an interview with Salon in 2006 saying he doesn't want "fat" or "not so cool" kids wearing his company's clothes.)

YouGov's BrandIndex measures positive versus negative feedback about a brand. The chart below illustrates consumer perception among 18 to 34 year olds as compared to American Eagle and H&M.

Jeffries is now doing his best to remedy the situation. He even posted a rebuttal on Facebook saying that his company is “completely opposed to any discrimination, bullying, derogatory characterizations or other anti-social behavior.”

But the mea culpa may not be enough. Many, including Kirstie Alley, have condemned Jeffries' comments. A YouTube video deriding Abercrombie and Fitch’s self-prescribed cool kid image has already reached over 4.5 million views.

A phone call request for comment from Abercrombie and Fitch was not immediately returned Thursday evening.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Bitch Throws A Tantrum Over A $0.05 Bag

Hi, RHU! It's been a long time, it's me, the Loser. I know it's been about two years probably, since the last time I submitted anything. Everything that was keeping me from posting is resolved. My stalker has been arrested and is getting help - which was the most important thing to me. No point in him sittin' twiddlin' his thumbs only to get back out without any help!

Now, I've been meaning to return for a while, but even when I find things worthy of the RHU community, I was finding myself too tired to post any of it. I'd get home from work, and I would just curl up and sleep. I still do, but today is a start.

Anyhow, my real post is about plastic bags. Here in Canada, we've been encouraging customers to leave without plastic bags. In Ontario, you have options, but many companies have started to charge five cents, and most of them are donating this money to charity. My company has their head office in Ontario, so it only make sense that they just start charging before it because the law in all the provinces. It's been this way for over a year now.

Of course the company is also all about bending over backwards for dipshits who get angry. This means, for us lowly slaves, is that if someone bitches, we're allowed to give them a plastic bag for free. This has happened in the past, and then we all share the description of the person, and when they return to bitch again - we tell them that the last time was a one time deal, and they knew that we were going to charge this time.

Too bad, jackass. We're not stupid, we know that you want a free bag. It's not even the 5 cents I care about. It's the fact that you are so desperate to weasel out of it. I don't charge little kids. I don't charge people for extra bags if they're getting a huge tower of books. I don't charge regular customers who usually bring their own bags.

Oh, yeah! I was going to tell a specific story. I got lost on that tangent. So, enter Snobby, as we'll call her. Snobby puts down three shiny new hardcover books. I ask her politely if she needs a bag and she just starts glaring at me. Uh oh, something is wrong here. I get on my best customer service face (knit brows, puppy dog eyes and a slight frown - if it keeps people from yelling at me, I can look like one abused pet!)

"You know, I understand this BULLSHIT at the grocery store, but books are a LUXURY item. I won't be charged for a DAMN bag!"

I open my mouth to speak, a little shocked at her sudden yelling in the middle of her sentences. My coworker Professor pipes up, "Well, we charge because we're trying to encourage people to -" Completely cut off.

"No! I don't want to hear these damn explanations. I don't need to buy books from you. I could bring my business to a company that cares about me and what I think. I'm not buying any of these and I'll be emailing your company tonight to complain about you." And then she stormed off.

She didn't even let us explain that we would give her one of our bags for FREE just for being an asshole. Now, I might be safe, if she complains about us, because I lost my nametag, but Professor just got hers recently. I am also the only one with short black hair, so who knows.

I'm heading to school in three months or so. Hopefully I can wait it out and not spend all my energy panicking that this angry bitch is gonna come after me and get me fired.

I feel so much better - thanks for listening. :)

Until next time Love,

--The Loser

Fired Amy's Baking Company Server, Katy Cipriano Answers Questions On Reddit About Her Server Hell

From what I could see on the Nitchen Nightmares episode, Katy was a caring, hard worker and did not deserve the way she was treated by Amy's Baking Company owners Amy and Samy. The hateful greedy scumbags took her tips!

Here's the link to Katy's reddit account where she answers questions to comments.

 

Monstrous Restaurant Owners Amy and Samy Bouzaglo Reopening Amy's Baking Company

I've never seen such hateful, disgusting business owners in my entire retail career (these people take their server's tips!!!). I'm a big fan of Kitchen Nightmares and Gordon Ramsay in General and he has helped over 100 restaurants. He had to walk a way from these monsters. The hellhole operated by Amy and Samy Bouzaglo was not savable by him because they are selfish, rude, greedy, nasty people that should not be running any kind of service related business. Now they are reopening the restaurant again! I hope it sinks so far into the earth it reaches hell.

Below is the full Kitchen Nightmares episode if you have not seen it. Your jaw will drop - several times...

