Was I BU to leave the pub after being told off by the manager?

[EmptyTheFrickingBins]

I had booked a table for a group of seven people to celebrate a Ruby wedding anniversary. On arrival to the pub we found the table with our reservation and sat down to wait for the rest of party - this was at 4:30 which was our booked time.

Three other guests were already seated at the table and there was no indication that any other table had been reserved for us.

My parents - who are both elderly and disabled - arrived and I returned to the table with them where we asked the other guests if they'd be happy to share-- there would have been room and we couldn't move because the only free tables were for four or under. This was at 4:45 and we had been waiting for them to finish.

They reacted in a very angry way and stormed off from the table and must have informed the staff on the way out.

I just want to be clear - at no point where we rude or demanding.

We were viewing the menu when a manager in a pink top came over to the table and told us rudely that we shouldn't have asked the other guests to move (again - at no point did we do this), that another table had been reserved for us and we should have spoken to the staff - again none of this was indicated, and only the one table had our name on it!

I felt extremely embarrassed by the interaction - we sat at the table in good faith as it had the reserved sign on with our name.

The woman's attitude was awful and spoiled the night - we ended up leaving because we no longer felt welcome - everyone was looking at us as she told us off!

Perhaps they'd ordered dessert or coffee and were passing the time.
Just because they'd finished their mains it doesn't mean you can decide to plonk yourself at that table.

You'd arrived 15 minutes before your parents.
If only you'd spent this time speaking to a member of staff about your reservation.

I'm now a bit cynical about some of the defensive posters on this thread especially one that used the exact same insult as the OP less than three hours before.

No you really didn't. You said that the youngest child would be on someone's knee and that another child would be moved to the end.
That's still not a big gap. It's a large group of people intruding and imposing on the meal that the people occupying the table are having. It is not acceptable in any way.

Why would you want to bodge arrangements like this?
It was supposed to be a special event for your parents.
How sad that you were prepared to shove them onto an already occupied table rather than making the effort to speak to a member of staff for their anniversary meal.

I only have this one username. 🤷

Honestly kinda sick of people calling me names and calling me a liar. Why would I?

I've also explained multiple times why we didn't speak to the staff - we have been told in the past to find the reservation sign and sit down.

I didn't shove my parents anywhere.

They sat at the far end of the table. The other people were closer to another table than they were anyone from my party!

You'd be waiting forever in this pub because the staff don't seat people.

Bloody hell this table must have been massive. Was it for 10 or 100?

You'd be waiting forever in this pub because the staff don't seat people.

Then why was the manager upset and telling you that you should have spoken to staff?

@EmptyTheFrickingBins

I only have this one username. 🤷

Honestly kinda sick of people calling me names and calling me a liar. Why would I?

🤔

So did someone hack your account just so that they could call @Isinglass20 a bitch? A poster you also have a beef with?

I learnt a new term today it's called sockpuppeting

BTW I haven't called you any names anywhere on this thread and in my first comment I said the staff were in the wrong to be rude to you.

I think you made a mistake at the pub OP but not a big enough one to deserve six pages of posts telling you that. But you did ask.

I honestly don't understand why people can't understand that, if you book a table at a place that does NOT require bring seated by staff, they actually put your name on the reserved table. Whereas if you book a table at a place that DOES require staff seating you at your reserved table, they only put a "reserved" sign on the table. The fact that there were other random people sat at a table CLEARLY reserved for someone else, means they were in the wrong and shouldn't have been sat there BECAUSE IT WAS RESERVED FOR SOMEONE ELSE! Either way, all she did was politely ask the occupants if it was OK for her and her parents to sit there, there was absolutely NO excuse for their behaviour or, especially, the member if staff's behaviour towards them. I would have left too, and would be making a formal complaint to Green King (who run Hungry Horse pubs)!

What a shitty situation… 😂

What did he do? Did they make uncomfortable eye contact or did the door just get slammed and your husbands friend ran off?

I can picture this and it’s tickled me!

Oh I missed the drama! Dammit!

Didn’t see what happened but considering OP had disappeared for days and happens to come back within hours of the sock peppering, I suspect it was OP too!

Did you hear back from your complaint?

I know it’s a good one. I think they just stared at each other in disbelief for a second before friend turned on his heel. I don’t think toilet user was in a position to slam the door, he was stuck just sat there.

Perhaps typically that is the normal behaviour, but there was someone already occupying the table. Therefore, you speak to the staff to sort out.
That is their job.
They took the reservation, they allocated the table, and (from your pov) someone was sat there.
That is for them to deal with.
Not you

You go to the bar/waiting station and mention that you have a table booked but it looks like there are people sitting there. Can someone please help?
Then, they look in their reservation diary or speak to the Manager on Duty and find out if your booking has been moved to a different table or not and they proceed from there.

If the customers were in the wrong and sat at 'your' table, since they had no food in front of them, staff would tell them that the group for this table has arrived and they need to move (often staff will also try and find a table for these people to move to), reset the table for you and do a hospitality arm wave and you're ready to go.

If the customers were allowed to sit there and they have another table for you, you would say "Aha Ms Unusual-Surname, we've popped your booking onto table 5 which is over here" (hospitality arm wave and smile).

Definitely should have asked the staff where to be seated.

Oh dear.

Also, just in defence of the manager. Because you never alerted anyone to the 'problem' and decided to deal with it yourself, she only has the word of the other customers as to whether you politely enquired about sharing the table or demanded they shift their arses. From her POV:

She has some bookings in and plenty of walk-ins. She manages to free up a table for a walk in by moving your reserved table elsewhere. Someone forgets to move the sign. Her walk-ins appear at the bar a bit disgruntled and tell her that some other customers came over and kicked them off the table and started to sit around them to intimidate them in order to make them move.

Even the cameras would back up their version of the story since it will show you approaching them and then sitting yourselves down at their table.

Then as others have repeatedly said, you find a staff member, tell them you have arrived for your booking and leave it to them to speak to the other party, then clear and clean the table ready for your meal.

It could have been relevant if the OP had said to a member of staff

“ Excuse me, is the manager around, we made a booking but it looks as though someone else is using our reserved table”

Then the member of staff could have said, “ Yes, she’s over there in the “pink” top, I’ll ask her to come over and sort it out for you.”
🙂

What are you talking about? I've only posted on this thread under this name. That's it.

And I didn't fucking "disappear for days" I work long shifts where I have no access to my phone.

Why did you post in the third person to defend yourself?

You need to look up the definition of "third person", because she certainly did NOT post in third person 😂😂😂😂😂

Is that you again EmptyTheFrickingBins?

"It wasn't the OP" says the OP. Somebody does indeed need to look up third person.

Then your deleted post must have been you personally insulting another poster because it was deleted for breaking talk guidelines.

That's your username. No two poster have the same username. The forum does not allow that facility.

So what did you say to get deleted?

Mn can easily confirm if you feel so inclined. 🤷 they deleted it. They know what it said .