The Sea Fire Grill

Review: To Whom It May Concern, I patronized the restaurant Sea Fire Grill on [redacted] in Manhattan and was disgusted by what took place, as the manager of the establishment displayed an obvious lack of respect to paying guests. As I completed my meal my assistant and I walked to the small bathroom to freshen up. While the bathroom was clean and presentable there was no obvious active attention to its up-keep since there was very little or no ablution paper in either stall. Once we arrived at the table I noticed that I left my make-up bag in the restroom I immediately returned to the bathroom and noticed that my bag had been tampered with and money was removed from the bag. I walked back to my and advised my waiter that I wanted to see the manager. The manager [redacted] came to the table and was immediately accusatory before I could explain what I felt had occurred and began to ask me and my party to leave. In the meantime my assistant went back to the restroom to check and see if the money may have fallen out of my bag and fell behind the commode. I began to speak with another party at my table about what I felt occurred in the restroom, as I sat with the family [redacted] walked by and began to loudly and offensively demanding that I get us and depart his establishment or her would have me absconded by the police. The guests that I was speaking with could not understand why he was speaking to me in such a boorish manner as the other guests in my party watched and remained quiet as they waited on her to take further action. As this was happening my assistant advised me that she did not see anything on the floor and that there was now ablution paper in the restroom and one of the hostesses had admitted to replacing it. I walked away from the family that I was speaking with, and stood calmly near the restroom door. [redacted] again began to attack me verbal, accusing me and the remainder of my party of harassing his staff and guests. The party I was speaking came to my defense and was not sure whyDesired Settlement: We require a refund as well and recouping the $500 that was stolen.

Business

Response:

Thank you for allowing the Seafire Grill an opportunity to respond to [redacted] concerns. [redacted] complaint and our response are as follows:

The Facts (as we see them):

On October **, 2013, [redacted] and her party of four dined at the Seafire Grill during a Sunday evening. After her party had completed their meal, [redacted] requested the attention of a manager. Management timely responded to this request and was told by [redacted] that she and her colleague recently went to use the bathroom together. While using the facilities, [redacted] claimed she placed her make-up bag on the bathroom counter and during this time, she claims that somebody stole money from her make-up bag. The manager spoke to [redacted], provided sympathies for her situation and offered his assistance to contact the police.

At that juncture, [redacted], with no apparent evidence, accused another female patron who was dining nearby with her husband and young child of the alleged theft. The manager advised [redacted] that, regardless of her suspicion, he could not interrogate or address the matter with the other female patron and advised her that it would be a matter for the police to handle. The manager left [redacted] table to contact the police. Moments later, the manager observed [redacted] speaking closely with the patron she claims stole from her make-up bag. When the manager tried to walk over to address the situation, one of [redacted] dining guests physically blocked his attempt to speak with [redacted] and the other guest. From where the manager was standing, the manager was able to offer assistance to the other patron whom [redacted] was accosting at that time. The other patron requested the manager to ask [redacted] to leave them alone. In response, a member of [redacted]'s party called the manager an obscene name.

To diffuse the altercation, the manager asked that [redacted] and her party relocate to a separate area while they awaited the arrival of the police which they did. Thereafter, the manager observed that [redacted] again left the separate area and observed her giving the other patron menacing looks. As a result of the manager's own observations involving the actions of [redacted] and her party, the manager deemed that they were unacceptably harassing Seafire Grill's patrons. The manager again asked [redacted] to wait in the separate area until the police arrived and instructed her not to provoke any further altercations with guests.

Action our company has taken:

Although, the Seafire Grill is sympathetic for [redacted]' alleged loss, the restaurant has not had any complaints from any patrons of this nature. The fact that [redacted] left her make­ up bag in an unattended bathroom is neither the fault nor the responsibility of the Seafire Grill.

We also regret the belief that [redacted] had that the manager acted unfairly towards her. The Seafrre Grill treats all of its patrons with the utmost respect. At the core of this issue, was a developing altercation between two patrons regarding allegations of theft, in which one of the patrons asked the manager's assistance to help diffuse the situation. Moreover, as a result of a member of [redacted]' party physically blocking the manager and as tensions began to rise, we believe that the manager acted in a proper manner to relocate [redacted] and her party to a separate location.

Due to the fact that this dispute alleges a theft, the Seafire Grill is not in a position to interrogate a potentially another patron and properly directed such matters to the proper authorities. At the Seafire Grill we hope to make the dining of all of our guests a pleasurable experience and we therefore offer a $200 refund to [redacted] to help rectify her experience.