Huff Po: It looks like Amy's Baking Company, the restaurant at the center of the "Kitchen Nightmares" season finale brouhaha, is going into damage control mode.

Owners Amy and Samy Bouzaglo have hired PR firm Rose + Moser + Allyn Public and Online Relations and closed down their Scottsdale eatery. But like an ironic phoenix rising from the ashes, it will reopen on May 21 for a "Grand Re-Opening," according to a press release posted to the restaurant's Facebook page.

A portion of the proceeds will go to an unnamed charity "organized to bring awareness to cyber bullying," a not-so-subtle reference to Amy's assertion that the restaurant has been unfairly singled out on the internet.

"We are very upset by what has taken place, apologize about the acrimony that has ensued but now must fight back to save our business," Samy Bouzaglo said in the release. "We hope and believe much good can result from what has transpired. We ask the public to keep an open mind as we begin to tell our side of the story."

According to a Twitter page associated with Jason Rose, a principle at Rose + Moser + Allyn Public and Online Relations, the grand reopening event has already sold out.

The Huffington Post reached out to Mike Saucier, a Rose + Moser + Allyn associate handling the reopening, who was unable to offer more information about the event. However, Saucier said more details would be released to the public later today. We will update the post as needed.

Saucier told HuffPost that Rose + Moser + Allyn has experience with crisis PR cases, which, it would seem to an outside observer, aptly sums up what it faces with Amy's Baking Company.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

 

 

 

 

Bad Retail Slaves At A Call Center Hell, From The Custy's Point Of View

Good day, fellow RHUers!

I, lusty LeatherMinx, have a (super long, sorry) tale for you. (I also don't work in leather anymore, but I like the name, and you can't take it from me!) In the vein of all the call centre posts recently, I offer you this:

Way up here in the frigid tundra known as Canuckia - more specifically, in my little corner by the mountains - there is a company that advertises their wares using adorable animals on a white background rocking out to music one wouldn't expect that particular animal to rock out to and/or insinuating distinctly human sexual desires. We shall call this company Smellus.

Now, Smellus is a multi-purpose wretch of a company. They offer internet, cable, home phone, cell phones, and an undying hatred of themselves. Not everyone loathes this company, but I do. To explain a little bit about why (billing and shady practices are a whole other ball of wax), I have to share a little bit of hell from the other end of the line from the call centre.

1.) If you are the provider of my cellular service, it should be required by law that your call centre phone numbers are preprogrammed into any phone I purchase from you or use on your network. As this is not the case, I have memorized the phone number. And I do my best to answer whenever you call, but alas, I'm rarely available or in an area that I get great reception. (My house is between two cells and there's one section of the back deck that you can place calls from. That's about it.) I am not avoiding your calls.

Rather, I'm eager to speak with you (which you will hear about in item 3). Could you please be so kind as to leave me a goddamned voicemail? It's devastating to me that I have been unable to connect with you any of the fourteen times (I'm not exaggerating, I counted for three days how many missed calls I had from them, and averaged out) you've attempted to reach me, because I've been in a meeting at work, driving to or from the office, or at my black hole of a house. Leave a message so that I may assuage my disappointment, however briefly, by hearing your lovely voice.

2.) Ah! Finally! We have managed to touch base, and have exchanged pleasant greetings as two normal adults are wont to do. Here, unfortunately, is where we descend into hell. Before I am able to draw a breath to make a request, you have launched into your ninety-mile-an-hour spiel.

It's been a full two minutes and you haven't drawn a breath yet, so I very politely say, "Excuse me?" and wait for you to acknowledge my egregious interruption of your monologue. "Excuse me? Hi, I'm really sorry to interrupt." (At this point, I have actually heard the caller SNORT into my damn ear.)

3.) I am trying, politely, to let you know that I am extremely irritated with your company, but not with you. I understand that you have a job to do, and are just trying to do that job. I had a call centre job. I lasted one hellacious shift, and I left in tears. I don't envy you your job, is what I'm saying, and I will do my damnedest not to take my frustration out on you. Please do not get snippy with me when I am trying to get your attention while being talked AT instead of TO.

4.) Yes, I really - honest and for true - have requested on five other occasions to not be called about this offer. Yes, I really - honest and for true - am happy with my home services with another company, which are not actually in my name but in my roommate's name and therefore not something you should speak to me about, but her.

I promise, I'm not lying to you. However, the past five times I've requested to be put on that elusive DNC list, I've been assured that it's been done. This being the sixth time I'm requesting it, I am starting to doubt the veracity of those claims.

