In my experience the sort of customers who insist on paying cash in pubs are total tossers. I once overheard an old git saying that he did not want the deep state tracking him - as if even a Chinese-style national surveillance system would be interested in the doings of a complete w*nker!
On the other hand, I am a “classic liberal” and it should be a decision for mein host whether to take cash or not. The fact remains that the number of cash-users is rapidly dwindling, and many publicans also have the difficulty of finding a bank branch locally to deposit takings.
In Brum there are now many pubs and bars which are card-only. Punters should respect that rather than giving staff a hard time. But some actively seek REVENGE …
Let me preface this yarn by explaining that there is a small chain of ghastly pubs in the West Midlands named “The Pub at …” followed by the name of what the imbecilic trendies call “the ‘burb” or “the ‘hood”. Next time you are in, say, Kings Heath shortly after 9.00 am take a look through the window of “The Pub at Kings Heath” and see the dregs of humanity already gathering within. They make a Wetherpoons clientele look positively exotic and upmarket!
One night four scumbags came in and ordered four pints. They then made a scene when asked for card payment. Wrongly, in my personal opinion, the pub backed down and took the cash. That should have been the end of it but one of the frightful foursome later posted a one star Google review. (Its current score is 4.8 out of five with a very clear majority awarding 5 stars.) Bizarrely, the only other one star reviewer complained about the staff - who are absolutely brilliant. Indeed, many Brum pub-users I know rate one as being in the top three bartenders in the whole city.
To add insult to injury, the querulous quartet then visited “The Pub at Moseley”, another outpost of the grisly toilets cum hostelries, and took to Google to give it a four star review! WTF?
Two lessons. I think:
- Pubs should use clear signage if “card-only”; and
- Don’t pander to morons.
