DS's nursery is in a leisure centre which also has a cafe. The cafe is privately run but obviously under the terms of a contract with the leisure centre who own the space and all the fixtures and fittings.
The owner of the business is, quite simply, a thoroughly unpleasant woman who appears to take positive pleasure in annoying and inconveniencing her customers. She has a massive bee in her bonnet about anything being brought into the cafe area (which is open plan and sort of merges with some non cafe seating if that makes sense) that she hasn't sold, and she is regularly extremely rude to customers who bring baby food with them. A friend of mine offended her hugely by arriving at the cafe with her baby, fully intending to buy food from the cafe. About a millisecond after she put the baby and her bags down to look for her purse, the cafe owner came dashing over and started having a go at her and telling her she had to move because she had a half-drunk bottle of water in her hand. Needless to say she lost a customer at that point. I have seen her do similar to other people - she seems to have no concept that people can actually carry what they damn well like as long as they don't sit in her cafe and eat/drink it!
The main bone of contention however is the issue of tap water. I can quite understand her not providing tap water on demand to people who are just passing through, but she categorically refuses tap water to paying customers. She has twice refused me - and she makes up stupid stories. One day she will say there is no tap in the kitchen area, the next she will say the leisure centre water is unsuitable for drinking. Her staff will provide water quite happily if she is not there. I know several people have made complaints about this - particularly since there are a lot of pregnant and breastfeeding women using the cafe due to the various antenatal and baby swimming classes. Yesterday I was feeling dreadful (I am 5 1/2 months pregnant and have developed a wheezy cough and a back problem which is giving me serious problems with walking any distance - so not in the best of moods all round!) I dropped DS off and then had a 45 minute drive so I decided (against my better judgement as I don't like putting money in the pocket of someone rude) to have tea and a muffin before setting off. I also asked for water as I was coughing almost constantly. The manager was sitting nearby with a friend and told her staff member to refuse. I spoke to her perfectly politely and explained that I was feeling unwell and really needed some water. She smirked (which she always does when being awkward) and told me I could go upstairs to the changing rooms and get some there or I would have to buy a bottle. A friend of hers (who always seems to be there and often butts into arguments between customers and the owner) then got involved and said she didn't see why I couldn't walk upstairs - the friend got a fairly sharp response!
A member of staff from the leisure centre was nearby as I was hobbling back to the table and offered to go and get me water which was obviously very kind. He then came and asked for my contact details for a complaint to head office as the staff had "concerns" about the manager's behaviour and there had been previous complaints.
One of the staff at the nursery knows this woman to speak to and she mentioned it to her. The nursery staff member told her she had been entirely unreasonable and was damaging her own business - there are large numbers of people who use the nursery and the leisure centre who now refuse to use the cafe because of the manager. The cafe always used to be full and there is now hardly anyone there whenever I pass through.
Now if you are running a business which is entirely dependent on a set group of people - no passing trade- and upon the continued goodwill of a hosting organisation, AIBU in thinking that you must be a complete idiot, or someone who really, really likes annoying people, if you keep doing something so basic when you know that multiple complaints have been made and that your landlords are unhappy?
AIBU?
to think this woman is unreasonable and a bit of an idiot?
TandB · 08/09/2011 10:01
Picturing tvfriend and panda furtively picking up their Dcs from nursery and peeping beady-eyed at all the other mothers trying to work out just who is the other one.... red roses and copies of The Times anyone? we can all sit on seats just out side the cafe, with packed lunches brought from home, and great huge 5l buckets of water bought elsewhere, and watch through eyeholes in the papers, like spies 
oooh excellent stealth-outing there!
ForYourDreams - 
Nothing bad ever happens in John Lewis!
I am happy to out myself. I am the six foot blonde-haired, size 6 goddess with glowing porcelain skin and hair that swooshes like in the adverts.
My child is cherubic, highly advanced and perfectly behaved at all times and his clothes are always co-ordinated with my choice of glamorous, beautifully fitting outfit for the day.
Hope that helps identify me.
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I was just going to caution tvfriend about her use of the car park - and not to fail to back to the nearest parking place if appropriate!
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