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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not want to download a bloody app to order a drink in the pub or wait for waiter sevice

216 replies

Hilsea · 17/09/2021 22:57

Grr

So this afternoon I had 2 hours to spare before picking up daughter and so I thought I would go to the pub to sit outside, relax and take in the sun. I havent been to many pubs over the past two years owing to lockdowns etc so I was pleased to have this opportunity

First pub I went to (traditional pub, part of chain, classy (not spoons!)) I went in to the bar and was told rudely - 'its only table service now - take a seat and we will come and take your order'. So I went outside and sat down in sight of the door expecting a server to come shortly. One passed by twice and I tried to catch her eye, neither time did she make eye contact or seemed to want to take my order - I waited 10 minutes before leaving.

Pub number two (again part of chain, classy, good range of wines) I went in and was stopped from ordering being told that I needed to download the app and order that way and basically to get out of the bar. So I walked straught out of the door - I cant be bothered to download an app

Third pub (individual, but I found out later actually part of chain, classy) I walked into, ordered drink at bar, paid and walked outside to table where I was able to drink it. Hoorah -

Why cant pubs just get back to normal and offer the service that customers actually want? The value of a pub is going to the bar and seeing the range of drinks available and then making a choice and making a swift transaction. If I want table service I will go to a bar or cafe, I go to a pub for the minimum of hassle of obtaining the drink.

AIBU to expect this? Will things ever get back to normal?

There; rant over!

OP posts:
Pedalpushers · 17/09/2021 22:59

I love table service/apps and absolutely loathe queueing up at the bar, and many people I know feel the same, so yabu to say this is 'the service that customers actually want'.

BurntO · 17/09/2021 23:01

Just get on with it OP.

FreakinFrankNFurter · 17/09/2021 23:01

I hate apps! I want to order my food/drinks with a human not on a screen.

NuffSaidSam · 17/09/2021 23:02

YANBU to not like it.

YABU to believe that what you want is what everyone wants. I bloody love the app ordering, it's so much better.

RampantIvy · 17/09/2021 23:02

Our local isn't part of a chain so we order at the bar anyway. Sorry you had a frustrating time this afternoon. At least you were third time lucky.

BashfulClam · 17/09/2021 23:02

I prefer an app. It takes two minutes to download and usually there is a QR code to make it easier. The less interaction, the better. No queuing etc.

RevolutionRadio · 17/09/2021 23:04

I like ordering by apps and table services, especially when the place is busy.

Mermaidpool · 17/09/2021 23:04

I don't mind the table service, I hate having to download an app for each place I visit

MimiDaisy11 · 17/09/2021 23:04

To me the minimum hassle is to wait at my table and have things brought to me. I hate going up to the bar especially if busy.
I also really like those apps as they quick and easy to use.

RumJerrySailorRum · 17/09/2021 23:04

Staff will push the apps and table service as it means more work.

But they also need to realise that not everyone wants to use it or can't.

My dad, for example, is 83 and has no phone. He's happy to abide by covid rules, but will never be able to order via an app.

The pub I work in is part of a chain,and The app is a fucking nightmare. The app lists everything the chain sells, but we don't stock everything. It's particularly annoying when food is ordered!

SnackSizeRaisin · 17/09/2021 23:05

It's sad that people go out to a pub and then want to avoid human interaction. Surely that is the point of going to a pub?

WhyDoesItAlways · 17/09/2021 23:06

I love app ordering. Don't need to flag anyone down for the bill at the end either. Excellent if you're in a hurry. Love yo sushi the most because you don't even need a waiter/ress to bring your food, it just stood on the conveyor belt. There are still people around to flag down if needed.

I think there is space for both options. QR code on the table for those wanting table service and bar service for those who want to queue.

Marshmallow91 · 17/09/2021 23:06

I've never heard of this before but it's been around a decade since I was last in any bar /pub etc. It sounds right up my street to be honest, rather than standing getting nothing but sore legs at a sticky bar.

GhostsInSnow · 17/09/2021 23:07

Went for lunch with my friend last week and our local pub insisted everything was app ordered. She bought lunch, I bought desert. All paid via the app.
Got home and had an email apologising but they couldn't fulfil my desert order, which was interesting as we'd eaten them!
Now don't know if we date show our faces again 😂

Pain in the arse though. Much prefer to order at the bar.

Wotwhywhen · 17/09/2021 23:08

I took my daughter to Pizza Hut for one of their buffet things.

What a pain in the arse. Download apps, order via that, scan this, do that..

If this is happening in pubs too, I'll keep avoiding them.

XenoBitch · 17/09/2021 23:09

My phone is so old so no apps for me.

NuffSaidSam · 17/09/2021 23:09

'It's sad that people go out to a pub and then want to avoid human interaction. Surely that is the point of going to a pub?'

There are many point of going to a pub. For me it's the interaction with the people I'm meeting there, not the bar staff. Also you are allowed to interact with them when they bring the drinks/do the table service....there's no ban on talking to them!

BashfulClam · 17/09/2021 23:10

@SnackSizeRaisin I don’t go out to talk to random people. I am an introvert I like sitting down, placing my order and paying on an app and leaving once I’m ready. It’s not for everyone but I have lived this change and have used the Wetherspoons app since it was first introduced.

ilovesooty · 17/09/2021 23:10

How were they rude in the first pub in telling you it was table service only and asking you to take a seat?

ImNotDancing · 17/09/2021 23:11

@SnackSizeRaisin

It's sad that people go out to a pub and then want to avoid human interaction. Surely that is the point of going to a pub?
Not for many! I go to spend time with the people I went with, not strangers!

I love being able to order on my phone, takes all the anxiety away and I can do it in my own time

RampantIvy · 17/09/2021 23:11

@SnackSizeRaisin

It's sad that people go out to a pub and then want to avoid human interaction. Surely that is the point of going to a pub?
Don't you know that mumsnet is populated by extreme introverts who actively dislike human interaction?
ShaneTheThird · 17/09/2021 23:12

I hate the apps too op! I went to the pub for lunch a few weeks ago, ordered on the app and the option for gin didn't have any mixers, so the bar man came to my table and rudely told me off for not ordering a mixer with it when there was literally no option to add one on the app. Grr

lap90 · 17/09/2021 23:13

Glad to hear some pubs are still keeping web ordering/table service.

Essexgirlupnorth · 17/09/2021 23:20

I prefer an app I can look at all the options and decide what I want don't spend a age being ignored at the bar.

I am an introvert though so that is probably why

gofg · 17/09/2021 23:20

Oh well, if they want to turn away custom so be it. Many people, and not just the elderly, can't/don't want to download apps for everything, so they will just go elsewhere. Customer service is a dying art apparently, and the customer just becoming a nuisance.