J.D. Wetherspoon

[miumiumiu000]

Oh, I have another complaint - why is their food sometimes so terrible and taste like it has been microwaved? I really don't know why I keep going back - think that will have been the last time!

you should make complaint there and ask for a replacement of the horrible food you get. a lot people are same like you, not satisfied with the food or whatever,but they keep going back just because there are not many choices

[catran]

Next time, I think I'll be going elsewhere! Only reason we went to Wetherspoons' was because of the price.

That is the attractive bit........price......not the managers ect and the rundown furniture all needing refurbished........Dont often go there but happened to be the other week and oh my goodness the place is needing an overhaul. Mind you the boys behind the bar were very mannerably and without fault but there was a woman trying to arrange flowers on a table... was that the new Manageresss per chance??????Has the Manager gone gone???? I am not up to date getting too old for frequenting the night life in town

[rfr10]

...keep going back just because there are not many choices

Sounds exactly like the reason I keep going back!

[rfr10]

That is the attractive bit........price......not the managers ect and the rundown furniture all needing refurbished........Dont often go there but happened to be the other week and oh my goodness the place is needing an overhaul. Mind you the boys behind the bar were very mannerably and without fault but there was a woman trying to arrange flowers on a table... was that the new Manageresss per chance??????Has the Manager gone gone???? I am not up to date getting too old for frequenting the night life in town

I found the staff behind the bar had a very pleasant attitude. It's the table staff who were terrible (not all of course, just some).

Oh goodness knows who the manager is but if it was the manager I spoke to today, little wonder the place is so bad some times! I don't think anyone knows who runs the place if you ask me.

[catran]

Well then when one is on the subject is the Back Bridge Street club any better? Not a lot of choice in this town for a quiet drink without paying over the odds. someone did say the Backer but............????????? Mind you not been in there since years and years and years and it used to be OK.

[rfr10]

Well, police are always trying to get young people off the streets with drink etc.. but then when they innocently go into a pub / restaurant, they are faced with bad mannered staff and put off going back again.. Don't think this is a step in the right direction. Seems like the only place to go if you look under 21/ 25 whetever it is, is your own house. Sad really.

[rfr10]

Well then when one is on the subject is the Back Bridge Street club any better? Not a lot of choice in this town for a quiet drink without paying over the odds. someone did say the Backer but............????????? Mind you not been in there since years and years and years and it used to be OK.

Only time I have been there was when we played in door bowls in primary school. Can't remember much about it though. I hear the Harbour Lights I think it's called is supposed to be quite good. Can't say I've ever though about going there, can't see much from the outside as it's all wooden.

[forevera123]

Well, I would write a stiff letter of complaint to the area manager and say how unprofessional the staff were. I can't abide this 'over 21' nonsense - the legal age is 18 and RFR could prove that so he at least should have been able to keep his drink.

this is so unfair for someone with babyface but over 21yrs? there is sometime they forgot bringing id with them!

[forevera123]

Well, police are always trying to get young people off the streets with drink etc.. but then when they innocently go into a pub / restaurant, they are faced with bad mannered staff and put off going back again.. Don't think this is a step in the right direction. Seems like the only place to go if you look under 21/ 25 whetever it is, is your own house. Sad really.

it is sad, or we all need to change drinking soft drinks only then there would be more places for us to go

[Mrs Bucket]

Here in Charleston, South Carolina you get asked for ID if you look under the age of 40. Once I forgot my ID and I was refused alcohol. The same goes for purchasing cigs.

It comes down to taking responsibilty for your actions. In Scotland if you drink alcohol you should always carry ID just in case.

[Fluff]

RFR, can you clear one thing up I am confused about. When the waitress took your drinks away, did she take your drink too?
And if she did, surely they have no right to do that as you are old enough?

