Amy Bartner

IndyStar

Black Acre Brewing Co. co-owner Jordan Gleason told the customer he wasn't welcome back to the Irvington brewpub.

The 60-year-old man had made several sexist and profane remarks to women on staff. When he tried to return a month later, he was again turned away. On April 1, he returned once more and asked to speak to a manager.

"When I discussed it with the gentleman, I was very calm and civil," Gleason said, "and afterward, when I went to the back, I got very emotional about it."

Facebook post over sexist customers goes viral

Gleason took his rage to Facebook, posting a 1,025-word message condemning the man's behavior and speaking out about sexual harassment in the service industry as a whole.

"The dark side of this business is we run into some pretty horrible goblin people," he wrote. "Here's the thing though, women in this field get infinitely more disgustingly treated. The sheer number of times they get groped, or harassed, or treated like objects would blow your mind."

The post now has nearly 25,000 shares and isn't slowing.

"It’s kind of overwhelming," he said in an interview. "The reaction to this is obviously resonating with a lot of people, which makes me sad more than anything. I'm not saying anything unexpected. It's just really tragic."

The experience the women working at Black Acre had isn't an uncommon one. It's an expected reality for many women in the hospitality industry.

Eighty percent of women working in the restaurant industry have been sexually harassed by a customer, according to a 2014 report from Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, an organization dedicated to improving working conditions for restaurant employees. About 700 current and former restaurant workers were surveyed nationally.

More than half of the women surveyed experienced harassment at least once a month, and 33 percent once a week. And it's not just from customers — 74 percent of the women said they were sexually harassed by co-workers on a monthly basis, and 66 percent said management was behind the harassment.

Nearly 40 percent of all sexual harassment claims made to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission come from restaurant employees, more than any other industry in the country, according to the ROC report.

"Since women restaurant workers living off tips are forced to rely on customers for their income rather than their employer. These workers must often tolerate inappropriate behavior from customers, co-workers and management," the report said.

The culture of acceptable sexual harassment in any workplace must be changed, Indiana Commission for Women Executive Director Kristin Svyantek Garvey said. The commission actively encourages men to be part of that change.

She applauded Gleason for speaking out in his Facebook post.

"His stance and the viral reaction of his Facebook post demonstrate the power of men standing up for gender equality and recognizing their responsibility in combating sexism," Svyantek Garvey said. "If a lasting systemic change is to happen, societal and cultural mindsets have to change. And to do that, men have to be involved and be willing to say that this type of behavior is no longer appropriate."

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Harmony Glenn, a member of the advisory board of gender equity group Indy Feminists, said women in the hospitality industry are often in the position of choosing between standing up for themselves or losing their tip.

"It's not just food service; it's the customer service industry as a whole," Glenn said. "People feel as women are as much on the menu and for sale as the food or the product. It's a question of safety and economics for any woman who works in the customer service industry."

Gleason's actions, both at the bar and on Facebook, are "exactly what feminists are asking men to do."

"This is a man speaking to other men," she said. "That is also important. Not all of this can fall back on women. It’s not enough to just not be sexist yourself. You’ve got to collect your sexist brothers."

Gleason said in the interview he posted the Facebook message for two reasons:

"To let the women in my life know that I hear them, that I see them. It happens so frequently, and we as a society just brush it off. I don't think we're listening enough to the struggles that the women in our lives are going through."

And to encourage other men to speak out when they see something.

"I've had people say comments like that before, and they're with a group of people," Gleason said. "I'm just tired of the silence. Hey dudes, we have an obligation to say something."

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In the four days since his original post, he has gotten "99.999 percent supportive comments," but a few negative ones on www.indystar.com, criticizing his own profanity used in his Facebook message.

Gleason is not worried about that.

"I chose those words because I am angry," he said. "I can understand why someone would disagree with my language, but I think language is a tool. I can’t abide people treating my family or my friends or my co-workers like this. I get a little fiery about that."

Tracy Robertson, owner of Mass Ave. Pub, 745 Massachusetts Ave., was one of the thousands who shared Gleason's post on Facebook. With 30 years of service industry experience behind her, Robertson has seen and experienced what many women have.

"I've always been kind of a fan of having a sharp wit and dealing with squirrelly customers that way," she said, adding that all the employees in her 15-year-old bar are encouraged to handle customers who might cross that line in the best way possible. "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone."

That said, the man who made the remarks at Black Acre isn't the type of customer she typically deals with.

"We see hundreds and hundreds of people daily that don’t act like that," she said. "Those are the people I choose to keep in my business."

Call IndyStar reporter Amy Bartner at (317) 444-6752. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.