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Colorado Cafe

Colorado Cafe review: Bad customer service/rude abussive language 3

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Author of the review
3:54 am EST
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

On Sunday November 14, 2010, my family and I went to Colorado Café to celebrate our birthday. I had called prior to going to make a reservation and ask a few questions about the mechanical bull and dancing classes. When we arrived there the host was very rude and let us standing there for almost seven minutes, even though the place was empty and we had a reservation. Once we were seated we waited a while for our server who never came; the other hostess took our order. After our meal was done, we decided to inquiry about the dance classes where they treated us very rudely as well. They wanted to make me check my coat. When I explained to them my parents were in the restaurant and I was going to given them my belongings to come back to the class, they said they still didn’t understand me then threw my receipt at me. I told my family to skip the country dancing because the people were being rude. I advise them to just to the mechanical bull and leave the restaurant. Once we got to the mechanical bull section and asked questions about how to get into it, a very rude man named “Jeff”, with a staff shirt on told us we had to get a wristband or leave. We tried to let him know we had two free tickets and only two people were going to ride the mechanical bull; my mother had asked an employee permission to take a picture while we rode. “Jeff” started to yell at us about us trying to sneak in for free and everybody having to have a ticket. My mother attempted to explained to him what was happening, telling him that all the people in out party who wanted to ride the bull and had id’s were willing to pay the five dollars we just didn’t know where to go. He was extremely rude and disrespectful to my mother; he didn’t allow her to explain fully. I told my mother to leave the place and forget about the mechanical bull. As we were leaving my father approached “Jeff” to let him know he was upset at the way he was talking to his wife and four daughters. “Jeff” started to scream at my father and telling him to get out or he would call the police. My father doesn’t speak much English so he couldn’t express himself fully, yet “Jeff” kept telling him: Mira get the *$ck out or I will call the cops. When I sister approached him and talk him to stop screaming at my father, “Jeff started to use obscene and profane language towards all of us. I asked him his name and he told me his name was “Jeff” yet he was laughing when he said it, so I doubt it was his real name. I told him we were leaving but first we wanted to speak to the Manager of the restaurant to put a complaint about his behavior and treatment towards us. He pointed at a lady standing at the back of the bar who had been watching the scene the whole time yet never intervened, even though when the bouncer “Jeff” started to curse us out or use abusive language. When I approached the manager of Colorado Café, Ellie Wilkins, I expected a woman with education and a sense of what customer service is, again I was wrong. Ellie Wilkins did not apology for the behavior of her employee. He said we had provoked this whole situation and she wanted us to leave. When I asked her what he would have done in a situation like this, if it had been her in our position, she just said she would have left without causing problems. I told her I didn’t appreciate the way her employees were treating us since the moment we enter in the establishment, since it was so easy to know they were treating us that way because we were the only Hispanic people in the whole restaurant. She told me I was talking nonsense, yet the way we were treated said otherwise. Once I told her I needed her name & the store numbers because I wanted to place a formal complain she almost laughed and denied me a business card. We left Colorado Café not only upset over what had transpired but also very demoralized since in 2010 you would think racism against minorities would not happen in NJ

Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

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Avery Walker
, US
Dec 18, 2016 6:07 pm EST

literally giving one star because i have to. first of all, the guy who checks the id's is a nasty piece of ####. my friend and i are both over 21 and he charged us a cover. we were puzzled because no bar that we've ever been to charges a cover. and the last time i was there i didn't have to pay a cover. anyways. after this guy got all bent out of shape that we were confused on why there was a cover he called over his 'boss'. the guy who approached us before the owner was pleasant and didn't really see the problem, because there wasn't one, and then the owner came over to us, made fun of us and refused us service. literally never been treated so badly in my life, and i didn't even get to go inside. probably better off. #### this place.

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phyllis labracio
Linden, US
Feb 16, 2015 10:18 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I don't think being.Hispanic has anything to do with it. We were there last night, whit a party of 10, and they were rude to us the minute we walked in. From accusation of a minor drinking alcohol, to yelling at us not to go to the bar for our drinks. We understand there are rules, but they over do it, and through it in our faces all night. We paid a large tab, but we will not be back.

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cn45
Scotch Plains, US
Dec 08, 2010 3:59 am EST

I worked at the Colorado Cafe for many years and I'm quite familiar with the way things work there, as far as eating in the restaurant, getting into the bar/club and riding the bull. Depending on the night of the week/weekend, there may be a cover charge to get into the bar where the bull is located. In order to be allowed to enter that bar, everyone must be wearing a wristband, or have their hand stamped - this proves that their ID was checked. If you eat in the restaurant first, you are allowed into the club/bar for free, however, you must go to the front lobby area where the cashier is, show them your receipt, have them check your ID, get your hand stamped or wrist band, and then proceed into the bar or club (or to ride the bull).
It sounds to me that more than likely the night that this occurred, patrons were not supposed to just walk into that bar area from the restaurant without a wristband or hand stamp. If that wasn't made clear to you, then you should have asked someone, or read one of the many signs that are posted with clear instructions.
Whether or not the bouncer was rude or use profane language, I don't know, but it does sound like he was just doing his job in trying to prevent people from riding the bull when they had not paid. It sounds like their may have been a language barrier, however there are MANY Hispanic people that work at the Colorado Cafe, and they are certainly not racist or prejudiced against Hispanics.
So overall, I feel you should've stopped over reacting and tried to listen to what they were trying to tell you. You needed to pay or get your hand stamped in order to ride the bull. Had you followed instructions, there wouldn't have been a problem.
On a side note, regarding you waiting for "7 minutes" when you walked in the door when the restaurant was empty - just because you had a reservation... does that really deserve a complaint here? You've never waited at a restaurant for a few minutes when you had a reservation? Maybe you were early and the waitress wasn't ready for you? Maybe the Hostess was out sick that night and they were trying to figure out where to correctly seat you? There are a million reasons why that may have occurred, and it certainly does not even need to be mentioned in this "complaint".