5.) On the other five occasions, I simply stated that I am not interested in the services as my reasoning for requesting DNC. This time, however, this time, I think you deserve the truth. We have a long, colourful history together... Months upon months of frustration on both our parts, and most recently, the past several minutes we've spent together with steadily growing irritation on both sides. You, disappointingly, have been far more vocal with your anger than I. So. The truth.

6.) I have only several months left in my contract with Smellus. I am simply waiting it out until I can switch to another provider. Oh, I hear your frustration. I share it. We're just aiming it at different things.

7.) An irritated sigh. No, I understand. You're disappointed. You're trying to salvage the call, and here I am firmly but politely trying to let you know that my mind won't be changed.

8.) Finally (and for the first time in all six occasions) you ask the questions required to put someone on the do not call list. You are snotty, which I guess I understand, but it really doesn't do much to heighten my opinion of Smellus. I will answer your questions with respect and relief, to be honest, to have gotten this far. So thank you, and you have a good -

9.) Did you just...? Yeah, you did. You hung up on me. Wow. Okay. Well, that's a hurtful way to end our relationship, but okay. Do what you gotta do, I guess.

It's been awhile now, but it'll take some more time for me to get over the... Just a second, my phone is ringing.

10.) ARE YOU SERIOUSLY FUCKING CALLING ME TO SELL ME THE SAME SERVICES?!?!?!

Repeat this over the span of about sixteen months. I know y'all have a job to do (and again, I did it. Once. And couldn't continue), and I know it's a different person I speak to every time, but believe me when I say that I can almost sympathize with those who go batshit crazy. I am as polite as peach pie - because peach pie is SUPER polite, if you didn't know - but what it boils down to is, I'm not buying what you're selling. I'm especially not buying what you're selling if you're calling me on my personal cell phone and taking up my time without extending the common courtesy to accept my apologetic decline and honour my wishes. The attitude reflects poorly on the person, but the policy reflects poorly on the company. At some point, the company's gotta let their staff know that it is actually okay to accept a "no."

Because, to be honest, it's not even bordering on harassment anymore - it's moved right into that territory and set up permanent housing. With indoor plumbing and everything.

.... And a gazebo.

May all your custies be magnificent and all your callers respectful,

--LeatherMinx

Tales Of Invading Critters At The Popular Canadian Coffee Chain

Canadia here eh, with a post that's not quite as sad as my last one. I'm safely over it now and with Kittychanz recent post about service animals it reminded me of a few short stories of customers bringing pets into 'Popular Canadian Coffee Chain'. This is in no way to slap a bad name on service animals or people that need them.

As part of the training videos in 'Popular Cana- okay you know what I'm shortening it to P.C.C.C that's a mouthful even to type out. Anyways as I was saying part of the training goes towards members of the population that have service dogs/other animals. If an animal came in the store you had to tell a Supervisor if the animal wasn't wearing a vest. It's not to be prejudiced but if a health inspector came in, saw the animal it would be a health hazard, and it would be an instant shut down. I come today with a few stories; one with an entitled custy, and one with I think it was a service animal, but I'm not sure and more employee stupidity.

First: I was just getting off work, my dad was there to pick me up so I was trying to leave as soon as possible. I saw the car right outside the door when I opened it a teenager walked in with a little Pomeranian. Normally I wouldn't say anything but there was no vest on it or indication it was a service dog. So I politely said: "I'm sorry you can't bring your dog in there."

She stopped, turned around and said; "I know, I work at another P.C.C.C. It's ok they let me bring it in all the time at my store."

"Well I work here and I'm telling you, you can't bring it into the store."

"Oh my god seriously this is ridiculous." And she had a friend hold it outside.

I'm sorry I'm not putting my job on the line when someone is fully aware or should be if they work at a different store about health code violations. What was so difficult to hand the leash to your friend in the first place?

Second: Again this was at P.C.C.C, we had a huge line up, and it was summertime during the day. Contrary to popular belief Canada is not covered in snow/constantly cold all year long despite how awesome that would be. I served a family, and I couldn't place my finger on it, but they were memorable.

They got their food and I followed them with my eyes to a table in the corner. On it was a small blue carrier and what looked like a cat inside. Since it was during the day I mentioned it. My supervisor came back and said it was a Service Animal. So I learned something new that day. I always thought up until then it was just dogs that could be a service animal but now I know it can be cats, ferrets pretty much anything as long as it suits the needs of the person that needs it. Service animals I salute you!

Third: This was the first time I worked at Burger Joint, it was a different town and sometime in the afternoon. I don't brown nose managers but if it is a health code violation I am not afraid to speak up because if it's health, place gets shut down and no job. An employee came in, ordered some stuff and got to talking with the staff. She had just gotten a puppy. Everyone congratulated her, and in her excitement she asked everyone if they would like to see it. Supervisor didn't say anything and allowed the entire store to be at risk.

