In May of this year Rose Rock says she and her daughter went into this Cracker Barrel in Murrells Inlet around 4:15. After waiting for more than 30 minutes rock says she noticed others who came in after her were served but they were still waiting.
"It?s hard to miss two black people sitting in a sea of white folks we kind of stick out a little bit so you can't say that you didn't see us sitting there," says Rock.
The manager offered Rock a free meal but she decided not to take it. Rock says she then contacted several organizations including the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission and two local NAACP chapters about the incident but got no help. Later Rock received a gift basket and a formal letter of apology from Cracker Barrel.
"I just feel that we have become so passive that if we accept this it's not only going to grow we're gonna be back to where we were in the 50's," says Rock.
"For anyone to think that Ms. Rock and any others are just having illusions or hallucinations is offensive, insulting and trying to sweep away what apparently is a pattern already dealt with," says Rev. Al Sharpton.
Cracker Barrel is no stranger to lawsuits. In 2004 the company paid two million dollars to settle a federal discrimination lawsuit. But the Vice President of Operations Diana Wynne says the incident with Rose Rock is different.
"We made an honest mistake here, not an incident of discrimination but an honest mistake Ms. Rock came into the store during a shift change," says Wynne.
Wynne goes on to say there is not a pattern of discrimination at Cracker Barrel.
"We?re still continuing that investigation and once it's complete if we find that there have been any policy violations the appropriate actions including termination will be taken," says Wynne.
"I would like to see an end to all these kinds of things happening I would like to see the people put on task this shouldn't be a part of their establishment," says Rock.
Sharpton and Rock plan to file a lawsuit in the next few weeks. Sharpton tells News13 others have come forward with complaints at the same store and in others across the country.
As for Rose Rock she says she would usually ignore something like this but because her 21-year-old daughter was hurt she's moving forward. Rose Rock and the Diana Wynne plan to talk about this incident.
During the press conference News13 received a lot of phone calls from viewers with a different view of the incident. One woman tells us she dines at the very same Cracker Barrel on a regular basis and once she had to wait 15 minutes before being served.
"People just want to immediately start yelling discrimination for poor service my husband is in a wheelchair he's handicapped I could've yelled discrimination," says Jane August.
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It is funny to me how this woman gets Al Sharpton involved and he accepts.
What this boils down to is poor service. Cracker Barrell dont care if your black , white, pink , or yellow. They just suck at service.
The thing about it is, is that they serve a excellant breakfast.
My wife and I were at a Cracker Barrell on a trip to north carolina. We stopped early and the place was packed. We sat at our table that the host sat us at for 20 minutes before we got up and left.
Then about a year ago, we are at a Cracker Barrel in Georgia and we sat for 15 minutes without a word spoken or any sight of a waitress.
We have not been back since. Cracker Barrell is on our list of do not visit places.
So all Cracker Barrell has to do in their defense is have their lawyer show up in court and claim they dont discriminate against anyone, their service just sucks out loud !
For Al Sharpton to hold a press conferance about this , shows what a dumb ass he really is.
They do have good breakfast though, and I like the stuff they sell outside the eating area.
But no more business from me.
"It?s hard to miss two black people sitting in a sea of white folks we kind of stick out a little bit so you can't say that you didn't see us sitting there," says Rock.
The manager offered Rock a free meal but she decided not to take it. Rock says she then contacted several organizations including the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission and two local NAACP chapters about the incident but got no help. Later Rock received a gift basket and a formal letter of apology from Cracker Barrel.
"I just feel that we have become so passive that if we accept this it's not only going to grow we're gonna be back to where we were in the 50's," says Rock.
"For anyone to think that Ms. Rock and any others are just having illusions or hallucinations is offensive, insulting and trying to sweep away what apparently is a pattern already dealt with," says Rev. Al Sharpton.
Cracker Barrel is no stranger to lawsuits. In 2004 the company paid two million dollars to settle a federal discrimination lawsuit. But the Vice President of Operations Diana Wynne says the incident with Rose Rock is different.
"We made an honest mistake here, not an incident of discrimination but an honest mistake Ms. Rock came into the store during a shift change," says Wynne.
Wynne goes on to say there is not a pattern of discrimination at Cracker Barrel.
"We?re still continuing that investigation and once it's complete if we find that there have been any policy violations the appropriate actions including termination will be taken," says Wynne.
"I would like to see an end to all these kinds of things happening I would like to see the people put on task this shouldn't be a part of their establishment," says Rock.
Sharpton and Rock plan to file a lawsuit in the next few weeks. Sharpton tells News13 others have come forward with complaints at the same store and in others across the country.
As for Rose Rock she says she would usually ignore something like this but because her 21-year-old daughter was hurt she's moving forward. Rose Rock and the Diana Wynne plan to talk about this incident.
During the press conference News13 received a lot of phone calls from viewers with a different view of the incident. One woman tells us she dines at the very same Cracker Barrel on a regular basis and once she had to wait 15 minutes before being served.
"People just want to immediately start yelling discrimination for poor service my husband is in a wheelchair he's handicapped I could've yelled discrimination," says Jane August.
......................................................
It is funny to me how this woman gets Al Sharpton involved and he accepts.
What this boils down to is poor service. Cracker Barrell dont care if your black , white, pink , or yellow. They just suck at service.
The thing about it is, is that they serve a excellant breakfast.
My wife and I were at a Cracker Barrell on a trip to north carolina. We stopped early and the place was packed. We sat at our table that the host sat us at for 20 minutes before we got up and left.
Then about a year ago, we are at a Cracker Barrel in Georgia and we sat for 15 minutes without a word spoken or any sight of a waitress.
We have not been back since. Cracker Barrell is on our list of do not visit places.
So all Cracker Barrell has to do in their defense is have their lawyer show up in court and claim they dont discriminate against anyone, their service just sucks out loud !
For Al Sharpton to hold a press conferance about this , shows what a dumb ass he really is.
They do have good breakfast though, and I like the stuff they sell outside the eating area.
But no more business from me.
