A restaurant owner has called for customers to be considerate to catering staff this Christmas, saying that any abuse of staff is ‘unacceptable.
Anthony Greenland, owner of the highly rated Tik Taco Mexican restaurant on Coronation Walk in Southport town centre, posted his concerns into the Stand Up For Southport Facebook group after an unpleasant incident in his venue.
He told how he was abused, and his staff were threatened by a customer who then realised he had gone to the wrong place.
He is now calling for diners to show respect to hospitality and leisure staff who are working hard during a very busy time of the year.
The customer, in his mid-40s, allegedly became irate when asked why a £20 deposit hadn’t been deducted from his bill.
Only then was it realised that he had visited the wrong place as he had actually paid a deposit for the restaurant next door.
Anthony said that it had been a ‘normal Saturday night” until he heard shouting coming from outside the kitchen.
Anthony said: “He came in and said he had made a reservation. We had another booking under the same name also for a table of two and we assumed it was the same person and they had just arrived a little early.
“When we told him that he was in the wrong restaurant, and we could not refund his deposit he started kicking off.
“I got involved and offered him a complimentary drink and he became aggressive, honestly, I thought he was going to headbutt me.
“I don’t know how he got the wrong restaurant, with our sign outside and it all over the menus and the other restaurant was only next door.
“This happens a lot in catering especially running up to Christmas and staff get abused. It’s unacceptable and it should not be happening to my staff or our customers.”
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: “At around 9.40pm on Saturday 26 November officers received a report that a man had threatened staff at a restaurant on Coronation Walk in Southport. It was reported that a man threatened a member of staff inside the restaurant and then left the premises.”
Do you have a story for Stand Up For Southport? Please message Andrew Brown via Facebook here or email me at: mediaandrewbrown@gmail.com
