Inadequate service at five-star restaurant

August 2024

Raj* and his partner are of Indian background. They attended a five-star restaurant and were looking forward to an enjoyable lunch, which they had pre booked. However, after being left unattended for half an hour, they decided to leave. Raj saw that the only other table in the restaurant with People of Colour had also been ignored.

On the way out, Raj complained to restaurant staff, and received no response. Raj then wrote directly to the restaurant complaining about the treatment. He received what he considered to be a very defensive response, which did not acknowledge their treatment. 

Raj lodged a complaint of race discrimination with ADNSW.

ADNSW investigated the complaint by gathering information from both parties.

The restaurant’s response to ADNSW denied any race discrimination. The restaurant pointed to their ethnically diverse staff and patrons in support of saying that they did not discriminate in their service provision. The restaurant said it had been an extremely busy day and there were varying wait times experienced by patrons depending on their orders.  

The complaint was resolved at a conciliation conference when the restaurant acknowledged Raj’s experience of inadequate service and assured Raj that race was not the reason for any delay in service experienced. 

* Name has been changed to protect the privacy of the individual