Squeak.x
19-Jun-12, 16:34
Having some time to kill in Thurso, two comrades and I stopped at the Weigh Inn for coffee and a bite to eat.
Hahaha. Big mistake.
Though it seems inviting enough from the outside, once inside the illusion soon disappears. The tabletop size is cramped, there were no menus to be seen, no prices displayed and the odds of being attended to by a waiter or waitress is commensurate with that of winning the lottery. Even the waitress who did eventually come to the table seemed both incapable and disinterested in even attempting to take our order.
We finally gave up waiting and, along with a steady stream of other abandoned customers, placed our order directly at the bar. A waiter then arrived with three napkins, knives, forks and a condiment set, so covering about 50% of the surface area of the table. Some time later, three 'cappuccinos' and a plate of chips occupied the remaining 50%.
The waitress came with a bowl that contained packets of sugar. About 15 packets of white and one of demerara. A 'lucky' recipient was selected to take the single demerara sugar, their joy being short-lived when they lifted it from the bowl and it dripped vinegar everywhere. The bowl in which the packets of sugar sat was literally one third full with vinegar.
Another trip to the bar and a wad of dry packets of demerara later and we settled down to our 'cappuccinos' (that turned out to be ordinary coffees with a sprinkling of chocolate powder) and our chips (that had the distinctive taste of days-old fish fat).
Finally it became time to escape and we asked the 'waitress' for the bill. (This proved too much to ask for and we never saw her again.) Five or six minutes after that, one of us went back to the bar to pay. Upon returning, they related the cost and we all spent another five or six minutes trying to justify the price paid. Being unable to juggle the figures in any way to add up to the extortionate amount claimed, we asked for an itemized bill. At least five minutes more and we asked again. ... And again. Until ... no, no itemized bill, but a refund amounting to 43% of what had been extorted at the bar was given.
So, on a rating scale of 1 to 5, The Weigh Inn scored ... 0.
Hahaha. Big mistake.
Though it seems inviting enough from the outside, once inside the illusion soon disappears. The tabletop size is cramped, there were no menus to be seen, no prices displayed and the odds of being attended to by a waiter or waitress is commensurate with that of winning the lottery. Even the waitress who did eventually come to the table seemed both incapable and disinterested in even attempting to take our order.
We finally gave up waiting and, along with a steady stream of other abandoned customers, placed our order directly at the bar. A waiter then arrived with three napkins, knives, forks and a condiment set, so covering about 50% of the surface area of the table. Some time later, three 'cappuccinos' and a plate of chips occupied the remaining 50%.
The waitress came with a bowl that contained packets of sugar. About 15 packets of white and one of demerara. A 'lucky' recipient was selected to take the single demerara sugar, their joy being short-lived when they lifted it from the bowl and it dripped vinegar everywhere. The bowl in which the packets of sugar sat was literally one third full with vinegar.
Another trip to the bar and a wad of dry packets of demerara later and we settled down to our 'cappuccinos' (that turned out to be ordinary coffees with a sprinkling of chocolate powder) and our chips (that had the distinctive taste of days-old fish fat).
Finally it became time to escape and we asked the 'waitress' for the bill. (This proved too much to ask for and we never saw her again.) Five or six minutes after that, one of us went back to the bar to pay. Upon returning, they related the cost and we all spent another five or six minutes trying to justify the price paid. Being unable to juggle the figures in any way to add up to the extortionate amount claimed, we asked for an itemized bill. At least five minutes more and we asked again. ... And again. Until ... no, no itemized bill, but a refund amounting to 43% of what had been extorted at the bar was given.
So, on a rating scale of 1 to 5, The Weigh Inn scored ... 0.