Nando's Croydon - Valley Leisure Park — Restaurant in London

We write in regard to the appalling experience we had in one of your chains today. I preface this by saying that we are regular customers and have never faced such a level of disrespect at any of your other locations.

We visited at 11.45am 26th Oct and sat at table 1. While waiting for our food, we found ourselves feeling increasingly cold due to the air conditioning (it was 8°c outside and very windy). Our 2 year old was already fighting a cold and complained to us of how cold he felt, despite the many layers he already had on. Looking around we realised that, like ourselves, the majority of the other diners were also eating with their coats on. Please find photo evidence attached below.

We signalled to one of the waitresses (Tazneem/Tanzeem) to ask if there was a possibility of the air conditioning being switched off. She set out to ask her manager and later returned to say that while this wasn’t possible, she could seat us at one of the middle tables beneath the lamps in hopes they would offer us some warmth. As our food had already arrived and our buggy was parked at our original table, and since we thought the lamps would not do much, we declined and instead asked if we could speak to the manager to discuss the air conditioning.

Several minutes passed and no manager appeared (her name is Allessia). My husband signalled to her, and despite her clearly looking in our direction, she refused to acknowledge us and trotted off. This continued for another 20 minutes. We asked Tazneem several times, which you can see on CCTV, if she could get her manager to come and speak to us. By now our food, which we’d only eaten as we’d already paid, was almost finished and still no sign of a manager. Tazneem asked us how we were - we told her we still hadn’t been able to speak to Allessia. Allessia had deliberately made a point of asking every table within our radius how their food was, but blatantly avoided us. When she next passed our table, my husband greeted her more audibly to which she smirked, snapped her gum at him and asked, “Hiii, you alright?” in the form of a drawn out, sarcastic mewl.

We couldn’t say another word as she immediately whisked herself away into the back. I cannot emphasise how humiliated and disregarded we felt. Given your brand reputation, we’re perplexed at how a character like hers was ever appointed in the role of manager and therefore representative of the values you aim to display to your customers. The way she handled the situation today was not only unprofessional but also bizarre - we genuinely cannot comprehend how this reaction was warranted in any way and can only assume she has taken the air conditioning as personal criticism against herself instead of an issue she could’ve endeavoured to resolve with the customer - as her role as manager demands.

Most dehumanising of all, when leaving, we caught glance through the kitchen of Allessia/Alexia yelling and gesturing angrily with pointed fingers towards Tazneem after we asked about the complaints process. The way in which Tazneem was reprimanded proved to us that this was not the first time Allessia has treated her colleagues in this way.

We propose the following to compensate for the above;

Adequate staff training. We’re keen to hear that you’ll be in contact with said staff members and ensuring that situations like these are not repeated. We’d like to note that Allessia was walking around very audibly snapping her gum with an open mouth - even while cooking at the grill and serving tables. Not only is this unsanitary, we assume it doesn’t reflect the brand image you intend to uphold.

A full refund for the overall experience. The several other poor reviews about this same manager should give you an indication that we’re not the only ones, and that she is unsuitable for the role in which she has been appointed.

This will be escalated.

Please check CCTV for proof of all of the above - we’re happy to provide you with any further details you might require. Your correspondence is much...

Service was very poor, one waiter was good and helpful but three other waiters/waitresses were definitely not. There was a group of 10 of us (usually visit pizza express 2-3 times a year with no issues), no wait time for table as we were there at opening time so just had to wait for four tables to be put together. Four of us done orders via our phones and rather than staff coming over to ask whose drinks/food it was they just gave it to the nearest person for us to distribute across the table for them. We noticed that two bottomless glasses were missing and had to ask three times for this to be resolved and it felt as if we were being accused of lying when you could clearly see people without drinks and all staff had to do was count the glasses on the table and those on the orders to realize it was missed (could have also been prevented if staff actually served the drinks/food rather than just placing it on nearest table for us to try and work out ourselves). Was waiting 20mins after everyone else got their food for our food and had to go up and ask and was then told it was as we’d ordered halloumi sticks (as a vegetarian meal but they done it as a starter) so the main came after and it then came within a couple of minutes which was suspiciously quick. Also the music in the restaurant was very loud so was difficult to talk to each other or even hear ourselves think. The food itself was okay but I had lost my appetite by the time the main had come, from all the stress of trying to sort the issues and was getting a headache from the music volume, so asked for a takeaway box and ate it...

Went to eat here with my family, but was told the wait would be about 40mins for a table, (even though it didn't look that busy), so we decided to get the food to takeaway instead, (which we were told would be about 10-15mins). But we actually ended up waiting almost 50mins with 2 young children for a simple platter and kids meal. People that came after us were being served, had eaten and left before we even got our food and no one came to update us or apologise for the long wait. I usually go to the Brixton branch as it's halal also, and I haven't been to Croydon one for a while, but I'm not a fan of the table layout or the atmosphere here. Staff just don't seem bothered. Food was okay but it needed warming up by the time we got home. I'll stick to the Brixton Nando's or go to the WingStop that's close by next time I'm in the area.

UPDATE

Family and I stopped to eat in at this branch after a long time, as the service wasn't great last time. But this time it was excellent! We were initially told the wait for a table would be approx. 35mins, but we were texted that one was free much quicker. Staff were very attentive, friendly and helpful. And my kids were provided with colouring pencils and paper templates to keep them entertained. The atmosphere was lively and the ordering process was smooth with the food arrived in record time, piping hot. There was a small error with one of the items but this was rectified quickly too. Everything tasted delicious and all plates were left clean. Well done to all the staff for your improvements and...