Rose Rock (mother of Chris Rock) says she sat without service for nearly an hour at a South Carolina Cracker Barrel restaurant, claiming the poor service was because she’s black.
Well I live in North Carolina, so I been to my share of Cracker Barrel’s and let me just tell you, this story doesn’t surprise me one bit. I hate that damn place, and I hope she gets some money out of them. They put the CRACKER in Cracker Barrel, if you know what I mean.. Read what happened..
Rock said Tuesday she planned to sue the Lebanon, Tennessee-based company. A Cracker Barrel spokeswoman said the restaurant chain was investigating and taking the complaint “very seriously.”
Cracker Barrel has in the past faced numerous lawsuits and a federal inquiry over complaints of refusing to serve black customers, discriminating against minority workers and firing gay employees. The company has taken steps to rebuild its folksy image and reach out to minorities.
Rock, who is from Georgetown, said she and her 21-year-old daughter were the only blacks at the chain’s Murrells Inlet restaurant in April. She said when she asked the manager about the delay she was told they could have a free meal.
“He never called over the waitresses and asked, ‘Why did these people sit here for a half hour without service?’ ” she said. “The only thing he said was we could have a free meal and neither of us wanted to eat.” Cracker Barrel spokeswoman Julie Davis said the company doesn’t “tolerate any form of discrimination.” [SOURCE]
Anyway..I have never had a bad experience at Cracker Barrel but maybe I never really paid much attention because I was so busy eating!!
Damn, I understand how she must feel. I had a similar experience but it was just for a few minutes., I can’t imagine how it was waiting for an hour to be served. The funny thing is that most of the waiters and waitresses were black, so I can’t really say it was racial discrimination. And then they complain that we don’t give them tips, they must get out of here. Damn…it doesn’t look like they know what customer service is.
Well its nothing surprising about CB/There were other complaints to CB in SC too…in the past
Cracker Barrel – the name says it all…
Love the food though.
Their NOTORIOUS for this. It’s about time someone called them out!
I really hope this doesn’t turn into a “let’s boycott every Craker Barrel in America” post. People need to rally against the person or persons who commit the discriminatory offenses. Every waiter and manager at CB ain’t all bad. I’ve actually had pretty good service when I’ve gone. On the other hand, I waited 15 or 20 minutes without any acknowledglement at an all black Waffle House in Northern, Virginia. It just depends on where you are and who you’re dealing with.
I’ve never had a problem with this place and I am from South Carolina. If this happen in April, why the hell did it take until October to file a complient? Sueing a company for money because you think they are racist is not going to solve the problem at hand. I swear America is all about sueing some damn body.
Aww hell. Jesse and Al are not too far away from this. I wonder how Chris feels. He always have a “cracker” joke
^^^^^^
Cosign with #6 – Good points…
I live in South Carolina too and up until a few months ago I found out the Cracker Barrel served food. I thought it was like some old country store. I heard it happened in April and she’s filing a report now, I wonder why it took so long!!!
when al get in something, whities are gonna be dishing out more apologies than scones haha
when i go out to lunch w/ my co-worker, they look @ him and ask him wuh he wants then me, well usually i pipe up and order first or something, there’s only one colour that restaurants shude see and thats green haha lol
USUALLY WHEN DEALING WITH ANYTHING LEGAL THERE IS ALWAYS A SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOW PROCESS SO IM THINKING PERHAPS SHE FILED THE COMPLAINT IN APRIL BOTH PARTIES THINKING THEY COULD COME TO SOME SORT OF UNDERSTANDING AND/OR SETTLEMENT(I HOPE SHE ISNT SUING FOR $$$ THAT WOULD BE TACKY LOOK WHO HER SON IS) SO IM ASSUMING THEIR DAY IN COURT IS APPROACHING AND THE BALL IS IN MOTION, HENCE THE MEDIA ATTENTION…
I SERIOUSLY DOUBT SHE WOULD WAIT THIS LONG.
