The Weatherspoons games

[Bladwdoda]

Has anyone see the weatherspoons game on Facebook. Seems to be a page where people post where they are and their table number and then strangers send drinks (via an app I assume) to their table. It’s kind of nice when it’s for homeless or struggling people (eg paying for food). But the last few I’ve seen aren’t for the homeless, in fact the last I saw was 2 young women apparently celebrating their 18th.

AIBU to be completely confused about why this is popular? Nothing on earth would convince me to pay for drinks for random Strangers on the internet. I obviously understand the food for the homeless….but drinks for young women…/giving out their location…..feels very weird and sketchy.

Has anyone here done it, and If so does it just feel normal to you? Or am I missing something about the whole process that means it makes more sense?

I think it’s just seen as a bit of fun 🤷‍♀️

No, but now I want to see if I can blag some free drinks too. I'm teetotal so would be v cheap!

If weatherspoons get wind of you doing it they will shut it down, and probably kick you out.

Its a massive pain in the arse for the staff.

I can see why some people post, what I don’t get is why other choose to pay for drinks for complete randoms.

I’ve seen it and thinks it’s just a game as the blurb talks about on Facebook. I find it quite nice that people are willing to buy drinks for other people… not partaken it myself but I do follow the Facebook group

Students do it to each other. Out for a drink and a random assortment of baked beans and onion rings arrive. Or a cocktail with umbrellas.

Sometimes it's silly like sending 20 portions of peas. Obvs the girls are hoping for drinks

This has been going on for years (my friends and I used to do it in our single days a good 5+ years ago), it's fun if people aren't dickheads- the bowls of peas is a popular one, and pisses staff off.

My student DS just messaged me - I normally send some random cocktails and chips.

I doubt it. It’s a lot of free advertising for them.

But he’s your DS. That makes sense. What doesn’t make sense to me is randoms on the internet who haven’t met him sending him drinks.

Well it doesn’t make sense to me, but others say they find it fun. Judging by the responses I think I have to accept that my version of what is fun is off from most people. I’ll try to be less grumpy when I see the posts now and accept that most people find it a laugh.

The staff are well aware of it, and there’s no reason they’d want to shut it down or be pissed off, they’re just delivering food or drinks to a table as if the people at the table themselves had ordered. It doesn’t make any difference to them.

DH and I did it once to an airport Wetherspoons for an elderly couple who were taking their first ever trip abroad with their sons. It’s harmless and puts a smile on people’s faces.

Ds does it but mostly amongst his friends. They order each other funny things like a portion of mushy peas or a glass of milk.

They do sometimes shut it down. Stupid but they do

@Iwishiwasasilentnight

They do shut it down. There have been so many instances of people claiming food and drinks because they don't know what they are supposed to get, and it was for the next table, who then complain they don't have their stuff. Plus if it's someone fairly popular they can get 100+ orders of stupid stuff within 15 minutes, then they have to shut down i orders until they catch up so they get even more complaints. It's a total nightmare for the staff.

Not sure why my post went all bold there 🤣

I've been in a Wetherspoons pub on a Sunday afternoon having a quick lasagne and latte whilst I wait for my son who is playing cricket to finish his training and on the next table 3 lads. Clearly it was one of their birthdays. They ordered their own drinks and meal. He then had a long string of random drinks and goodies arriving which I found quite amusing others were sending for him and he had to ask the staff what the drinks were and I almost made myself late to collect my son because I was busy watching to see what would come next. It was quite funny.

It's a harmless bit of fun and isn't a new phenomenon either, it's been going on since Spoons launched their app.

I’ve never heard of it before. Maybe that’s why it feels odd to me and no one else. It’s passed me by somehow. I can see as a student I would have loved it.

No different to buying g someone a drink if you were on the pub with them. "Oh, it's your 18th? Happy birthday! I'll buy you a drink."
A nice thing to do and doesn't cost a lot.

People find strange things to be amusing, it seems to be fairly harmless. Unlike the owner's views supporting the act of economic self-harm the country decided upon in 2016.

Well I’d never do that either 😂

I’ve a family member who works in a spoons, and the staff at their branch detest it as a trend. It might seem like a funny gag, but it can properly fuck the kitchen over if it’s taken too far.

I'll probably get called a fun-sponge but if this fad is tipping into a 'prank' ordering lots of random items for people with no intention of their being eaten/drunk, then it's somewhat tone-deaf in a society where some people are relying on food banks.

Has been a thing on a forum I've used for years, didn't realise it was in the public domain.

Sometimes you just get glass after glass of milk though. Woo woos if you're really lucky