Cafe owner is praised for sticking up for staff after angry customer loses it at teenage waiter because of a menu change: 'Zero tolerance'

Published: 00:11, 30 April 2026 | Updated: 00:15, 30 April 2026 A cafe owner has been praised after standing up for her teenage worker and telling off an angry customer who was verbally abusing staff.  Belinda Hayes, who runs Michelago General Store which also operates as a cafe, defended Liz, 15, after the man told her to 'f*** off' over a menu change.  Ms Hayes said the local lost his temper because he wanted chicken schnitzel instead of grilled chicken breast and 'absolutely roasted' the poor staffer. 'We explained that it was very common for cafes and restaurants to make changes to their menu seasonally or whenever they choose,' she said.  'He said, "Oh well you know you've lost a customer" and I said, "OK, fine, no worries".' He went on to verbally abuse Liz, who has worked at the cafe for two years, in front of other customers. Ms Hayes said she told him he was never welcome back because she had no time for that type of behaviour.    'I have zero tolerance for an adult man speaking down to a 15-year-old girl and having a dummy spit like a toddler on a playground who wants chicken nuggets,' she said.  A cafe owner has been praised after standing up for her teenage worker and telling off an angry customer who was verbally abusing the staff 'No amount of money is going to make me compromise my values and allow you to treat my staff like s***.  'I don't care who you are, if you walk in this building and treat people like s***, you will not be allowed back in the building.'  Ms Hayes, whose store also serves as the local post office, had the last laugh and told the man he wasn't able to get his mail until he apologised to the staffer.  'He said "I'm still gonna get my post" and I said "Nah bro, you don't s*** where you eat", and he went on to attack me,' she said.   The man questioned what type of business owner she was and criticised the way she behaved, but Ms Hayes stood her ground.  'I said "I protect my staff, and juniors for being told to f*** off. Who raised you and is your wife OK?"' she said. Many Aussies praised Ms Hayes for standing up for her employee, calling her a great role model.  'You're the boss so many juniors need to thank for stepping up and protecting the workplace,' one said.   Michelago General Store owner Belinda Hayes stood up for her junior staff after the man told the teenager to f*** off over a menu change 'Protecting your staff members is such an honourable trait,' a second said.   'Good on you for standing up, we need more business owners like you,' another said.  'Great business model you're running, happy staff make for well cared for customers,' a fourth said. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.