One of my coworkers had a similar experience at the CB in VA. He said it was horrible.
Well, why she did wait nearly an HOUR for service??
I would have complained after 15 minutes to the manager!!
Anyway, I’m from SC, and I go to Cracker Barrel from time to time and usually have very good service. Plus, the food is good, so I ain’t trying to boycott!!!!!!!!
ok i went to the cracker barrel in florida (which is supposed to be the most racist state in america…)
and I didnt encounter this type of treatment
and we were the only black people there that night
also I don’t know about the cracker barrel in the carolinas
but the one i went to was CROWDED
so I can only assume its like the cheesecake factory always crowded therefore you have to wait for a table
now im not saying thats what happened with Rock’s mother
im only mentioning how places like that can be very busy
agree with ms mac
we cant call out the chain
maybe an individual…
might i add the food there is good lol
I agree with Ms_Mac1…
and @ bouga
some of the worse treatment i have received at restaurants or mom and pop food establishments have been by black people
sad but true…
oh and you are a cutie! lol
*worst
I have never eaten at a CB only because of the reputation they have. Either Dateline or 20/20 did a story on them around the time ALL those lawsuits were happening.
@ NIX….back up off my man!!
wow…
It’s 2006, and THIS is still going on ???
sad…
never had a bad experience at cracker barrel. Hence the name CRACKER THOUGH!!
Maybe because this particular cracker barrel was in a black neighborhood!! so they are use to serving nugga’s!!
lol @ lilly
when bouga tells me himself to back up
i will do so
lol
My best friend is white and her kids’ daddy is black. They went to Ruby Tuesdays and waited an hour and were NEVER served. All the waitresses were black. Even after my friend spoke to management the waitress still refused her family service. All b/c she is white and her kids daddy is black.
I wonder would their attitudes be the same if they knew he is a junkie?
I’ve been to Cracker Barrell alot, and the service and food was always good. I LOVE their food. And I have lived in SC. But I think it depends on what typr of area you are in. If you are in a area w/ few blacks, then I can see how this could happen.
I have eaten at Cracker Barrel on several occssions, and let me tell you it wasn’t that great being the only one in the place that looked like me. Anyway I used to live in Myrtle Beach, SC which is not far from Murrells Inlet. MB is a racist spot. Don’t get me wrong it’s a nice place to visit but if you’re black don’t live there. With that said and with her being from G town she should have known not to expect too much from Murrells Inlet. But it was still no excuse for she and her daughter to be mistreated like that.
what kind of people do they hire if they have so many incidents of racial discrimination all over the country in these restaurants?
I definitely believe her story. A few years ago, I experienced terrible service at a CB restuarant. As soon as I requested to speak with a manager, our white waitress upped her game. However, it was too late for me by that time. I spoke with the manager and told him know I had no intentions of paying for the meal. I have not been to a CB since then. I figure if they don’t want my money b/c I’m Black then I definitely don’t need to be supporting their business.
NIx said:
——————————————————
lol @ lilly
when bouga tells me himself to back up
i will do so
lol
{elbowing BOUGA while giving him the eye} “You better say SOMETHING!”
This situation reminds me of being “colored” and trying to eat at Woolworth’s circa 1960. I wonder if Chris Rock’s mom just got terrible service and it had nothing to do with being Black. Anyway, I remember Chris Rock during one of his shows that he wasn’t afraid of Al-Quida he was afraid of “Al-Cracker”! This situation will provide him with an hour of comic material for his next HBO special.
let’s see – next time i dont get served for 30 mins, im going to sue for white discrimination – all she had to do is say – wtf – why aint we getting served – maybe as cracker barrel suggests – there was just a problem with the server arrangement – but naturally everything is a racial issue – just play the race card and get paid!
didnt get your food on time? 10 mil
didnt get your dry cleaning on time? 15 mil
no food 30 mins – at least 100 mil
lame.
