The Salisbury, Harringay

I am now very happy to declare that service here has improved no end and a big thank you to all the hard working and pleasant staff of the Salisbury

16 Apr 2009 21:59

The Salisbury, Harringay

I am a Salisbury regular and visit a couple of times a week. It is one of my favorite places to go for a pint as it has one of the finest examples of a decorative Victorian pub interior that you will find anywhere in Britain.
I can confidentially claim without any objection that it is also the most difficult place in the whole country to be served a drink. Service here is appalling, no matter how busy or quiet. I have no idea who the manager is, but maybe he or she should get their backside into third gear and improve the service. One night recently, a young female customer and I got so exasperated waiting for service that we started jumping up and down at the counter, whilst waving our arms. This provided several minutes of amusement to the assembled clientele, but alas made no impression on the blinkered bar staff.
The other drawback to this pub is the lack of ventilation in the back bar cooking area. Spend even the shortest time in this section of the pub and you will come out with your clothes smelling like one of the local kebab shops.

4 Feb 2009 19:08

The Clarence, Whitehall

I used to be a Clarence regular when I worked nearby in the 80's and loved it's sawdust floors, gas lighting and wooden beams. It was always very busy in those days with excellent ales and food and nowadays, we always call when in the area. We (two couples in our fifties) visited last Saturday week at around 9.00pm. It was raining heavily and the pub was very quiet, maybe 10 customers, no more. One of our party had been smoking as we approached the pub and he stood on the edge of the doorstep to finish his cig while the rest of us entered and ordered a round. The lady in charge got up from her seat in the bar and went outside to instruct this person to extinguish his cigarette immediately.
It took the extremely s-l-o-w barmaid at least 10 minutes to serve four drinks - 2 pints, 2 glasses of wine, while the aforementioned lady in charge played with till drawers and totally ignored us at the counter. At no stage did we encounter anything that could be called hospitality, even in its vaguest form. This resulted in us leaving after only one drink and finishing the night down the street in Shades, where unlike the Clarence, all beers were available and properly served with a smiles and efficiency.
Pubs like the Clarence who do not wish to compete with the likes of Witherspoons across the street on prices and variety of fare, have no chance of success if they do not even offer the simplest forms of hospitality and customer service. Who �trains� these people and who on God�s earth put them in charge of a pub without explaining to them that customers are not the enemy and should be afforded even the most cursory of welcomes. My advice; stay away until the management of this pub get a personality transplant.

4 Feb 2009 18:29