to have not waited and walked out instead?

[charlmarascoxo]

Rang up to book a table for lunch for me and OH.

The table was booked for 1:00. When we arrive a couple of minutes early, give our name, the front of house scowls at us and say "well you'll have to wait 20 minutes for a table"

Completely fine if we had just walked in. But I booked a table to avoid having to wait around.

Went back to the woman and said as politely as I could that I think we'll leave it then. We get a short and sharp "fine" and she walks off. Not even an apology.

I understand it was busy but I'm not about to stick there for 20 minutes waiting for a table when we had booked ahead. Aibu to have just walked out?

oh right

I don't think that's the sort of place I frequent. Is it like nando's that all the kids go to ?

Oh well if it was Fand B I am not at all surprised either by the shoddy service or the lack of apology...I would have done exactly as you did. (Except that wild horses wouldn't get me to make a booking there in the first place, but hey it's a learning curve!)

However....I thought Artex was being sympathetic to you, yet you seem to have taken offence. So it kinda makes me wonder whether the waitress was as rude as she sounds (except, as I say, it's par for the course in my F and B experience)

Frankie and bennys?

Really. I think yabu. People are constantly in and out. Its difficult to tell.

A restaurant could (I suppose) leave the table open from about 12.30 to stop this. However if they did this on every table across a day. They would lose money. Which isn't what they are there to do.

I would expect this (but with an apology) at Frankie and bennys.

YANBU at all, the lady was very rude and no apology frtbcoming. She is in the hospitality industry.

No it's a american branch like TGI fridays type

What has dp's pants got to do with it HoneyDragon ?

AnyFucker - Frankie & Benny's.

Its a 'get them in, get them out place'. Customer service isn't their strong point.
I went to one in Leeds a few months ago. Was rubbish.
personally I would have preferred pizza express.

marchwillsoonbehere it came across to me as she was having a go at me for posting so much.

But why I could be wrong. It's very easy to get misunderstood on a forum.

YANBU
because the restaurant made no effort
"sorry Madam but the people before you are still enjoying their coffee, come sit at the bar and have a look at the menu"
makes 20 minutes fly by

no idea what F&B is - try to avoid 'chain' eateries at all costs - do not want food that is prepared in eastern europe and microwaved in the UK

I am too reconsidering if she was rude or maybe reacted to you. It seems unthinkable to you to wait and you do seem a bit defensive.

Are you sure you didn't come across as rude?

I also think once you have said 'right we are leaving' there isn't much they can do.

If someone told me they were leaving I would accept their decision to leave.

bradywasmyfavouriteking

Conversation went like this.

Me: Hi, we have a table booked for 1, under the name Smith"
Her: Yeah, its going to be a 20 minute wait.
Me: Oh erm ....
Hands me a beeper and says to wait in the bar.

We go to the bar and then decide we'd rather not have to wait.

I go back to her to return the beeper and to make sure she knows we have left so. And
Me: "Actually I think we'll leave it"
Her: "Fine."

End of conversation.

She was short and quite abrupt. I have worked in the hospitality industry and I know its stressful, but customer service is so important.

I really do not believe I was rude to her.

YANBU

If you have booked for 1.00 it is because that is the time you wanted to eat not at some random other time.

Good customer service doesnt mean that things never go wrong. Good service is about how an organisation deals with things when they do go wrong. It sounds to me here that the problem was not what they did but how they did it.

I take your word for it.

but I am not sure what response you wanted to saying you are leaving.

I had this actually the other week. Woman calls to book a table after the kitchen closes and tell me (owner) she has eaten at that time before. I assure her she hasn't as that is my regular night to work and we close the kitchen at 10.
She books slightly earlier. However turns up at 10.15pm. I advised her that (as per our phone conversation, which she denied) the kitchen was closed but if she wanted to take a seat I would see what we could do.
She decided I was rude to tell her the kitchen was closed and came over to tell me she was leaving. My response was 'ok'.

She is an adult and can make her own decisions.

What could she have done at that point to make it better? Would you stayed if she had apologised?
in our case, after another instance of her swearing at the 17 year old waitress and calling the poor girl a whore, She was banned. She was a pita :)

Not suggesting you did anything like that just an example.

I thi k places like this should either not take bookings or advise customers they can book but there could be a short wait. Shorter than if you hadn't booked at all. Perhaps

Ha ha! Nothing. I posted totally on the wrong thread

Ahem.

Sorry. What I should've put was. When we booked at F&B and they were running late they asked if we would wait at the bar and were offered a complimentary drink. Were you offered a drink or just told to wait?

But you have now relayed a full conversation that indicates you weren't.

So I'm going to sit in Twats Corner now.