[Gizmo]

Well I have to say, I always have unpleasant experiences with the food here but today was a different matter and before I submit a formal complaint to them, I'd like to know people's opinions on what happened-

Today, I purchased three alcoholic drinks at a total cost of £6.20 for three friends I was with. I had identification to prove I was at the legal age for purchasing alcohol. My friends did not, although they are both eighteen years of age. The bar staff did not ask me for proof of identification, therefore I happily took the drinks and sat down with a meal. It wasn’t until we had started consuming the drinks that a waitress approached our table and asked if we had ID. Now, I am sure I am correct in saying that, if they had doubts about our age, the bar staff should have asked us for this in the first place before allowing us to purchase the drinks. Yes, it was our fault that we did not all have identification but it is at the fault of the bar staff for selling us the alcohol in the first place and then, after purchasing it, asking for ID and when the two of my friends did not have ID, their drinks were taken away. I had asked for a refund as they had barely even touched the drink but the waitress refused and said “You are the ones who risked buying it without ID in the first place, you shouldn’t have done that”. It was a total disgrace the way we were treated. I am aware that we are teenagers but this does not give the staff the right to speak to us like this (or maybe they speak to adults like this too?). I asked to speak to the manager who, after about 10 minutes, eventually came over with a smug grin on his face and basically said the exact same as the waitress said to us, as well as “You shouldn’t be buying alcohol for under agers”. All my friends were at the legal age for purchasing alcohol, we told him. We received little response as he walked away from us. Again, I was disgusted with his attitude towards us and he evidently did not care one little bit and did not apologise.

Maybe it was our fault completely. Maybe we have no right to get our money back and maybe I have no right to complain? What do you think?

The only grounds you have for complaint is if you were indeed treated without good manners, regardless of the fact that you yourself had I.D but weren't asked for it, you bought drinks for friends who never had I.D. It doesnt matter who bought the drinks, bar staff can't be aware of everyone who might be in your party, and if any member of staff who sees your table suspects that someone might not be of legal drinking age then it is their responsibility to ask for I.D, and if customers can't prove their age because they don't have I.D with them then that's just tough, you lose your drinks...and you DON'T get a refund, if you're as clued up on 'Youth Issues' as you like to think you are then you should be fully aware that if you look under 21 then you will get asked for I.D, and that if you can't produce I.D then you will have your drinks confiscated.
It sounds like you were fully aware that your friends didn't have I.D on them, that's why you 'who had I.D' did the purchasing, you 'Chanced It' (like many do) and now your moaning because the 'possibly rude' staff did what is legally required of them.

The attitude of locals towards being asked for I.D never ceases to amaze me, i mean...they wouldn't think twice about being asked for I.D if they were in a City pub...they accept it as "The Way It Is", but in little old Wick they don't seem to think the same rules apply. Bar Staff take an incredible amount of flak and attitude from customers when asking for I.D, and the worst culprits are adults who seem to think that it's perfectly acceptable to "Vouch" for someone at their table who may not have I.D when challenged for it, i couldn't tell you the amount of times i have heard.."Oh it's ok, i know him/her, they are 18, only to be met with a barage of abuse or attitude when you tell them that it's "Not actually ok", local bars are not a free for all western saloon, there are licensing laws and individual company policy, learn them and deal with them.....or just stay at home

[crayola]

The only grounds you have for complaint is if you were indeed treated without good manners

Absolutely, but isn't that sufficient?

Additionally, the bar staff were lax in not asking for ID in the first instance and I expect Wetherspoons would like to know this.

[Gizmo]

Absolutely, but isn't that sufficient?

Of course it is, but there was a lot more to his original complaint than just the way he was treated by the staff.

Additionally, the bar staff were lax in not asking for ID in the first instance and I expect Wetherspoons would like to know this.

Yeah, agreed, but that could be down to a few reasons, the person serving could be fully aware that the customer is over 18 by having I.D'd them previously, this is a small town and you get to know your regular customers.
But you all seem to be missing the point, even if he was asked to produce I.D the situation would be no different, 'He' bought alcohol and brought it to a table where people couldn't prove their age.

