PSA: Show servers and restaurant staff respect

This shouldn’t even be a reminder.

Everybody should be treated with the utmost respect.

A cafe in Tagaytay, Hello Café, shared a “gentle reminder” online asking customers who visit their establishment to treat the workers there with kindness. This shouldn’t be something people need to be reminded of—kindness should be the default.

The reminder came as the cafe announced they suspended operations to give the workers a break. Prior to this, an incident occurred where customers displayed disrespectful behavior towards the staff.

“We take this issue seriously and wish to remind all customers that mistreatment or abuse towards our employees will not be tolerated,” the cafe’s statement read.

It added that “insults, provocation, profanity, and aggressive display of behavior are and will never be acceptable.”

Loyal customers of the cafe rallied in the comments section, showing support towards the staff. They wrote about how friendly and accommodating they were during visits. Additionally, some users applauded management for standing behind their employees after the incident.

It should go without saying that respect and kindness should be shown to service industry workers. If something isn’t to your liking, there are better ways to voice them out than to irate or lash out at them. If a server is rude to you, you can talk to the manager about it instead of retaliating.

How you treat the waitstaff tells a lot about you as a person. It tells a lot about how you see people and how you show compassion and empathy towards them. Remember that everyone is equal, no matter what job they have.

Related: Alex Gonzaga, please know when jokes are funny and when they’re just disrespect