After a productive and full day of meetings in London I manage to
miss my train home by 1 minute... its vibrant colours waving back at me
almost sounding like Nelsons (see the Simpsons) catchphrase, Haw HAW!
Defeated,
I decide to treat myself to a half pint of "shandy" and as the publican
is about to serve me I upgrade it to a full pint of shandy..hurrah... but then he asks for £6.20 in return!
Now I know I am in London, expecting to pay London prices, but still...
£6.20 for a pint of lager shandy? I mean a shandy is after all only
half a pint of lager topped with another half of lemonade, even in
London that should not exceed a fiver. I soon realize that he is
passing me a not very full pint of lager and a small bottle of
lemonade. (A lager "top" in the UK refers to a 5/6 pint of lager
topped with a 1/6 lemonade).
Thinking that this publican can't
tell his "top" from his "shandy" I paid and went to my table but
realizing that I had no receipt I went back and asked for one. My
suspicion was correct I was charged for a full pint and a bottle of
lemonade...
Deciding to inquire further I ask another employee who
explains that they don't have any more draft lemonade and since they
have to give a small bottle they go for a "top" every time someone asks
for a "shandy"....
I was thirsty and had to travel another hour
and a half by train plus ride my bicycle in darkness from the train
station to home, so I really wanted a shandy not a top. But considering
how tired I was, I didn't really mind the end result, but what I did
mind is how it was done. At no point was I asked if I wanted a "top"
and frankly if I get charged for a full pint of lager and a bottle of
lemonade I would appreciate been given the full pint!
I know its
not a huge deal and I fully realize that in hospitality operations
across the UK we have bigger problems, from human trafficking to alcohol
abuse, to bullying and harassment to name a few issues. BUT it
occurred to me that if an employee is not interested enough to give
accurate information to her customers and deliver the product she
promised then doesn't that speak volumes about the organization and its
ability to cultivate responsible hospitality citizens?
If a
hospitality organization does not care enough about delivering an
ethical service to their customers then how much do they care about
their employees and those really BIG hospitality social questions... I
think we have come a long way in the last 20 years in the UK
hospitality, but we still have a lot of work to do, and I do mean A LOT
OF WORK!
*Note: The pint of lager was a Fosters, not the lager in the picture... I had no energy for taking a photo of the actual offending pint :)
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