[srich]

Ok so after reading all of the posts on here and seeing how this story has been blown up, I think that as the server for the family that night I should clear a couple things up. I do appreciate the positive comments about myself, but I think it would do everyone good to hear the story from "the other side."
The party was split up with 5 at each table- there was a kid's table...which was about a foot away from the adult's table. I was not aware that there was an issue at the table until the owner (the blonde woman) was at the table asking about the salt and pepper shakers. The reason that she was asking was because another table had specifically called over the manager (the owner's son) and told them they were concerned because they had seen the kids pouring things into the salt and pepper shakers....which went unnoticed by the parents who were at the table right next to them. The manager went over to the table first and when he asked the kids if they had in fact dumped sugar into the salt they asked him to prove it and find the wrappers (which WERE on the table). This is when the owner started asking the daughter if she had put salt in the pepper shaker, which she did open and dump onto the plate. Also, KonaChick says that her daughter's meal was only half eaten, but I had already begun clearing off plates from the tables at this point.
I do agree that this situation should not have been handled in front other customers, but I think the thing that everyone is missing is WHY the owner got so upset. As a server, I know that some of the most important things are to make sure that our guests' meals taste good and are not going to be harmful to their health. Being a waitress for five years I know that when someone has a food allergy or needs to watch what they eat for health reasons, I, along with the kitchen staff, am fully aware. It may have seemed like a joke, but if someone with diabetes or blood sugar issues had used the salt there could have been bigger problems than simply laughing off a prank- not to mention how many other meals would have needed to be comped (can you imagine pouring sugar all over a steak or pasta?).
Clearly things could have been handled differently and I am not trying to excuse the owner's actions, but I have worked for the owners for five years (among other restaurants in the Lakes Region) and I have never seen a reaction like the one that night. The owners have had a following of almost all their staff from their previous restaurant, as well as many regular customers travelling from over 30 minutes away. I understand how this experience was not a pleasant one for KonaChick or her family, but it does not mean it will be a bad one for other diners. I think she blamed the entire incident on the owner for her reaction, but she failed to see how her daughter's actions were at the root of the problem.

I do not mean to stir up anything else by writing this, I just felt it was unfair to have the owners and the restaurant bashed all over this forum because of an incident that one family experienced.