How quickly can the insensitive actions of an employee destroy a restaurant's reputation in the social media era? In the case of the Nashville outpost of Morton's Steakhouse, it took about 48 hours.
On Friday, an office party from a Franklin television shopping channel was celebrating Christmas at the restaurant and ran afoul of Morton's dress code when one of the group put a hat on after dessert. The hat-wearer in question — Robert Chambers, better known as the host of The Coin Vault for the last 25 years — was cold, a side-effect of chemotherapy.
"We're almost done with dinner," Chambers told the Scene. "The chemo I had last gives me a cold sensitivity at the end of the day. It doesn't matter what I've done, there's a certain point. So I'm sitting there at the table, freezing and I put my toboggan on. We're two or three minutes away from walking out and the manager comes up behind me and says, 'Would you please take that off in the dining room.' I said, 'Sure.' "
But other members of Chambers' party were less willing to let the slight go.
"My son says, 'He has cancer. His head gets cold, he needs to wear the toboggan.' The manager says, 'If you had made prior arrangements, we could have put you in a private room and he could have worn it. Or you could bring a doctor's note and you could wear it,' which I think is kind of a smartass answer because nowhere on Morton's policy does it say if you've got a doctor's note you can wear a hat in the restaurant.
"My son comes back to the table and tells us what she's said. He's 23 and a big guy. My wife's 5-foot-4. And they just ran all over her about the doctor's excuse."
The party became irate, arguing with Morton's staff as the group was leaving. Chambers said the Morton's manager tried to get nearby police involved.
"We're in the process of leaving, and there's a police precinct nearby. They were out on the sidewalk and we had valeted our car. They told us to just go on and not worry about it. [The manager] ran down the sidewalk trying to hustle the police into the situation," Chambers said. "She was out on the sidewalk trying to get the police. I don't know what she thought would happen." Chambers said he understands his office's anger.
"We've got 12 employees and we're very close. When they found out what they had said and done, they were pretty defensive for me. And I would be for them, too. A couple of them had heated conversations with both managers — we were already gone, I was told that."
Morton's has not returned calls seeking comment.
Chambers said that a top corporate executive called today to apologize.
"Their COO reached out to me today, and we had about a 30-minute conversation," he said. "He is going to make happen an apology from the two managers and donate the balance of our check to St. Jude."
The firestorm online has been both predictable and fierce. After 1-star reviews flooded the Morton's Nashville pages on Yelp and Facebook, the corporate Morton's Facebook account responded:
Morton's fans: We are aware of the situation that happened at our Nashville location over the weekend. We appreciate you all bringing it to our attention, and we have reached out to the parties involved and can assure you that all facts will be uncovered. Please know that our corporate executives are dedicated to making this right with our customers. We appreciate everyone's concern.
As of 3:30 p.m., there were 575 comments on the Morton's corporate Facebook page, and nearly all condemned the restaurant for the alleged behavior of the staff.
The lead Yelp review, from user Amanda W., is emblematic of the criticism of the chain.
So. I reiterate: Customer service and human decency go a LONG way. I've been in Nashville close to 15 years and I really hate to think that the city I love has an establishment so pretentious that they would discriminate against someone with a life-threatening condition. Is a wool beanie on one individual's head that much of a threat to sales and ambiance?
Chambers said Morton's COO told him the chain will be more accommodating of cancer patients in the future.
