Update :: the issue is growing and got great coverage on our local news. Here is the ABC news segment on DeafMom’s encounter. A segment from Fox News is coming up late tonight/tomorrow morning. I’m so proud of her – Dawn handles herself beautifully in this interview!
Sorry, I’m just speechless.
My friend Karen Putz AKA DeafMom was denied service at Steak & Shake because they refused to take her order at a take out window. She explained to them she couldn’t give her order at the drive-thru speaker… because she was deaf.
Honestly, I can’t believe people like this exist on our planet.
I’m not one to usually blog about things unrelated to business, but when a business defies both logic and ethics, I think we need to make our voice be heard.
I refuse to eat at Steak and Shake until Karen Putz gets an apology from the CEO of the company himself, Alan B Gilman.
Please join me in spreading the word & standing up for Karen and everyone else with a disability who wants a goddamn shake.
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Sparkplugging Founder Wendy Piersall is dang passionate about helping people start & grow a business while maintaining life balance (somehow). 
Easton Ellsworth is owner of 
I’m with you, Wendy! Steak and Shake has some serious explaining to do as well as better training of its staff. When I read Karen’s post my mouth just dropped open. I hope they respond to her soon or I’m going to help you get this thing out through viral marketing.
Wendy, thanks for supporting Karen and viral activism in action! Boggles my mind how we still need to fight for our rights.
Un-bloody-believable!
Thanks for your support! I’m still mad!
Absolutely ridiculous! @@!#@
I blogged about it as well.
Unbelievable!!!
Well, Karen, you have to understand, people who work in fast-food restaurants tend to suffer from a disability: utter cluelessness.
They are trained to do one thing and one thing well, like Pavlov’s dogs, and as a result when something out of the ordinary lands on their doorstep, they have NO idea that they can bend the so-called “rules” and make everybody happy.
Henry,
What makes this so ironic is that the guy is the manager of the restaurant– can you believe that?
Karen Putz’s last blog post..Steak and Shake Denies Service
See, Wendy – this is why I love you – kickin’ ass and takin’ names – LITERALLY! If you weren’t so darned far away, I would bear hug you right now! I Tweeted this, but, I’ve been meaning to blog it and just haven’t gotten to it yet – it’s going on at least two blogs – and on a bulletin on MySpace. Wrong. So wrong.
Lisa Marie Mary’s last blog post..Relaxing and learning with Frank Kern
Again, here is the link for the ABC News coverage:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=5912924
I am deaf and I am joining you about not eating at Steak and Shake.
Jim
James T Beaton’s last blog post..This is a funny commercial…..
Makes me sick! I posted a bulletin about it on MySpace and blogged about it.
Shannon Smith’s last blog post..Fast Food Restaurant Refuses Service to Deaf Woman
Wendy:
I blogged about it too in my weekly gratitude post. My gratitude went to Karen Putz for having the courage to stand up and be counted in the face of withering criticism and pressure. Her story both inspired and pressed some deeply hidden buttons that I didn’t know existed!
Thanks for helping a fellow blogger spread the news – she’s my buddy too!
Stephen Hopson/Adversity University’s last blog post..End of the Week Gratitude Theme #12
This is an outrage! Totally unacceptable behavior! I’ve blogged about it for you.
Amber’s last blog post..Falling on deaf ears?
Dear Mrs. Putz,
I’m really sorry that had happened to you. Some people just don’t know what disability means and certainly no idea what Deafness entails.
I hope that Steak and Shake recognizes the ignorance of their clerk and are able to do some corporate education about deafness and the Deaf Community.
Bill Messink