Is it normal to wait 2 and a half hours for a meal?

[astraman 10]

A word of warning to anyone who may consider suffering the terrible service at the Yellow Lion pub in Aston.

 

This evening I went to the Yellow Lion for a meal, one of a pre-booked party of 30 visiting for my father-in-law's 85th birthday. Seated at 7.30pm, the first meal didn't arrive until about 9.30. By 10pm I was still waiting for mine. Unfortunately, the bad service didn't end there.

 

When it came to paying the bill I, along with my son, tried to explain that we were unhappy with the lengthy wait and, as such, were willing to pay for the food but not the service. About 2 words in, the manager interrupted stating that he 'didn't care' what we thought and that we had 'no right' to question his managerial skills. He then went on to say that it was normal to wait 2 and a half hours for food, implying that the wait was our fault for being such a large group, ignoring the fact that it had been pre-booked with plenty of time to organise better staffing. ( I cannot fault the 2 staff who were working - 1 young man running both sections of the bar and 1 young woman waiting table)

 

To top it off, he threatened me with the police for refusing to pay. The fact that I did not refuse to pay is, apparently, irrelevant.

 

I did pay the full amount (very reluctantly) simply to avoid a scene, choosing instead to take this up with the chain's head office.

 

Needless to say, we won't be visiting The Yellow Lion again.

[Jim Hardie 527]

Did the full amount include a service charge? If so you should have deducted it from the bill and tipped the two staff directly.

Sounds like an appalling experience. Thanks for the heads up.

[Mr Bloom 10]

Were you offered any complimentary gesture as a token?

[scargill 10]

A word of warning to anyone who may consider suffering the terrible service at the Yellow Lion pub in Aston.

 

This evening I went to the Yellow Lion for a meal, one of a pre-booked party of 30 visiting for my father-in-law's 85th birthday. Seated at 7.30pm, the first meal didn't arrive until about 9.30. By 10pm I was still waiting for mine. Unfortunately, the bad service didn't end there.

When it came to paying the bill I, along with my son, tried to explain that we were unhappy with the lengthy wait and, as such, were willing to pay for the food but not the service. About 2 words in, the manager interrupted stating that he 'didn't care' what we thought and that we had 'no right' to question his managerial skills. He then went on to say that it was normal to wait 2 and a half hours for food, implying that the wait was our fault for being such a large group, ignoring the fact that it had been pre-booked with plenty of time to organise better staffing. ( I cannot fault the 2 staff who were working - 1 young man running both sections of the bar and 1 young woman waiting table)

 

To top it off, he threatened me with the police for refusing to pay. The fact that I did not refuse to pay is, apparently, irrelevant.

 

I did pay the full amount (very reluctantly) simply to avoid a scene, choosing instead to take this up with the chain's head office.

 

Needless to say, we won't be visiting The Yellow Lion again.

 

I'm confused, How can you post at 9.30 stating that ''by 10pm'' you had not received your meal?

[Marx 10]

Leave a few choice reviews. Start here.

[Jim Hardie 527]

I'm confused, How can you post at 9.30 stating that ''by 10pm'' you had not received your meal?

 

It must have been last night. The food finishes at 5:00pm on Sundays.

[astraman 10]

Sorry for the confusion. It was Saturday night.

I started to type this up when we first got home but decided to have a drink instead. Only got round to posting it tonight after being at work all day.

 

---------- Post added 23-02-2014 at 23:20 ----------

 

There was no statement on the menu about a service charge.

We did tip the 2 staff directly as they had worked their socks off and had to put up with our complaints.

The chef/manager did not appear until I said I wasn't prepared to pay the full amount. He immediately became aggressive and said he would call the police if I didn't pay the bill. He even said I was being unreasonable to expect the service to be any quicker when he had to cook for 30 people.

He had almost a week's notice of the booking and should not have taken the booking if he can't cope with large parties.

 

---------- Post added 23-02-2014 at 23:22 ----------

 

We were offered nothing. No complimentary gesture.

Not even an apology!

[jamesogt 11]

You were within your rights to not pay the service if so desired.

 

Unfortunately you are not allowed to suggest discount or underpay, the manager is right as it then becomes theft of service.

 

Had the police attended and he had insisted on payment you would have had to pay the full amount. They could though have acted as witness to you signing the receipt 'Paid Under Duress' in which case you could then pursue via their head office or ultimately in small claims court.

 

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/nireland/consumer_ni/consumer_common_problems_with_service_providers_e/consumer_problems_with_cost_sub_e/how_to_dispute_the_cost_of_a_service.htm

 

Paying under protest

 

If you can't reach an agreement with the trader and you need your goods returned you may want to pay under protest. This means that you must make it clear in writing when you pay that you are paying under protest in order to get back your goods and that you will claim your money back at a later date. You could mention that if necessary, you would be prepared to go to court to claim back your money.

[astraman 10]

Complaint has now gone to head office.

[JME52K 10]

I would have thought that it would have helped both sides out if you had pre-ordered your food. We have done that on several occasions and it always works pretty well. The pub shouldn't really have accepted such a large booking though when they knew they didn't have enough staff to deal with it.

[sheffield0 10]

I'm confused, How can you post at 9.30 stating that ''by 10pm'' you had not received your meal?

 

:hihi:

[kirkbylad 10]

I would have just walked out