Funny how two or more people can look at the same thing yet see it so differently.
And while it may seem like a good idea for "everyone" to take the same view of the owners as you do, if everyone was of a like mind there would little need to discuss much of anything. For who wishes to read an opinion followed consistently by 100 posts of "I agree" in various forms?
Further, the request was made in public for "constructive criticism", I responded in public because I believe that more than a few folks besides the management could benefit from the criticism given. If you read it as a public castigation perhaps you need a period of introspection to determine what part of your being that came from.
You are correct that even when "paying" we are still "guests" here at the deference of the owners. Be mindful however that they still have a responsibility to we "guests" to deliver value for our purchase. Perhaps you feel it is acceptable to continue without comment when you see another customer "mistreated", perhaps you simply ignore it since you are not involved. Either way by doing so you condone the mistreatment and as such grant your consent to be treated that way when the time comes...for when there are no more "bad guys" to mistreat...the "good guys" become the new "bad guys".
Respect is subjective? On this I will have to cogitate a while.
The Bird of Prey