WIBU to be annoyed in this cafe?

[Hoppinggreen]

Went for lunch today at a local cafe. I was paying as a treat for my friend. Bill was about £30.
When I went to pay the person on the till made a mistake and over charged me by £10. It was actually a lot more complicated as she mixed up my bill with someone else then tried to add on someone’s takeaway but that was basically it.
After a lot of discussion between 2 staff members they said the only thing they could do was refund and charge me again. No problem I said.
So they did the refund and I said it hadn’t appeared back on my banking app to be told that I had to wait up to 10 days to get it. I was then expected to pay again.
I (calmly) said that I wasn’t happy about that as I would have paid £70 for a £30 lunch until the refund arrived. I was told there was no other alternative. I said again that I didn’t think this was reasonable. The staff member who made the mistake kept apologising and I said that it was a simple mistake and everyone made them so she really didn’t need to be upset about it. The other staff member said that I just needed to pay again and if I hadn’t received it in 10 days to call in.
There was a queue at this point so I said fine but I wasn’t happy about it. The staff member then told me that I had “upset” her colleague and was very short with me. I said again that I didn’t blame her for a simple mistake, it was the lack of resolution I was annoyed at. I did not raise my voice at any point and was very calm and measured. We left and I could hear the staff member telling her colleague she could come out now (she had vanished into the back as apparently she was too upset to deal with me) since I had gone. I left feeling as if I had done something wrong, honestly happy to be told I did
Was I unreasonable being annoyed at this? It won’t cause me any issue financially but I’m a bit miffed at being £40 out of pocket due to their mistake for up to 10 days. It might come earlier I know

Behave, that's absolutely not a scene.

What fuss?
Saying I’m not happy to a member of staff and then posting on here?
Not really a fuss is it?

They should have refunded you in cash in the first place.

If that’s a scene to you then you just have led a very sheltered life

Not possible. Refund needs to be the same method as the original transaction.

They couldn’t. That’s an accounting and business practice fail.

Never having worked in retail or hospitality how would I know how point of sale systems work? I got a refund in Apple last week, it happened while I stood there

Not at all, I just couldn't be arsed insisting on letting staff know I wasn't happy about something they are telling me there's nothing they can do about. To the point where a staff member was too upset to deal with me. And then coming on mumsnet to post about it.

As I say, we all have different interpretations of things. I'd have taken the refund and gone on about my day, you didn't. Each to their own.

Not on all systems.

When I process a refund I can do cash or card, regardless of how the item has been paid for. I usually do cash because it’s instant and then the customer goes on their way happy. Some prefer it to go back on the card for obvious reasons and don’t mind the wait which is explained to them before the refund is processed.

They need a better POS system.

That isn’t the OPs issue. Ultimately the staff member fucked it up (which can happen) but they need to have a senior colleague available at all times who knows what they’re doing and who can fix it properly. And staff need to pay attention to what they’re doing.

Hiding out the back crying is a bit much as well.

Well that's pretty much what the OP did and the staff member being too upset isn't a swaying factor, OP may have screamed blue murder at her or the staff member may have gone and hid out of embarrassment.

OP was charged £40 and £30 on the same date, similar time - if the £40 refund fails to appear (which is OP's concern) how will the bank decide which amount to charge back to the cafe without proof from the OP?

I put Yabu purely because it will be their banks policy not the cafe’s so nothing they can do about the refund time. If they made an honest mistake you probably ruined their day by complaining about the refund time, though I see your point.

I know if I was that person I’d be thinking what an idiot I was for making a mistake and upset I’d annoyed a customer.

Of course it’s possible - they just don’t want to do it because it makes extra work for them. That’s a very different thing to “can’t”. It’s their bloody mistake - they should do the extra work!

This is only an issue because of online banking - our expectations have changed! We expect to see everything instantly, but it's always been the case that card payments can take a few days and refunds back to the card can as well.

Surely you were given a receipt for the refund?

Menu companies have policies to refund by same payment method to stop money laundering. It’s very common.

Unfortunately no receipt.
I should have asked but as I was holding up the queue, a bit discombobulated about what had happened and was being glared at for upsetting the server I didn’t think about it until I left. My fault

That may well be the case but is it also policy to not give the customer a receipt and have your staff member crying out the back for a mistake the staff member made in the first place?

They handled the entire thing horrifically.

And from losing money if it’s a stolen or cloned card. It’s very common for thieves with a stolen or cloned card to buy something, then ‘change their mind’ and want a cash refund. It’s not a “better” POS that allows cash refunds, but a less secure one.

@RubyTrees I don't know

But your statement of fact that the op will need proof is certainly wrong with my bank

I got my money back pretty sharpish.

Fucking hell this thread is mental

I'm with the op. It's not that they made a mistake. Shit happens. It's how the deal with it afterwards. Frankly they were shit

They basically made it all the ops problem. When it was their mistake to begin with. That's shitty customer service.

Did they not give you a receipt confirming the refund to your card?

Ah can see you have just answered that you didn’t get a refund receipt. Ignore !

Why? As long as the till balances at the end of the day.

It’s ten quid, FFS. I somehow doubt HMRC is going to launch a full scale AML operation.

Similar thing happened to me. Got over charged and paid. Realised it was more and they said that they had to refund me and then I had to pay again. Rather than just refund me the difference. It's madness really.

If it becomes common practice to hand out cash, it will be much more than £10.