Bar defends £5 table charge
CUSTOMERS COMPLAIN IT IS NOT REFUNDED OR DEDUCTED FROM BILLS
A newly reopened Gosforth venue has defended its £5 table reservation charge after complaints from customers that the money is not refunded or deducted from their bills.
The Three Mile opened its outdoor terrace this week, in line with lockdown restrictions easing, following a threeyear transformation of the site.
The Malhotra Group has spent £7.5m redeveloping the venue, formerly the Three Mile Inn on the Great North Road, Newcastle.
Among the locals who returned to the bar this week was Michelle Leonard, who booked a two hour slot on Wednesday afternoon to celebrate her son’s 19th birthday with some family drinks.
The 48-year-old said that when she booked the table online, the website said a £5 payment would be required up front.
When the party arrived, Michelle says she asked about whether the £5 would be deducted from the bill, and was initially told by a member of serving staff that it would be refunded.
After contacting the company the next day, she eventually received an email saying the payment was a ‘table charge’ and would not be refunded.
Michelle said Malhotra have since changed their website so customers are told when they book the table that the £5 is not taken off the bill or refunded.
But she said: “I’m annoyed because if I’d have been told that, I wouldn’t have booked. If you walk in off the street you don’t pay a charge.
“I would have just turned up, or I’d have gone somewhere else.
“We were told to leave at 6pm because our booking was up. In that two hours we spent £140 and they still charged us for the table, whereas you can walk in off the street, not pay and stay all day.
“I’ve been going to the Three Mile Inn since the 1990s but I’ll never go back.”
The charge also prompted some people
to comment on the Gosforth venue’s Facebook page.
One said: “It was great to spend a couple of hours in the sun at lunchtime today. Disappointed that the £5 table reservation charge was not refunded or taken off the first round of drinks. £5 to reserve a table for each visit is quite steep and not in line with other establishments.”
Another said: “The £5 deposit puts me off going. I completely understand the need to charge it because of noshows, but most other places give you it back to spend.”
A third wrote: “Get it if you don’t turn up but if you do you should get it off your first round!”
A spokesperson for the Malhotra Group said: “While we understand that a small minority of people may not be happy with the £5 charge, we are disappointed in the reaction from this minority.
“This charge is to reserve a table for up to six people- so amounts to around 80p per person. If someone doesn’t want to pay the £5 then don’t need to they can just turn up but then risk having a possible long wait in the queue.
“We have invested around £7.5m in the Three Mile with a further £75,000 on all of the outdoor facilities we needed to open on 12 April such as stretch tents, food vendors, outdoor furniture, heaters, TVs and blankets - otherwise we would have remained close.
“This charge will be removed on 17 May when we are fully operational again.
“Although the restricted re-opening of hospitality is a step in the right direction, everyone in this industry still faces an extremely challenging six to 12 months and we are glad to say that the majority of our customers understand and have reacted positively to being able to see this venue for the first time.
“We are continuously investing in all of our sites across the North East and look forward to having them all fully reopened in May, with our exciting renovation of Balmbras under way, ready for opening later this year.”