Is this incredibly racist or am I being sensitive

[Restaurantlover]

Have had to nc as incredibly outing.

I enquired about a blossom tree installation in my restaurant, someone got back to me with a quote and I said great what’s his timescales. He let me know a date and I told him it would be suitable but nothing yet agreed.
Next thing I know he says he requires a 50% deposit because he’s ordered the blossom for the tree.
I never asked him to order the blossom, never agreed that the work would actually be done and certainly didn’t agree to give him 50% upfront.

I’ve had to block him as he is continuously ringing and messaging me and is just being plain nasty, to both my husband and I.

I think he’s gone a step too far with this Facebook post though, the reference to scrubbing korma pans and polishing shoes just gets to me, I feel he’s being racist, we have an Indian restaurant but I don’t actually go/work there so he’s obviously made that up to be spiteful.

I agree. I'd be more concerned about his claim if it's false than whether he used korma pans or not. Cos to me, he seems to be saying that you're not who you show you are with the Range river, dubai, scrubbing pans and polishing shoes but being image driven.

He did. His OP read:

”Just a word of warning to any tradesman/artists/suppliers

Castle view Indian owners. Amin and his wife. (the ones who claim to have all this money lol)

Ordered a massive artificial tree display from me which took a long time to make. When it came to payment of deposit they ignored all my calls. Amin then sent me a WhatsApp message saying he was on a yacht in Dubai and that he is good for the money, he attached a picture of a range rover outside his restaurant for some reason. I have a friend who lives nearby and I asked him to pop in to see if amin was actually in Dubai. My friend sent me two pictures. One of Amin polishing his shoes outside the restroom and another of his wife scrubbing korma pans in the sink. Avoid”

Yes, this was my first thought too. He knew exactly what he was doing referencing it.

Agreeing with @potniatheron

I did reply on Facebook, I said his side of the story is not the truth and asked him to stop messaging us with racist and threatening comments.

But I left it at that as I don’t want to get into a public spat with him. I figured people will understand themselves, a lot of people know me where I live, and they know I don’t work there, people aren’t stupid, they can work it out themselves that at least that part is untrue.

That was his second post. His first was as described earlier where he says 'scrubbing korma pans'.

I agree, I think it's at the very least a micro aggression. Why not just 'pans'? Perhaps he genuinely didn't intend to be racist but his words have revealed at the very least unconscious bias.

And tbh when I see businesses posting stuff like this, all I think is that they are incredibly unprofessional and I probably wouldn't use them in future regardless of who was in the right or not.

It’s a different post to the one op posted

I agree it is meant to be subtley racist and he's not a nice guy.

OTOH, the image I get when people talk of polishing shoes is mainly my dad doing it. He was as white Brit as they come.

It's obviously meant to be subtly racist. There's none as blind as those who won't see.

But based on the OP, it's possible that a contract has been agreed here. If so, he may have grounds to be aggrieved, especially if he's out of pocket. Obviously this doesn't excuse racism.

Thank you, exactly this.
I think he knew exactly what he was saying and saying it in a way he knows he can away with in todays society.

I am indian and I dont find the comment racist. Like another poster said, mention of korma pans is because restaurant is Indian. He would've been offensive to a fish and chips place in similar way, eg. Scrubbing fish pans.
However, I agree he is being nasty bully.

Op, report him to HMRC and reply to his post by writing he is making up about dubai trip and LR.
You should also write a Google review. He misunderstood your email for order confirmation and made a mistake confirming before ordering the tree and now blaming you and being nasty.

Why was it relevant to mention the restaurant owners were Indian? If not to make a subtle racist point or even to tarnish their business. He named them very explicitly in the post.

His comments sound racist to me and we don’t know really what the ‘contract’ was so it’s hard to say if OP screwed him over or he was doing the screwing over. BUT I think OP is more bothered that that he said she was scrubbing pans in the kitchen NOT about what his post could mean for the business ie not paying suppliers.

i posted before seeing you confirm that you did not send him pics of your range or tell him you were on your yatch in Dubai lol, fbzg eojkd be weird.

I also found the Facebook post and he comes across as deranged and someone actually posted that it shows his business in negative light. I think your response was fine so block him and move on.

Saying he saw you scrubbing korma pans would not be racist if he indeed saw you doing that and he’s just saying what he saw, but if he made it up then it could be racist especially with the message where he called you scrubbers. Racist or in the very least a very mean ignorant idiot. Either way ignore and move on.

Without the context of it being in an Indian restaurant, the 'korma pans' bit might be racist.

He says he saw OP and her husband working in the restaurant when they were claiming to be on holiday and splashing the cash. Sending photos to show you have lots of money when someone asks you to pay for a job you agreed on is weird and tacky.

Cleaning korma pans is a bluddy pain, so I can see why someone might gloat if they caught you scraping and scrubbing when you told them you were a superior sort, sunning yourself in Dubai.

Maybe the photos thing is all a mistake or maybe it's made up. But if there was that kind of back and forth exchange, it was more about menial work than racism.

He did say korma pans on FB, he is promoting a racial stereotype which is essentially being racist. For those who say it isn't, even the Asian ones - you have all become so accustomed to casual racism you don't see it.

He wasn't racist.
The way you communicated made it sound like you were giving him the go-ahead.
You should have paid.
He is nasty and rude and unpleasant.

alternativly, who orders a load of expensive stuff for some random you met off facebook.

thats why you get a deposit and terms in writing! how does he know OP via whatsapp is actually Mrs X, owner/authorised person of XYZ restaurant?

I think that is racist. Also springing on you that he wants 50% upfront with no contract is crazy. Definitely sounds dodgy.

He or she sounds racist to me

However, it also sounds to me like you agreed to go ahead with the blossom trees from him or her.

Be glad you didn't pay. He sounds awful. Not doing himself any favors with your community with those comments. Even though you weren't there, what's wrong with hard work, anyway?

Congratulate yourself that your intuition is excellent. You dodged a bullet there. You also have the satisfaction of knowing that you are not funding this loon.

@Thehonestybox

Sorry but if you said "yes great" to a date and the work then I get why he ordered the tree, and I get why he asked you for 50% up front. Who would do a load of expensive work for a random person they've never met before receiving any payment for it?

If you order your stuff before getting the 50% payment from the client, or even telling them that is a key term for you, you are a blithering idiot.

Saying "yes great" to a date is not a go ahead. I disagree. She never said ok go ahead and order it.

Surely a professional would come and measure up and see the space? Especially for something like this?

Then they would send a formal quote and the 50% deposit would be written into that etc.