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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think I should get some free coffee from this coffee chain?!

87 replies

momo142 · 16/11/2017 15:33

I went to a popular coffee chain today in my lunch break for a quiet coffee and a few minutes to myself (and to read Mumsnet on my phone!). I got my coffee, sat down and tried to pull my chair forward, but the chair had a slightly loose leg and it pinched my finger hard between the leg and the base of the chair. It really hurt! Then it started bleeding and I had to go and get a plaster from the server at the till.

They got me the plaster and took the chair away, but I have to say they weren't particularly apologetic (in fact I don't remember them apologising at all), nor did they check that I was OK. It still hurt over an hour later and made driving back to work quite tricky.

So, AIBU to think I deserve a voucher for some free coffee from the chain for my trouble?! And if so how is best to go about asking for it?

Please note I'm not angry, am not going to sue them, I'm not a hysterical angry customer and I know it was just an accident. I just think, given that it was entirely their fault, they should at least give me a couple of free drinks to make up for it!

What does MN think?

OP posts:
kaytee87 · 16/11/2017 17:09

Unless it made you drop your coffee that you’d paid for then no I wouldn’t expect anything free for having a minor accident that hasn’t actually caused you any damage or cost you money.

Glumglowworm · 16/11/2017 17:13

The same thing happened to me in a pub. It didn't for one second occur to me that it was anyone's fault, or that I should get free stuff. It's just an accident

You're not seriously injured. Let it go.

SilverDragonfly1 · 16/11/2017 17:16

Did they put it in the accident book? I wouldn't be pursuing them for coffee, but I would be making sure the manager knew further training was needed if not.

Ttbb · 16/11/2017 17:16

@BatteredBreadedSluthernFried the way I read it the chair leg was just a bit loose (normal on chairs) and she was stupid enough to stick her finger on the bits that normally wobble. Or maybe I'm just used to wobbly chairs so always only touch the non-moving parts so don't find it surprising when I get hurt if I forget? I wouldn't have counted it as actually being dangerous if it wasn't broken/didn't have a rusty nail sticking out. I also don't really consider a cut of a finger to be a real injury. This is a bit like walking into a restaurant and ordering a steak, cutting your finger because you didn't hold your knife correctly and then expecting a free steak.

Cloudyapples · 16/11/2017 17:18

Shouldn’t they have logged it in an accident book? When I worked in retail we had to keep records if someone was injured in store.

nooka · 16/11/2017 17:19

I'd not expect anything free particularly, but I would expect a bit more sympathy, and as someone who has managed H&S/claims I'd not be impressed that a record of the injury hadn't been taken. If there is a fault with the chair then it should be checked over just in case it is a general issue and not a one off (from a corporate point of view rather than a personal one).

Not sure I'd bother pursuing OP, but I guess you can probably send them an email, and yes I'd be surprised if they didn't send you a voucher (which is what I would have expected to be given to you alongside the plaster and sympathy/apologies).

Commuterface · 16/11/2017 17:21

Go through FB or Twitter. I complained when a popular chain of coffee shops didn't put the lid on my coffee properly and it went all over me (didn't burn luckily). The Head Office were fab and phoned me to check I was on and sent me a £15 gift card!

Commuterface · 16/11/2017 17:22

OK not on - that would be weird!

makeourfuture · 16/11/2017 17:23

Duty of care.

FlouncyDoves · 16/11/2017 17:23

We’re in the UK not the US. Get over it.

Andylion · 16/11/2017 17:23

YANBU: A customer hurt herself, and bled, because the coffee shop had a faulty chair. The very least they should have done was apologize. A voucher would have been a nice gesture that would have ensured goodwill and the customer's return.

However, it does sound petty to take this further just for a free voucher. I would ask if they had fixed the chair the next I went in, though.

Ragwort · 16/11/2017 17:24

I think they should have given you a complimentary coffee at the very least.

Years ago I worked in a restaurant in the days when we went round with a jug of coffee after dinner - someone knocked my arm and I accidentally spilt coffee on them, I was obviously mortified but we immediately offered first aid, dry cleaning costs and didn't charge for the meal even though the customer was technically at fault as I was serving from the correct side and she was gesticulating wildly.

RunningOutOfCharge · 16/11/2017 17:26

ask them.....we asked for a raffle prize donation and got two very nice items donated. so i doubt they will quibble over a free coffee

however....how were they to know the chair was in that state? i'm sure they would have removed it if they had seen it

maybe they should stop selling the horrific xmas coffees with a billion teaspoons of sugar in them as well!

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 16/11/2017 17:43

Your attitude is unacceptable, OP. It doesn't matter if they're a global corporation or a local down the street; they have no reason to give you anything.

They resolved the situation, and now you're just being grabby. Have some class.

Darkstar4855 · 16/11/2017 17:56

To be fair the people working for the coffee chain probably get paid a crap wage and get treated with zero respect by most of their customers. I wouldn’t expect them to care that much about a minor finger wound, or to give you another free coffee when you already had one. It’s perfectly possible that the chair was broken by another customer who didn't tell them in which case there was nothing they could have done to prevent it. It was an accident. Let it go.

Original poster
momo142 · 16/11/2017 18:17

Dearie me, you'd have thought I'd have posted 'please recommend me a solicitor to pursue my personal injury claim!'

I think I'll email them to point out the faulty chair (others could have the same fault), and the fact that an accident wasn't recorded, but not ask for anything. If they send me a voucher, that's nice, if not (and as I said in my OP) no big deal

OP posts:
ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 16/11/2017 18:22

Coming soon to Costa coffee- chairs with disclaimer notices stuck to the seat "we take no responsibility for injuries incurred whilst dragging this chair forward". Grin

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 16/11/2017 18:24

I think I'll email them to point out the faulty chair (others could have the same fault),

There's no need; they know there's a faulty chair, they removed it, so of course they'd be on the lookout for others.

You're literally thinking of any reason to email them in the hopes of getting free stuff.

Appalling behaviour and attitude.

oldlaundbooth · 16/11/2017 18:25

What is all this shit about the OP keeping her mouth shut about this?

Of course she should have got some sort of compensation! Free voucher at least.

She was bleeding ffs

Nikephorus · 16/11/2017 18:32

There's no need; they know there's a faulty chair, they removed it, so of course they'd be on the lookout for others.
You're literally thinking of any reason to email them in the hopes of getting free stuff.
She should email the Daily Mail while she's at it - they'd give her a free house valuation as long as her indignant expression was good enough!

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 16/11/2017 18:34

This definitely calls for a Daily Mail sad face and OP holding up her bandaged middle finger indignantly in front of the Well Known Coffee shop.

Kitsharrington · 16/11/2017 18:57
WitchesHatRim · 16/11/2017 19:01

Everybody wants something these days it seems

Allthebestnamesareused · 16/11/2017 19:04

They may counterclaim for cleaning bloodstains out of the chairGrin

WhimsicalTart · 16/11/2017 19:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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