Crochet not welcome

[NanaM3]

Your story reminds me of how, back when I was still smoking, I would pack up all my Xmas cards and address book and stationary and go to the local all-nighter. After a few hours I had it all done and in each card was a personal newsy letter ... nobody ever bothered me, several times employees would stop and notice what I was doing and say things like, "boy this is a great idea; I think I'll do it, too!" ... I could smoke in peace inside (at home I of course only smoked outside and I live in Vermont! Just a tad cold in December) ...

 

but I repeat, no one ever wanted me to leave

 

I, too am very interested to know how the "home office" of this place reacts to your story.

 

You ought to tell them just as an aside of course that you belong to an international group of crocheters who ALL are curious to know where this place is.

 

LOL

[Simply Hooked]

:laughroll What happened to you is not funny and I would be really ticked off if that happened to me. This comment is what cracked me up-

... maybe someone made him a ugly scarf when he was younger and he took it out on you!!!

..I think he deserves to receive an ill-fitting crochet sweater and matching tie for Xmas.

Please let us know the outcome!!!

My apartment is not air conditioned..so when I get the chance I usually take my stuff to the local library and sit for hours crocheting..to my hearts content.

[Julia from NorCal]

I'm itching for justice on this one.

Okay, you had been there for some time but had made a purchase and there was clearly room for other patrons. Your activity was not disruptive or messy to the establishment. What gives with the manager?

Best of luck on this. Crummy situation. Hope you get this resolved to your satisfaction.

[frogbeer]

I would go report them on ripoffreport.com. I love that site and you can make complaints on situations like that. It is for everyone, not just against folks who are part of the BBB. I hope you get some justice on this one. I don't understand folks these days. Sigh.

[SaxDragon]

Just to play devil's advocate here, has the restaurant had any other problems with people who really are using their facility just to loiter? If they have been having problems with OTHER people they want to keep out of their facility, they may have been told they have to crack down on EVERYONE in order to avoid issues with charges of discrimination of some type.

 

Then again, the guy could just have been abusing his authority.

 

Please let us know what you find out once you talk to his manager.

 

The location I went to does not have a problem with loitering types - in a business district, on a major hi-way, and frequented by various forms of law enforcement on their dinner breaks (police, sherrif, constanbles, DEA, border patrol, though I don't think I've seen any rangers) - which I why I chose it. The other location is sandwitched between neighborhoods and various bars which makes a quiet night of study difficult (not really much trouble with the homeless here with so many abandoned houses in this town).

 

Most of the trouble arrises from the teens and college kids on the weekends and in the summer. Like the night I was there, a couple of them set off left over fire crackers right outside the door.

 

Over the years, some locations I've been to have had problems when it's really cold out. The homeless buy coffee refills all night, but don't really bother anybody, except the people who think they are all mental patients bent on killing 'decent people'. We didn't have any shelters for them then, and when you offer nickle refills, who couldn't see that happening? (I think refills are now a quarter - I feel old suddenly LOL)

 

I had briefly wondered if he thought I was homeless - I can look pretty bad sometimes, especially if I've been working outside all day (only time Walgreens wants to see my driver's liecense when I use a credit card is when I look like a rag-muffin LOL) - but I'd put on clean, warmer clothes before I went (Whataburger has a cold A/C, especially at night).

 

I'm fixing to leave to go weave in more ends. I'll change to clean, warm clothes first, and take the trash out. It's late enough the bars are closed, and most of the drunks should be home by now :-) Different location, but same company. It hasn't rained all night - thankfully - but boy did it rain last night (4 inches and 60 mph winds blew through - my plants look pretty battered). I'll take my umbrella anyway (my afghan is in one of those xl ziplock bags). It'll be interesting to see if I get kicked out or not ...

[RoseRed]

You didn't say it was Whataburger!

 

Here's the link for contacting the office.

http://www.whataburger.com/contact_us.php

 

You could just give them a link to this thread so they can see how PO'd people are over this.

[RoseRed]

The more I think about it the more annoyed I am about it. I ALWAYS bring my smaller projects with me to work on.

 

I'm going to write and complain. Until this is resolved - I'll go to McDonald's instead!

[RoseRed]

Here's my letter to the company!

 

*************************************************

 

I live outside of Gainesville, FL. I am very annoyed at an incident that happened 7/14/07 in your Corpus Christie business area location.

 

As an avid crocheter, I find it quite disturbing to find out that my craft is not welcome in your stores. As a paying customer I would expect to be able to sit and enjoy my time - not to be harrassed and asked to leave by a punk on a power trip.

 

Until this situation is resolved, I will no longer be a loyal customer.

 

You may read of the incident here: http://www.crochetville.org/forum/showthread.php?t=56098

 

I am not the only craft's person that is upset by this.

