I can honestly say I have never been treated so badly, belittled, embarrassed and reduced to tears by an owner of an establishment in my life until now. The Dutch owner of the Lochnell Arms Hotel is the rudest man I have ever had the displeasure of coming into contact with and should be thoroughly ashamed of himself for the manner in which he treated us. Being the owner of an establishment does not give you the right to address the clientele any way you please just because they were a little indecisive.
I booked a table for drinks in the bar (NOT the restaurant). While booking, the young lady asked if we were going to eat. I informed her "we might do, but we'll have drinks first". I liked that she offered us the option to eat. My father had decided to join us so I added him onto the booking at 18:03. The table was booked in the bar for 18:30. The young lady stated we didn't have a time limit on the table as there was no one booked after us. My father has had recent surgery on his leg so walking the mile and a half to get there took a little longer than expected due to his disability. He was in a great deal of pain, however was looking forward to having his first drink inside a bar for the first time this year. We were so happy to be out again as a family.
We arrived a little late, around 18:45 due to the above. The owner was initially very welcoming and we were all jovial. When the woman came to take our order we informed her that we weren't hungry and asked if it would be ok if we could order last. She did not hide her disdain at this request, however the owner stated we had until 19:30. It was twenty five minutes later. At 19:30 we decided we weren't going to eat after all. Again to be clear, we were not in the restaurant. You have to book a table for drinks anyway so didn't see it as an issue. When booking the table in the bar I had said to the young lady we "might" eat. We were intending to stay until closing (as there was no booking after us) and were spending quite an amount.
My fiancé was away from the table when the Dutch owner approached me, removed his mask, breaking Covid restrictions to start shouting at me, thus placed me in danger as he was not 1 meter away and was literally spitting with anger. He was standing over me trying to intimidate me. The bar is very small and everyone could clearly hear. He screamed at me "you turn up late then you don't want to eat. We turned people away. You can put this on Facebook, I don't care". He continued to make a scene while I sat there, saying nothing, stunned. I was in total disbelief that he had switched from welcoming and friendly to extremely aggressive. I informed him we would eat if it was such an issue. He shouted we weren't getting anything. He focused his aggression on me, not my father or my fiancé. He then walked away and pushed our drinks away that we had just ordered on the bar. He then left the bar and didn't return for the entire evening. My fiancé was extremely angry when he returned and was made aware of the situation. Another couple left immediately. The locals in the bar stated that he'll be away to calm down and advised us not to worry about it. My father was so upset, as was I.
I would understand his annoyance if we were in the resturant, however in the bar where you have to book a table for drinks anyway, what difference does it make. Regardless, you should never speak to anyone with that level of aggression and especially not if you're in the customer service industry. I am still shaken up and upset re the experience.
We had visited the previous year and had a meal in the restaurant. We found the food to be mediocre, however returned this year as it's the only pub in the area. I did decide to take him up on his advice though and tell everyone about the way he behaved by posting it on every social media site possible. After reading some of the other reviews, I see we're not the only ones to experience his outburst! Customer Service is definitely not for him. read more