‘Embarrassing’: Pre-payment request from Winnipeg restaurant has patron claiming discrimination
Global News
The group — all of whom were in their early to mid-20s — were asked to pay their bill early due to a new pre-pay policy after a spike in dining and dashing in Winnipeg.
Amidst rising dining and dashing cases in Winnipeg, a woman says she was discriminated against after being asked to pre-pay for food at a restaurant.
Kayla McPherson was at a Montana’s with five others when they were approached by staff. The group — all of whom were in their early to mid-20s — were asked to pay their bill early due to a new pre-pay policy.
McPherson says she quickly realized her table was the only one being asked to pre-pay.
“It was embarrassing. And honestly, we all felt ashamed. Like, you know, there’s certain people that go through discrimination, just being at stores and being followed around, you know what I mean?” she said. “That’s what it felt like in that moment to have the server come up to us as well as the manager.”
McPherson says she asked for proof of the policy, but the staff started to backtrack.
“The fact that this wasn’t implemented to all of your customers that are sitting down at the tables right now and you only decided to approach us and when we question it, you say it’s a policy and when we bring it back up, you say that you never said that word,” she said.
“You deny, deny, deny the fact that you even said the word policy when there’s six people sitting here who can confirm exactly what you said.”
McPherson says she has eaten at the establishment many times with her parents and had never been asked to pay ahead of time.