To think this is a bit of a rip off?

[narra]

Me and my boyfriend booked a table on Thursday night and a pub.
Just the two of us.
We had to pay a £60 deposit to secure our table for 2 hours.
7-9pm
We got there and were informed we don't get the £60 back instead we get it back in the form of a bottle of any of their "house spirit" and unlimited mixers.

I feel a bit ripped off.
Aibu ?

Yes a big rip off, would not be going there again,

That's terrible!

I can understand a deposit for the table, I can understand a £60 minimum spend. But it should be 60 quid's worth of stuff the customer actually wants- a cheap bottle of spirit and some diet cokes is daylight robbery.

At least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask!

It's a rip off alright. What if you didn't want to drink alcohol? It might be a pub, but not everyone does.

If they didn't make it very clear when you booked, then they are in the wrong. I'd leave a bad, but honest, review too.

Fair enough to have a minimum spend with the reservation. I would expect that of the deposit.

I would feel absolutely ripped off that the money had to go to a bottle of spirits. I would have planned to spend the money on food and a glass of wine or two.

It wouldn't have been so bad if he could have whatever he wanted and I could have had some nice cocktails.
A bottle of house spirit and mixers to freeze outside with no heaters...we should have just sat in back garden.

Op phone and complain you been robbed.

How is treating patrons like this conducive to long term business success.

Would you go back to a place that did this?

Near my GP surgery there is a pharmacy that belongs to a chain that made the nation's headlines for gouging (paracetamol and, rather outrageously, Calpol) at the beginning of lockdown. GP surgery used to push the electronic prescriptions out to them as routine, not now, they send them to the independent up the road instead. That and the shelves of non-pharmacy goods are now very diminished for some reason and the place is very quiet. I am thinking customers boycotting them. Another branch of same chain in another near by town has zero non-pharmacy goods on the shelves at all.

I also think all the rules over the last 14 months and all the "cos of Covid so tough titty" crap we've all had to put up with has primed some to think they can carry this on indefinitely and the general populace will just keep lapping it up. They have a big surprise coming, I tell you.

Did you go back and complain?