Castanet

Usually, when a waiter refuses to serve someone at a restaurant, customers complain. In this case, customers cheered.

The waiter in question, Michael Garcia, has been receiving goodwill and friend requests on the restaurant’s Facebook page since word spread that he stood up for a child with special needs.

Garcia, who works at the Houston restaurant Laurenzo's, was waiting on a family, regulars with a 5-year-old child, Milo, who has Down syndrome. The server said that another family at the restaurant commented on Milo’s behavior, which Garcia described as “talking and making little noises." Garcia moved the complaining family to another table, but they were still unhappy. "Special needs children need to be special somewhere else," the father reportedly said.



The waiter then took a stand. He told FoxNews.com that such talk is ignorant and is due to people's fear of the unknown. "My personal feelings took over," he said, leading him to tell the father, "Sir, I won't be able to serve you.” The family left the restaurant.

It didn't take long for the story to get out. The eatery’s Facebook page has received praise from people in Texas and beyond.

Facebook user Tisha Baker wrote, "Thank you so much for speaking up when most just turn away."

Rick Park posted, "Thank you Mr. Garcia, I have a 17 year old son with Down syndrome and I love to hear about people like yourself standing up for people with disabilities."

Stephanie Painter added, "Thank you Michael for standing up for this beautiful little boy! Anyone who has ever come in contact with a child, or adult, with Down's knows how loving and happy they are. Milo is a precious gift from God and so is Michael!"

Outside of Texas, Garcia gained other fans. Sue Pusztai posted, "I wish I lived in Texas so I could eat at your restaurant. I would loved to have met Mr. Garcia and thank him for his compassion and courage."

Grateful mom of Milo, Kim Castillo, added her thanks online the night of the incident on a friend's Facebook page: "Yay for people like Michael ... who not only love (my son) Milo for who he is -- a customer and little boy with Down syndrome, but stand up for him no matter what.”

Hardly a hero, but good for the waiter for doing what more people should be doing.

Hmmmmmm, a child with downs syndrome or a narcissistic adult with an attitude. Who has the disability here?

Good for him I say. Once I had a teen and his mom come into my store and he was wearing a t shirt showing a girl raped by a machine and I said thats offensive. They left. PS I still find that particular GNR t shirt offensive.

We have a deaf girl who works in our store as a cashier. One day, I heard a man yelling at her. DEMANDING to speak with someone that could speak English. I approached the man and asked, "What was the problem?" he proceeded to "Rip me a new one" with great volume in his voice and attracting the attention of all other staff and customers. He exclaimed to me that we should hire people that were capable of understanding English.
I allowed him to spout off his drivel, now directed at me. I felt that so long as he was facing me and not the cashier, (because she can read lips) there would be no harm done except to himself. I patiently listened and plotted my next move carefully. There were many scenarios that I ran through my mind as he proceeded to yell and scream, rant and rave, about us, a "Canadian" company hiring foreign workers, that could not communicate in Canadian English and yadda, yadda, bla, bla.......etc.
When he was finished, I explained to him, in a very loud, but calm voice, that the girl was deaf since birth and that she was very adapt at communicating with the rest of the staff and all of the customers before him. I then suggested that the communication problem was NOT with the girl and her ability to receive and to respond in a manner that all others have had no problem with prior, but rather that HE was unable to recognize a common and minor disadvantage and therefore, he has the huge handicap of "lack of compassion or understanding". As he left with his tail between his legs, in a "walk of shame", I yelled to him that he is to never return to our store ever again.

These things happen on a more regular basis than are recognized. I applaud the waiter and everyone else that has also done such selfless act on behalf of another, that does not deserve to be mistreated.