We went to the Three Moorhens today for lunch and ended up walking out in disgust. It was the hottest day of the year so far and very busy, but it became quickly apparent that the place was horrendously understaffed.
The bar was predictably crowded and the one barmaid serving was irritable as visibly harassed. It took twenty minutes before to get served; notwithstanding the fact that she was under pressure, she clearly couldn't grasp the concept of prioritizing the customers who had been waiting the longest. Some people were left standing there for twenty minutes or more, whilst others would just walk up to the bar and got served instantly. All the while she was loudly complaining about the job and life in general.
I finally got the drinks and found a table in the garden. The table itself was in a disgusting state, stacked with empties and covered with bits of food. There was only one girl serving, and she was frantically running from table to table trying to keep up with the demand.
We went back to the bar, ordered the food, returned to the table and waited. And waited. After around thirty minutes, my wife went to the bar to enquire when the food might arrive. She wasn't rude or aggressive, or even complaining. She simply wanted to know when the food was likely to arrive. She was told that it wouldn't be long, and so returned to the table.
What happened next was unbelievable. The girl who had been serving stormed over to the table and quite aggressively began complaining that the staff were working as hard as they could. She was visibly angry and repeated that we're doing the best we can several times. I tried to explain that we were simply enquiring about when the food would arrive but she completely ignored me and stormed off.
At this point I went and found the manager and demanded my money back. I was simply not prepared to accept this disgusting level of service, and God only knows what the quality of the food would have been like in a place as badly managed as this. I told him that I thought the behaviour of his staff was rude and unprofessional. His only defense was that they were very busy that day, but he refunded our money and told us he'd have a word with the staff member involved.
This Three Moorhens is located in a prime position in Hitchin and has a large garden area, making it a very attractive proposition for families wanting a pub meal. Not surprisingly, it seems always busy as a result. Don't be fooled however; the level of customer service is disgusting, the employees are rude and incompetent and the place seems to have a policy of employing the bare minimum of staff to keep the place functioning. I can't comment on the food itself because we never got to eating there, but given the level of staff morale and competence, I'm not sure I'd want to consume anything made in their kitchen!
Needless to say we won't be visiting again. read more
