Emma Duke. Cool kid.
A story has popped up about a Panera Bread in Savannah, Georgia that asked a woman to please remove her daughter’s shoes because they were squeaking too loudly and another customer complained. It turns out that the little girl was wearing orthopedic shoes prescribed by her doctor to help with her disabilities and a spinal abnormality. As you can guess, that didn’t go over very well.
Catherine Duke took her two daughters, 3-year-old Ana and 2-year-old Emma into the restaurant to presumably have some yummy Kids Bistro French Onion Soup and some Mommy and Me time. As Emma walked around in her shoes, some asshole was disturbed by the squeaking and wasn’t able to fully concentrate on how perfectly toasted his Smokehouse Turkey® Panini was so he felt like he should complain about it. I mean, can you blame him? When you go out to a fine dining establishment like Panera Bread, you do expect optimum conditions for doing the New York Times crosswords puzzle. How dare this little girl walk! So he complained and then the employee went to the mom and basically suggested that it would be better if the 2-year-old just walked around barefoot in a public place, because we all know how well that employee mopped the floor that morning before they opened. Understandably, the mom was all, “Umm, I don’t think so” and she high-tailed it out of there after speaking with management. She also called her local news station to pour a little salt in the wound. Panera Bread is a franchise so when Papa Bear Panera heard about the brouhaha, they issued a formal apology for the misunderstanding and have even agreed to hold a fundraiser to help with Emma’s medical bills and raise awareness for children with disabilities. Catherine Duke is satisfied with the response but has yet to decide if she will ever set foot back in that Panera Bread no matter how hard she craves a Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich.
Basically, an employee handled the situation wrong and Panera Bread has made good, but let’s talk about the person who complained about squeaky shoes in the first place. They’re shoes! Get over it. Whether they are orthopedic shoes or fucking clown shoes, a little squeaking isn’t going to hurt anybody. If you need absolute quiet when you eat, I would suggest you keep your ass at home. What, were you studying for the bar exam? Were you on a conference call? Were you trying to take a nap? What world do we live in where people feel the right to control their surroundings in a public place? This little girl wasn’t screaming or popping her gum for an hour. She was walking with her mom who wanted a refill of coffee. Why are people so entitled these days?
This reminds me of the time I was on the 7 train and this girl was talking way too loudly on her cell phone. It was annoying, but I didn’t want to risk getting sliced in the face by asking her to please shut the hell up. She looked mean. But one other passenger couldn’t take it anymore. After ten minutes of her jib-jabbing about her life, the man yelled across the car, “Excuse me, you’re not at home in your living room!” The girl gave him an epic eye roll and replied, “Neither are you.” She went back to her conversation telling the person on the other end of the line, “Just some asshole trying to tell me to be quiet.” She had a point. When we go out in public, we have to rely on other people to use their manners but we all know that isn’t going to happen so it is our responsibility to control how we react to such events.
Clearly, the person who complained about the squeakiness of a little girl’s shoes needs to lighten up a little bit. And maybe the employee should have just said something like, “I’m sure the little girl will be sitting down very shortly if you can just find some patience in your tiny little heart, asshole.” Either way, it’s just another example of a customer thinking that their needs are the only ones that matter. That’s how a lot of customers are these days and his behavior is getting to be the new normal. He’ll also probably be in your section tonight.
UPDATE: According to a quick Google search, the shoes in the picture, which are the ones she wore to the restaurant, look remarkably similar to a shoe called the Wee Squeak Ruffle Maryjane which are not listed as orthopedic. If this is the case and the little girl was wearing shoes that squeak for the sole purpose of squeaking, then I am suddenly on board with the person who complained. That would annoy the fuck out of me. I see that the squeaky toy can be removed. Regardless, the employee should never have bothered the mother with such a minor complaint and if the asshole had an issue he should have taken up with the mother directly rather than have an employee do his dirty work. How will we ever know the truth?? -BW
Lila
Panera definitely got pimped out by this family! I was an employee there around that time and it definitely didn’t go down like that. That family would come in for hours and hours and let their kids run around the whole restaurant every single day. They literally would chill in there and lounge like they lived there. They were the type of people that would come everyday and something was always wrong with their order and they’d want to return it or get their money back…so what does that tell you. They definitely would find a way to get free food on a daily basis. The manager on duty at the time was friends with them and she didn’t kick them out she let them know that Panera was getting a lot of emails about them and their behavior when they came into the restaurant. Lots of customers would leave when they seen that they were there and they were losing regulars. So the manager was giving them like a heads up on some of the complaints. They were not kicked out, or asked to leave, or asked to remove the little girls shoes. More so a subtle hint to be mindful of other guests. Like I said they’d be in there all day everyday like it was there home with no respect for the other customers. They took this story and made some money off of it. Of course Panera is going to side with them to shut the story down. None of this happened this way at all and the Manager knew them personally and as a friend was letting them know what others were saying. That manager would bend over backwards for them every-time that they would come in and complain about everything and was quick to fix their meal or give them a return. When personally I think nothing was wrong with the food. Just looking for a way to make bank! The manager would even go to church with them when they asked. It’s sad how when people think they can get money the extremes they will go to extort a story. The manager had to apologize for something she didn’t do and had to sign paperwork that she wouldn’t tell the truth so that Panera could quickly shut the story down…sad
Martin MartinSuperBoy
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Valerie
Speaking as an aunt in a very large family – these shoes are priceless when it comes to little kids. Teaches them not to toe-walk, and more importantly helps you keep track of where the tiny ‘un is without having to put a leash or something on them. Kid slips off? Oh, easy, just listen for the squeaking. We Southeast Asian Chinese put anklets with bells on our tots for that reason ?
