A pensioner who claims he has lost sleep after being reportedly "abused" by staff at Wetherspoons has vowed to never return to the pub.
Owen McEverley said he visited Wetherspoons at Metrocentre, Gateshead, with his wife Maureen, 84, at around 3.30pm on Thursday, November 17. But they were left shocked by the customer service they received when Owen "waved" a female member of staff over to clean their table.
Owen, from High Spen, said: "I'm really upset. I've hardly slept, I've had a headache for a week, it's really, really upsetting and there's no way we're going back there anymore.
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"It's somewhere we used to like to go because we go to different ones. How can you be abused? It's shocking."
The couple, who have been regular customers at Wetherspoon pubs, say they "waved" over a member of staff to clean the table they were sitting at because it still had plates on it from the previous visitors. But when Owen asked "Can you clean the table?" he claims the employee responded by asking him to "Say please and thank you".
The 82-year-old said he asked the staff member "Why did you say that?" and says he was met with the response "Because you were abusive" before mimicking him beckoning her over to the table. And when he asked for the employee's name, he says they refused to give him it.
The granddad said he then told the staff member to "go away", to which she responded with "I can ask you to leave." And when he went over to speak to the manager about the altercation, he claims he was told "Perhaps she's having trouble at home."
He added that another customer also approached the manager to say he had witnessed the interaction between Owen and the staff member.
Owen said he returned to the pub the next day to find out how his complaint was dealt with and says he was told by the manager: "It's your word against hers."
He added: "It's a shame because we we've gone there ever since the kids were little. We used to take them in and we used to take the grandkids in as well.
"I'm only just starting to get over it. I've been going to bed with it and getting up with it in my head too, it's awful."
Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said: "Unfortunately there was a disagreement between Mr McEverley and a member of the pub's team about the way his request was made to clean his and Mrs McEverley's table, which the manager on duty was unable to resolve to Mr McEverley's satisfaction.
"We have spoken both to the member of staff and the manager and there remains a lack of consensus as to what was said on the day. If Mr and Mrs McEverley wish to contact Wetherspoon then we would be happy to discuss the matter personally with them."
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