I'm a student in London, (in particular at Imperial College although this doesn't mean I'm a freak)....
I'm a student in London, (in particular at Imperial College although this doesn't mean I'm a freak). So I probably won't be reviewing any tropical paradises for you! Originally from Sunderland so that makes me a mackem and a footie follower by birth. M...
Member since:22.01.2001
Reviews:9
Members who trust:7
I was dissappointed by the standard of (usually good) service on offer at Wetherspoons' William Morris Pub in Hammersmith.
I'm a student in London so I usually go to Wetherspoons for its cheap prices, and its decent and efficient service. Because they're a reasonably big chain there's one round the corner from my flat its quite handy. Most times I'm pleased with the standards it provides. You can get a good meal and a drink for about three pounds which compares very well to the tenner you might pay in some of the others. I won't go on as there are many well written, other opinions if you want to know what Wetherspoons is like on a good day for cheap prices etc. However, there are bad days....
Today the service was terrible! It was a usual Sunday
lunchtime, and as I used to work in a similar (but much larger) establishment I know things can get a bit hectic. However, none of the staff seemed at all bothered, and one took five minutes to get one small order. Another sent a foreign lady away from the bar because she didn't have the table number - I know you are supposed to note this down before you go to the bar - but we were expected to know all the table numbers anyway. The 'know your table number scheme' is to speed up the ordering process not to embarrass the customer in front of a packed bar of people. Another man, after claiming he had been waiting ten minutes was asked to leave!
After waiting ten minutes myself to order drinks I returned to my table decided on food and that too took ten minutes to order. We ordered a mixed grill and a turf 'n' surf - a steak with twelve pieces of scampi amongst other things. When the food arrived twenty five minutes later my partners food was alright but the scampi was badly burnt, and in ten rather small pieces - some of the other bits advertised on the menu like tomatoes etc. were also missing.
I know this might seem a bit pedantic but in places like these all the staff involved in preparing, serving and carrying the food to the table are asked to check the food is up to standard and sadly this wasn't the case. I wouldn't have minded so much (although I still think there is no excuse for serving burnt food) if this was one of the 'two meals for six quid' dishes but this one dish, which I'd ordered as a treat, cost seven pounds.
When my partner went to the bar to complain he was very polite to the waitress, and after she couldn't attract the managers attention one of the other senior staff asked her 'Is this the bloke that was causing trouble?' Thankfully he's not as bad-tempered as I can be when I don't get the standard of service I require or I would have actually put in a complaint after being accused like this. Alright you have to be careful in these situations and he could have politely asked that he and the waitress be excused while he asked her this question. My partner certainly doesn't look like a trouble maker - and even so you should never say something like that in front of a potentially loyal customer!
Someone finally came over and exchanged our meals for edible ones. We ate our meals amongst ten or so tables littered with the leftovers of other peoples meals as no one was clearing the tables - hardly a nice atmosphere. By this point most of the other diners had had their meals and left! After this series of 'mishaps' I was glad to gulp down my meal and get out of there. Hardly the best sunday lunch I've ever taken someone out for!
What should have been a normally busy sunday lunch turned out to be a huge dissappointment to ourselves and alot of the other complaining customers because the staff couldn't be bothered to do a few checks and speed up. What a disgrace to the good name of wetherspoons.
I don't want this to colour other people's views of Wetherspoons, I know they usually provide a good service and the staff are normally better than this. However, if you do have a bad experience don't sit there and put up with it, hopefully they'll take notice of our complaints.
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There's a Weatherspoons in my town, and it's always busy. Louise. x
anna_mcnally 13.06.2002 16:16
Good op. You should print this off and send it to Wetherspoons head office, as most large companies are happy to send you vouchers to make up for occasions like this.
Gardenex 14.02.2001 23:27
Very well written as usual . I went in the Scarborough one a few weeks ago for the first time and enjoyed it but I agree what you described is not acceptable and you were right to complain-Lee.
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Feb 4th, 2001
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