Dear editor:
On Wednesday a few weeks ago, I asked a friend to meet me for lunch at Guy’s Café and Bakery in Cochrane, a place I often frequent by myself, with my husband or meeting friends. The food is always fresh and wholesome and the staff pleasant and helpful.
We arrived around 1:10 p.m. and the cafe was busy as usual. We placed our order and then looked around to see where we could sit. Noticing two ladies were leaving a cozy table to the right of the door, I asked our server if we could sit there, as it would be out of any cold drafts. My lunch companion is undergoing long-term intensive chemotherapy treatments and I thought this would be a nice spot for her. The woman waiting on us was obliging and very helpful.
As she was busy clearing the table, we were all engaging in light conversation about how cold it was outside. During the conversation I glanced up to see where the air conditioning vents were so my friend could sit away from them.
Out of nowhere, the owner of the café, Guy, rushed up to us and in a sharp voice said, “It’s called air conditioning.” I was unsure what he was talking about, as he was not involved in our conversation, so I said, “What is your point?” He then turned from us and walked into the main dining area and said loudly to everyone, “Well, I saw your lips flapping so I figured you were complaining about something.”
We were all stunned by what he had just said, and I asked him to repeat himself and come back and apologize to us. Had he come back to say he made a mistake all would have been forgotten, however, he took it a step further. He returned to our table and said that I did not know how to take a joke and if I didn’t like it, I could leave and get my money back.
I explained to him that his behaviour was unprofessional and an apology was in order. At the time of the incident, four uniformed RCMP were sitting at the opposite end of the restaurant having lunch. Guy then said, “Why don’t you go and complain to them?”
After dismissing his childish idea, he went on further to say he was going to ban me from his restaurant. He even tried giving me a letter he had hastily written prohibiting me from the restaurant.
I left his restaurant with my friend and have not been able to forget this terrible encounter. He was aggressive, rude and mean-spirited. I have no doubt that if I was with my husband or a male friend this situation would have never happened. What is also troubling is the friend I was with is obviously not well. If Guy had corrected his behaviour at the first instant he could have remedied the situation.
However, he continued on in a deplorable manner and only seemed to get more agitated and aggressive as the minutes went on.
I have shared my story with several people in the Cochrane area only to hear this is not the first time Guy has treated his customers poorly. Sorry Guy, loved your restaurant but can’t accept your unpredictable and abusive behaviour.
Marge Ruggles
