Butler's Bell - Gaolgate, Stafford.

[Gadget]

We must have has the same barmaid, we went in on a late sunday evening and were a massive party of 20, when I ordered she asked the table number (we were the only people ordering food) and wouldnt accept the 'massive table of 20 in the corner' as a table number

Same happened to me at the Radford bank, surly barman asked for table number went back to look for the number, told by someone else to look on the vase for number(which had been rubbed off). Went back and politley ordered but I thought the barman disintrested(food was ok but bland and won't be hurrying back)

The Radford Bank is notorious for it's miserable staff. Puts us right off not quite as bad as at The Spittal Brook however.
G x

 

[Gramaisc]

The Radford Bank is notorious for it's miserable staff.

I've only been five or six times, in the daytime, but I find them OK - and they're often under (un)fair pressure..

 

[tek-monkey]

Agreed, on the few occasions I've visited if anything there were too few staff for the job at hand.

 

[andy w]

Agreed, on the few occasions I've visited if anything there were too few staff for the job at hand.

Suppose thats how they can do a carvery for less than 4 quid which makes it incredibly busy and puts alot of work on the staff.

 

[Gramaisc]

Agreed, on the few occasions I've visited if anything there were too few staff for the job at hand.

Suppose thats how they can do a carvery for less than 4 quid which makes it incredibly busy and puts alot of work on the staff.

They spent a whole £950k renovating the place and, if I'm going to be stuffed to the gills with quite decent nosh for four quid, then I'm prepared to accept that throughput and cost-avoidance are part of the deal.

Having said that, the very efficient Kieron blagged us into having a pudding last Friday, and we didn't regret it..

 

[United57]

"Orange J2O and a diet coke no ice please"
"It's Pepsi, is that OK?" (agh! Yes, its the same stuff)
!

I know most of us are not bothered but it is different in the eyes of the law.

If you ask for coke ( coke cola) and they give you pepsi ( pepsi cola) technically they fall foul of the law.

Oddly she was right in that respect.

 

[Gramaisc]

"Orange J2O and a diet coke no ice please"
"It's Pepsi, is that OK?" (agh! Yes, its the same stuff)
!

I know most of us are not bothered but it is different in the eyes of the law.

If you ask for coke ( coke cola) and they give you pepsi ( pepsi cola) technically they fall foul of the law.

Oddly she was right in that respect.

Indeed, and there are picky people that would throw a strop if you tried to foist the 'wrong' stuff on them, even if it is basically almost identical..

 

[Zylo]

What are the drink prices like, similar to weatherspoons i'm guessing ? not more expensive ?

 

[halfmanhalfbrisket]

The same I think.. incidentally.. has the Picture House now re-opened?

 

[tek-monkey]

Yup, looks the same though from a quick glimpse round the door. Maybe some new chairs?

 

[juice-comedy]

"Orange J2O and a diet coke no ice please"
"It's Pepsi, is that OK?" (agh! Yes, its the same stuff)
"Diet or normal"
"Diet"
"Do you want ice?"
"No thank you"
[barmaid promprtly fills glass with ice]
"I didn't want ice thank you"
"Oh".

I do this at work approximately nine million times a shift. Mainly because, as others have said, I have to differentiate between things like Coke and Pepsi. And for some reason I can never remember whether people want ice or not, and on pure instinct put ice in everything. I'm like the bloke in the chip shop who pures salt and vinegar over everything whether you want it or not.

 

[That-Crazy-Rat-Lady]

We must have has the same barmaid, we went in on a late sunday evening and were a massive party of 20, when I ordered she asked the table number (we were the only people ordering food) and wouldnt accept the 'massive table of 20 in the corner' as a table number

Same happened to me at the Radford bank, surly barman asked for table number went back to look for the number, told by someone else to look on the vase for number(which had been rubbed off). Went back and politley ordered but I thought the barman disintrested(food was ok but bland and won't be hurrying back)

The Radford Bank is notorious for it's miserable staff. Puts us right off not quite as bad as at The Spittal Brook however.
G x

I actually complained about a member of staff at radford bank who turned to a colleague behind the bar and said:
'If she doesn’t shut the F*** up I'm going to slap her F***in face off' all because I was talking to my friend about customer service in shops and how some people never smile! Nothing to do with said barmaid, but in the end I got 6 free carverys! Woo!

