Pretty Pots — Restaurant in Stafford

Attended Mcarthur Glen venue. So we are all mums so this was our first evening out! So we were excited. We booked 7-9pm and the option with afternoon tea. With rushing to get kids ready before we left we did turn up looking forward the break and also food and drink too as this goes to the wayside when having babies.

Paid for one: £51.90 - for afternoon tea & the £5 pottery service covering paints and service etc for £29.95 and the pottery piece at £21.95. Friends got smaller pieces but still spend £45-£46

Positives: Beautiful venue Great concept Lovely staff Different and quirky Enjoyable experience with pottery painting A lovely range to pick from All other tablea around us were lovely and helped share paints if we had any missing and vice versa and gave us a sponge as we didnt have one on out table. Laughs shared with people we didnt know.

Not so good: (given with explanation) -Arrived early and were sent away which is fine. But got back at 7 we still weren't able to begin until after 7.05pm as they werent ready. And that time we got our table and went straught over to look for pieces we wanted. The creamer jug was not in stock gutted as I would have chosen this. (Maybe get to pick option online or to pick in store- saves the time used in the 2hr slot and ensure its available and avoids everyone starting at the same slot time is not squashed and crowded there -By the time someone came over to talk us through it was after quater past and then we werent offered drinks so I asked explaining we had all not eaten or drank in the afternoon and would like a drink. I also asked about afternoon tea to get it but was told it was being prepped so would be out later. afternoom actually came out during the last hour when we were midway/in the zone for painting. If I am honest 2 hours is okay for painting but with afternoon tea on top no additional time is given making it a rush and you cant sit and enjoy it and have a chat, its quite intense we were literally taking quick breaks to eat and go back to painting. drinks we had two and the second one we had to chase. After explaining process the next round was the lady tallying up pieces and costs and then asking to pay with the time warning. I asked about coming at end for payment she said they usually take it now but will do the next table and come back. So another stop to calculate everyones cost with the pieces as they dont do it individually and also again your in your painting element. So add up what you have at start and have your card out ready. Even though this was chased we didnt get seen to for drinks and had to follow up and ask for drinks. Then the teappt came with no cups or spoons so we then followed with that after waiting as we thought they were returning with them. So whilst unlimited it wasnt flowing to be regular and there was alot of chasing. the rush to get us out was polite but firm. With boxez for cakes given which we didnt get time to get through. Yet we were seated late and time delayed at start all had knock on effect hence noting this. Just ashame as I know its a 2 hour in and out arrangement but if theres a delay its not made up and I would say it is just right for pottery painting experience but for the add on of afternoon tea I would have liked a 30min extra time and this given at start or end to give us that time to sit and enjoy. If your quick at painting fine but you are advised to go over things 3 times so it does take time. the afternoon tea itself was okay but nothing to scream about. Cakes had 2 which were pistachio the meringue (i think) and sponge cake, I saw others have different flavour meringue so sods law for me as not a fan of pistachio that meant 2 were already not an option for me. And you get 4 finger sandwiches. (for £24.95) So a nice experience but alot of rush with the afternoon tea option, the 2 hour times which has alot squashed in especially if there is a delay to begin with. Would I come again- yes but for the...

My third visit here: "I used to visit here."

I regret that this may be the last time I come to Pretty Pots for what I used to consider to be a pleasant and relaxed day out. With a huge variety of pottery and lovely caring staff, this place used to be a treasure in our local area. It's such a shame that it isn't now.

