Nasty Moments: 1

Very rarely have I had to ask any customer to leave, which I like to think is more to do with civilized clients than my having a diffident personality, but one Tuesday evening at Blandford Street a troublesome type – I’ll call him Mr Stone – suffered the ultimate sanction.

He and his two womenfolk didn’t like their table, but we were full and couldn’t give him another one. He clearly knew some other people there and was probably put out because he had, he thought, an inferior table. Disgruntled, he complained about the length of time his first courses took to arrive (only sixteen minutes – we knew because all our orders are timed) and then sent back two of his main courses. These were replaced, and then one of the replacements was sent back.