BITE user comments - 6857
Comments by 6857
The management do not seem to realise that my post (Aug 11) is not a criticism but a warning to potential customers that the system, however well advertised, is going to catch some people out being the only pub I have ever known where this system is used. Apparently my great sin is not going through the management first. They must be joking; it's a pub FFS, not a workplace or a school etc. They think they're running a private club and there is a sense of amateurish self-importance.
25 Sep 2016 04:00
On 11 Aug I posted a warning about the car parking system which could catch some people out. I was told tonight by the manager that unless I remove this "criticism" as he called it my own fine ( from an "offence" on 19 July) will not be rescinded and furthermore I will be barred. The pub does not pay the fine but it costs them £10 to rescind it and there have been quite a number of cases where regulars have simply forgotten to clock in. I get the feeling that the pub is somewhat embarrassed by this business.
My post of Aug 11 stands and will not be removed. The Hope cannot cope with any criticism whatever and now appears to be unable even to accept a publicised warning containing nothing but the straightforward but uncomfortable truth.
They've just lost a customer.
20 Sep 2016 00:43
The Hope has a car park but there's a trick. You have to enter your car's registration number in a little machine on the bar. Failure to do so will result in a £100 fine from the car park's administrators, Parking Eye. This has just happened to me even though I'm a regular and I am not at all amused. It's easy enough to forget what with all the distractions. I may have to try somewhere less risky but it won't be as good as The Hope.
11 Aug 2016 16:20
This pub needs a personnel officer to veto the appointment of one or two of the bar staff. Enjoy the beer but don't fall in love with the place and above all don't criticise it - that's something they simply can't cope with, so far up their own arses are they, this clique.
14 Feb 2014 01:43
The bollocking mentioned in my previous post was administered by the barman and one other in full public view as people were leaving. Also, as I was ordering I was told in no uncertain terms (by the same barman) that I had 37 minutes to drink that and get out. Such charm. With just a few minutes to spare I had downed the drink and placed the glass on the bar, as I do every time though admit to sometimes being a bit slow to actually leave.
The actual reason for the public bollocking was because I had not gone through the proper channels (the manager) with my earlier complaint about the general shoutiness and bellowing. So, beefyboy, you're playing with fire. Ask permission!
28 Apr 2013 19:38
beefyboy's comments are interesting, given his previous favourable reviews. (I don't know who he is, BTW). That's two who have put pen to paper but there are more widespread rumblings amongst customers.
Tonight I was lectured by two bar staff on the crime of posting my criticism of a few days ago. I can do without that, as anyone could. It was rather like being back in school, with prefects and spies everywhere This has happened before, a few years ago, with comments I made *outside* the pub but overheard by one of the prefects and he went and told Miss. It's that sort of place. From the exchanges I'd say I was now barred, which simplifies matters.
Enjoy the beer but watch your lip. You're a guest, not a member, in a very exclusive and self-absorbed club. What a shame; I used to be rather in love with the place.
28 Apr 2013 02:37
Practically everything about this pub is good but there are a few staff problems which become apparent if you stay to the end. A few days ago a friend had her drink (about a quarter of a glass) snatched from the table with the bad-tempered remark that "We're closed". She was quite upset, and who wouldn't be. A simple "Drink up, please" would have been quite sufficient but to be fair I should mention that a director (they're everywhere!) did apologise pretty quickly which calmed things down enough. But it makes you wonder.
Tonight, as I was more or less in the process of leaving I was bellowed at to get out as they "wanted to lock the place up". This sergeant-majorish command probably saved them less than 30 seconds and was quite unnecessary and despite the beer and conversation I left with a slightly nasty taste in my mouth. It gave one the distinct impression they'd had enough of bloody customers and wanted to get on with a lock-in piss-up, which maybe an unfair assessment but again, one wonders.
Not all staff members actually seem to enjoy working in a pub and one or two find it very difficult to smile. This is a personnel issue and as a regular and basically a great enthusiast for the place I'd say it was worth addressing.
25 Apr 2013 01:04
The man on the door is not a thug by any means (if it is who I think it is) though he does rather enjoy bellowing at customers to clear off at the end of the evening, as does the female staff member mentioned in my earlier post. This does rather tend to spoil the evening and reinforces the impression, along with other things, that The Hope is not really a pub but a club for real ale fanatics. Customers, being necessary, are tolerated but should never forget they are not "one of us" and should go and have a wee and clear off when told to. The staff have been allowed to get too big for their own boots, blinded by what they see as their beery virtue.
1 Jan 2013 17:05
A problem that has developed over the years is the employment of shouty or bellowing bar staff, one of whom declares her desire to go home and we'd better do the same PDQ. In none of the many other pubs I visit have I found this kind of thing. Also, the staff, a large and amorphous group which includes part-time volunteers, have privileges not afforded to mere customers and can comprise a significant minority of the drinkers. They are allowed to stay late and thus ignore the shouting and can also play the piano at any time after hours, something a mere customer had better not try, on pain of being yelled at. This is a great shame as the beer is excellent in all respects but the management is smug, self-important and frankly a bit amateurish and ought to realise there is more to running a pub than having good beer.
20 Dec 2012 19:05
The pub has a piano, courtesy of the licensee Susanna, and is looked after by a regular. Anyone can play it and no-one abuses it. It's that kind of pub.
13 Apr 2010 02:18
A wonderful pub, rescued from thugs about a year ago. Tremendous selection of real ales, including mild. A good friendly atmosphere with older beer enthusiasts helping out in the cellar and with maintenance matters. Clientele of all ages who mix easily. This is a great pub which deserves to flourish and so far is increasingly doing so.
22 Apr 2009 15:25
The Hope, Carshalton
Well, droggs, don't stay to the end or you'll be really bellowed at by the manager, a wannabe drill sergeant, something I haven't heard in any pub for yonks. And don't forget to key in your car reg on the little device on the bar or you'll be fined £100 by the car park's administrators to whom the pub has outsourced the problem.
23 Oct 2016 05:13