sally
I have to agree with Panera Bread on this one. With all the annoying things we all have to put up with every day that no one can do a thing about, NOT purposefully making squeaky noises in a restaurant seems a pretty easy one to accomplish. Let’s just all agree, when we go to a public place, whether it’s Panera Bread or Le Bernadin, we will do our best to NOT PURPOSEFULLY annoy those around us. Is that really too much to ask?
Karma Girl
Orthopedic or not, if the guy had a problem with the noise, he should have had the balls to go to the mother himself. Instead, he acted like a coward and probably got some kid fired for his trouble. Nice going, asshole. Nice going.
PCC
Karma Girl for vice-president!
Mellie
It’s Panera! It’s noisy anyway… WTFC whether they were for developmental reasons or because she liked the squeaky sound. I don’t know about your Panera, but the one in Bloomington, IN is so noisy, you wouldn’t be able to hear the squeak over the IU students, snooty stay at home mom clubs and secretary’s picking up bagels for offices if you tried! If you want silencio…go to the damn library.
V-Dawg
I know these shoes!!! These shoes are popular with the moms that put the way bigger than the poor girls head flowered headbands on, the same moms that arrange to be induced so their kid can be a Pisces or whatever. The shoes SQUEAK, so the parents can HEAR where the kid runs off to! Ya know behind the bar or in the server station. The normal places we are expected to babysit.
TheCheese
http://www.ibtimes.com/emma-duke-disabled-toddler-asked-leave-panera-bread-squeaky-orthopedic-shoes-photo-1540104 According to this article, they are, in fact, the shoes that squeak on purpose. They give an interesting reason why…
Sara
I was working a shift one time when a kid came in with those infernal things. They. Are. Awful. I would never say anything to a parent’s face, but I can DEFINITELY see why a customer complained. Especially toddlers running around the way they do, it is loud, annoying, repetitive, and far beyond the expectation of noise for even a place like Panera.
Rebecca
I also was working a shift when kid came in wearing these. The family was in the store for over an hour and that child was running up and down every aisle. An hour of SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK! It was unending. By the time they left I was ready to cram the shoes down the parents’ throats.
Carol
From what I read she was approached respectfully and once she explained they were for a disability employee apologized. The mom over reacted, she was not discriminated against. So I am so not on the moms side.
As for whether the complainer was just touchy or grumpy, I don’t think we were given enough information. If the child was just walking from her table to the refill station once, ok, it’s annoying but over quick enough. If the child was running around or constantly kicking her heels to make the noise the mom should have intervened. Though if it were my child I would have taken the squeaker out at a restaurant… no matter how inexpensive. For some that IS a rare treat and it’s not unreasonable to expect some sense of peace. Don’t let manners die!
McKinsey
Regardless of the shoes, I would have looked him dead in the eye and said, “get over yourself, its not like your Cher, or anybody important. “
April
Here is my question. Was the guy complaining, complaining about the little girl walking from the front to her seat, or was he complaining because the girl was wandering around, squeaking, instead of sitting?
To me it makes a difference in whose side I am on. If the girl was just headed to her table to eat, I’m totally on mom’s side. If the girl was wandering around the restuarant because mom didn’t make her stay in the seat, I’m on the complainers side.
I get that noise happens in public places, and I’m cool with that, but I can also see how 10-15-20 minutes of repetive squeaking can make you want to stab someone in the eye with a fork.