 

[Glam]

Heading Butler's Bell in a bit,me n me mate are having a 'Ladies who lunch' day. Tho 2 tarts get ratted is more like it! I'd rather head 'spoons,cos me daughter works behind the bar at The Butlers.

 

[wildwood]

Yup, looks the same though from a quick glimpse round the door. Maybe some new chairs?

New carpets, new chairs and the ceiling has been repaired and painted.

 

[monkey bidness]

Been in BnB for lunch today. First impressions v good. Bright decor, buzzing atmosphere, good mix of customers,no crappy Muzak, no obvious dipsos and , finally, very helpful & cheerful staff. Given the price structure, only a curmudgeon would complain about the quality of the food & drink. Helpful bar person even pointed out to me that It would cost me less to have a 'special' which included my original choice together with extra chips & a drink.
CHEERS!
hic

 

[Glam]

Been in BnB for lunch today. First impressions v good. Bright decor, buzzing atmosphere, good mix of customers,no crappy Muzak, no obvious dipsos and , finally, very helpful & cheerful staff. Given the price structure, only a curmudgeon would complain about the quality of the food & drink. Helpful bar person even pointed out to me that It would cost me less to have a 'special' which included my original choice together with extra chips & a drink.
CHEERS!
hic

Me and me mate went in Tuesday,had a very nice meal and copius (is that how you spell it?) amounts of falling down liquid,Dunno bout our 2 tarts gettin ratted day,2 owld winos tryin find their way home more like! Layout reminded me slightly of The Yard,might be wrong,i'm anyones after 5 pints.

 

[juice-comedy]

Given the price structure, only a curmudgeon would complain about the quality of the food & drink.

I personally disagree with this. Saying that you can't complain about a place because its cheap is ludicrous. If a customer is unhappy with the product then they're unhappy with the product, no matter what the cost. If you're in business then you should strive for quality. They are in charge of their own prices, I'm not forcing them to be ridiculously cheap.

If I buy something from Poundland and I'm not happy with it, then I'm still going to complain. They set the price, I paid it, I'm unhappy.

Besides which, I've had better feeds at cafes/greasy-spoons for very similar prices. Charging pittance and serving shit is bad business, in my opinion.

But of course, this is easily avoided by me not availing myself of their services.

 

[andy w]

Given the price structure, only a curmudgeon would complain about the quality of the food & drink.

I personally disagree with this. Saying that you can't complain about a place because its cheap is ludicrous. If a customer is unhappy with the product then they're unhappy with the product, no matter what the cost. If you're in business then you should strive for quality. They are in charge of their own prices, I'm not forcing them to be ridiculously cheap.

If I buy something from Poundland and I'm not happy with it, then I'm still going to complain. They set the price, I paid it, I'm unhappy.

Besides which, I've had better feeds at cafes/greasy-spoons for very similar prices. Charging pittance and serving shit is bad business, in my opinion.

But of course, this is easily avoided by me not availing myself of their services.

Totally agree, a couple of years back was enticed by the cheap prices at the Picture House and had the steak pie and chips, when it came the pie was tepid so with some trepidation I took it back and told them so.The response was about as warm as the pie and when my meal returned it wasn't much hotter and the quality and quantity of the meat was poor.Needless to say we have never eaten in there since.
As juice comedy says a poor experience is still poor whatever the price.
You can still get good lunchtime food for around £3 at the Rose and Crown and the Bap shop they do substancial pork/turkey rolls for £2.50

 

[52.8N-2.1W]

Just noticed walking past today that the Butler's Bell doesn't make a point of being a Wetherspoon from the outside - something which I've always found handy in locating somewhere for a quick pint, free WiFi and a "know exactly what you're getting" bite to eat when somewhere unfamiliar.

 

[tek-monkey]

You can still always tell by the A-boards though, found a few like that when in Wales.