A woman who had to fork out double the cost of her lunch at a cafe after a staff member made a mistake has been left miffed by her treatment - but the matter divided people online.
The mum says she was out for lunch with a friend when she decided to treat her companion by sorting the bill. Unfortunately, her kind offer left her paying for more than she expected after staff accidentally charged her for another table's meal.
But by the time they caught the mistake, it was too late. The money had already been withdrawn from the customer's account, and while they were quick to arrange a refund, it did not return immediately.
Instead, the customer was told she could have to wait up to 10 days - and needed to pay her bill in the meantime. However, she "wasn't happy about that as I would have paid £70 for a £30 lunch until the refund arrived," as she explained in a post to Mumsnet, and things quickly went from bad to worse.
"I was told there was no other alternative. I said again that I didn’t think this was reasonable," the narrator continued. "The staff member who made the mistake kept apologising and I said that it was a simple mistake and everyone made them so she really didn't need to be upset about it."
Meanwhile, another member of staff explained the customer would need to pay again but that she should call in if she had not received a refund after 10 days.
"There was a queue at this point so I said fine but I wasn’t happy about it," her post continued. "The staff member then told me that I had 'upset' her colleague and was very short with me. I said again that I didn't blame her for a simple mistake, it was the lack of resolution I was annoyed at.
"I did not raise my voice at any point and was very calm and measured. We left and I could hear the staff member telling her colleague she could come out now (she had vanished into the back as apparently she was too upset to deal with me) since I had gone."
The mum concluded by asking if she'd been in the wrong.
"I left feeling as if I had done something wrong, honestly happy to be told I did."
She added: "It won't cause me any issue financially but I'm a bit miffed at being £40 out of pocket due to their mistake for up to 10 days. It might come earlier I know."
However, commenters struggled to come to a consensus on the matter.
One person claimed: "Staff member was being a wet blanket. What if you hadn't had £70 available on your card for this debacle? They should have just done some thinking and refunded the £10. There HAD to be a way to sort it that wouldn't take 10 days."
But another said: "You were told there was no way of getting your money back immediately. Fair enough to be annoyed about it but standing there hoping they'll come up with a magical solution?"
Meanwhile, a third person replied: "Refunds never happen straight away. But she was being ridiculous hiding out the back. It wasn't your fault."
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