How to Handle Destitute Customers?
- Details
- By Greggory Moore Follow @greggory_moore
- | Monday, 07 March 2011 10:50
3:45pm | Although I'll never choose a chain coffeehouse when there's a viable indie option, because it was a Sunday night and it looked like rain (when motorscootering is no damn fun), I walked up Pine Avenue to the It's a Grind and took a big chair by the fireless fireplace.
Before too long a homeless woman I'd seen outside had made her way in from the cold, nighttime air. After much deliberation she purchased a coffee and plopped herself down in the chair next to me.
That she occasionally mumbled to herself did not bother me. That from time to time she fell victim to liquidy coughing fits did, especially since she covered her mouth only half the time. As discreetly as possible I moved my coffee from the table in front of me to the raised hearth to my right. I thought about moving, but ended up I staying put and started work on an unrelated story that will subsequently appear in this space.
I was sidetracked from that story to this one by what happened maybe 15 minutes later, when a red-jacketed Downtown Long Beach Associate Guide walked in, then leaned over to the woman and politely indicated that the It's a Grind staff had asked that the woman leave. The woman did so without complaint.
I sat there and watched this happen, and I don't feel especially good about that. I wanted to say something, but I wasn't sure what. "She's not bothering anybody" came to mind, although this wasn't entirely true, as it had been readily apparent that I was not the only one who had been bothered by her presence and especially the coughing (which, I should clarify, was nasty but by no means constant).
Another reason I stayed silent was my awareness that It's a Grind, like every restaurant and similar establishment, reserves the right to refuse service to anybody. And however much refusing service on the basis of (e.g.) skin color does not qualify as legal grounds on which an eatery can eject someone — recall, for example, legal action taken against Denny's in the 1990s for allegedly discriminating against racial minorities — in this case the staff was reacting to their customers' discomfort.
I'm just not so sure they should have. Yes, she was coughing now and then, but hey, you're going to be around that from time to time in public places, where it is often enough the case that people from probably lovely homes don't cover their mouths so well, either.
And yes, her homelessness had left her appearance unkempt, but she was not malodorous in the least.
I talked with the It's a Grind employees later and found that they had acted in response to a customer complaint1 about the woman's coughing (perhaps fair enough) and smell (a fabrication, whether intentional or otherwise). The employees indicated that they did not feel good about having called the guides, but said this was policy.
"If a customer complains," one of them told me, "that's basically the end of it."
Being bothered by the homeless in one way or another is probably pretty close to universal. For starters, you don't have to hold homeless persons blameworthy or somehow beneath you to be offended by the very notion itself: That a country with such obscene wealth allows so many of our brothers and sisters to fall between the cracks.
Less idealistically, you may be spiritually troubled by the sight of a homeless person. Even if I do give the occasional gift of cash or food, it certainly pricks my conscience that I get to enjoy bourgeoisie comforts (the laptop computer into which I type these words, the health care that allows me to seek treatment for a bad cough, the diurnal dose of hot shower and clean clothes that helps me appear in such a way that no establishment will exercise against me their right to refuse service) while fellow humans in my sight go looking for a dumpster and a heating duct for food and warmth. To some degree, even for those of us with what we might call a conscience, out of sight equals out of mind.
Are any of these, alone or in combination, good reasons to keep the destitute out of your place of business, or eject them even when they have already lain their good money down to buy your goods and services? I don't pretend to know the answer.
What I do know is that I like going out for a cup of coffee and a sit, coming in from the cold to read or write or people-watch. God knows what additional sanctuary might be signified for me by It's a Grind, Portfolio, etc., were I not someone with a perfectly good coffeemaker in a perfectly nice home.
I also know that I don't feel good about that to which I bore mute witness tonight. I don't know where it falls on the spectrum of right and wrong; it just doesn't feel good.
Footnote
1Interestingly, the complaint was not lodged by one of the three of us sitting proximate to the woman.
I have to give you credit for that article. You told it like it was, with great humility, and also great honesty.
This is a very good issue to focus on, and I do not blame you at all for saying "I don't have the answer", because I feel exactly the same way. It is a complicated issue... there are many people who are homeless because they chose to do drugs, or made other bad/selfish choices. They beg and hustle and annoy people.
But then there are other homeless, who maybe started out this way, and have just become worn down, or maybe were never this way at all. I am not rich, so I can't wipe away all their trouble. And to be honest, sometimes money is tight, and if you have some debts, it's hard to start throwing money at random other people, especially when sometimes the thought occurs that maybe you are making it more convenient for the homeless to beg and live that existence.
I have been told that many of the homeless have mental issues, and that is a big part of the problem. Not only do they need shelter, food and clothing, but they need mental help. This is a very costly and difficult task.
I think about this topic a lot, but as you said, I do not have the answer, yet.
Just for argument's sake, am I able to ask for the next guy or gal to leave, simply because I do not like them? Maybe I can claim that they smell, or just simply that they are bothering me. Who gets to determine such things???
Anyway, it appears from the story the person is unaware that the 'Long Beach Rescue Mission' is right down the street from 'It's A Grind.' The Rescue Mission is located at 1430 Pacific Avenue at the corner of Pacific Avenue & Anaheim Avenue. They provide a wealth of services such as sleeping quarters, food, bathing, clothes, and spiritual guidance. They are not religious and do not impose any religious philosophies among any of the needy persons that seek their services. The serve lunch daily at 12-noon, and they serve dinner daily at 6:00 p.m. Breakfast is reserved for those staying there or for overnight guests, only.
I have personally met with management from the Rescue Mission because I live in Long Beach and many a time the homeless approach me for money to buy food. I wanted to know where I could refer them because it became almost as if I was supporting them by giving them money on a daily basis. Oh, there are those, too, that are honest enough that when I have asked them what they wanted money for they responded, 'To be honest, I want to buy a beer. I'm just being honest!' I do give them a buck, and as for the others, I refer them to the Rescue Mission by handing them one of the Long Beach Rescue Mission's business card that management gave me (they gave me a handful).
To end it here, It's A Grind should have asked the woman to move further away from customers, and it does sound as if the writer is unaware of the services that the Rescue Mission provides, or that he is even aware that the Rescue Mission exists. Now he can truly be of service the next time he questions/concerns himself about whether a person has gone hungry or needing shelter. However, unfortunate as it may be, more than have the homeless (or just those needing a handout however short it may be), over 50% bluntly told me that they will not go to the Rescue Mission because they do not want anyone telling them what to do and they thanked me anyway.
Again, great story and by reading the other comments, we are now empowered with resources. God Bless America!
PS. So will educate "It's A Grind" on how to not ask paying patrons to leave, but for them to simply excercise discretion on to keep its customers.
I recommend doing the next story on this place, and perhaps we all can begin to become more educated on this issue, and what we can, and should or should't do.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a conservative-minded person, and I totally get what others have talked about, in regards to Grind being a business, and you have to run it to make a profit. I'm in total agreement with that. I'm just glad that there are people like Mr. Moore, who are actually thinking about others, because this society has become pretty self-consumed and cold.
I mean really, a poor lady can't come in out of the rain and the cold to get a hot drink??? Where are your hearts people?!?!
And again Mr. Moore, I take my hat off to you for tackling this, and once again to encourage you to do a follow-up, about the mission that was mentioned.
What you witnessed, Mr Moore, was a robbery.
How sad! I would have spoken up for her though; that's discrimination!