Dear Weatherspoons customer service team and the public reading reviews,
I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction with the treatment my friends and I received from a manager at one of your establishments. This incident occurred on Friday, the 21st of June between 5pm and 630pm at The Seven Stars in Manchester.
This was one of our first times visiting this particular Weatherspoons, and we had asked upon arrival if we could charge my friend's wheelchair. We were told yes, which was a significant accommodation for us. However, later on, the manager rudely interrupted us, insisting it was against policy to charge a wheelchair onsite. Despite our attempts to explain the situation and our previous experiences, he wouldn't acknowledge my friend (let alone actually look at her or even direct conversation to her at all, imagine how that must feel on top of all this?!), whose wheelchair it was, and proceeded to unplug the charger without any consideration or warning.
Before this, we had already been asked to move the wheelchair multiple times due to it allegedly being in the way. We understood that it could have been an issue, so we asked to fully move it out of the way by the coffee machine (which had one coffee machine turned off, so it was completely out the way of anyone now) so we could stop being interrupted and had our friend swap to a normal chair. We tried to be as respectful as possible, unlike the ableist manager.
We have visited other Weatherspoons locations and have never encountered an issue with charging a wheelchair. The dismissive and disrespectful attitude of this manager was not only disheartening and ableist but also alarming. We needed to check the charge level of the wheelchair, but he unplugged it before we had the chance. Accurately checking the battery requires a 20-minute charging period, and without it, we were left unsure if my friend could make it home after the concert we were attending. This caused considerable anxiety for her, affecting our plans, her well-being and putting a major downer on the whole day which had been planned for a while and cost a considerable amount for us to all get to Manchester from our homes across the country.
The manager in question was easily identifiable: he had a tight black short sleeve shirt, left arm tattoo sleeve, slim build, wore very tight jeans and spiked hair. His behavior exemplifies a troubling disregard for customer service and basic decency.
Fortunately, one team leader was incredibly accommodating and tried their best to help the situation. Their efforts, however, were overshadowed by the manager's rudeness and lack of empathy. Honestly the female team leader who then proceeded to assist and reassure us was amazing but unfortunately she had been told that we could not plug it back in due to company policy? Did it change in the space of an hour then? We would like to see a copy of this policy as we could not find this online or anywhere else for that matter as we will be looking into taking further action.
We hope that Weatherspoons will address this issue seriously. Disabled customers should not be treated with such disrespect, and your policies should be communicated clearly and compassionately. We request that you review the conduct of your staff at this location and ensure that all employees are trained to handle similar situations with the sensitivity and respect they deserve.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to your prompt response and appropriate action against the sickening discrimination your staff member displayed towards us. Would also like to add, he was also wearing the audio and image recording device around his neck so as long as he's following your policies when interacting with customers it will all be recorded for evidence.
Sincerely, 3...
Ā Ā Ā Read moreI had an incredibly disappointing experience at 'The Seven Stars - JD Weatherspoon' recently due to the unprofessional and condescending behavior of the bouncer. I arrived with my skateboard, intending to meet up with some friends for a quick drink. Obviously, I had no intention of riding it inside the pub. However, the bouncer refused to let me in, citing some unclear and seemingly arbitrary policy.
When I asked if he could monitor my skateboard, given that he was stationed at the entrance all night, he flatly refused and claimed he couldn't be responsible for it. Iāve never encountered this issue at any other pub, including numerous Weatherspoons, where bringing in a skateboard has never been a problem.
I sought clarification on this so-called policy but received none. The bouncer, a round, bald man with glasses, couldnāt provide any rationale and didnāt allow me to speak to anyone else about it I tried asking for a name but to no avail. I even suggested leaving the skateboard with a member of staff inside, but he dismissed this idea without consideration.
His entire approach was condescending and seemed like a power trip. Rather than being helpful or understanding, he was rude and dismissive. This experience left a sour taste, and itās unfortunate that such a minor issue was handled so poorly. I hope 'The Seven Stars' addresses this and ensures their staff treat customers with respect and common sense...
Ā Ā Ā Read moreAbsolutely horrified with how we've been treated by the staff. Ordered three drinks to start with. A double rum, double disaranno and a double whiskey all accompanied by a cola absolutely fine, no garnish inside the drinks so presentation wasn't anything special. Once I ordered the second time with two of the same drinks so a double rum and double disaranno they both came out with a lime garnish. After having one sip of the disaranno it wasn't the drink we ordered. Taking the drink back to the till to ask for it to be remade I was refused by the team leader to have it remade as their reply was it was correct. After challenging them the second time about not having the garnish in it on the first round and then it happens to have a garnish it in the second round his response was well the drink was made incorrectly the first time. Still not happy I asked for it to be remade without a garnish again his response was that he will not remake the drink because his colleague said it was made correct. Again I just asked to have it remade as it does not taste like the drink is supposed to. He refused once more. Getting really irate at this point I got my boyfriend to talk to the team leader which was then diverted to the next manager in line. We were finally offered a refund for the drinks instead of just remaking the...
Ā Ā Ā Read more