AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE

Took my friend and his partner for lunch here today as he lost his dad this week and we wanted to treat him. He and I ordered what was described as the “Meat-free carvery” which being veggie we took to mean the vegetarian option, since we noticed there was plant-based chicken available and it was only a couple of pounds cheaper than the meat carvery option.

Went up to the carvery and explained we were having the plant-based chicken, openly and publicly mocked by the man behind the carvery about being meat-free, who then also proceeded to refer to the option as “wot, that weird fungussy substance” laughing away. He let the two of us fill our plates with veg and acted like he’d gone to the back to order our non-meat option. We stood around for ten minutes whilst the rest of our plate of food went cold. Only for some other man to come out of the back and say we couldn’t have it and the woman at the till should have given us a ticket. This went on for a bit with both men acting in an accusatory manner like we were in the wrong for not having something the woman at the till should apparently have got us. I said three times finally that as I didn’t work there I didn’t know what they were talking about. After clarifying that the “Meat-free carvery” actually consisted of just a plate of veg I said that wasn’t made clear from the menu and in that case we would leave it as that was really poor considering the meal was only very slightly cheaper than the main carvery meal, for basically a spoonful of peas and carrots.

I returned to our table, where our other two friends were eating. A small grey-haired woman with a pixie-cut came over and I learned she was the manager. She demanded to know what the issue was. When I explained why I wasn’t happy and that I wanted a refund, she seemed to use it as an excuse to cause a public scene and began arguing with me about what a non-meat meal should be expected to consist of. I repeated a couple of times that I just wanted a refund for our two meals and she carried on arguing the toss, even coming around to my side of the table to wave the menu in my face and demanding I read it. When I told her I wasn’t interested and could she just sort the refund as I was now really annoyed about being berated so publicly and condescendingly, she then had a go at me saying if I was going to speak to her and her staff like this she would eject me from “her” pub. I said I was not prepared to listen to her argue and repeated again I just wanted the refund, explaining too that it was proving upsetting and why we’d brought my friend for lunch so I just wanted a close to the matter. She then barged off to get it but kept turning to glare at me as she was walking away and the look on her face was deliberately aggressive as if she was trying to get me to react. It was really bizarre. She then returned a bit later, slammed cash down on the table and said sarcastically “there’s your refund” and stormed off. Again as she walked off she was doing the same odd, aggressive back-looking as before.

The whole thing was completely awful, and especially on a day when it meant much more for us all to be able to have a quiet meal together. It really upset us all. I ended up walking down to the local Wetherspoons with my friend and I was never more relieved to be away from somewhere.

They need to be clearer on their menu set out, the price needs to be fairer on the veggie option and the staff need to be more courteous. Overall though, that manager needs to not be in that industry. She’d be more suited to a borstal somewhere remote and uninviting. Awful woman. Judging by how empty it was at lunchtime on a Saturday it appears that perhaps she’s been sharing her people “skills” with other unsuspecting clientele in the past too.