To have thought we should have been allowed another cup

[lakia]

Was in a restaurant today with my parents they wanted a cream tea we saw on the notice board that it came with a big pot of tea and two generous sized scones with cream and jam.
My parents seeing the size of it decided to order the one between them it wasn't stated as either been for one or two people.
Anyway so we ordered paid and one cup was put on the tray and of course we asked if we could have another cup and the guy who happened to be the manager refused we was bit taken back by this and thought maybe he had misunderstood so again we said we want another cup to which he refused again.
We asked why and he said this is a cream tea for one person and I said its too much for my parents and they want to share he replied that he is a business and that if we want another cup then we have to buy a separate cup of tea I said that's ridiculous and he said no it isn't and he would not budge. He then said that its like him giving one cream tea to a load of people to share and its not good for his business.
Just interested in your thoughts.

You were tight. At £4.99 for a cream tea, a further cup of tea would have been £1 at most £1.50? The manager handled it badly but yabu

laquitur, I agree
there's always some story about how they never went back and told their friends and neighbours so the business lost their custom too. quite a gleeful over estimation of the power they wield IMo.

Second the opinion to post a review on trip advisor.

Ridiculous.

If it's not stated as being for two, then obviously it's for one person, two being unusual. It sounds in this case as if it might have been the only thing ordered too, so less than five pounds for three people. That wouldn't be good for business, and so I expect he wanted you to leave as soon as possible so that he could have four people sitting there all eating a cream tea equivalent.

The OP and her parents sound very tight, they asked repeatedly for a favour and then shared a cup! If a full cream tea was only five pounds I can't imagine that a singe cup would have been more than a pound or two.

or maybe the financial problems are more due to lack of awareness of your customer base and the refusal to actually give propel what they want.

why sell something like a cream tea that's traditional and something the elderly love, then serve it in overwhelmingly large portions when the people buying it are never going to finish it. how is insisting half of it is binned better than hiving customers what they want.

stop selling cheap crap as kids menus or let people have an extra plate to divide up a meal.

stop serving coffee and tea in massive mugs when people just want a small.pot.

you used to be able to get these things. now your just given massive portions at twice the price that no one actually wants with refusal to adapt anything.

If your staff are to stupid to actually put something on the side as all they can do is re create a picture stop hiring idiots and hire people who can do the job.

Why is it ok to share the scones or a slice of cake but not the tea? Its still 2 people consuming something meant for 1 person

How the heck do you expect cafe and bar owners to make a living to keep the cafe open? Seriously?

I hate customers who take up a table for hours with one drink - they are also usually the bloody awkward ones who ask for everything 'without this' and 'without that'.

We have to make a living. For gods sake a pot of tea for one is exactly that. If you want another then order and pay for it. People whinge that Starbucks and Costa are everywhere but that's because the independent cafes can't afford to stay open.

My dhs bar has 60 seats. It's very busy and table service only. On a Friday night he has 4 staff on, all needing to be paid. Rent, elec, water all needs to be paid. Some customers come in and sit for 4 hours at a table, with one glass of coke. That's a nightmare for him as he could have turned that table over 4 times with customers who actually bought something.

A cup of tea is £1-2 usually. Don't be so frigging tight!!!

And 2 scones is not 'overwhelmingly big portions'

It's normal for a cream tea to have 2 scones. 2 scones with jam and cream.

A lot of people on this thread a) have no idea how a cream tea is served and b) no idea of how much it costs to run a business

I used to get folk trying to bring their own sandwiches into our bar. They made face when told they couldn't eat them in there. Why am I paying staff to make place nice, serve you, clean and stock toilets, etc etc for you to come and sit down and not buy anything?

It is big when they are those full size scones as mentioned in the op I used to work on catering and the scones were huge.

old people don't eat alot. in fact once most meals had been padded out to with the chips half the time it looked like they'd barely touched it.

We are just so used to massive meals now people can't recognise when somethings too much

Is it wrong to want a cream tea at 08:19?

Not at all cat size. I could eat one too! Ideally a savoury one...cheese scones, cream cheese and pickle with proper cooked ham. This is making me hungry! Marmite on toast didn't do the job this morning.

