I am writing to raise a formal complaint regarding the service my party and I received during our visit to All Bar One New Street at approximately 2:15pm.

Upon arrival, there was no interaction or acknowledgement from any member of staff regarding seating. We walked through to the restaurant area and still were not greeted, acknowledged, or approached by anyone. Initially, we sat near the pass area but felt somewhat out of the way, so we moved further into the restaurant where a server was cleaning tables nearby, hoping that we would receive some form of acknowledgement or service.

During this time, three members of staff walked past us without speaking to us or checking whether we required assistance. Meanwhile, a manager was seated at the bar using a laptop and chatting with members of the team rather than overseeing the restaurant floor.

Whilst waiting, I also observed team members standing around the pass area chatting. One team member was eating chips from the pass whilst still visibly working on the floor. This appeared highly unprofessional. Had they been on a designated break away from customers, this would have been understandable; however, this was not the impression given.

After waiting approximately 20 minutes without any acknowledgement or service whatsoever, I approached a manager to raise my concerns. When I asked whether he was the manager, he replied, "I am one of the managers."

I began explaining that we had been waiting nearly 20 minutes without any service. His immediate response was to ask whether we had a booking. Whether we had booked or not is largely irrelevant to the issue, as no member of staff had approached us to ask this question or explain the restaurant's service procedures.

I explained that we had not booked, but also pointed out that there was no host present and no member of staff available to direct customers. Given that nobody had spoken to us since arrival, I questioned how staff would have known whether we had a booking or not.

The manager advised that they did not have a host because they were short-staffed and that they were not offering table service due to staffing levels. Unfortunately, this came across as though the staffing issues were being presented as the customer's problem rather than being managed appropriately by the business.

What I found particularly frustrating was that despite being told the venue was short-staffed, there appeared to be multiple team members walking around with little sense of urgency, one member of staff visibly eating food on the floor, and a manager sitting behind a laptop. If staffing levels were genuinely causing service issues, I would have expected management to be supporting the operation rather than focusing on administrative tasks.

The manager, James, became argumentative when I raised these concerns and displayed what I considered to be a dismissive and unprofessional attitude throughout the conversation. At one point, he attempted to justify the team member eating food by stating that she was on her break. However, she remained visible on the restaurant floor in full uniform. If this was indeed a break period, appropriate steps should have been taken to ensure this was not visible to customers.

What ultimately led us to leave was not simply the lack of service. Whilst waiting 20 minutes without acknowledgement was unacceptable, the attitude displayed by the manager when I politely raised the issue was far worse. Rather than listening to a customer's concerns and attempting to resolve them, he appeared defensive, argumentative, and dismissive throughout the interaction.

As a result, we chose to leave the venue without ordering. I refuse to spend my money in an establishment where customers are treated with such little respect. Good customer service starts with basic courtesy, and unfortunately that was completely absent during our visit.

I would also like to highlight that I am currently 30 weeks pregnant. Throughout this interaction, I was the person raising concerns and seeking assistance, yet the manager seemed more interested in arguing his position than addressing the issues being raised. I found it particularly disappointing that a customer visibly requiring assistance was met with confrontation rather than understanding and professionalism.

Having worked within the hospitality industry myself and having extensive experience with Mitchells & Butlers venues, I am fully aware of the standards that should be expected. The level of service we received, combined with the attitude displayed by management when concerns were raised, fell significantly below those standards.

I would appreciate this complaint being investigated