If you’ve never been to Newick’s Lobster House in Dover, New Hampshire, you are missing out on some of the best seafood you will ever have. Their crew, the food, and the atmosphere are all comforting and delicious.
Newick’s has been serving seafood on Dover Point since 1948. Now the restaurant owner is hoping to dish out kindness.
That’s why it makes me wonder what happened there to prompt the owner, Steve Newick to post this in the restaurant? It seems that maybe it was just a collection of rude comments from customers over the past challenging 18 months.
Steve said he has seen customers get aggressive over mask mandates, party limits, seafood prices, and wait times due to short staffing.
Steve said while he’s developed a thick skin, his employees deserve better treatment. He posted a letter at the dine-in podium with a simple message: If you’re going to complain, talk to Steve, and then you can leave.
Here’s a transcription of what is posted:
“Please do not mistreat or yell at our crew. They have worked very hard so that Newick’s is still here to serve you. We are short staffed, and things sometimes get backed up and we even make the occasional mistake.If you do run into an issue, please bring it to our attention like a calm adult.”
“If, however, you feel the need to yell and rant and rave like a spoiled child, please ask for me, Steve Newick (I’m here most of the hours we’re open). Newick’s crew members do not deserve the abuse. I will listen politely. Then, I will not so politely ask you to leave and never come back. It may not be the best thing for business, but we have taken too much abuse over the last year and a half and I will not subject our crew members to more.”
Like many restaurants across America, Steve has been struggling to find people to fill vacant jobs. Being short-staffed has forced Steve to change his menu and simply operations to ensure his restaurant is still capable of giving customers the food they want.
“I’ve had servers in tears,” Steve said. “I’m not talking about someone that’s upset because we messed up the order, because that’s perfectly legitimate. I’m talking about the jerk that decided to throw a scallop at someone, because he thought it was too small. That’s the type of stuff we face. If we mess up an order, we can fix it and we’ll do everything we can to make you happy. But if you’re screaming at us, if you’re throwing food at my servers, what do you want us to do?”
Steve said that while 95% of their customers are understanding and kind, the trouble from the “small vocal minority” is what he calls nothing but childish.
“The restaurant industry is taking it particularly hard because the whole industry is on its knees right now,” Steve said. “We’ve been beaten up by the pandemic, so a lot of places can’t afford to say ‘Hey, don’t come back.’ They’re taking abuse that they shouldn’t take, that they might not normally take, because they have to. And that’s a horrible thing that people are doing by taking advantage of that.”
Watch the video below for more details:
Source: AWM