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A Dunkin 'franchise owner apologized to a Somali girl and her family after a store employee called him for speaking to them in their native language during a home visit to Portland, Texas. Maine.
Hamdia Ahmed, 20, says her brother and mother went to a Dunkin ', which they often go to for coffee after a long Monday morning. While waiting to place their order in the driving department, Ahmed explains that the family had a conversation with each other in Somali when an employee at the microphone refused to serve and threatened to call the police.
"We have our own conversation. Suddenly, we hear someone say, "Stop shouting. You shout in my ear. I'm calling the police. I do not take your order, "says Ahmed. "They never tried to take our order. She was like, "You can leave, or call the cops."
Ahmed says that she parked the car and entered the store to confront the employee. When she asked the employee why she had threatened to call the police, the police replied that the family had shouted and called Ahmed "agitated". The employee finally called the police, while the residents of Dunkin began to side with Ahmed.
Police are afraid to follow her to her home, says Ahmed, so she decided to wait for their arrival at Dunkin's location. After telling the incident to a policeman, Ahmed received a newsletter. notice of non-violation which prevents him from returning to the store for a year.
Ahmed asked the policewoman what she had done wrong, to which he replied that at times, the driving microphones could seem very loud and cause misunderstandings. He explained to his companies that they had the right to commit a property breach "even without reason," she said. The Portland Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ahmed, an activist and student at the University of Southern Maine, posted a video of her experience during the drive-in on Twitter. The video does not include the exchange that Ahmed had with the employee, but only part of the ensuing dispute between the women. We can hear Ahmed asking: "I will be disrespectful" because I speak a language different from you? Is that what it is? "The employee responds:" It has nothing to do with your language. You can leave. I do not want to hear it. I'm done. You can leave or I will call the cops. "
The incident became viral. A representative of the Dunkin 'company asked Ahmed to apologize, she said. And on Wednesday, Dunkin 'store owner Dave DaRosa again apologized to Ahmed and promised "some kind of training" to his employees. DaRosa did not immediately return a request for comment.
Dunkin ', who retired this year's "Donuts" from its original title, Dunkin' Donuts, confirmed the meeting between DaRosa and Ahmed in a statement on Friday.
"Dunkin 'and our franchisees are committed to creating a positive customer service experience for all our customers," said the company. "The franchisee who owns and operates the store confirmed that he had met the guest, had sincerely apologized for the poor experience and was working to provide additional customer service training to his team. "
Ahmed relates that this experience traumatized him, as well as his family. Ahmed explains that her brother, who is older than her, waited at McDonald's to avoid a police encounter because he was "terrified as Black in America". Her mother recounted that she had seen reports that the police were called on blacks. but never expected it to happen to him. "She was like, if this country is like that, so where are we going?" Says Ahmed.
What Ahmed now wants is to be accountable to people whose first instinct is to call the police on blacks.
"Change is the first step. Even though I wanted these employees to be fired, I know these people are working to survive. I understand, "she says. "There has to be a responsibility, whether it's training or something else, to make sure it does not happen again."
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