My experience at Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Mooresville was extremely disappointing. The owner I encountered was very rude, disrespectful, and unprofessional from the moment he interacted with me.
I parked by the bushes while waiting for my order because the order should have already been prepared before I arrived. If there was an issue with where I parked, there was absolutely a respectful and professional way to address it. Instead, I was told to “speak up,” which I found completely unnecessary and disrespectful.
He then proceeded to tell me a story about a child almost getting hit, as though I was somehow responsible for his frustration. I love children, so there was no reason for that type of energy to be directed toward me. Whatever frustration he was experiencing should not have been taken out on a customer.
You do not speak down to, belittle, or disrespect customers. Every customer and guest should be treated with the same courtesy, dignity, and respect. There was a much better way to handle that situation, and this interaction showed a serious lack of common courtesy and professionalism.
I also felt very uncomfortable with the way he communicated with me as a woman. There is a respectful way to speak to customers, and his approach was not it. I don’t normally see him working at this location, but unfortunately, this interaction left a very negative impression.
In my opinion, he needs customer-service training on how to properly greet, communicate with, and engage with customers. Being frustrated or having a bad day is never an excuse to mistreat a paying customer.
Everyone is not suited for customer-facing positions. Customer service requires patience, professionalism, respect, and common courtesy, and unfortunately, those qualities were missing during my experience.
I hope management takes this seriously and addresses the situation. Customers should be able to walk into a business, receive their order, and be treated with basic respect.