Yeah I been to my share of Cracker Barrel’s too and there’s one in Va that rubbed me and my family the wrong way one time. I have never been in a restaurant where I feel misplaced and that is the way we all felt @ that Cracker Barrel.
I hope she gets a pretty penny from those people.
I live in SC as well, and although I haven’t been to CB in years…the service I had was fine, the food was good, as well.
I’ll admit there are some racial poe’dunk towns in SC esp. near Myrtle Beach which doesn’t surprise me at all being that they shut down just about everything when Black Bike Week comes cuz they don’t wanna deal with the “black folk”…smh I’ll stick to Lizzard’s Thicket anyday.
WE WENT TO MY LOCAL CB, TO GET A GOOD MEAL
BUT, WHEN WE GOT THERE.. THEY LOOKED AT ME AS IF
WE WERE GOING TO STEAL..
BUT, WE WERE HUNGRY AND THOUGHT AWH..IT’S NO BIG DEAL
UNTIL AN HOUR LATER, WHEN WE STILL HADN’T GOTTEN OUR
MEAL..
SO THEY SEND A FAT TRAILER PARK SKANK OVER TO
SHOW US HOW UNSYMPATHETIC THEY COULD BE.. AND
OF COURSE, MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS TO PUT MY FOOT INTO
HER BEHIND OF THIS B#$*!..
BUT, A LITTLE VOICE CAME TO ME AND SAID SUE THEIR
ASSES..
SO THAT IN THE FUTURE ALL BLACKS WILL GET THEIR MEALS
FOR FREE.. IF THE SERVER EVEN BLINKS WRONG.. AND
THAT’S JUST THE WAY IT’S GONNA BE…
well cracker barrel isnt a place for blk people to eat. you know they use to sell mammy dolls in that place, so why would a blk person go to eat there.
cb creates and environment that is not inviting to blk people. i know i live in the north click and i can tell you, eating at one in a city is not like eating one in a rual area or a town.
no blk person should eve accept poor service or bad treatment because its the norm. i say sue there ass, because its our money too, [because blk people pay taxes also] thet provides the incentives that make that business work. so we have every right to be treated with dignity and resept. so mommy rock, sue their ass.
I can’t believe she was there an hour before anyone ever took her order. first of all great patience. I need to learn that skill. I refuse to Patronize places such as the Cracker Barrel.I faced a similar experiance in CVS Pharmacy. The Pharmacist which happens to be a black woman was explaining to me how to use my sons Asthma meds, this older white man thought his needs were more important and disrectfully asked the pharmacist gal are you going help me or not? he said i need the pharmacist then you can check me out. She said sir i will be right with you.i guess after taking time to see her badge he said are you the pharmacist (i just stepped aside so she could address the guy)she replied yes sir He said gosh!!! and hopped away. She was so professional and polished she just dusted her shoulders off smiled and continued explaining. Gotta love Education and Excellence.
I had a similar experience at the Cracker Barrel in Naples, Florida. My family and I were the only black people in the place, and we got various rude snarls and stares. After we were seated, it took the waiter about 15-20 minutes to even acknowlege us and another 30 minutes to bring our food. This story is no surprise.
I hate it when people say that af. amer. people use the race card when they have no idea how it feels to be discriminated against. Its sad that racism still exist
lilly u r a trip lol
I’m from SC too!! I can believe it, with Marice(sp?) Barbeque and everything. I think Cracker Barrel already has a lawsuit against them in Tenn. for the same thing…
@32
J….whoo hoo, u ain’t tellin no lie about that Lizard Thicket!!!!! I am from SC and steady gets me a MEAT AND THREE.
We go to Cracker Barrel often and it just depends on the day. Sometimes the service is on point and sometimes they trippin but that don’t stop me from getting my BAKED APPLE DUMPLING.
No need to sue, flip on them, get that free gift card and start driving to the other one across town.
I thought that company was owned by blacks.
