Buzzworks boss apologises to mum for causing upset in Prestwick venue
- Nov 3, 2020
- 3 min read
The boss of one of Ayrshire’s biggest hospitality chains has apologised after upsetting a mum who was dining in a restaurant with her friend and 7 Month-old children.
Colin Blair, co-owner of Buzzworks says there was “No Excuses” in a statement issued by Buzzworks after the incident which took place in the Prestwick’s Vics and The Vine restaurant.
Jade Barrett was enjoying a meal with her friend and their two seven-month-old daughters on Monday afternoon before the incident which ultimately left the mum feeling “angry, upset and embarrassed.”
In a Facebook post Jade said:
“Today I was subject to some behaviour that has left me feeling more appalled, upset and embarrassed that I have ever done before.
“I have never been as angry, upset and embarrassed in my life as I was today.
“My friend Jill and I took our two 7 month old daughters to one of the Buzzworks restaraunts. We had lunch there and both our girls sat in high chairs and had their lunch. As they are both just beginning their weaning journey, things can get a bit messy.
“However, we decided to only give them dried food today in a conscious effort not to get the furniture/floor sticky/wet.
“Throughout the meal, the waiting staff were all lovely. We were even asked if we wanted the floor around the girls swept, to which we replied that we wanted to help with this at the end of the meal.
The girls were still eating at this point and after they finished we were sitting with them on the table where they were happily playing with little rattles.
“We were just about to have our coffees when the owner of Buzzworks Colin Blair, who had been sitting near us, stormed over and began a tirade of abuse towards us. He told us we were “an absolute disgrace”, “disgusting and “disrespectful.”
“He shouted this and began pointing at the crumbs on the floor.
"We were totally shocked as you can imagine but he continued in this violent and aggressive manner telling us how we would never do that in our own houses (obviously we would, we have babies) and that we should be cleaning it up. He also said it was so rude to have the girls sitting on the table and that he “didn’t care” that they were only 7 months old.
“Not only were we humiliated in this way in front of other customers and staff, this person then proceeded to tell us, very loudly, to “leave the restaurant right away and never come back!
”He then marched over to his staff and said “get them out now” before exiting the building himself.
“Both Jill and I were reduced to tears at this point and felt totally humiliated. Other customers approached us to comment on how awfully we had been treated and Holly the general manager seemed completely shocked by it all, telling us she was lost for words.
“Our girls are lockdown babies and we haven’t had the chance to meet other mums and babies let alone visit each other’s houses so today was an exciting day out for us. Not only was this day ruined by the behaviour of one vile individual, but it will impact on how we feel about taking our girls out in public from now on.”
Jade added: “As loyal Buzzworks customers for many years we feel so upset, shocked and utterly outraged. This is not an example of poor customer service, negligence or even rudeness. This incident crossed a line from a conversation between hospitality and customer, to being a borderline criminal act that has left me feeling shaken and apprehensive about whether I can even safely take my baby to a cafe or restaurant.
“I’m writing because I don’t want to live in a world where aggressive bullies are allowed to attack other people in restaurants. I hope that by making others aware of this situation, it goes some way to preventing this man from abusing any other women and children, like we were today.”
A spokesperson for the Blair family said:
“This should not have happened and there are no excuses. We’ve been in touch with Jade directly to apologise for the experience she had and the upset it has caused. We’ve been looking after families in Ayrshire for the last four decades and would never want any of our valued customers to feel like this. We will learn from it and do what we can to try and put things right.”
