A mum who walked out on a packed bar at a wedding reception after guests fired "insults and abuse" at her feels no remorse.
As a single mother to teen parents, the mum took on a weekend part time job in a hotel two months ago as "needs must". At first, she "loved" the camaraderie between her new colleagues, many of which were of a similar age to her, and generally had a good time on shift.
Recently though, many staff members have quit after no longer receiving tips due to "increased bills", and draft beverages are no longer permitted on shift, requiring staff to walk to the other end of the hotel to access the only sink for tap water. The mum also claims the new manager is "sexist", and the chef is so overworked that he explodes whenever staff try and order food on shift, leaving them too frightened to place an order.
READ MORE: We blind taste tested Marks and Spencer and Aldi mince pies and there was a clear winner
READ MORE: Join the Christmas in Liverpool Facebook group
Despite it being "awful", the mum was keen to "stick it out" but things all came to a head when she was assigned to man the bar at a wedding reception - solo. She took to Mumsnet's Am I Being Unreasonable thread and explained "there were two weddings on in two different function rooms, and then a family party on in another room". Both weddings each had 200 people, and the family party had 70 people. There were only three bar staff in the entire hotel, one for each function.
The mum said: "I had to manage a bar of 200 people completely alone. The managers left at 8pm, just as it was kicking off. Our bars shut at 2am so I knew I was in for it. The bar was always rammed with at least six people at any given time. By 11pm I craved the sweet release of death."
The mum alleged she suffered "sexual harassment" from "several different blokes" and was criticised for being too slow, while the best man "demanded" free drinks, and others called her "tight" for giving change in coins instead of notes. After repeated "insults and abuse", the mum went to the basement to change the barrel where she had a panic attack.
Instead of going back up to face the wedding reception guests and their hostility, she had an "epiphany" and thought: "'I don't have to do this. Nobody is forcing me to be here. I'm not their slave.'" She continued: "So I just went to the office to clock out and f***ed off home (it was about 11.30pm at this point) where I spent the rest of the evening drinking wine and watching TV. I did feel slightly guilty that my actions [may] have ruined a wedding reception but then I didn't care, it's their own fault for being c***s to me. They weren't a nice lot at all."
She then revealed the wedding party are "fuming" after the bride and groom spent the rest of their evening trying to track down staff to run the bar.
She added: "Eventually the poor girl at front desk got it which I feel awful about, I didn't consider that. She was unable to serve them as had to be at the front desk, but she dealt with them screaming at her all night. The wedding party are fuming, have all left terrible reviews (I've read it and it's full of personal insults about me) and are demanding a full refund from the hotel which will likely need to be granted.
"They were that busy trying to sort out the lack of bar they missed most of the dancing and food at their own wedding reception. I feel awful about my colleague at front desk but AIBU [Am I Being Unreasonable] to think the wedding party deserved it and to not feel guilty about them. It goes without saying that I no longer have a job there, but it's a relief. I also feel smug that the sexist supervisor had to clean up after them the next day. That typically would've been my job at 3am after the function."
Fellow Mumsnet users took to the comments section to share their thoughts. One said: "What you did wasn't great but I'd say it's mostly on the hotel for understaffing the venue. And if you left at 11.30 surely they'd eaten and danced for hours so they hardly spent all night chasing you. Could have just declared to the guests that there was no barman rather than screaming at a receptionist for hours. Frankly amazed they didn't serve themselves."
Another said: "Well done for walking out! They absolutely deserved it. If you can afford it, I might send some chocolates in for the front desk person. Not an apology as such as it's not your fault - just a camaraderie sympathy box! Then don't look back!"
What would you have done? Would you have quit too? Let us know in the comments section below!
A third commented: "That's awful. I bet you were all on minimum wage dealing with all that too. You aren't a manager, a glass collector or wedding coordinator. Someone else should have been there to deal with that. Of course they're going to lose staff. Hospitality is dreadful for how it treats its staff. Yes it was a shame the wedding suffered and the girl on reception got the flack all night, but all that is due to dreadful managers."
In a follow up comment, the mum added: "They were huge drinkers, I could tell that they would continue to attempt to order past 2am when our license expires and that they would be abusive when I shut the bar."
One Mumsnet user said: "You were being harassed, bullied and verbally abused. I don't blame you for removing yourself from the situation at all." And another added: "I don't blame you at all but I do feel a bit sorry for the bride and groom who will have paid a lot for their reception."
Get the top stories straight to your inbox by signing up to our what's on newsletter
READ NEXT:
Matalan's 'gorgeous' £27 green midi dress shoppers 'want and need'
- Liverpool hotel named among 'Britain's 100 best places to stay'
- Mango's 'elegant' £36 bag is almost identical to Prada's £3,000 designer version
- Tesco shoppers love 'stunning' F&F Clothing hot pink outfit worn by Frankie Bridge on Instagram
