2 for 1 pubs (spirit group)

boltonangel

i have recently had an awful experience at a 2 for 1 pub near me, i wrote to complain to their HO and basically got a fob off letter. has anyone else had similar experiences with this brand?

flossy_splodge

Oh yes! Also had a lousy experience and got little notice taken. Got a free meal at another of their outlets in the end but made to feel a nuisance. Have knocked them on the head for possible outings - not worth the hassle.

skintscotsman

2 for 1 pubs??

never heard of them (and i'm out every weekend!)

flossy_splodge

You wouldn't want these pubs, believe me but just to clarify, 2 for 1 offers at pubs..... Happy!!

Becles

I'm not keen on these 2 for 1 and other chain pubs.

Last time I was in one, I ordered sweet & sour chicken. It was processed strips of chicken, with a jar of cheap supermarket sauce tipped over the top and warmed up in a microwave. It was disgusting

I've done work for a well known chain and have seen copies of the restaurant brief. Most things are brought in ready cooked and warmed up - eg "pan fried mushrooms" means get a bag out the freezer and pop them in the microwave for a minute!

I'd rather go to my local pub where it costs a little more, but it's quality food cooked fresh by a chef. It does take a while to arrive at the table, but when it does, the food is fantastic.

cheekymole

When they first started, they were quite good but have gone downhill rapidly since then.
16 of us went to one a few months back, they told us our food was ready so we started to round up the kids who were playing outside. By the time we got to the table all the food was there and it was cold.
Don't you think they would wait until people were seated?
The worst thing was that they couldn't see what the problem was!

mbamick

boltonangel wrote:

i have recently had an awful experience at a 2 for 1 pub near me, i wrote to complain to their HO and basically got a fob off letter. has anyone else had similar experiences with this brand?

I had a similar experience when I complained about the state of the men's toilets in a Spirit Group pub near us. It took a little persistence [I followed it up with a letter to the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Operations Officer]; I received a reply from the Chairman, saying it would be sorted; and a telephone call from the Chief Ops guy saying that the toilets were due to be refurbished within 2 months. I called him back 6 weeks later to congratulate him on a good refurb job!

What many may not know is that Spirit Group has received a £2Billion bid from Whitbread and another leisure chain. Whitbread want the pubs, the other want the Holiday Inn hotel chain. Whilst you'd like to think that staff are professional enough to maintain strong customer relations, it may go some way to explaining why they fobbed you off.

As I say, if it rubbed you up that much, visit the Spirit Group website, pick up some of the Board member names, and rattle their cage. Good luck.

RichyRich

I love the two for one pubs near me! Both serve good food and we have never had cause for complaint.

Maybe it depends where you are or the day you go, but we go quite regularly and are never disappointed.

Rich

LizzieT84

The spirit group are dreadful.

I don't mind Brewsters, Brewer's Fayre, Toby, Wetherspoons... or Little Chef for that matter.

I've not tried the John Barras that's near me yet.

When it comes to food I'm no food snob but ask that it's cooked properly and it's as described. If something seems to cheap to be true then I find that quite off-putting because personally I don't see 'Steak & Chips' for £1.99 as something to jump up and down about. To me that suggests that it's not going to be the nicest cut of steak.

I am yet to even get a spirit group pub to serve garlic bread correctly. Usually it's stale bread with vinegar poured over it then burned... a bizarre recipe for garlic bread I've found.

Lizzie

sparkymark_3

anyone had problems with the points system for regular diners ?
Leisure Gold/ Dimond points do not appear when chcked online and not had voucher for ages ?
Food + service ok though

tr3mor

I quite enjoy the two for one's i've been in. Obviously it's going to be mostly microwaved/grilled/fried things. But for the price, on the whole i think the food is exellent.

Obviously, local home cooked pubs are better, but you'd be paying about £10 per meal as apposed to about £7 for two meals!

EDIT: My two usual ones don't have wacky warehouses, so i dont have to suffer kids running around screaming!