As good natured as the employee was and the puppy was cute it didn't justify the risks. So I informed the manager of what happened, his jaw dropped with an 'are you kidding me?' look. I didn't hear what happened, and it wasn't any part of my business to inquire about it.

-- Canadia

Shameful Disney Custys: Rich Moms Rent Disabled Guides So Their Kids Don't Have To Wait In Line

Huff Po: It’s a smaller world for some of us than for others, apparently.

The New York Post reports that the latest “must have” for wealthy parents, is a “disabled” guide at Disney World, so that their darling children don’t have to wait on lines for rides. According an exclusive by reporter Tara Palmeri, Manhattan “one percenters” have been passing around the name of a “black market disney guide” -- an adult who needs a motorized scooter for mobility, and whose presence can take advantage of the rule that “handicapped” guests can go directly to the front of the line and bring up to five other people along.

“Renting the handicapped” Pilar Clark calls it in her reaction on Babble.com, a piece titled “Not Disabled at Home? Then You Don’t Get to be Disabled at Disney.”

And, as Beth Greenfield write at Yahoo! Shine, it is part of a trend, also seen at airports where “travelers request the use of complimentary wheelchairs... as a technique of getting pushed to the front of security lines, only to leap up and sprint to their gates once they have clearance.”

I’ve spent the afternoon trying to find a silver lining in this one -- something that doesn’t mean that the end of civilized society is indeed upon us -- and here’s the best I’ve got:

*This might lead to growing acceptance of people with disabilities, because, kids, look how lucky people in wheelchairs are!

*These parents are teaching frugality, because, at $130 an hour, these guides are a bargain. After all, the “offiical” Disney “rich people don’t have to wait on line with everyone else” pass (that’s my name for it, btw, Disney just calls it a “fast pass”) costs between $300 and $400 an hour.

 

“When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are,” Jiminy Cricket sings. Unless, of course, you are wishing to bypass the line.

Then it helps to have a lot of money. And very few scruples.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Hotel Hell: The Not-So-Glamorous Life Of A Housekeeper Part 2

StarShoes here, with a few more stories from Hotel Hell!

-------------------------

The Construction Worker

This was on my third day of work. I’m in Indiana, so the two seasons are winter and road construction. It’s finally gotten warm, so construction is back in full swing.

The workers, for their own convenience, tend to rent hotel rooms near the stretch of highway they’re working on. There’s about a mile of work between the exit for my hotel and the next exit, and the hotels at my exit are a lot less seedy.

Construction workers are pretty cool, they usually just come in, drink, sleep, shower, and go back to work. My partner and I ended up cleaning one of the workers’ rooms, and it grossed me out a little but wasn’t unmanageable.

Because I’m not trained on bathrooms yet, I took care of all of the main room. On one nightstand was a tray with two complete, mostly uneaten breakfasts from the breakfast bar in the lobby. On the other was a half empty tall can of Budweiser and a cup of what looked like settled raw egg. That was the point where I stopped asking questions.

I’m taking the food to the garbage when my partner goes “That’s fucking disgusting” from the bathroom. Now, we had already dealt with The Dog People at this point, so I was worried. They hadn’t even warranted an f-bomb, and they left a huge mess.

So I poked my head in the door. There was almost a solid inch of shampoo/soap/mud sludge at the bottom of the tub. My partner explained that the sticky mud generated by the road work tends to do this, but this was the most she had ever seen. By the time she was done, you couldn’t even tell anything had been in the tub.

The last thing I did was take out the trash from the room, and I’ll be damned if I didn’t pick up one of the clear bags and see a giant pair of leopard print panties shoved down to the bottom. That was the point where I swore I would never speculate again.

-------------------------

Party Guy

Booze is kind of a rampant thing at hotels. Lots of people rent rooms so they can come get drunk. Sometimes they leave what’s left in lieu of a tip, and one of the male housekeepers scored an entire fifth of cherry vodka after cleaning up empties for a couple days.

Obviously it’s not a new thing to come into a room and see a bunch of empty cans or bottles around. I’ve gotten to the point where I can tell if we’ll find any based on how the room smells when I walk in. Well, we were in charge of a room that was labeled a “stay” on our list, but when we opened the door it looked almost untouched.

The bed had been slept in, but the covers had only been pulled back enough for someone to slip in and out of the bed. There were about 12 empty beer cans around the room and the empty box of a case of Miller High Life, but no suitcase or used glasses or any personal possessions whatsoever.

We called our supervisor down to ask whether the guy had checked out and she was like “Did you check the closet?”