Catsize, i checked my phone on the way to work at 6.30 am and im now waiting for the cafe to open!!!

Am thinking of reporting this thread to MNHQ and requesting it be renamed "scone gate"

Who would have thought there would be so much controversy over how many scones to have with a cream tea. The rules are quite simple.....

A cream tea should consist of TWO scones, one plain, one fruit. It should be served with RASPBERRY jam and CLOTTED cream, enough to have copious amounts on each peice of scone. Afficionados might suggest one break off small chunks of scone and apply the jam and cream, I however, like to slice in half (oh and the scones should be warm and at LEAST an inch, preferrably two thick) apply the cream, then the jam. I am aware this is considered incorrect in cornwall, but i personally think it makes the scone go a bit gritty if you put the jam on first. There should be a large pot of tea, with enough tea for at least two cups PER PERSON because scones can be a bit drying so the amount of tea should reflect this. This should always be breakfast tea and not fruit tea (ive tried the latter, it doesn't work!), never coffee.

Years ago i remember they served butter with a cream tea, thankfully that particular practice has been seen for the heresy that it is!

Only another hour to go....................

Had he given another up though, OPs parents might have got out of there quicker rather than one waiting for the other to finish with the cup!

And imagine how long they would have been if they'd ordered a cream tea each & worked their way through two scones each!

Two posters have now said that cream teas are the cause of the obesity epidemic

I am loving this thread. Also can't believe OP thinks it's acceptable for three people to only spend £4.99 and sit down at a table (for how long) when she acknowledged herself the cafe was in a busy tourist area.

Then she had the gall to be annoyed that the manager isn't bothered about her being annoyed and losing repeat custom.

With repeat customers like that who cares about bad trip advisor reviews - you're going out of business anyway!

I have family in Devon. I know cream teas. It would be unheard of to order a cream tea and only get one scone, unless specifically advertised as such (I have occasionally seen for example: Cream tea with 1 scone, £4; Cream tea with 2 scones, £5).

Just do a google image search for cream tea and you'll see the vast majority have 2 scones.

Anyway, as far as the OP is concerned, yabu. You shouldn't order a pot of tea for one and then ask for another cup. This is no different.

the problem seems to be people's different perceptions of what constitutes a cream tea for one. Personally, I think a big pot of tea and 2 scones should be for two, but no doubt the owner is catering for the nation of greedyguts that we have become. I think that older people especially find portions far too big, and also don't like waste. Why pay for another cup of tea when some of the tea in the pot will go to waste? It's not necessarily about being tight, it's about not being wasteful. Or greedy.

I would share that with my mum, there is simply no way either of us, but especially her, could get through all that. My PILs the other day split a huge slab of cake between them - they certainly can be tight, but the slice was simply far too big for one normal, not greedy, person.

Where I regularly go which is an exquisite cream tea heaven. We just order "cream tea with the tea for two" they send out a large pot and I think add on an extra 1.10.

Fancy one now actually

exactly river

who's going to order stuff just to throw it away. It's pointless. The sane amount if tea gets drunk whether they share it or buy one each.

do people really say to themselves ill take all this so the cafe doesn't go out of business even though they don't want to, or do they pass a place and think " oh that looks nice fancy sharing a scone with me"

perhaps places will introduce a minimum spend? u can stand in he corner til your bill gets to 15 pounds then your worthy of a seat?

potions have got ridiculously big in some places. you can't dish up enough to feed a table then be surprised people decide to share.

So would you order a pot of tea for one and then ask for an extra cup?

depends on the size. If it's literally one small cup then no.

If it's a pot that holds two cups then yes.

I'd be appalled if a cream tea for one came with only one scone!

He was being silly. It's just the same as if three people came in and two didn't want any food or drink, but the third wanted a cream tea. Why does it matter if one person drinks two cups of tea (assuming that's the capacity of the teapot) or two people drink one each?

Maybe the guy is glad these cheapskates won't be back and will put a warning out on TripAdvisor so pisstakers know they won't be able to try it on there.