lolgrant Room 54? Room 101 more like. I settled down to a table and ordered a pot of tea and a teacake. The tables were filthy and I had to request for them to be wiped. Pot came and huge piece chipped off the rim - sent it back politely stressing quietly and pleasantly to the nice waitress girl that I wasted a fresh pot of tea in a fresh pot . Replacement pot arrived after teacake (no problem with that) and this one too had a huge chip and crack in the rim. The second waitress after me signalling to her that to come over shouts across the shop at me "What?" like somebody from Jeremy Kyle expecting me to reciprocate in hollering back when there are other people in the shop. I said "I am not going to shout at you i at the other end of the shop..." She shuffled over like a reluctant errant schoolgirl - making me feel rather uncomfortable and asked what the issue was When I told her she said "And...?" So I asked her that is she aware that this is not acceptable and can carry germs and would she drink out of it (rhetorically) and she grimaced in that insulting juvenile way and said "Yeah!" She took it away to replace it a third time at which point I aborted the whole operation and put my coat on and walked towards the counter saying to the two girls "it's ok Forget it! How much do I owe you ?" despite the fact I had neither eaten nor drunk anything I ordered. A women sat on a table by the wall chatting the whole time to another woman turned to em and said that it was ok and gesticulated for me to leave like one would do to shoo a dog away from the sofa. I asked if she was a member of staff and shockingly she replied she was the owner. I was flabbergasted that she had witnessed the whole series of events, mistakes, poor service, rudeness, poor hygeine, disrespectful language and tone and then capped it all off by implying I had been anything other than the consummate gentleman and possibly least demanding customer ever. No apology just several waves of the arm a la 'talk-to-the-hand' etc.
I have never been so insulted in an establishment in my life. Lesser gentlemanly and stoical punters than myself would have refused to pay and just walked out. I am rather astounded as to exactly why this woman and her staff decided to work in customer facing catering business in the first place/ This sort of blatant ignorance and customer abuse is becoming an endemic characteristic of British service culture. One also wonders whether they will dispose of those pots immediately to the refuse or whether they continue to serve in them - and if so what are their other utensils, tools and general behind-the-scenes hygeine like. Ignorant Abusive Unworthy Unapologetic Business ignorant and ultimately out-of-business one would wager/hope read more
