Complaint Review: Hooters (Attila Wings LLC (609) 449-1500) - Clearwater Florida

I was in this establishment several months back on a sunday. I was new back in town from living overseas where I owned a company. I had yet to buy a car and was using alternate transportation (I was not driving myself). I stopped to enjoy the afternoon and sat at the bar and ordered light beers. I had ordered three beers which I drank slowly and I was asked by a small group to move down a few bar stools which I did. The gentleman bought me a beer in gratitude. It was good to be back in America and meeting people. The afternoon shift was changing. I told the waitress to close out the tab so I could tip her before she left. I get the bill and it has four beers charged on it. This was wrong. At this time a slightly overweight blond waitress and an older waitress were coming in on the new shift. I told the waitress (that was going home) that there was a mistake and went to explain, but she thought the bill was correct. I chalked it up to an easy mistake and didn't want to get into a confrontation so I agreed to pay even though I was certain it was her making an honest mistake of charging me for the beer that the gentleman bought me. I looked and the older waitress from the on-coming shift was across the restaurant with an angry looking manager and she was gesturing an pointing at me as if she was telling on me and he was turning and looking right at me. I had settled it with the waitress that was serving me, so I thought the new shift older waitress was being a bit dramatic considering she just arrived on shift and I didn't push the issue. About a minute passes and suddenly this angry looking military hair cut 50 year old manager with a pot belly is standing in front of me at the bar with the whites of his eyes showing and nostrils flaring asking me what is my problem in an angry tone. He looked like he was going to jump the counter and hit me and I told him everything was settled. I didn't like overpaying but I certainly didn't like him pouring salt on the wound. He continued to inquire and I realized he was looking to provoke, so I told him not to worry about it. It was a pathetic display of thuggery and most annoying. I told him I though their was a mistake on the bill but that I agreed to pay it anyway and gestured for him to relax. 

Tensions dropped and he went away. I decided to stay and have another beer. I had two more from the elderly waitress (The same that just came on shift and retrieved the manager as if I was in trouble for saying the bill was wrong.) I then ordered the bill. The second bill handed to me from the portly blomde waitress was for five beers! 

The waitress smiled at me as if it was a joke. I said this was wrong and the military looking 50's pot belly manager was there as if he was waiting for this to happen. He leaning on the register and said "the bill is correct" in a threatening -absolute- way. I said no its not correct, it was... and he interrupted me and said it again  "the bill is correct". 

He never asked me the story, never inquired what I thought or why I felt it was wrong. He never even asked me what was wrong with the bill and wouldn't let me voice a grievance. He again looked like he would come over the counter. I was upset to be treated this way and even more so to be feeling cheated twice in an afternoon. The heavy set girl then did something that shocked me, she said "I served you two beers myself". The shift only started transitioning 20 minutes earlier, just finished swapping out and she never served me once. The elderly waitress was the only one that served me as the portly blnde girl was late, setting up supplies and mucking about.

So here I was vulnerable to accusations and facing what I can only say is blatant lies. I say this because I ask myself, could she really believe that she (the portly girl) served me at all? ...and the answer is no.  I paid the bill because I felt the manager in no way would treat me like a customer and his demeanor told me he would not talk like a normal rational person. I paid the bill but was shocked by the morality of it all. My impression was the waitress padded my bill with beers and stood before me mocking me and using this  trigger happy manager as muscle to cheat me. Possibly the manager thought he would instigate an incident and boot me out of his hooters permanently. 

I came back to this restaurant several times because I chalked this incident up to one bad employee and bad management policies of the new generation of Hooters (The old Hooters I knew before I went overseas never did things like this). After several weeks, I came in one weekend and saw this portly waitress and turned around an promptly left the establishment. I wasn't going to patronize the restaurant on the days she was working since from what I saw the management gave carte-blanc backing to waitresses on disputes and I have no desire to sit across from such people.   

I went there on occasions several other times without event. This last time, I went and again the manager that was posturing at the billing event and being so threatening was there but not the waitress. Into my visit a bit, I see him come out of the kitchen and standing about with other managers as if he just came on shift. He seemed to take not of me. A bit later, I noticed him standing outside the door staring at me in a threatening way. He hovered there for 40 minutes in which several times I saw him gawking at me. I also noticed other managers looking at me as if they expected something was afoot.  I was a bit bothered that it seemed like he was gunning for me. Next to me sat what seemed like an employee in disguise who drank very slowly. Half a draft beer in 35 minutes.  The waitresses usually push people to consume but in this case they let him camp. He was angled in his stool towards me and it was strange an uncomfortable as if I turned my head slightly left I would be face to face with him. At the same time the manager was at a right angle to my rear looking at me through the door from the patio still.

I then noticed an elderly woman sitting on the other side of the counter on the corner (at the point not to the left or right as normal). She was sitting at a perfect angle facing me and holding up her iphone with the camera facing directly at me. I wondered if she was videoing me because the way she was holding it up was in a position that would be uncomfortable for her arms. She also seemed to react to my inconspicuous hand gesturing even though she should not see anything but the screen she was looking at.

All of this was just too creepy. The manager gawking at me, the angle of the patron next to me that wasn't drinking and the camera lady behaving strangely. Something felt seriously wrong.

So I put down the newly started beer and ordered the bill based on the feeling someone was setting me up and recording me as some sort of proof that I was drinking. It all led me to believe the manager planned on calling the cops on me as revenge. He seems like the kind of guy who would be friends or drink with someone in local law enforcement. Security officer?

The waitress took a while to handle the bill. As I walked to the door, the military manager was standing at the door pretending he was a greeter. I ignored him and walked through because I knew he saw me getting the bill and he moved from the patio to the front door. I never made eye contact with him because the past hour he was in my opinion instigating me with stares and not doing any of the duties that a manager normally does. He was obsessive in finding drama to use against me.

As I passed the door the waitress greater said have a good night and I said "you too". I got about two seconds outside the door and the Manager quipped to my back "Have a good nigh SIR" in a provoking delivery and tone. I continued waking and retorted in a laze fair manner at his petty jab. 

He heard it and I felt as I felt before when I saw the woman doing what appeared to be recording, that he was going to try to call the cops on me.

I had parked across the street and went to my car. It was 11pm on a Saturday.  When I pulled out of the parking and headed down the street, a Pinellas county Sheriff rolled up behind me on the six lane highway mostly empty roadway and started following me. He dropped three car lengths back; likely running my plate. He pulled up next to me and was checking if I appeared drunk. (I commend them for checking on drunk driving reports. One should not drive drunk and I would not drive drunk.) and the officer could see I was sober and continued on his way.

I turned onto the highway and up behind me pulls another sheriff car and it too follows me. This leads me to believe that the manager reported me (As I suspected) because he didn't like that I would not be bullied and had no respect for non-existent authority over patrons. I will not be going back ever again unless I can confirm he is fired or seeks rage counseling.

With the manner of the provocation on the heals of being overbilled and unacceptable behavior of not being allowed to even voice a dispute, I can only allege these. This manager with a pot belly and military hair cut behaves like a pimp and abuses his authority and if he uses that authority to act like a thug and seeks to call false DUI reports (friends of sheriffs or not) in to get revenge, then he should be investigated and arrested for misusing the 911 system. If they exist, Atilla Wings Management should reign in any threatening practices that intimidates patrons. They should, as every American company, allow patrons to voice complaints and be heard fairly and honestly. Not discussing and scaring people into paying what they do not owe or do not believe they owe feels like extortion to me.  

There is no excuse for abusive tones and with video coverage(over the bar activity) is easy to check.