The Ypres Castle Inn, Rye

Dropped in here on Sunday for a spot of lunch with the family. - Okay, who wants to tell me what the Landlord's problem is? Fine if we've missed lunch - A simple 'Sorry you're too late for lunch, I'm afraid - we serve from X to Y. Can I get you a drink though?' is broadly what one would expect. Oh no, it seems that common courtesy is a little too much for this clearly mean spirited individual. Which in the current climate is fairly remarkable. FYI the exchange that took place was exactly as follows:

Me: Hello there, have you got any menus knocking about?
Him: (without looking up from pouring a pint) Lunch is finished.

So myself and my family are left standing in the middle of the bar with no option but to turn around and leave after receiving such a 'warm' welcome.

With the current rate of pub closures it's reasonable to imagine that every landlord would be wanting to maintain and certainly build upon their existing customer base. Maybe this 'advanced mode' of business thinking hasn't occurred to the management of this establishment. It sounds like a cliche (and remember folks, they're cliches because they're true) the landlord of this pub doesn't actually care about his customers. It was a desperately offputting experience and I for one will not step into this pub again. Interesting to note from the other reviews of this place that people have had similar experiences. I specifically registered on this site so that I could air this grievance; I do hope that the (and I hesitate to call him this) the landlord of this pub looks at this site and takes stock of the situation. Please, if you don't like working with the public then get another job. it's not hard....

25 Aug 2009 13:07