Lori C.
User's reviews
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High Tea Cottage
The High Tea Cottage Serves Up Rudeness on Mother’s Day My daughter was taking me to the High Tea Cottage for Mother’s Day. We had a reservation for the 1:00 p.m. seating. We arrived at approximately 12:45 p.m. to be told very rudely that we would have to bear with them as they were running behind schedule. We were then told that we would have to wait outside (it was 104 degrees) until the previous seating was all cleared out. I was taken aback but okay. At 1:15 p.m. I went back into the establishment, sweating, to see if they would give me an approximate time that we would be seated so that I could sit in my daughter’s air-conditioned car. With a bit of arrogance, I was told that after the cottage is all cleared out it would take at least another 15 minutes for them to prepare for the next seating. No apology. No offer of water. Nothing. Did they not consider this factor when scheduling Mother’s Day Tea? We returned to the car, blasted the AC and watched the door for any signs that the seating had begun. At about 1:45 we saw movement and got in line. We were told by another patron that they had begun calling names. A younger man came out and called Kimberly. Kimberly didn’t respond. I then went inside to make sure we hadn’t missed our name. I told the older man that I was sitting in my car and wondered if Kendra (my daughter’s name) had been called. I was told rudely that “Kendra” and “Kimberly” are not the same name. I am calling Kimberly he professed. Was that really necessary? About 10 more minutes passed, everyone had been seated – even those with a 1:30 seating time that we had conversed with in line– and we were still waiting. We were deliberately NOT being seated… maybe because I asked questions, although I wasn’t the only one to inquire about the delays. Perhaps because I asked questions while also black – we were the only African Americans there. One side note, a lady who arrived after us – no doubt who had a 1:30 seating because we saw her when she arrived – made a ruckus about her table (she had made a special request) and threatened to leave because they were trying to seat her elsewhere. They accommodated her. My daughter caught a glimpse of the list. Our name was in the middle. The names BEFORE and AFTER had been checked off. We were obviously being ignored or put in our place so she asked were we ever going to be seated. The older man rudely responded: I will get to you when I do. I’ve told you (he huffed) the situation. (Note: She hadn’t had any interaction with him before – he had only spoken to me.) She responded: You don’t have to be rude to me. He responded: Listen here young lady, don’t tell me I’m being rude. She said: you are and you were rude to my mother before when she asked if we had missed our name. Then I interjected: You have been nothing but rude the entire time. We arrived for the 1:00 seating at 12:45 p.m. and we are the only ones STILL not seated and it is close to 2:00, even most of the 1:30 seating had been accommodated. A lady who also worked there interjected and was very patronizing and also rude, acting as if she was bothered. She asked if we were ready to be seated (as if we were the reason we were still standing) and my daughter responded that we had been ready for an hour. She then said in a hostile tone: Well we weren’t ready. Then she placed her hand on my daughter’s shoulder (I am not sure why – to move her along or to be patronizing?) and my daughter responded: please don’t touch me. Her reply: I think I am going to have to ask you leave. And so we did, and my daughter made sure to let them know that we realized we were the only black people in the establishment, the only people who had not been seated and the only people asked to leave. We wish that we would have read the reviews on YELP before considering the High Tea Cottage. The reviews confirm that they are rude to many patrons and even ruder if you are African American. They treat you as if they are doing you a favor by allowing you into their establishment. I have never witnessed or experienced such undignified behavior at a place of business. Please do not patronize the High Tea Cottage.