Thrown out of the pub last night. Advice please!

[Askedtoleave]

NC. Last night my friend and I met up for a catch up drink at a local pub I frequent every month or so, sometimes for food, sometimes just for drinks. A lot of tables had reserved signs on for diners as is usual. I found a table without a sign and we sat chatting for an hour over a drink.

Suddenly the bar manager came over and had brought plates of food assuming it was ours. I said, "that's not ours, we're not eating tonight". He said, "well get up then cos this food is for people who have reserved the table." I said that the table didn't have a reserved sign and he said, "get up". I told him that he wasn't even sorry. He was so rude and aggressive.

My friend and I got up and went to the bar. At no point did we refuse to leave the table, swear or raise our voices. He then came over and said he couldn't believe we didn't know the table was reserved. My friend told him we didn't want to have any more discussion, we just wanted to order another drink. He then said that he wouldn't serve us and asked us to leave the pub! We were completely shocked and humiliated. I've found the whole thing really upsetting. Two middle aged women thrown out of a busy pub! Most places would apologise for the misunderstanding and buy us a drink on the house!

AIBU to go to the pub today and speak to the landlord? My friends and family all use this pub and I want to give the pub the chance to redeem themselves. If he sides with the bar manager I wouldn't go there again.

Can anyone please advise what my next steps should be?

I'm going to leave it as like a pp said, I'm going to come out of this looking worse.

Bloody hell I wouldn't! I'd be onto the management like a rat up a drainpipe.

x post he said whaaatt?! I wonder if the landlord is just as bad then? Sounds like a bully (the 'manager').

He threw out 2 loyal customers, because. They accidentally sat in a reserved seat. If I was the LL I'd go apoplectic. That's assuming GE's not the LL. The business is supposed to be dependent on the customer. Not the other way around
Are people stupid. They know fellow people talk on SM. Why do they like to make themselves unpopular.
I agree about leaving a review on trip advisor, and for the sake of your pride. Even if they beg you, don't go back. I'm sure its not the only pub on the face of the planet.

Is this a chain pub? Head office would like to know that people are voting with their feet.

It's an Everards. I will only go back if everyone we know is meeting there for drinks and I have no choice. Loads of comments on there saying, no need to be moody just because you're busy.

Basically the local pub becomes a private dining restaurant for the whole month of December but they don't tell anyone or change their signage.

Being asked to move table wasn't even if the issue; it was being kicked out!

I'd give the head office a ring and tell them your experience. You can do this nicely by sticking to the facts and simply stating that the experience left you feeling upset. You could also draw their attention to the fact that other people seem to have experienced the same thing recently.

My guess is that they will be really lovely and apologetic.

I personally would write a Trip Adviser review, and contact the Brewery. This is totally unacceptable. They are going to loose a lot of customers, there are plenty of other nice pubs to choose from. Round here, there is a lot of choice.

Yes give the head office of Everads a ring or e mail head office. Totally unacceptable.

Check tripadvisor and see if there have been other issues with rudeness or customer dissatisfaction. Is he a tenant for the brewery or is it a free house?

Sorry can see tha this has already been suggested. My fault for not reading all the thread

If you say which pub it is then one of the bolshier MNers will likely do it for you ;)

I think you should put a review on Tripadvisor yourself.

Blast them anonymously on TripAdvisor if others have. Ask for clear and sensible things - i.e. - prior warning and polite staff.

Personally, I'd be avoiding as much as possible from here on in since they clearly care more about the bottom line than loyal local custom. Fuck them.

I would contact the landlord, head office and put a review on tripadvisor.

If no one is challenging him then he will continue acting the way that he is.

OP of this happened the way you say and I'm not doubting it did I would be chatting to the head office of Everards straight away by phone, the reason I say this is that you can ask them to check the CCTV which will show you were not being aggressive (body language can say an awful lot) ask them to check this straight away so that it does not get overwritten

I would then speak to the ll and see if he will take the complaint seriously, if he doesn't then I would ask the brewery to intervene before placing a review on Tripafvisor. I think you need to give the company a chance to do this ha right before damning them.

I love sticking up for myself and like to give as good as I get, but on this occasion I can honestly say that I was so shocked that I wasn't rude at all. He didn't want to be challenged, he wasn't going to speak nicely or apologise.

That alone tells me that while you didn't think you were rude or aggressive by your own standards of what you can be like when suitably provoked, you were actually stroppy enough in your demeanour to piss off the landlord who was perhaps on an unusually short fuse that night.

If you're not going to speak to LL I'd put a review on tripadviser especially if there are already other similar comments on there. It will help potential customers and the LL form a better view of how unprofessional the bar manager is.

I pissed him off cos I challenged him. I do think he sees it as his pub. He runs the TripAdvisor page. He'll just slate me.

Your not the only one though. I would contact head office, he is going to loose them a lot of business.

Point them in the direction of the Trip Advisor page.

Send an email to the Head Office setting out what happened to you and explaining that you and your family are local regular customers. Direct their attention to the pub's reviews on Tripadviaor and state your concern this seems not to be an isolated incident as they are similar reports from other customers.

Ask if this is the corporate image they wish to promote and finish by explaining that they will lose local custom and goodwill if thus rude and aggressive behaviour becomes the norm.

Isn't Tripadvisor anonymous. I would go on there and say you had a similar experience. You don't need to say when, just add you support to those who have spoken. Sadly, if the manager is making money just because there's not much choice of pubs, or because the chef is good - I doubt the head office will really do anything.

I'd do what Aeroflot suggests. But I wouldn't go back there again, either. Ever.