Joe's Crab Shack

To whom it may concern:

On 8/3/2014 my husband and I visited Joe’s Crabshack for a very special date night. This is our one favorite place we always go to on special occasions. We usually have a good experience but this time things went very badly, enough so that we have decided to never go back to that location, possibly not any location ever again.

This was our experience.

When we arrived we asked if we could sit at the outdoors eating area. We were in good spirits, excited to have some time to ourselves. We made pleasant small talk with our server named Hopelynn. My husband ordered a beer and the Orleans Steampot + 2 lb of extra crawfish and I ordered a water and the Queen Crab bucket.

There was an elderly couple sitting behind us, and the woman was smoking but that didn’t bother us. My husband and I sat and talked and kept to ourselves and Hopelynn brought out his beer and my water.

Soon after, the tattooed bartender (who I later came to find out was named Ashlee), came outdoors to chat with us. At first it seemed like she was just being very friendly and asking how we are doing, we responded in kind. Then she asked to see my husband’s ID (this was the first time he was asked, this was after he had already been given the beer and had already been sipping on it). So he took out his ID and it slid from his fingers to the ground (condensation from the drinking glass, had made his fingers wet), he picked it up off the ground and handed it to the bartender. She looked at it, saw he was 34 years old, handed it back and asked, “Sir, I need to know if you’ve had anything to drink before you came here today?”

He replied honestly, “Yes, I had 2 beers at home prior to coming here but my wife is driving.”

We were very confused, you see, we’ve never been asked these questions before and didn’t understand what the bartender was leading up to.

Ashlee the bartender then said, “I apologize, but I am going to have to cut you off after that beer, it’s for the safety of you and others that we limit our customers”.

We were shocked, and quite embarrassed to be honest. There were other customers sitting outside who witnessed this conversation. We really just wanted to leave but we had already ordered and our food was brought out just then, so we felt we had no choice but to sit and eat in confusion and humiliation. Barely even tasted the food, we were so upset.

I asked to speak with the manager, because I needed to know why we got such degrading treatment. Sherrie R then came and talked to us and when we asked her what behavior led them to think my husband had had too much to drink, she fumbled with her words and I could tell she really didn’t know why my husband was approached the way he was, but she felt she had to support her bartender’s decision. She said basically it was the “look in his eyes” and the fact that he dropped his ID when asked to pull it out. My husband is a big guy and it takes a lot more than 2 or 3 beers to make him unsteady. Sherrie also said that it’s for our safety that they limit patrons, to which I replied, “how is it unsafe for him to have 2 beers, when I am the one driving and I haven’t had anything to drink?”

Several times in the conversation I told her that I wanted the bartender’s name so that I could file a complaint, and Sherrie pointedly never once mentioned the bartenders name, merely said “Oh I’ll give you a business card before you leave with the info.” She came back with 2 business cards and then she walked off. I looked at the business cards and one was hers, the other belonged to the General Manager. But there was no information of who the bartender was. So we had to wait another 10 minutes for the manager to come back so we could ask her yet again. Finally, she said “the bartender’s name is Ashlee” and then I said, “I am sure you can’t give me a last name and I understand that so can I have her employee ID number to reference on my letter?” Sherrie R then said, I can’t give you her employee ID number, or last name, I can ONLY give you her first name.

My husband sat quietly the whole time, embarrassed and afraid he had done something wrong and that it was his fault our evening was ruined. He did nothing wrong.

After that, we sat for a bit waiting on the check… My stressed husband needed a cigarette and asked me if I thought this was a smoking area. I told him since the older lady was chain smoking outside of here it must be a smoking area. He lit up a cigarette and barely smoked 1/3 of it when the manager came outside again and told him, “Sorry sir, this is a non smoking area even though it is outdoors”. They never once said anything to the old couple that was smoking near us, but the moment my husband lights up, we get reprimanded and embarrassed in front of everyone AGAIN.

I feel like they singled out my husband, for whatever reason, I don’t know, but I can tell you that was the worst experience I’ve ever had in a restaurant.

We spent $80.00 including the tip that day, and barely even tasted the food.

Normally, we spend around $120 because we get deserts and appetizers. But after that, we are never going back to that location.

This kind of treatment is unacceptable with the amount of money we and other patrons spend at this establishment.

In regards to:
Joe’s Crabshack
1508 SW 74th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73159