Bull and Castle: Service....

mayordenis

1. Well upon going there this weekend with my brother I originally was ordering at the bar - the Barman was so disinterested with our ordering that he took a simple "mmm" while deciding what to drink as his queue to walk away.

2. We're told by the waitress the seats we're in are reserved for 5:30 (it's currently about 4:40) no problem at all. We ask when the upstairs will open we're told 5 by the waitress, great no problem we'll wander upstairs around then. 5:05 we ask another barman is it cool to go upstairs he says yes no problem - we go up stairs and are met with questions about why we came upstairs and being told we shouldn't be up here - again I ask when would be cool to come up? 5 we're told, we reply that it's 5:10 now (thought maybe we were being possibly helpful, if he didn't know maybe he was behind schedule), but no "in that case we'll open at 5:30". Back downstairs. Opens a few minutes later and we go up with a few other but are told once again that we can now sit here but must go back down to order.

3. After the Italy game we come back for just 1 (why? I have no idea) the barman has obviously been given grief by some drunken idiots, fair enough he's a little miffed. I order 3 Galway Hooker - He's basically throwing them out at me, smacking the beers off the little pillar beside the Taps, on the second beer he gave it a good thump off the pillar again, he puts his hand up though I thought for a second he realised what he was doing so I said something "it's no problem at all" the response "No, the money that's the other part of the transaction". I fumbled and handed over the money.

This may not seem to bad - but I assure when it comes to customer service I have a huge amount of patience, I'm actually quite sheepish and always try to smile and brush things off but the moral of the story here is - Good Beer, Terrible Service and it's a sad thing to say that I have no intention of ever ever returning to whats probably the best beer bar in the country.

dereko1969

To be honest with you, i've never had bad or even 'normal' service in the Bull and Castle it's always been above average and most of the barmen will actively engage with recommendations/suggestions.

I think you probably caught a few people on a bad night and you'd be missing out if you don't go there again, obviously what happened you shouldn't have happened but it's definitely not the norm from my experience.

the beer revolu

I've been there twice.
First time the barman was very friendly and once he got a sense that I was interested in beer he became interested and helpful.
Second time, while not quite rude, the barman was extremely unfriendly and uninterested.
If the second time was my only visit to that bar it would probably remain my only visit.
That room upstairs really lacks atmosphere and character - it badly needs warm, friendly service.

RE*AC*TOR

Been a few times. Some of the staff are courteous, some are very much not.

oblivious

mayordenis did you contact the management?

Brockagh

Yeah, I'd say the management need to know about this. You seem to have presented it in a fair manner. If the service is to improve, they need to know about this kind of thing. *





*I am the type of person who says nothing, though...

geuro

i've been there a bunch of times.mainly for food. good grub. service can be poor though.

RATM

OP I know the bar manager there, he's a really nice guy and totally professional. If he knew that sort of thing was going on he'd apologise, throw you up a complimentary pint and sort the situation with the barman. Give it another try

JMKelly

I've been to the bull & castle plenty of times....sometimes just for food and sometimes for a night out and ive never had a problem with staff or service...!!

Maybe give the place a second chance!!!

Technocentral

Great pub but service is generally quite poor.

judas101

Theres a few surly oul barmen in there alright but it wouldnt put me off altogether.

Good bar, fairly pricey though.

g5fd6ow0hseima

mayordenis wrote: »

He's basically throwing them out at me, smacking the beers off the little pillar beside the Taps, on the second beer he gave it a good thump off the pillar again, he puts his hand up though I thought for a second he realised what he was doing so I said something "it's no problem at all" the response "No, the money that's the other part of the transaction". I fumbled and handed over the money.

You were an eejit not to have walked out.

adamski8

went a few months ago with 4 mates and upstairs was empty except for 2 other people.
There was a young barman there and his attitude was terrible alright.
When took two minutes at the bar to decide what to drink he looked at us like we were pieces of ****.
When he asked us what we wanted we said something like "we need a minute to choose, sorry" he let out a sigh and said somthing like "whatever".

He actually said some smart comments to us as well when we did order but i cant quite remember what they were but i remember i couldnt believe he said them! My friend gave him a few smart comments back after the barman started them too but that didnt even stop him! It was nearly like we were getting started on by the barman which was really really odd.

I thought about leaving then tbh but we had walked half an hour to get there.
Left after 1 pint then

here.from.day.1

Julian Great Cookout wrote: »

You were an eejit not to have walked out.

+1, no way to talk to a customer.

pa990

i've walked out of pubs / restraunt's for a lot less

Saruman

<snip>

Otherwise just ask for <snip> next time you are in and let him know. Just don't be combative about it as that always makes people defensive.

Personally I love the place but since most of the staff know who I am I always get great service

ciaran76

Same as myself always had good experiences in there.

Staff even last Saturday night gave time for answering some trivial beer questions for me and my mates as some who were new to not drinking the normal mass produced stuff.

Even staff brought beers outside to us when we were finished so cant be that bad

Mr Magnolia

If people have a complaint they can contact the manager directly please don't post personal details here.

Playoff_Beard

yeah defo a problem with one or two of the barmen there which is a pity as it's probably be one of my favorites in Dublin. I love a bit of banter with bar staff but not when their comments are witless smart ass ones..

Hondo75

I have experienced some of the rudeness of your man upstairs but other times he is quiet helpful when trying new beers. It can be understaffed upstairs when busy and the bar is pretty small so can be stressfull i would think.I personally have to go out of my way to get there and do enjoy the uniqueness of the place,maybe they should get some of the waitress downstaris trained up:D

adamski8

Hondo75 wrote: »

I have experienced some of the rudeness of your man upstairs but other times he is quiet helpful when trying new beers. It can be understaffed upstairs when busy and the bar is pretty small so can be stressfull i would think.I personally have to go out of my way to get there and do enjoy the uniqueness of the place,maybe they should get some of the waitress downstaris trained up:D

ha thats no excuse at all, and like i said he was a complete jerk mid week when we were the only ones there.
i laugh at the thought of most barmen getting that stressed out, usually they take their sweet ass time and let the customer wait