I won't be returning and will be warning my friends off this restaurant. The manager showed contempt for us as customers and took advantage of my friend.
We went to Hare Krishna's for a celebratory dinner yesterday for my friend's birthday. Her husband had booked a table, and because there were nine of us, the manager asked for a £40 deposit. Unfortunately, one of the party was unwell and another two had a babysitting issue that meant they had to drop out at the last minute.
As we were moving to pay the bill, the manager made it clear that he was planning to keep all of the deposit - in addition to our sizeable bill - based on the three who didn't make it. Now, I understand that restaurants have to take deposits sometimes to guard against no-shows, but in this case we're talking about a half-full restaurant with four other completely empty tables. The lack of our three friends had made no difference to his business whatsoever; he could have easily fitted in another large group. I would have felt it kind if he had returned the deposit in full, and reasonable if he had kept one-third of the deposit in respect of the proportion of the party who didn't make it. But to retain the full deposit on that basis seemed excessive and unfair.
My friend, being good-natured (and British) and not wanting to cause a scene, agree to buy an additional £40 worth of food to take away, which he did not want. This was upsetting for the whole party and left us all feeling like our friend had been taken for a ride, casting a horrible shadow over his wife's birthday celebrations.
I tried to speak to the manager calmly about this as we were leaving, and he instantly started telling me I had no right to question him and asking me aggressively why I was sticking my nose in. Naturally, I told him that I thought this was a terrible way to do business, and that I'd be warning others of his approach to customer service. I hope you avoid eating here. read more