So I’d like to know the circumstances behind the complaint
Christie
No matter if these were the shoes or not, all involved were in a public place. Noises that agitate happen. All anyone can hope is that it ends, the offender leaves or the offended can remove themselves from the offense. The shoes are horrid, searched youtube, dog toy is best explanation. I live alone, I have found that I have become overly sensitive to repetitious noises, squeals, screeching and pitches I cannot explain here. This sensitivity is my problem, not those who are making the ruckus. I have to remove myself or grin and bear it. It was wrong of the Panera employee to say anything. The complainer had a right to complain, he did, but that did not mean Panera had to do anything about it. Give the man a coffee and tell him you look forward to seeing him on his next visit. I hope the complainer feels like a turd and doesn’t take his feeble attempt to silence the world as a victory. He caused problems for a weary mother and a business. A business that quietly donates all the days end bread to shelters and soup kitchens.
ExCakeDecorator
Actually the onus is ALWAYS on the one creating the disturbance.
PCC
Sounds right to me. Christie for president! (This Christie, not the fat one.)
Tracy Marin
Apparently Doctors are recommending the Wee Squeak shoes to retrain toe walkers to walk heel to toe. The info is on their web site. They only squeak if they walk properly & they can be silenced which is a proper thing to do in in some situations. It IS annoying.
Mari
There is also the possibility that these shoes were modified to meet Emma’s requirements, also. I worked in a kid’s shoe store and that is a very possible situation.
Jessic
The mother had mentioned her daughter has developmental delays and the shoes offered extra support and squeak as an incentive to get the kids to walk, so it is likely those were the shoes. My son is severely disabled an has to wear AFO’s under his shoes, and their are certain shoes that are recommended because they are more supportive that are not necessarily categorized as orthopedic but we in the parents of disabilities community still consider them special shoes. She was a toddler, the bottom line is it brought her joy to wear her shoes, what’s the big deal. I rather hear the squeaky shoes than shrill crying.
Mark W
Why don’t you get a real j-
Oh, wait. Never mind.
Joshua A.
My daughter had a different brand of squeaky shoes when she was little. The idea was so that it both encourages them to begin walking (she had them a year ago when she was turning 1) and also lets mom know where they are (if at home, knowing they are in the next room or such).
As a considerate person, if I took her out and she had those shoes on I only let her walk minimally in public as I personally would have been annoyed to hear the noise. That being said, it was Panera, not fine dining so I don’t think there is necessarily an expectation of silence so if they were shoes made to squeak I’m not sure which side of this I am on.
Lynn
On your update-she may not need the orthotics all the time. Sometimes these things are used for a certain number of hours each day. Just because there is a picture of her in other shoes does not mean that the ones she was wearing at the restaurant were the same. Please stop turning this into something else.
Emily
The news articles confirm that those were the shoes she was wearing. Bitchy’s just giving us all the facts he can.
anne marie
WTF????? $35 for a pair of shoes that make noise? OH HELL NO! these seem as annoying as the shoes that flash LEDs when bratley walks.
Jenny
This isn’t a new thing. I remember when I was only about 6, mum and I went into a local charcuterie, and for some reason I was fascinated by the floor. It was hard and chequered with dirty-white and turquoise. So I decided to dance on it. Hell, this was way before the evolution of the dance-mat so it’s a shame I didn’t make any money off it. xD
But then suddenly this poncy old bitch (another customer) is telling my mum to stop me from dancing, because apparently she was having a conversation. I am so sorry that I was behaving my age and… well, being happy and shit.
Kathy Bishop
Oh NO! Just read your update. I don’t even know what to do now. I hope you’re on it, BW.
Kathy Bishop
It’s me again. (I apparently have nothing else to do today) I’m curious what Panera might have to say about this.
Maybe the kid just learned to walk in her actual orthopedic shoes and was celebrating with these ridiculous squeaky ones. But why would any parent buy those on purpose?
Judith
Some children toe-walk because of Autism or similar. These shoes are recommended to encourage the child to put their heel down. Still can be considered therapeutic. 🙂
Cryndalae
It’s kind of funny how we fill in the blanks and jumped to unconscious conclusions. The doctor ‘recommending’ these special shoes has become ‘they are orthopedic shoes’ in everyone’s mind.
At 23 months the child was still just learning to walk, and was walking as babies do when they first learn, on tippy toes. the squeak the shoes make when the heal strikes first was encouraging her to walk correctly with her heal hitting first.
At $34 for toddler shoes I’d call them ‘special’ as well!
Kathy Bishop
“That’s how a lot of customers are these days and his behavior is getting to be the new normal.” Ugh. I thought that was just a Portland thing because everyone thinks they’re just too cool for school here. Sorry to hear that it’s not.