The William Web Ellis, Twickenham

Just a quick PS. I had to leave the computer.
After being scolded by my mates for the bad service and dreadful staff attitude.
They told me that they would never return to a Wetherspoons.
This is unfair. I have been to many in London where the staff couldn't have been nicer.
Once bitten and all that.
The William Webb Ellis obviously has a lot of potential. If it had the usual Wetherspoon type of staff I don't see a problem.
Unfortunately I cannot tell my friends that. They consider the customer is King.
Rightly so.

15 Jan 2013 18:51

The William Web Ellis, Twickenham

This is the worst Wetherspoons for service I have ever been to, it ended up making me lose face with some friends.
I went there a short while ago when my two friends lost their jobs in the City. They didn't want to go as it was a Wetherspoons, but, I argued that since they had lost their jobs, it might be an idea to save money. They finally agreed.
This was my first trip to Twickenham, but I have been to a number of Wetherspoons around the country and in Central London. I was sure all would be fine.
We entered to find a very large open space, with a nice open fire. My friends commented approval of the chandeliers above the bar. I thought I had won.
The rest of the pub seemed rather dark. After about ten minutes we had still not been served at the long bar. The staff seemed to be preoccupied with their own thing. Then someone walked in and was served immediately. Not good.
Finally a surly Eastern European with a bad attitude served us our beer.
This was fine, a nice choice of ales, and the beer seemed well kept.
One of my friends became uneasy, he was watching what looked like under managers darting around the bar and then collecting glasses.
"You don't have to be surly here, but it helps." He commented.
Back to the bar for some more surly looks and another long wait. It was hardly busy. A thin surly barman with a badge was about to serve us when he was called over by a miserable looking man in glasses. Ok. fine, we will wait a bit longer. Then a short aggressive female turned up and said yes, in a stroppy manner. "Yes, we have no bananas."Sang my other mate. This produced a glare and a scowl. An unpleasant experience.
We sat back at our table to discover a local had joined us.
"Who's smiler with the specs?" Said my mate.
"Oh that's the manager, you hardly ever see him. He sits upstairs infront of the CCTV and barks at the staff on the phone if they spend more than 20 seconds talking to the customers!"
Nice.
We immediately drank up and left. Then found an excellent pub by the river. Pricey but a better atmoshphere.

15 Jan 2013 17:51