We had. So she had us start cleaning while she looked for signs of life. She opened the top drawer of the dresser, announced that it was half-full of underwear, and that I should check the mini fridge. I opened the door and found 23 untouched cans of Miller High Life and a full, unopened bottle of Dewar’s.

Underwear and booze. Party hard.

-------------------------

The Bloody Duvet

Turns out men and women are completely equal on their ability to trash a room. This was the same day as Party Guy.

My partner and I were cleaning a newly vacant room so it could be rented out again. I was making the bed, but when I flipped the duvet over there were spots of blood all over a big section of it. It wasn’t just light spots; it was like someone with open wounds had turned themself into a human burrito for the night. I wondered if maybe the woman who had rented the room had miscalculated her period, but it wasn’t the right kind of pattern.

I called my partner over and expressed my concern that blood would be going back onto a clean bed. She was just as put off as I was at the idea and I got to throw a duvet down two floors of laundry chute. Besides the bloody duvet, there were coffee cups covered in lipstick sitting all over the room, coffee stains on a bunch of things, a makeup ring around the inside of the bathroom sink, makeup smeared on the bathroom counter, and a ton of long hair all over everything.

This definitely made me realize my job is not very glamorous.

-------------------------

Tips

When you travel, it’s courtesy to leave a tip for the people who clean your room, especially if you trash and dash. The recommended rate is $1/night/person. I’ve seen a $0.05 tip, an $0.83 tip, and one kind soul who actually left us a dollar in quarters for his one night stay, which is really nice because those transfer into the vending machine easier.

I have not seen any other tips in any other rooms. Zero tips.

Supposedly Bacon Lingerie Lady tips really highly because leaving her stuff out for us to deal with is speculated to be her “thing”, but I haven’t seen it yet. And if you leave us something you wouldn’t deal with yourself, at least leave a note warning us.

--StarShoes

Hotell Hell: The Not-So-Glamorous Life Of A Housekeeper

I'm the girl who worked with tweakers at Spencer's, but I got a new job as a housekeeper at a hotel. I've only been working for four days, but I'm already getting a ton of weird stories.

I guess you can call me StarShoes, because I have a pair of nurses' shoes covered in a galaxy pattern that I wear to work since I'm on my feet for 8 hours.

-------------------------

Bacon/Lingerie Lady

This one was actually on my first day of work. I guess this lady is a regular, and she comes in a couple times a month with her dude friend.

She leaves all her lingerie spread all over the bed in a way that someone HAS to pick it up (we’re not supposed to touch personal items on the bed unless they’re in the way and then we’re just supposed to move them to the side).

When the other newbie and I went in to clean, the room just reeked of vagina and bacon. It’s not a pretty smell. I had to open the top drawer to check if she had an extra pillow, but apparently she moved it because the drawer was full of lingerie and a box that looked like it said:

“Filthy Crocker: Bacon Underpants”

I didn’t ask questions, just made the bed and got the hell out.

-------------------------

The Dog People

Oh god, this one almost had me gagging at the smell. At my hotel you are allowed to bring dogs into your room as long as you arrange it beforehand.

Some lovely couple brought theirs into one of our first floor rooms and left for the day so we could clean. When my training partner and I came into the room, we saw enough toys that we assumed they had a kid with them.

I realized that they were dog toys around the same time my partner started making these loud choking noises in the bathroom.

I went to check on her and she was just pointing at the tub and going on about how nasty it was.

There was fur ALL OVER the shower wall and floor, practically clogging the drain, and the smell of wet dog was in EVERYTHING. There was a pile of towels on the floor that were covered in dog fur, reek, and unidentifiable stains. That’s right, they BATHED their DOG in a HOTEL BATHROOM.

My partner had to clean the tub and floor with heavy cleaner like three times, and I had to vacuum the carpet twice and haul the smelly towels to the cart. We had them bleached and washed on the “kill” setting.

-------------------------

The Other Dog People

Same day as the original story, the people in the room across the hall from The Dog People ALSO had their small dog in the room with them. There was some fur, but nothing seemed too bad until it was time to make the bed.

The guests had the blankets on their bed pulled up oddly, like they were trying to cover something up, but neither of us realized it until we had firmly grasped the covers and pulled them back. At the top of the duvet was a fresh, smelly yellow stain.

My partner and I were sufficiently grossed out and not allowed to change the linens unless the guests SPECIFICALLY request it, since they were staying over.

We didn't feel as bad about it as we probably should have since they did not alert us to the problem. Nobody complained, and we ended up bleaching the duvet the next day so it was clean again.

-------------------------

More stories coming soon!

--StarShoes