 

**************************************************

 

We'll see if I get a response.

[NanaM3]

You didn't say it was Whataburger!

 

Here's the link for contacting the office.

http://www.whataburger.com/contact_us.php

 

You could just give them a link to this thread so they can see how PO'd people are over this.

I too was incensed about this episode and wrote the company this email just now:

 

Sirs: I was absolutely floored to learn that an acquaintance of mine was told she would have to leave because she was crocheting ... even though she was a paying customer and was just about ready to put down the yarn and order a full breakfast. Next time I'm vacationing your way I'm going somewhere else to eat.

 

a vermonter who vacations south in the winter

[shuttlebuggy]

That was terribly rude! Too bad Borders or Starbucks isn't open round the clock cuz they are always welcoming to crafters, readers and pc'ers.

[SaxDragon]

I spent about 7 hours at the secondary location ( the one on our main drag ). Everybody was nice, and when the day manager arrived, nothing was said, I wasn't made to leave, and I did finally get breakfast :-) So the problem is the first location's guy (the night staff were nice). I told a couple of the second location staff about being kicked out of the other one - they were surprised it happened.

 

I am now fully armed for letter writting :-) And distanced enough from the first incident so I won't write some sarcastic/threatening remark about the guy's manhood or anything LOL

 

I did finally get ahold of my mom, she's just as irritated over it as I was/am. Of the two locations, she prefers the first one, though won't go anymore. Second one is still a possibility, as are most of the one's in Corpus Christi itself (there's one that's just way too busy all the time for her - right on the bayfront, and has two floors and an outside eating area upstairs - where I ate in the rain with a couple of friends once - sax players can survive anything LOL)

 

Mom's a die hard loyal customer - had her hand and foot prints in the concrete foundation of the very first Whataburger back in the 50s :-) Back then a burger,fries, and a coke was about 25 cents (and gas was a nickle a gallon).

 

I could have sold three afghan/bottle cozy sets today while at the second location - people would ask (so hopeful) but 1-these are a gift for my cousin's first baby and 2- it's inappropriate to sell wares inside another business without permission. They were so disappointed. Does make me think more and more about making a bunch and finding someplace to sell them (bottle cozies take so little time and yarn LOL). One lady studied my cozies hard, I'll bet she'll have a hook in hand by nightfall tonight :-)

 

All I have left to do is to tack glue the woven in ends, wash and dry the silly things, take pics, take them by for my folk to see, then deliver them before my cousin delivers first (it's a race LOL)

 

Neat emails :-) By the time my letter gets in, he'll already know he made a mistake :-)

[NanaM3]

may I suggest you print up some business cards with your email/blog and hand them out ... the blog can list prices ...that way you're not being unethical at all and how nice it is to read your ethical concern about being in another company's "space" ....

[stitchymama]

So sorry that happened to you:( That happened to me once. I had taken my son to pre-school, which is only three hours a day (It's a twenty minute drive to drop him off so by the time I would drive home I'd have to turn around in an hour or so and drive back to pick him up) I would go to this restaraunt and sit in a back booth with a coffee and usually something to eat. I'd been doing this for about three months and never had any problem. Even had some of the staff comment on the stuff that I was making. Anyway, the dayshift manager had switched to nights and there was a new manager there this particular day. When he noticed that I had been there for about 2 hours he said that I couldn't stay there unless I bought something. I showed him my receipt, just to let him know that, hey I had indeed bought something. He said, "Yeah, but you're now finished with that meal so it was time for me to leave so that other customers could have that table" **** they weren't even busy, if they had been I would have gladly left (I've worked at restaraunts before and I know how difficult it is when you have people constantly asking when their table will be ready)

So anyway this really upset me. Apparently it really upset a couple of the employees who knew me and by the time I had picked up my son and gotten home there was a call on my machine from the dayshift manage apologizing to me about this guys rudeness and she told me to come in on the next day that my son was in school and that lunch that day was going to be on the store:devil apparently noone liked this new manager much! Not long after the guy did indeed quit, but not before he gave me a very heartfelt apology.

 

So I say give the restaraunt a call and let them know what went on. I don't know about you, but for me that's my down time. My time away from the kids when I can get a little bit of crocheting done without having to answer to "HEY MOM!"

[morrigan1974]

Stitchymama - what a great story! I'm so glad to see that ray of sunshine here!

 

I know my son & I, if we're killing time, will play cards at Burger King when we're done eating, but if it gets too busy we pick up and leave. Senior citizens are always there in the mornings visiting while reading the paper, and the staff there are super nice. I just can't imagine ever kicking a repeat customer out!!

 

I am looking forward to hearing the next installment of this ongoing saga!!

[hooked2]

Isn't amazing how a little bit of power can go to a person's head! But, based on all the responses here, it sounds like that manager is going to have his power trip canceled!