I saw her and Al Sharpton on Larry King Live, and Larry read astatement issued by the restaurant. They souded sincere and I personally think it was an oversight on the staffs’ part.
But in the same breath, this restaurant has a history of ill-treating black people. So any excuse to apply some pressure to these racist motherfuckers, I am all for it. Sue their asses.
never eat at one in TN, thats where i live and it aint right the way them folks look at you when you come in ……….cracker barrel’s name tells you the whole story !!!
Is it just me, or is it seriously something else, that the name of the store is named the ‘Cracker Barrel’? I mean, for real. This is a damn shame.
BTW, what is a ‘Cracker Barrel’? I’m from up North, help me out here.
Cracker Barrel has been investigated by the FBI for this reason. I live out here in Mississippi. And I can say that they do do that out here also. But maybe they will change their standards and the way they do business when then lawsuit hits.
Thats what they deserve.
Well, i’m a North Carolinian too and I have been to a Cracker Barrel here but fortunately i’ve never experienced this…but if this is true then I hope that she gets all the money she can get out of them because these folks in the restaurant business are going to have to learn that MONEY is MONEY and for that reason(and the fact that it’s just plain wrong on all moral levels), you don’t discriminate against ANYONE…
you guys are brave,because if i go to a place to eat and they look at me all funny,i leave,because who knows what they do to your food when you can’t see them.i wont take that chance.
I’ve heard that they have gotten food out of the trash in the past and feed it to they’re black costumers. One of my family members read it in the st.louis news paper. I’ve only been to cracker barrel once, the food wasn’t all that great, so I don’t care to go again.
hris Rock’s mother to sue restaurant
Wednesday Oct 18 12:22 AEST
AP – The mother of black US comedian Chris Rock said she would sue a restaurant chain after she was seated but ignored for more than a half hour at one of the chain’s restaurants along the South Carolina coast.
Rose Rock said she and her 21-year-old daughter were the only blacks at the Cracker Barrel chain’s Murrells Inlet restaurant in April.
Rock said she asked the manager about the delay and was told she and her daughter could have a free meal.
“He never called over the waitresses and asked why did these people sit here for an hour without service?” she said.
“The only thing he said was we could have a free meal and neither of us wanted to eat.”
Julie Davis, a spokeswoman for the Lebanon, Tennessee-based company, said the restaurant was investigating.
“We do not tolerate any form of discrimination. It has always been a violation of our policies and procedures and it is neither condoned nor allowed,” she said.
Rock said she contacted the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission and was told her complaint would be handled, but “nothing ever happened.”
The head of the commission, Jesse Washington, said that after initial discussions, the complaint was finalised August 7 and his agency also was investigating. He would not comment on the complaint.
“We get thousands of charges coming through here in the course of a year,” he said.
“It’s not out of line – the time frame on this. It is being investigated and we will be in touch with her when we have a report.”
The Reverend Al Sharpton will join Rock to announce that Sharpton’s Action Network will finance the lawsuit and seek class-action status.
“I’m getting reports from all over the country about Cracker Barrel,” Sharpton said from New York.
Cracker Barrel, established in 1969, operates 547 restaurants in 41 states, according to the company’s website.
The reason why it took so long was the lOoooooNnNNg ass process folks you know how the system works you gotta go over every body head.
Well MONEY $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ is the ONLY language corporations understand. It’s not about the individual employees, it’s about the corporate enviorement of Cracker Barrel that is flaw and creates an enviorment where discrimination can thrive. I’m sorry but a gift card is not going to do anything, they’ll keep acting the same way to the next customer. THE ONLY APOLOGY that makes an impact is A FINANCIAL apolgy and $25 gift card is not worth this lady’s dignity!
I was listening to AL SHARPTON’s show on the radio and many people across the country are coming foward with similar incidents. They’ll probably end up doing a class action law suit. Some of the stories are really sad to hear. But the lawsuit looks promising to me.
Glad she took a stand, too many of us DON’T so good for her!
