Made Myself A Boss
#Trolltruck
This Story really got legs when the Baltimore Sun decided to cover it
A complaint about a meal at a local restaurant spiraled into a viral social media squabble that's prompted a temporary restraining order and plans for a picket outside the Silver Moon Diner in Middle River.
Alexis Covington, a 22-year-old student at Morgan State University, took to Facebook to share a bad experience she said she and her family had dining at the restaurant Sunday. But the situation quickly escalated over social media, with Covington alleging that she was subjected to threats and racially tinged insults.
The incident promptedseveral negative Yelp reviews against the business. Community organizers are planning to picket the restaurant this weekend. And Covington has been granted a restraining order against Nicolette Protopapas, a manager at the restaurant.
"It wasn’t supposed to go past a bad review, but it was [Protopapas'] disrespectful and egregious behavior that made us say, OK, we have to share this story," said Shalese Greene, a community organizer with Fix Baltimore and Be the Village, and a friend of Covington.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/enterta...id-opening-on-key-highway-20160330-story.html
On Sunday, Covington went to Silver Moon Diner with her two sisters, her nephew and her mother for brunch after hearing good things about the restaurant's breakfast offerings. The family ordered buffalo wings as an appetizer, and believed some of them weren't fully cooked, Covington said. They asked to have them replaced, then taken off the bill when, they said, the wings that were re-fried and sent back were burned.
Covington said she left the restaurant when her server declined to remove the charge for the wings because some of them had been eaten. Her mother stayed inside to pay, while she walked out, she said.
Covington, who is African-American, said two employees followed her out of the restaurant, calling her names that included racial slurs and "Ms. Obama."
"I thought, 'I’m going to do what any dissatisfied customer would do: I’m going to leave a review,'" Covington said.
She posted a review chronicling the experience on her personal Facebook page and on the restaurant's Facebook page, which Silver Moon Diner has since removed.
Covington said she then saw Facebook screenshots in which Protopapas had posted vulgar and racially tinged comments in reference to the review, including an offer to pay someone $100 to assault Covington. Covington said Protopapas also sent her a direct message threatening her with a lawsuit.
Aside from her initial post on the restaurant's Facebook page, Covington said she has not contacted the restaurant or its staff. She has been granted a temporary restraining order against Protopapas, according to Baltimore County records.
After hearing about Covington's experience, Greene posted a script online suggesting people call or email the restaurant to voice their dissatisfaction.
"I posted the script so that people would call and not go off the wall,” Greene said.
The incident demonstrates the power of customers to organize backlash against restaurants and other service-based businesses through social media.
"The outpouring of support has been refreshing," Greene said. "It's going across racial and ethnic lines."
Covington's original Facebook post, showing her review and alleged responses from Protopapas, has been shared more than 4,000 times, and the restaurant's Yelp page has garnered nine one-star reviews since Monday.
"I just wanted to bring awareness to the practices of certain businesses," Covington said. "I don’t want any financial gain. At this point I just want to use the platform I’ve been given to speak out against racial injustice."
"I think the business owner himself should apologize to Alexis and her family and acknowledge that this incident took place,” Greene said.
A hearing on the restraining order is scheduled for April 15.
How The Coli can get involved. 1 Star this restaurant on Yelp, and their FB page
Links:
Silver Moon Diner - Middle River, MD
Silvermoon Diner - Middle River, Maryland - Restaurant | Facebook
Screen Shots from the managers now deleted FB page getting racial with the patron
Screen Shot of the review made by the patron made on the restaurants FB page that has been deleted by the establishment
A complaint about a meal at a local restaurant spiraled into a viral social media squabble that's prompted a temporary restraining order and plans for a picket outside the Silver Moon Diner in Middle River.
Alexis Covington, a 22-year-old student at Morgan State University, took to Facebook to share a bad experience she said she and her family had dining at the restaurant Sunday. But the situation quickly escalated over social media, with Covington alleging that she was subjected to threats and racially tinged insults.
The incident promptedseveral negative Yelp reviews against the business. Community organizers are planning to picket the restaurant this weekend. And Covington has been granted a restraining order against Nicolette Protopapas, a manager at the restaurant.
"It wasn’t supposed to go past a bad review, but it was [Protopapas'] disrespectful and egregious behavior that made us say, OK, we have to share this story," said Shalese Greene, a community organizer with Fix Baltimore and Be the Village, and a friend of Covington.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/enterta...id-opening-on-key-highway-20160330-story.html
On Sunday, Covington went to Silver Moon Diner with her two sisters, her nephew and her mother for brunch after hearing good things about the restaurant's breakfast offerings. The family ordered buffalo wings as an appetizer, and believed some of them weren't fully cooked, Covington said. They asked to have them replaced, then taken off the bill when, they said, the wings that were re-fried and sent back were burned.
Covington said she left the restaurant when her server declined to remove the charge for the wings because some of them had been eaten. Her mother stayed inside to pay, while she walked out, she said.
Covington, who is African-American, said two employees followed her out of the restaurant, calling her names that included racial slurs and "Ms. Obama."
"I thought, 'I’m going to do what any dissatisfied customer would do: I’m going to leave a review,'" Covington said.
She posted a review chronicling the experience on her personal Facebook page and on the restaurant's Facebook page, which Silver Moon Diner has since removed.
Covington said she then saw Facebook screenshots in which Protopapas had posted vulgar and racially tinged comments in reference to the review, including an offer to pay someone $100 to assault Covington. Covington said Protopapas also sent her a direct message threatening her with a lawsuit.
Aside from her initial post on the restaurant's Facebook page, Covington said she has not contacted the restaurant or its staff. She has been granted a temporary restraining order against Protopapas, according to Baltimore County records.
After hearing about Covington's experience, Greene posted a script online suggesting people call or email the restaurant to voice their dissatisfaction.
"I posted the script so that people would call and not go off the wall,” Greene said.
The incident demonstrates the power of customers to organize backlash against restaurants and other service-based businesses through social media.
"The outpouring of support has been refreshing," Greene said. "It's going across racial and ethnic lines."
Covington's original Facebook post, showing her review and alleged responses from Protopapas, has been shared more than 4,000 times, and the restaurant's Yelp page has garnered nine one-star reviews since Monday.
"I just wanted to bring awareness to the practices of certain businesses," Covington said. "I don’t want any financial gain. At this point I just want to use the platform I’ve been given to speak out against racial injustice."
"I think the business owner himself should apologize to Alexis and her family and acknowledge that this incident took place,” Greene said.
A hearing on the restraining order is scheduled for April 15.
How The Coli can get involved. 1 Star this restaurant on Yelp, and their FB page
Links:
Silver Moon Diner - Middle River, MD
Silvermoon Diner - Middle River, Maryland - Restaurant | Facebook
Screen Shots from the managers now deleted FB page getting racial with the patron
