Imagine this: You take your elderly mom out to a cozy Minnesota Denny’s for a simple meal, hoping to add a little joy to her day. Instead, you’re left speechless by what you find on the receipt. That’s precisely the situation Sarah Saba found herself in when she and her mother dined at the restaurant.
The whole incident revolved around Bob Quigley, a manager at this particular Denny’s. The story goes that as her mother struggled to eat due to recent esophagus surgeries, choking was a real concern, and the manager left a shocking note on their receipt. In plain view, it read: “Add $15 for Life Alert button.” The anger and disbelief Saba felt were beyond words.
In her heartfelt Facebook post, Saba shared her mother’s struggles and the reason for their visit to Denny’s. She emphasized how eating had become a daunting process for her mom, and they simply wanted to bring a touch of normalcy to her day. But what they received was far from normal.
When news of the incident began to spread, Quigley chose to stay silent when The Daily Meal approached him for his perspective. However, Saba got in touch with the owner of Denny’s, who assured her that the manager would face a “write-up” and retraining. Unfortunately, Quigley couldn’t be let go due to his lengthy tenure with the restaurant. To make amends, Denny’s offered the family a free meal and a refund, a meager attempt to apologize.
Quigley did eventually reach out to Saba with an apology, but the damage was done. Even more troubling, Saba’s sister, Caroline Speikers, had a conversation with the restaurant owner, who shockingly defended Quigley’s actions as a mere joke. According to the owner, Quigley’s comment was directed at a 60-year-old waitress, suggesting she might get hurt from all the running around.
Saba and Speikers found this excuse hard to swallow. In their perspective, whether it was intended as humor or not, it remained a form of age discrimination. They firmly believed that Quigley’s actions were indefensible.
Speakers summed it up perfectly: “He’s either making fun of someone who’s unwell and vulnerable or casually discriminating against someone because of their age. It’s a twisted sense of humor, and he shouldn’t be near customers.”