I'm Pro-Black
Pro-Black doesn't mean anti-white. When I say I'm pro-black, it means that I'm about my people. I'm a proud black man. You'll know that by reading my blog. I am not always proud of how SOME of my people act from time to time. But I still got love for em. I will try my best to support my people. Especially when it comes to black owned businesses. I try to support them whenever I can.
But sometimes you gotta draw a line in the sand. And the line has been drawn
Case in point...I recently had 2 experiences that helped me draw the line in the sand.
One experience was a recent trip to Gladys (Knight) and Ron's Chicken and Waffle. I decided to take the family there because I've always enjoyed the food and it's a always atmosphere. Well...it used to be nice. As soon as we were seated, the soothing soul music had given way to the DJ who was tucked away in the corner of the restaurant. You'd think that a nice place like Gladys and Ron's would have a DJ playing music that would be fitting of the name of the restaurant.
WRONG! Not only did the DJ play rap & r/b songs that you would hear on the radio, he proceeded to
BLAST the music. The music was so loud that I had raise my voice just so that my wife could hear me. We looked around to see if the mangers were ok with the music and it being
THAT loud. Not only were they ok with it, they were singing right along to every song that was being played. WTH? To make matters worse, there was a group of about 20 teens that were sitting not far from our table. The teens were there as a group but their "chaperone's" didn't seem to care what they were doing or how they were acting
The DJ played a song by Usher and the kids began to get up and dance. Huh? Does this happen at TGI Fridays or Applebees? I don't think so. As I looked around, we weren't the ones who were offended. The DJ turned the music down but it was still LOUD. Things really got out of hand when he played some song and the first word I heard was "
BITCH". Are you kiddin me? You're gonna play that kinda music and I got my sons with me? We had eaten our food but by now I'm totally disgusted with the service. Was this a restaurant or was this Joe's sports bar?
The manager came over and asked how was the food. I told him the food was fine but I didn't know that I was "coming to Club Gladys and Ron's." I told him that I had an issue with the DJ...the loud music...and the profanity. He apologized for the profanity. He said that it was "the owner's idea" to bring the DJ in. I told him that he should remind the owner that this USED to be a nice restaurant. If you're gonna make it a hip hop spot, you'd better be mindful of the clientele that you'll attract. The bill came to $55. I had a gift card for $50. So I paid $5 (no tip). That's about all that experience was worth. Five freakin bucks.
That was my last trip there.
Second issue...the barbershop. I made the trip to the barbershop reluctantly. Normally, I'll cut the boys' hair myself. I didn't feel like it this time. I cut my own hair so I'm not a dude that goes to the barbershop for anything. This visit to the barbershop proved to be an eye opener. When we got there, one of the barbers greeted us outside. He was on his cell phone. There were only 2 barbers working despite they had been open for 20 mins. The barber who greeted us left in his car and returned an hour later. We waited...and waited. Finally...one by one...each barber strolled in. They all were an hour late. I would have walked out but I was pressed for time and I had to get the boys a haircut.
One barber walked in. His buddy walked in 2 mins later and hopped in the chair. Huh? So, he gets to skip those who have been waiting for nearly an hour? One of the barbers later tell me that the dude "had an appointment." Huh? So is that how it works? If that was the case, I would've made an appointment. I'm from the old school where a trip to the barbershop was on a "first come...first serve basis." I'm not gonna wait an hour and a half after you
DECIDE to come to work and then you let people go ahead of me. I won't be going back to that spot. To hell with you and your barbershop.
The moral of these stories is that I wanna support my people but I will NOT support bs. You can complain about it and do nothing. Or you can be proactive. I've chosen the latter. Black businesses, like any other business, must be held accountable. Period. In this recession, one of the things that every business has to separate themselves from others is their customer service. As a consumer, I will hold you accountable. You want my money...you've got to earn it. The line has been drawn
You can't
piss on me and then tell me that it's raining.
"Sending out a special request/You can be my special guest/I want a Co-star
