Is this Customer Service?
It is often said that it is the little things that you remember. And tell others. Quite the worst customer service I’ve had in a long, long time made me quite embarrassed at how some overseas visitors saw what happened at the weekend.
You’ll remember that this last weekend wasn’t that pleasant. Drought? What drought I asked myself as I walked, drenched to the skin, through the Peak District. What better, my eleven companions and I thought, than a stop at a pub in Edale for food and a hot drink. You’d have thought any place would be happy to feed 12 people at one go but you wouldn’t have guessed that from what happened. Roughly the story goes like this…
Me: What is the largest size of hot chocolate that you serve?
Barmaid: We only do mugs (gestures to a normal sized mug being served to another customer).
Me: OK, I will have two mugs of hot chocolate then – I’m freezing! – And some cheesy chips, please.
Barmaid: Which table number?
Me: It’s the big table in that room (gesture to the room we were sat, with only one large table and a small seat built into window sill – pretty obvious, I thought!)
Barmaid: You will have to go and look for the table number.
Me: Really? (goes off to look for table number)…. It’s table 15.
Barmaid: £5.95 please.
——- WAIT FOR DRINKS———
Barmaid: (interrupting an interesting conversation) I’m afraid we’ve run out of mugs. Are you ok with cups?
Me: I don’t really care about the type of cup, as long as there are two mugs worth of hot chocolate! (laughing)
—— WAIT FOR DRINKS ——
Drinks arrive: 2 small cups: one 3/4 full of hot chocolate, and one 1/3 full.
Me: I’m sorry, (why do I always apologise despite it being their fault?) but there is barely a full mug’s worth here – this one is not even half full!
Barmaid: Well, you were too busy, and just said “bla bla bla I don’t care”. (she really did say bla, bla bla.)
Me: Well, I would expect at least 2 full cups….
Barmaid: Fine. (snotty voice) suit yourself (wanders off in that supercilious way that some pub/restaurant staff seem to be trained in) and she goes and tops up one of the cups with hot water!!!!
Result. 1 Tea CUP of chocolate and 1 Tea CUP of watery chocolate for the cost of 2 mug fulls. Plus, too much “bla bla”. And I’ve shelled out £5.95 for this in addition to the other drinks and food we’ve bought.
Congratulations to the Old Nag’s Head in Edale. You’ve just lost the business of a dozen regular walkers!
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Some places’ core business seem to be: The most effective way to lose business.
They must solely rely on their location and new custom to survive. That’s not smart any way you look at it.
This used to be an absolutely briliant pub in the 60s and 70s but how times have changed, I used to go alot when I lived near Manchester It does seem to reflect society as a whole these days. I think I will pay it a visit and I know for a fact i will not be as polite as you for this appalling service, my drama experiences at Uni and teaching will come into play big time!
Went in today and asked for a shandy….. £3.40!!!…This is after she had poured it and put it down. I handed over the money but will NEVER go there again just because of this crazy price. London, okay….but a jumped up pub in Derbyshire-NO WAY. I’ve learnt my lesson!
I am so very sad to read this review.
I ran The Old Nags Head several years ago and always had the same people come back year after year, for our service, the relationships and rapport we built with people in fact I am still in touch with a handful of customers from all over the UK who supported our business while we were there.
I have been told by several ex visitors that they would never use the pub again and that EVERYTHING had gone down hill, which I find so disheartening after the years and very long hours of hard work that my staff and I put into the pub to make it as friendly and welcoming as possible.
Its a beautiful pub but it sounds like it has had its heart well and truely ripped out!
Terrible experience here over the weekend – my review from Google maps reads:
The ineptitude of the management was only outweighed by their inability to deal with customer complaints.
It’s a shame, this place could be brilliant – the setting is fantastic and every customer there is in high spirits being on holiday or having just finished a walk along the Pennine Way. As it happens, it is great unless you want to eat, or talk to the management. This pub is clearly not challenged competitively and as such, it is suffering.
We ordered eight meals on two separate cheques. The first order came after one hour twenty minutes but did not contain our entire order.
At the 1.5 hour mark we complained and asked to speak to the management. We were told she was changing a barrel and couldn’t see us. I was quite taken aback by what I considered to be a shunning.
The manageress came out to see us eventually. We were given numerous excuses and I was told that I had a bad attitude. I admit I swore which I apologised for – but I was genuinely shocked at her confrontational nature and lack of apology.
We were given a full refund.
I still don’t think we were given an apology.
We had to go twice to the bar to get the full refund after being short-changed in the first instance (we had to show our copies of the receipts as their own were incomplete). The manageress’s parting shot was – “right, now they’re gone”… or some such attempt at wit. What a charmer.
A lesson is managing customer expectations and dealing gracefully with complaints from customers who are paying inflated prices for sub-standard food, is much required.
Luckily we’re the type of people who laughed off the whole ridiculous charade. Other people would either put up with it, or let it ruin their day, and I feel sorry for them.