NORCROSS, Ga. — Members from Street Peace America and other local activist groups were outside the Waffle House Headquarters on Monday to call upon the franchise to talk about their consumer protection policies.
After a short meeting outside the headquarters, representatives with the restaurant chain, including the Director of PR and External Affairs, Pat Warner, gathered inside and replayed still photos from the security camera footage recorded inside the Alabama Waffle House where a woman was thrown to the ground by officers.
Warner said the employees were following protocol when calling police but stated the investigation is ongoing and expected to be finished later this week.
J'lyn Furby, the Director of Operations of American Kinetics LLC, who manage Street Peace America, led the conversation outside the headquarters before being corralled inside the building by Waffle House Corporate staff.
Furby emphasized how customer service needs to improve.
“If I go into a store, based on the Constitution, I shouldn’t get arrested for asking for a manager because of poor customer service."
Another member of Street Peace America stated that their protests include staging a "soda pop sit-in" at Waffle House restaurants by purchasing a $2 soda and sitting inside the restaurant and holding a discussion about customer service and customer protection policies.
This comes a day after a protest was held at a Brookhaven Waffle House. About a dozen people held a sit-in on Sunday afternoon in the wake of a black customer’s controversial arrest in Alabama.
In a statement released by Street Peace America, "Waffle House consumers have a right to call for a public hearing on consumer protection policy. The hearing would be conducted by the Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Federal Trade Commission."
"All consumers have a right to a 'vibrant marketplace'. That right has been violated in several incidents at Waffle Houses in our nation," according to the statement.
Protestors announced plans to launch a national boycott with another rally scheduled for May 4.
