Parents are outraged after special needs children at a Tennessee Pizza Hut were allegedly told to hurry up to make way for ‘regular’ customers
- Parents were outraged after their children with special needs were told by a worker at a Pizza Hut restaurant they had to ‘make way’ for regular customers
- Keith Duncan is angry at the way his daughter and 20 students from Halls High School were treated at a birthday party at Pizza Hut in Ripley
- A parent shared a Facebook recounting the ordeal and quotes from a teacher
- The teacher was with the kids at a birthday party and was quoted as saying the children needed to make way for ‘regular people’
Parents were outraged after their children with special needs were told by a worker at a Pizza Hut restaurant they had to ‘make way’ for regular customers in Tennessee.
Keith Duncan is angry at the way his daughter and 20 students from Halls High School were treated as they attended a birthday party at Pizza Hut in Ripley.
Duncan learned through a social media post that has gone viral from another parent that the kids were apparently ‘had to do several things because they has regular people coming in.’
Their teacher was with them at the time and the Lauderdale County Schools superintendent is investigating an incident, WREG reported.
Students from Halls High School were at a birthday party at Pizza Hut in Ripley, Tennessee
Keith Duncan is angry at the way his stepdaughter and 20 students from Halls High School were treated as they attended a birthday party at Pizza Hut in Ripley.
Duncan said his stepdaughter is a ‘very likable girl and won homecoming queen in school’
Duncan told WREG that he agreed that the term ‘regular’ was offensive, saying of his stepdaughter: ‘I do know they could have handled that a lot better. Just been more professional about it. Just have a little leniency for our kids.’
He said of his daughter: ‘She’s a very likable girl, everybody in school likes her, very popular. She won homecoming queen recently at the school.’
Heather Bensch, whose daughter attends the school, posted about the incident on Facebook.
She included posts from the teacher who was with them saying: ‘We took our class and were told several times that we needed to do several things because they has regular people coming in.
‘Just saying that the manager needs to explain to the workers that we are ‘regular’ people and need to treat us that way. No more business from me.’
‘Absolutely blows my mind. We had to clean our own tables, get our own refills, had to use paper plates, and was told to do all this before their ‘regular customers’ came in. So much more..’
She asked Pizza Hut to define what a regular person is and questioned why they weren’t given a ‘regular’ service.
A spokesman for Pizza Hut told NBC News that the episode does not reflect Pizza Hut’s ‘standard of serving the community and providing every guest with excellent service’
Heather Bensch, whose daughter attends the school, posted about the incident on Facebook
She added: ‘These kids could teach you a little something about work ethic, compassion, and humanity!!!!.
‘Everyday of their lives, they give 110% just to keep up with, and be a part of this world.
‘They are constantly pushed mentally and physically, sometimes beyond their limits, and yet still manage to have a smile on their face at the end of the day.’
A spokesman for Pizza Hut told NBC News that the episode does not reflect Pizza Hut’s ‘standard of serving the community and providing every guest with excellent service.’
‘Our local franchisee has been in contact with the school principal and superintendent to offer our apologies to the students and teachers and will be meeting with them this week,’ the spokesman told NBC News in a statement.
‘Restaurant management will also be reinforcing our expectations with employees at the store to ensure that our standards of service are upheld going forward.’