At LARRYR….
I feel ya……I don’t trust NOOOOO BODY with my food and I work too hard for my money to just give it away while you spitting in my food and rubbing piss in my steak. And they do that, lol for real!
Yeah, I’m good!
I think this is a case of incompetent service, as opposed to discrimination. I acknowledge that racism still exists…but several things bother me about this.
1. Why would you sit there for 1 hour before noticing that no one has taken your order?
2. Was the waitress rude, call you names, or overtly hostile?
3. The wait at CB is usually long..
Now I know racism exists, and we should not let injustice slide. But this sounds like bad customer service, unless there is more to the story than meets the eye. If you want to sue them for bad service ok, but I think she need to put the race card back in her wallet for later use.
@ Keisha
Thanks for posting the article b/c apparently we don’t read. If most of you had read the article you would have realized that it is a long process when filing a complaint.
Secondly, a lot of you need a history lesson and I’m not talking about that BULLS$#% you learn at school. You need to speak with your grandparents and great grandparents to understand the struggles of African Americans had to go through in this country. You need to understand how it felt when they couldn’t go into certain restaurants, drink from a water fountain, and had to clean white people homes.
Hell, even the movie stars and singers were treated as second class citizen. Having to use the service entrance when entering an establishment in which they were performing. Performing to segregate audience. So, if you haven’t lived the experience you don’t know how it feels.
And for all of those who believe racism doesn’t exist think again. If you were to look at most corporation’s board of directors and upper level management they are not overflowing with African Americans.
African Americans have made a few strides, however we have forgotten about the past. Just because we can afford to live in the same neighborhoods, go to the same schools, can go to the PUBLIC GOLF COURSES we think that we have made a lot of progress. In reality those are small steps, especially when you are talking with a caucasian and they tell you that you are very articulate. Hell, how else is it that I should speak.
So, please don’t be blind when things like this happen. WAKE UP BLACK AMERICA…….. LEARN YOUR HISTORY…………….
I wish i ever found out i ate some food out the trash..some body ass is getting kicked damn the law suit.
Get them Al, Cracker Barrel needs to suffer a financial hit to better screen and train potential employees especially working with the public!
Damn ignorant asses…the name Cracker Barrel says it all? Because it has the word cracker in it? I’m sure it existed quite some time before some ignorant fools started calling white people crackas.
I’ve waited 30 minutes for service before…ever try hitting up Unos on a Saturday night? How about Fridays, Chilis? Shit, let me go back and sue all their asses for what must be racism. Hey, do I get to sue if the server was black and she decided not to come to my table? All of those chain restaurants are real popular and it’s not all that easy to get service in a timely fashion. Maybe if she had gone when it wasn’t a busy time she would’ve gotten waited on a bit quicker. No one really know what happened.
A friend of mine, who is white, was in Burlington Coat Factory with her man, who’s black. The employees were predominantly black and they refused to speak to her when her and her man were trying to buy a new bed for their daughter. They tried to only let her man speak and gave her dirty looks the entire time. So, should she have sued for the poor service and said the employees were being racist?
Let those have not sinned cast the first stone. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
Y’all on here talking about crackas and shit and it’s all good, but let a white person look at you in what you perceive to be the wrong way and it’s on. Ain’t no one perfect and ya’ll need to check yourselves and your actions/words before you start calling for boycotts and shit.
I think Chris Rock mother might be overreacting. The offer of a free meal for a 30 minute wait is a damn good consolation prize to poor black folks.
I’m not negating her experience but the restaurants are real busy.
@ Lilly and Nix.
Lol….I’m really flattered. Lilly, don’t worry, nobody will ever take yopur place in my heart, lol.
Okay I know I’m late, but I’m just realizing Tony Rock and Chris are brothers. Damn, I hate when I miss the memo!!! LOL
I agree with ya’ll. Jessie and Al are rallying everyone, so be on the look out for the boycott Cracker Barrel posters and signs.