It should go without saying that wealth doesn’t give someone carte blanche to treat people as they wish—especially those in service positions—but sometimes people need reminders. While bad or entitled behavior happens far too often, one chef called out a group of diners who racked up a high bill at his restaurant but treated a member of his staff poorly.
Lee Skeet is a chef at Cora, in Cardiff, UK, and he recently shared an email he penned to one of the people in the group. The diners spent $1,200 on dinner—the highest his restaurant has seen—but that didn’t stop him from speaking on his co-worker’s behalf.
Skeet posted a screenshot of the email in his tweet. “Dear [redacted], I wanted to firstly thank you for choosing my restaurant for your meal tonight, and I understand you had the biggest bill we’ve ever had on one table here,” he wrote. “Unfortunately throughout the evening, I was made aware that your party’s behavior was inappropriate towards Lily, who runs front-of-house. She has told me that as a 22-year-old-girl she was talked down to, disrespected, and touched unwantedly by members of your group.”
The chef didn’t stop there and explained the toll it took on Lily. “I have spent the last hour having conversations with her that break my heart, make me feel like a sh*t employer, and a terrible dad, having my own daughter,” he said. Skeet then offered to refund the bill—minus £100 (about $123) that he believed should’ve gone to Lily. Because, to make matters worse, the group didn’t leave a tip.
Skeet makes it clear that he’s unwilling to host this group again. “I would thank you to never come back to my restaurant. Lily means a lot more to me than money. I also think you should assess the people you surround yourself with.”
The chef penned the letter shortly after the diners left. After sleeping on it, however, he decided that he was not going to refund their money and instead transferred it all to Lily.
Being in the restaurant industry is hard enough without recent challenges including the pandemic, staffing shortages, and supply chain issues. Skeet’s actions are a powerful reminder that the people in service positions are not deserving of the bad behavior that patrons, in positions of power, feel like they can inflict on them.
People on Twitter applauded Skeet for standing up for his staff. “[I] am a chef,” one person tweeted. “Can’t tell you amount of times I have found one of our foh [front of house] in tears because of behavior like this. Bravo. Many forget that this is someone’s child and it is quite possibly her first job. Their first job should be one that sets them up. Not where they were abused.”
Chef Lee Skeet of the restaurant Cora stood up for his staff member who was treated poorly by a group of rich diners.
I’m not clout chasing or looking for likes.
I just think we should start calling out rich people who think they can treat people like crap pic.twitter.com/sN5wplXDed
— (@leeskeet) May 4, 2022
After first offering to refund the diners their money (minus £100 for the tip they never left), Skeet reconsidered and gave the entire amount to Lily.
On reflection I reacted too quickly and emotionally last night. Sorry I was a little bit angry and protective.
I’m not going to refund the customer’s money.
I’ve instead kept it and transferred to lily x pic.twitter.com/in1rsnNNsQ
— (@leeskeet) May 5, 2022
People applauded Skeet—including fellow chefs.
Am a chef. Can’t tell you amount of times I have found one of our foh in tears because of behaviour like this. Bravo . Many forget that this is someone’s child and it is quite possibly her first job. Their first job should be one that sets them up. Not where they were abused
— Toddy Westropp (@ToddyWestropp) May 5, 2022
h/t: [Upworthy]
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