Does Wetherspoons in Tiverton Have Overzealous Staff?

WETHERSPOONS has been criticised by some for its overzealous policies and banning some of its pub users.

A customer was banned last Wednesday for complaining that her 22 year old daughter was not allowed to buy a hot chocolate after 9pm. She said: “It was a quiet night at the Wetherspoon, and we were enjoying a glass of wine with our meal.

“As soon as it was 9.00pm when I tried to buy a latte for each of us, she asked for I.D for my daughter, despite her serving us wine only moments before, and being very rude about it.

“She was so stubborn about it, and I just told her it was absolutely boll*cks, and she turned around and told me I was banned. I know it’s Wetherspoons’ policy to check these things, but they’re taking it  to the eighth degree.

“My daughter said she had her passport and went in, but she soon came back out again saying she too had been banned.”

This isn’t the only incident to result in a ban. A man came to us saying he had been banned for complaining about the service. He said: “Somebody was serving at the bar, and I had been waiting patiently. She then decided to serve her own friends first rather than those who had been waiting longer.

“I told her I was next in line, but she must have taken my complaint the wrong way and she banned me there and then.”

In another incident a 19 year old who was there to pick up his parents was prevented from drinking a J20 as it was after 9.00pm. He told us: “I was only there to pick up my mum and dad and my mum had a J20 there waiting for me when I got there.

“The manager picked up on it straight away and told me I couldn’t drink it. I told him to look the other way and turn a blind eye, but he was so rude and forced me to drink it really fast or I’d have to leave.”

Pub users have said that at other Wetherspoons nearby do not have the same approach when it comes to young people drinking in their premises after 9.00pm.

Are these stories justified? Have you had any problems with Wetherspoons? Are the staff their too strict on young people or are these stories just rare occurrences? Have your say in the comment box below on this and anything else you'd like to share about the pub.