BITE user comments - antand
Comments by antand
The owner, Kevin, is the most miserable so-and-so you'll ever meet. Feels like he's doing you a favour if you go in there.
Food is OK but not all that great - atmosphere is hostile if you're not in their little clique.
25 May 2007 22:57
I wrote to the management at the Feathers after this incident and at least the Manager bothered to call me back. She was defensive of her staff (unsurprising as she presumably employed them on the first place) - although she did eventually apologise.
As it happens last week I had quite a few (business) visitors to take out for lunch and/or dinner and we managed very well without The Feathers - and, yes Gareth, I did take one of our American visitors to The Garland on Friday night (even better for me as I live South of Redhill).
We have a member of staff who is leaving tomorrow to go on maternity leave - because of this experience she has invited people to the Railway, across the road from the Feathers, so I am sure there will be quite a bit of business coming their way tomorrow ( which would have gone to the Feathers otherwise).
As a point of information, the young man whom they refused to serve is actually 28 next Tuesday - so we are looking forward to celebrating that - but I know where we won't be going to do it!!
28 Feb 2007 23:05
I run a business in the area and we have supported this pub with our business for many years - this in spite of deteriorating customer service, an ever-shrinking menu and variable quality of food. I also am trying to stay off the beer and The Feathers offers a good selection of wine by the glass.
In the past we have had to wait up to 90 minutes for food to be served and have, on several recent occasions been served burnt ( and inedible) offerings when it has finally arrived.
However, this evening I took a group of staff (as part of a send off to one of our long-serving colleagues) to the pub for pre-dinner drinks. One of our staff, although he had been served alcohol earlier in the evening, was challenged re his age (this in spite of the fact that he is actually 28 next month). As company MD, and known as a regular supporter of the pub, I reassured the bar staff that he was in fact almost 10 years older than the legal age. In return, I suffered rudeness and, effectively, being told I was a liar by someone who barely looks 18 herself.
I realise that there are penalties , and rightly so, for serving alcohol to those below the legal minimum age limit - in fact, I acknowledged this in the 'discussion' with the young lady involved. However, she then indicated that because my staff member had reacted 'lairily' then she would not be serving him.
For me this is about general customer relations than about the issue itself.
As you may expect, we will not be taking any more of our business to this pub and, in a way, this incident has given us a good reasons to support some of the much better-run and more customer-friendly gastro-pubs in the local area.
It's a shame as I liked what they were trying to do - but it's really gone down the pan over the past couple of years - and what we suffered tonight was the last straw.
16 Feb 2007 00:38
The Feathers, Merstham
Went back a couple of weeks ago. It is now like something out of 'The League of Gentlemen' - the staff are rather peculiar - and the pub almost empty! Food was OK though and, unusually, didn't take too long.
20 Mar 2009 16:43