On arrival, everything seemed fine - despite the usual cricket club carpark being closed (however, if we hadn't seen this on the instragram page, then we wouldn't have been aware of this prior to arrival). The painting fee had increased to £5.00 per person, which we were aware of upon booking. We felt this was fine considering we know that the service here was wonderful and that often we take small pots of a few paint choices away if we hadn't finished our work. We visited at 9:30 am on a Sunday morning, I had taken my mum for her first ever visit as a late Mother's Day gift. The experience began the same as usual, we were seated, and the staff member explained that they would need the table back for 11:30 due to a fully booked day - fine as usual. However, when we viewed the pottery shelves, there seemed to be so much less choice than there used to be. The variety was underwhelming. After we had chosen our pieces, the same staff member came over to ask if we had been before, and we said that 2 of us had, but my mum hadn't. She briefly explained the process, and we began painting. The overall experience was enjoyable and relaxed. Despite this, I missed the charm of the usual staff members who I had chatted with during our previous visits - I always enjoyed the staff insights into how to apply the paints and the time they took out of their day to talk with us and compliment our work. However, this aspect was completely missing during this visit. Towards the end of our session, several members of staff swarmed the room. At 11:00am, one staff member asked, "Is this empty?" Gesturing to our drinks which were clearly still half full and then proceeded to stand and eagerly waited next to me whilst I finished my drink. At 11:10am, another staff member came to our table to take away the paint tubes, leaving us with only the colours which we had already decanted into our trays for the final 20 minutes of the session. At 11:15am, another staff member came to take the payment for the items. I was sceptical about the payment total as we had paid the deposit prior to attending, and in the past, during every visit, we have been charged incorrectly a higher amount than was due. The staff member seemed unsure in general and asked for advice from another staff member to ensure the bill was correct - the bill was correct, thankfully. Upon reaching 11:25am, a staff member came to inform us that our session had ended and that we could book in for a session at a later date for £5 to complete our painting. At this point, I asked if they still provided the small paint pots to take away and finish the painting at home. The staff member informed me that this was now an additional charge of £5. This is something that I feel does not entirely make sense - if I had paid £5 to paint, that generally covers the painting experience and use of paints for typically one bisc item, then why, if I had not completed my one item, was I being charged extra? Having not completed my one item, does this mean that I had not used my full entitlement of the £5 painting fee? How could I be expected to pay another £5?

I understand that prices have increased on a variety of things, if not most things, nationally. However, I feel that the price hikes here are everywhere.

Overall, this experience did not match any of our previous visits. The staff made us feel like an inconvenience and came across pushy - not their usually chatty caring staff. I love what I have painted, but I can't see us visiting here again if this is a sign of things to come at...

I booked this pottery session a couple of months in advance with a friend and paid a deposit to secure the table. Upon arrival, we were told to choose our pottery and that someone would come over to explain how everything works. We picked our pieces and sat down around 10 past 2. The waitress explained the paints to us and took our drinks order. We weren't shown/told that there were sponges/stencils available to use on our pottery. We were only aware of this due to seeing them ourselves when choosing our pieces. Also, the brushes that we used to paint our pottery were in quite poor condition and definitely needed replacing.

At around half past 3, a young gentleman started to go around the different tables asking for people to pay their bills, which felt quite abrupt and confusing. It was only then that me and my friend realised that the cafe closed at 4pm. Something that should have been communicated with us when we arrived but it wasn't. This left us just half an hour to finish painting our pottery, despite being told our pieces needed 3 layers of paint. I ended up feeling rushed and extremely stressed trying to finish in time. When the gentleman came over and asked us to pay, I told him I would when we had finished our painting and he reminded us we only had 20 minutes left. This was the first and only reminder we had had during our painting time.

At 4pm, a lady came over and abruptly told us we needed to pay our bill now, finish up and leave as she needed to 'get these guys off' on about her staff team. Her manner was rude and made me feel even more uncomfortable and rushed. As a neurodivergent person, the sudden pressure and lack of clear communication made the whole experience quite overwhelming. There was no flexibility and no one had checked in with us at any points to make us aware of how much time we had left- something which would have helped enormously.

I left feeling upset and disappointed. What should have been a relaxing afternoon with a friend ended up being stressful. Overall, the visit felt disorganised. I would recommend giving customers reminders of how long they have left of their painting time as that would have been a huge help for me and I wouldn't have felt so rushed or maybe advising customers what pieces would be suitable to do within a 2 hour frame. Especially if it is their first time pottery painting (which is was for me).

Overall, I think communication just needs...