Toxic Environment Portillo's Niles IL

A female employee was performing her duties and was subjected to verbal harassment by customers as she walked past, the customers stated: “Lazy [specific slur/comment] girl doesn’t want to work.”

The verbal harassment was immediately reported to the Manager on Duty (MOD), Reshmi, expecting a de-escalation or a request for the customers to remain professional.

Instead of addressing the harassment, Reshmi took the side of the customers. The following occurred:

• Lack of Support: The manager accepted the customers' denial of the comments despite my direct report of the abuse.
• Hostile Behavior toward Staff: Reshmi proceeded to yell at other employees who were not involved in the situation, demanding they repeat "word for word" what was said.
• Intimidation: This created a high-pressure, hostile environment for the entire team. As no other staff had been interacting with that table, there was no "testimony" to give, yet the manager continued to use an aggressive tone with the staff.