We ordered our scallops 4 weeks in advance of the pick-up date. Imagine our surprise when we arrived on May 8th to pick up that order and the woman behind the counter (who was actually sorting scallops as we entered the shop) scowled at us and said that we had to come back in 30 minutes. Upon expressing concern and frustration that our order wasn't ready, this woman commenced to explain to us, the customer, that "we didn't understand". She had orders to fill for restaurants, at no point in our entire encounter did she acknowledge that our order was important to her, that we had every right to expect our order to be ready, that she respected us as customers. She never apologised or changed her sour expression. It was shockingly, staggeringly, poor service, something that one might have expected to watch on Fawlty Towers, not a hint of respect for the customer. The total absence of apology, empathy, good business sense, was breath taking. We left Phil Bowditch's, repaired to a delightful tea shop, and realised that we could place an order (an expensive order at that) at another establishment. A business that wanted our custom. We did not return. Nor will we ever. read more