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?

Of course you were assertive. You were sat at a table in a bun having a drink.
Then were told to bugger off as it was magically reserved for customers who'd ordered food.

My betting is actually that customers came in and ordered citing that number and that's why the food not being yours took the manager by surprise. Then rather than having a confrontation on his hands (you and the cheeky shits that ordered using your number) he decided to turf you out as it was the easiest option.
My betting is you were asked to leave so you didn't discover what has really happened.

Told one woman to only darken his door again if she came with her carer as she obviously needs one!!!!

For this, not to even mention the way you were treated, I would most definitely NOT 'leave it'.

Seriously, OP, he will keep getting away with this shit unless someone calls him out on it. It might as well be you!

Just put on your diplomatic and professional head and talk to the landlord. I'd also write to the owner.

He sounds like a complete misogynist actually. Even your examples from TripAdvisor seem to all be women, because I honestly believe his approach applied to big drunken man would have had very unpleasant consequences for him.

You definitely have to inform head office and explain your very strong buying power in the form of your friends and family.

Is it too late to rearrange you Xmas get togethers there?

Just don't give them your custom anymore. Unfortunately it doesn't take much (or anything) to be thrown out of a pub. The barman probably thought you removed the sign and then were being arsey about moving (even if you think you weren't), so chucked you out. Pubs don't need disgruntled or argumentative customers when they are busy.

You can be chucked out for literally nothing. Once a friend and I went into a nearly-empty pub, ordered drinks and sat down. Immediately as we sat down the barmaid who'd served us told us to drink up and leave. She wouldn't give a reason why, just said we had to go. Genuinely, there was no more to it than that. We weren't drunk, or rowdy, we'd shown our ID at the bar - literally bought our drinks and sat down.

We were bemused more than annoyed and took the only rational action we could - leave, go to another pub and never frequent that chain again.

OP him slating you on TripAdvisor only adds to your case with the Landlord or Everards manager. It's incontrovertible written proof of how he deal with customers, which is better than a he-said-she-said argument.

I really wouldn't be surprised if neither Everards nor the landlord are on top of the Tripadvisor page. He sounds like he has pretty free rein.

At least the fact that all tables are reserved for diners explains the "I can't believe you didn't know it was reserved" comment (explains, not excuses). He's obviously one of those people with the communication skills of a snail who thinks that that which is manifestly obvious to him should be obvious to other people, without their being told.

I inherited a member of staff like this. She was staggeringly rude to customers because she could see the internal order progress screen and couldn't understand that they couldn't, so treated them like they were asking stupid questions . She was a nightmare, had an IQ of about 4. I've never been so glad to see the back of someone.

SnatchedPencil "You can be chucked out for literally nothing. Once a friend and I went into a nearly-empty pub, ordered drinks and sat down. Immediately as we sat down the barmaid who'd served us told us to drink up and leave. She wouldn't give a reason why, just said we had to go. Genuinely, there was no more to it than that. We weren't drunk, or rowdy, we'd shown our ID at the bar - literally bought our drinks and sat down."

That's disgusting treatment! Why didn't you complain to the management or owners of the chain? How can they treat people like that?

We could all slate him if you PM us the name of the pub ... ;)

youre not going to come out worse if someone doesnt complain this man will carry on

how dare he talk to people like that

at lest email the brewery

Is this a pub you're talking about or a borstal.

He doesn't own this pub. Write a letter of complaint and reference Tripadvisor. Explain that your expectation is that someone responds to you within x days.

Be very clear. I would also definitely be mentioning the high chair as another example that you chose to let go. Shows you're not complaining (although you have a right to) at every outburst of rudeness.

Guarantee this won't be their only complaint.

This wasn't a pub called the Rising Sun was it?! Because I had a remarkably similar incident a few months ago. We were made to feel like naughty teenagers!

I'd complain to be honest but after Christmas eg new year and in passing.

I'm a bit you didn't mention re the high chair incident etc as I'd certainly have complained to the owner or something about that one!

Bullies have a nasty habit sometimes of being allowed to continue their reign of terror somewhere where it's overlooked etc. don't let this one win.

I'm going to try and find out a bit more about him. We're in the West Midlands.

Everards pubs are tenancies so the pub doesn't really have a say about the running of it on a day to day basis. But you say it's not the landlord who was rude? Definitely complain to the landlord then.

They're Leicester based Everards aren't they OP?

I did do a bit of detective work only found a FB page on Everards giving them 5 star reviews.

Yes the brewery is I believe. We're West Midlands.

Oh right that explains it then.

I still think a quiet word with landlord would be your best bet at a quiet time and then if no joy maybe FB comment or Trip Advisor but beware for the bar manager to leave nasty comments on FB (that in itself is unprofessional to me).

I still think though head office won't be that interested as to them in the bigger scheme of things if it's sorted and you return then they'll see him as not having done much wrong (although he was in the wrong). Puts you in a really awkward position though going back and no other local pub to frequent. I wonder if another pub is interested in opening where you live?

Explains it re West Midlands and Leicester eg location.

Having read the revenge thread I wouldn't complain if the manager knows you.

God only knows what you would get in your food.

Booking bogus tables and leaving Faldo phone numbers would be a bad idea too.

false not faldo!

Oh can someone who figures it out PM the name of the place. i can't get it.

false not faldo!

Auto-correct is an alien conspiracy to troll the entire human race My phone corrected "any" to "zany" today in a work email. Thanks.

even if the brewery doesn't run the pub, they do supply the beer, so they will not be happy to know that one of their pubs is treating customers in this way (especially as it seems constant and online evidence of it!)
It's the kind of thing that can make a brewery go "nope, you're not one of our outlets anymore"
It's very bad for their business