[crayola]

Of course it is, but there was a lot more to his original complaint than just the way he was treated by the staff.

Yes but I think we both know he doesn't have a leg to stand on regarding anything other than poor service from the 'manager' and his staff.

Yeah, agreed, but that could be down to a few reasons, the person serving could be fully aware that the customer is over 18 by having I.D'd them previously, this is a small town and you get to know your regular customers.
But you all seem to be missing the point, even if he was asked to produce I.D the situation would be no different, 'He' bought alcohol and brought it to a table where people couldn't prove their age.

I didn't miss the point, I walked around it and crept up on it from a different angle.

Joking aside, I wouldn't be happy if any of my staff covered up their poor practice by blaming our customers and being rude to them.

[bekisman]

rfr10 (Highland Youth Voice
Hi everyone and welcome to our section about the Badenoch and Strathspey Youth Forum.
We are up to loads just now but here are a few thing we are concentrating on:
Tackling underage drinking

We have met with the local Police to talk about the underage drinking issue and are going to make a leaflet for people who sell drink to let them know what to look out for and also what sort of trouble they would get into if they are caught selling to under 18's.
http://www.hyv.org.uk/badenoch--strathspey-youth-forum.htm?sksearchtext=underage drinking

[Skerries]

Why would you want to go there anyway?
It's a boring chain pub with rubbish food. There are plenty of other places to go. Don't give the rude staff a second thought, take your business elsewhere.

[Venture]

It's a pity that the establishment in question are not as particular at applying the same procedure at weekends. Judging by the amount of under-age drinkers I saw throwing alcohol down their necks the last time I was in there, maybe the staff, manager included, should practice what they preach at weekends as well as at lunchtimes.

[rfr10]

Of course it is, but there was a lot more to his original complaint than just the way he was treated by the staff.



Yeah, agreed, but that could be down to a few reasons, the person serving could be fully aware that the customer is over 18 by having I.D'd them previously, this is a small town and you get to know your regular customers.
But you all seem to be missing the point, even if he was asked to produce I.D the situation would be no different, 'He' bought alcohol and brought it to a table where people couldn't prove their age.

It is their responsibility in the first place to ask for ID and ensure that the drinks being purchased are for people aged 18 or over. For example, say I was seventeen (now there is little difference beteween the way I look now and the way I looked when I was 17), yes it would have been illegal for me to attempt to purchase the drinks initially but it would also have been illegal for the staff to sell me the drink in the first place, regardless to whether or not someone else then took the drink off me.

Anyway, as I said, it is their disgusting manners I was more annoyed with than anything else. I don't care how old I am, I expect to be treated with respect and like an adult if I am talking to them like an adult. My friends admit that it was their fault they had no ID and would not have objected so strongly if we were treated with respect. If we had been unsure of the law ( which I'm sure many people are), it is the staff responsibility to ensure that we are making a legal purchase and if they then have a problem with this AFTER us giving them our money, they have a responsibility to offer a refund or alternative otherwise, I'm sure it could be classed as theft. let me also make it clear that I have no problem providing ID, I even had my ID ready to provide at the bar and was surprised when they never asked for it as I could easily have been under 18.

[rfr10]

It's a pity that the establishment in question are not as particular at applying the same procedure at weekends. Judging by the amount of under-age drinkers I saw throwing alcohol down their necks the last time I was in there, maybe the staff, manager included, should practice what they preach at weekends as well as at lunchtimes.

I'd really like to see someone from Trading Standards question people every now and then in pubs including Wetherspoons to make sure if they have purchased alcohol, they are 18 or over. I know of 16 year olds who have been sold alcohol and have ended up totally off their head drunk. Goodness knows why they are sold it when we were not. We were sitting with a meal and only had one drink each, it's not as though we were causing trouble. I'm sure I read somewhere that alcohol such as beer & wine can be sold with a meal to people aged 15 (???) as long as they were with an adult.