Harvest Milton — Restaurant in Milton

I have just walked out of this bar in tears. Never have I been spoken to the way I just was by the woman behind the bar tonight.

She has very long brown hair and was wearing it tied up in a big bun with a scrunchie on top of her head and a colourful shirt/jumpsuit.

I’ve loved coming here for a drink on a Saturday night after dinner with my partner once every few weeks, for the last 6 months or so. We thoroughly loved the place and it’s always busy.

Tonight it was even busier. There were dozens of people standing and dancing as well as seated.

My partner went to grab a table and I lined up at the bar. I was served relatively quickly and politely ordered 2 cocktails. The above-described woman serving me then asked if I had a table and I said I didn’t have one yet (my partner wasn’t back from looking at that point) but that I’d happily wait by the bar while the drinks were made. She then said she couldn’t serve me if I didn’t have a seat. I looked at her quizzically and pointed around the room to her and noted that there were dozens of people standing without tables but with drinks they’d obviously been served. She then said that if everyone sat down though there would be a table for everyone. This clearly wasn’t correct but I took her word for it.

At this point my partner waved at me from across the bar and pointed that he had a table, and used his fingers to tell me ‘number 10’. Relived and assuming we could now order the drinks we wanted, I then turned around to the bartender and told her table 10. She angrily looked at me as if she was expecting I’d have already left and said there was no way I could have a table as the bar was fully booked. (However the table my partner had found was by itself in the corner, without any sign of being booked and surrounded by other tables booked by smaller groups for various times but none of whom said they were using this particular table. He was also sitting there while this happened without anyone interrupting him.) The bartender then shouted at me “your table is probably someone else’s, you can’t stay here”. I was in shock but tried to question why my having a table was somehow illegitimate and she then yelled “I’ve already told you, I’m not going to serve you! You can’t stay here!”.

At this point I walked out of the bar I’m complete dismay and burst into tears at the shock of being spoken to like that. For context - I was entirely sober at the time. I had driven to the bar and this was going to be my first drink of the night.

I believe there was no excuse for the way I was spoken to. Had there been an issue with the bar being too busy, the bartender could have said “I can’t serve you a cocktail without a table, do you mind ordering a beer/wine”, “we’re really busy now do you mind coming back in an hour or two”, or “we have a private function on tonight”. (For clarity at no time did she say there was a private function on and the various bookings for tables around under different names at different times suggested there wasn’t).

I am very sorry that this woman dislikes her job so much she has to take it out on patrons like me. I hope she is just a passing casual worker and that in years time she will have moved on and I can continue to frequent the bar I loved so much because I can assure owners and management I will never come back to this establishment. I will tell my family who live locally to do the same and I will be sure to spread the word to friends who travel down to Milton from Sydney or Canberra.

Lastly - the other woman serving behind the bar with a brunette bob...

Service is sub par and staff are as about as welcoming as a no trespassing sign. Can't rate the food as we were told kitchen was closed as a flippant passing comment by one of the wait staff (time was 7:30pm). This was after we ordered a couple of starters only 5 minutes eariler.... Must have been a slow harvest. Very disappointing experiance considering we came to celebrate my birthday. On the plus side, the espresso martini was nice.

EDIT 20/01/2019 - Thanks for your reply, your response helps highlight your attitude towards customers. To clarify some points you made and help provide you more detailed feedback so you can improve.

1. We did take an insta story when we first arrived but deleted it after we left because of the way we were treated. I love that you made this referance though as it's not relevant and helps highlight your unprofessional passive aggressive tone to the review readers.

2. We agree that you told us the kitchen closed at 730pm. The problem was that you told us at 730pm. You also had numerous other opportunities to advise us sooner say when we ordered drinks a couple of times during our time there or at the very least when we ordered food (starters - dips and chips) only a short time before 730pm.

3. In addition, my wife had called hours eariler to confirm if you were open / had any availability for dinner and was told 'we are not taking bookings and that we don't normally open on a night like tonight so just come whenever'. When prompted for further details as for a recommended time for dinner we were again told in an annoyed tone 'I don't know, just whenever'. Again no mention of the kitchen closing at 730pm.

Based on that conversation we nearly didn't come but it was the only place we could find open with availability and we had been there in previous years. Side note, Milton and Ulladullas popularity during these holiday has exploded compared to previous years so other places we would normally go to first were unfortunately fully booked.

Upon arrival we were surprised to see that there were a number of prime position tables in the front of the bar unoccupied but with reserved signs on them. We walked around inquisitivly at each table seeing what we could find whilst bar staff watched on and passed us not even acknowledging our presence. I had tried to engage one member but they walked right past avoiding eye contact. Rather than make a fuss, we found a table inside.

4. I'm sorry to hear that a member of our party spoke to you in a way that made you feel like dirt. Given I wasn't present, I cant comment on this particular incident, but had it been me, I would have explained the above. I'd say in this case, given the way we were treated up until this point, some peoples emotions get the better of them when they are made to feel unwelcome in an unfriendly environment. Perhaps as you say, treat people as you like to be treated is the lesson you guys need to practice more often.

To summarise and clarify, your lack of communication in regards to your business operation to its patrons was unprofessional and could benefit with a more clearly defined agenda. In addition, your poor customer service skills / people skills set the tone for our experience from the beginning and never improved. Again as you say, perhaps treat people as you like to be treated so that you don't end up treating your customers like...

WORST EXPERIENCE EVER. Regrettably I report this facility as having the worst behaviour of an owner/manager that I have encountered in my 68 years. Wendy the wicked witch from the west rules here. 6 of us and two infants were having a booked 12:00 birthday lunch for my daughter. The end result of not receiving a meal and then having the wrong meal provided was a pronouncement by the manageress was that “you can have the incorrect meal or get a refund”. When we explained the error we were told that when the order was placed it was our responsibility to ensure the correct order was shown on the display screen and taken by her staff. The staff member acknowledged his mistake but we were told to “f… off” by management. We took the option of a refund and when the manager sent a refund to my wife’s credit card she was again told to “f… off and leave” and as at this time of this posting the refund was not in my account. We left not finishing our meals as my daughter was having a panic attack over the confrontation. Disgraceful, they should not have a business or nor be allowed to have a liquor licence as management only incites confrontation with customers and their own staff. The Irish barman is tops. Someone please offer him a job and let him escape. Yes I told her she was a disgrace but alas her mouth became pottier. We were the first to enter the doors and I noticed the manager was cleaning the food remnants off the tables from the night before. We had to ask for cutlery and napkins. I think we were expected to eat only with our hands hence stooping to the level of the frumpy attired and feral behaviour of the manageress. Only for the fact I had our grand children with us the issue would have escalated to a higher level being promoted by management. Would I employ her? NOT. Would I recommend you to go there, NEVER not even if the food was free or the event was for charity. She could not possibly be local to the area but an import. This is not normal to south coast hospitality and over a $19 meal, come on! We went to the Milton Hotel to finish our meal. Amazing! Highly recommended 10 out of 10. The pub staff just laughed as they knew or their antics and reputation. The pub gave my daughter with small birthday desert and candle. UPDATE: 6 weeks on, numerous emails and I have not received a refund. Owner says it is SQUARE’s responsibility. SQUARE says it is owner’s responsibility and refers me back to VISA to intervene. What a ridiculous system. Fair trading is a toothless tiger and and can only ask nicely for the resolution as to occur as it is covered by a Federal Law and state governments only advise and ultimately I would have to proceed civilly. Just to reinforce,...