Coffee Affair — Restaurant in Scotland

"No board games allowed" - kicked out for a quite game...

Edit:

I am totally aware and understanding that we should probably have acted differently ourselves and after the total of 2 hours (if we hadn't left by then) we should purchase another drink or some food and that if there were lots of people coming in, the cafe would need a table and we should leave.

However this wasn't the case. The cafe was not busy and there was no one needing our table. We were asked after only an hour for another drink and we said that we were okay for now (with intention of getting something a little later) as we had only recently finished our drinks and wanted to wait a short period before getting a second round as a group. This was met immediately with being asked to leave. Are you requesting that we purchase something as soon as we finish the first thing without delay? There were others in the cafe who had been there the same amount of time without purchasing another item and they were not asked to leave either so we were left confused about this also.

I have reflected on this and of course we should have just purchased something else when asked however I stand by the fact it was unnecessary to ask us to leave after an hour and to give the reason of "no board games allowed" is slightly unwelcoming.

I am sorry if there has been a misunderstanding but if your policy stands that there are no board games then I cannot recommend the cafe for people who like that kind of thing. If this isn't your policy then why were we told to leave on this basis?

I have genuinely enjoyed the atmosphere, food and service here in the past. The staff and friendly and it's a comfortable place to be. However I am confused why we were met with such unfriendliness in this circumstance.

Hope you can help clear things up. And I'd be happy to replace this review if we can as I'd prefer to be able to recommend this place again like I used to.

I very rarely leave reviews but was left very frustrated when we were kicked out of the cafe for playing board games. The atmosphere was honestly nice and I have been a couple of times before. We bought drinks and after only 1hr of sitting in the cafe we were asked to leave because we'd just finished our drinks and wanted to wait before getting another whilst playing a quiet board game. We tried to finish our game quickly but before the 2hr mark had come we were told "No Board Games Allowed here" so we had to leave immediately. The cafe wasn't even busy at the time and there were plenty of tables of all sizes so we weren't holding up their business. It ruined a nice day with my family that were visiting Inverness.

I have no clue why the staff member was adamant to get us out and we would have bought another drink if we weren't asked to leave. On principle I wouldn't recommend this cafe at all now and from now on I won't be going back...

Be warned. I ordered a coffee and was obliviously working on my laptop when I was informed that I could not use my laptop. I asked if I could finish my coffee and then I would leave. The waitress offered to ask the manager to speak to me which I said I would be happy to. But unbeknownst to me, the manager (without talking to me) had called the police on me. S/he made no attempt to talk to me. Meanwhile I had closed my laptop and was preparing to leave when two police officers walked in and were ushered to my table! I am utterly shocked that I can have had the police called on me for sitting in a cafe, peacefully drinking a cup of coffee and asking to finish it while working on my laptop. I am a visitor to Inverness and this is been such a disappointing way of being treated by a local cafe. I have no idea how and why I was seen as a threatening person that such an extreme measure was used. Deeply disturbing.

REPLY to RESPONSE: I was not aggressive/rude at all and politely asked to finish my coffee. No one identified themselves to me as a manager and I was not asked to leave the premises. The police told me they were told that I had refused to leave the premises... but no one asked me to leave. I felt deeply uncomfortable by your staff. By the time you had called the police on me (within ten mins of insisting on me to close my laptop immediately) my laptop was already put away and I was packed up ready to leave. If my reasonable request to finish my coffee is too aggressive for your staff then I am perplexed with how you treat normal members of the public. Even the police were confused as to why they had been called. They did not escort me off the premises. I was leaving because of the way your team were treating me. It is shocking that I have been reported to the police for drinking coffee peacefully in a cafe, quietly working on my laptop. I am genuinely perplexed about how I was seen as aggressive. Perhaps some deep reflection is needed...

I ordered the soup and queried the pre made sandwiches due to my dietary requirements. ie no sauces, vinegars, mustards and the like. Basically was looking for a plain ham sandwich with my soup. Ordered a milkshake as well. Server was polite and said they only do pre made sandwiches as its what the owners said to be done. I explained I don't do sauces etc. Asked to speak to manager. I paid for my food and went to sit. Got to my table and manager came out. Said they only do whats there as it was her boss who said it had to be like that. I asked if I could get contact details for her boss she said no. Pointed me to website. I responded with are you not going to give the boss details to me and I was asked to leave as she felt I was being abusive. At no time did I raise my voice or act aggressively towards this lady in anyway. I said I've already ordered. She snatched my order number and holder from the table and said you can have refund. I went back to till got my refund. She said Anything Else. I replied no and left. I feel the lack of customer care here was very lacking and no compassion for someone who cannot eat vinegars and the like. I would normally have been very vocal on this kind of treatment due to my disability but managed to keep a lid on it for the sake of not having police called due to my normal responses to this discrimination against my eating habits and things I cannot eat. Not recommended at all due to customer service being very poor and lacking in empathy and compassion. I can't post this unless I give a star rating I'd not rate any stars...