Staff – Text
Check unknown vocabulary before you read the text:
to mistreat – act or behave badly or wrongly to somebody
to attract – cause liking or interest
according to – as said or told by
lawsuit – an action or a suit brought before a court
to file (a lawsuit) – to enter (a legal document) on public official record.
former – earlier; preceding; before
to accuse – charge (someone) with having done something wrong
attentively – with attention
rare – unusual; uncommon
elaborate – worked out with great care and details
conductor – person who conducts; one who directs an orchestra or other such group; a leader, guide, director, or manager
to claim – require (strongly want) as a right
to demand – ask for
Celebrity Restaurateur Mistreated Staff
Michael Chow, whose restaurants in New York, Los Angeles and London attract celebrities, regularly degraded his staff at his two Manhattan restaurants, according to a federal lawsuit.
For example, a waiter was made to lie on the floor in the middle of the staff meeting for about 40 minutes.
The $5 million lawsuit, filed Monday by three former waiters, also accuses Chow of reducing waiters' tips for not listeningattentively to him and not wearing a uniform, which they buy with their own money.
Chow, who operates Mr. Chow on 57th Street and Mr. Chow Tribeca, says on his Web site that "The movements of his waiters -- filling glasses, changing tablecloths, delicately de-boning rare, fresh pieces of fish -- are parts in an elaborate symphony of which he is the conductor."
But Louis Pechman, the lawyer for one of the waiters, claims in the lawsuit that Chow was in fact "a dictator," who demanded "cult-like attention" from his staff.
Chow opened his first restaurant, serving Chinese food, in London in 1968. He then took his successful formula to Los Angeles and New York, where celebrities can regularly be seen, including George Clooney, Tobey McGuire, Robert DeNiro and Gwyneth Paltrow.