Ruth's Chris Steak House review: discrimination/service/treatment

On the evening of 1/31/2018, I am an African American lady and while visiting Mobile for business, I wanted to have dinner at Ruth Chris. I came straight from work; therefore, I was dressed very casual in jeans, t-shirt and boots (I work for Amazon). Upon entering the restaurant, there were 3 ladies at the hostess desk. I approached the desk and said hello (2 of the ladies said hello, but the 1 lady in the middle did not say anything). I asked if their was 1 seat available at the bar for dinner. The lady in the middle (Ms. Anne - the Manager) spoke up and said yes there is but "we do not do distressed jeans". I said excuse me? She repeated the same statement. She did not smile and her tone was very monotone and demeaning. I asked "are you saying I cannot eat here" and she said that is correct. She did not provide any explanation about a dress code policy and I felt so deflated that I did not ask her to explain any further. I smiled at all 3 ladies and said "thank you" and left the restaurant.

Since I really enjoy the food at Ruth Chris, I decided to call in a to-go order. So, I parked near the entrance, and as I waited for my order I noticed at least 2 groups of people (all Caucasians) entering and I could see that a few had on something similar to what I was wearing "distressed jeans". I assumed they would also be turned away, but they were not. I watched as they continued into the restaurant to be seated. This made me upset because others of a different race that were dressed the same way as me were allowed to enter the restaurant; whereas, I was turned away.

When I entered the restaurant to pick up my order, the Manager was no longer at the hostess desk, but only the 2 ladies. At that point, I asked for the Managers name and was given the name, Ms. Anne. I am employed with Amazon and the employees frequent Ruth Chris very often for dinner (various locations), and I have shared my experience with the company and Amazon now has a different outlook on your restaurant.

I would like a full refund as well as to know that your company does not support this type of behavior from your employees; including management. I would hope that Ruth Chris will provide some form of customer service training to ensure this does not happen to other people.

My name is Sherina Smith and I can be reached at [protected].