Trouble at t' Till at York's Black Bull Sizzling Pub - trauma telling & troubleshooting tips.
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- After a great meal, Nikki moves to the till to settle her bill and comes away feeling very disconsolate. Find out why and follow Nikki's tips to make sure it doesn't happen to you !
Remember to watch until the end to see if Nikki re-rates the Black Bull and it gets Nikki's Nod.
Links to Mitchells and Butler brands' digital loyalty cards for great discounts notified well in advance to help you plan your next meal.
1: Sizzling Pub & Grill : www.sizzlingpu...
2: Miller & Carter: www.millerandc...
3: Toby Carvery: www.tobycarver...
4: Vintage Inns: play.google.co...
5: Ember Inns: www.emberinns....
6: Nicholson.s Pubs: www.nicholsons...
and other Mitchells & Butler plc Brands Apps: play.google.co...
_______________________________________________________
Black Bull Sizzling Pub
Hull Road, York, North Yorkshire, YO10 3LF
T: 01904 411856
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday: noon to 11pm
Saturday & Sunday: 9am to 11pm
www.sizzlingpu...
Sit down meals or takeaway. Free parking
What3words location link : ///pies.never.loves
Menu pdf - please note I found some discrepancies between prices on menus in the pub and the PDF e.g. Pub menu said 2 listed mains for £13 whilst the PDF states it is £12.50 so check prices carefully:
www.sizzlingpu...
_________________________________________________________
BUY ME A COFFEE MAYBE?
I fear it will be sometime before we get monetised, so if you enjoy my videos and would like to help support this channel, even as a one-of, it will enable me to widen my food and equipment range for improved content. So, it would be great if you might think to Buy me a Coffee and I will love you forever!
Many thanks in advance.
buymeacoffee.c...
________________________________________________________________
CAMERA GEAR USED IN THIS VIDEO
DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Creator Combo, Vlogging Camera with 1'' CMOS & 4K/120fps Video, 3-Axis Stabilization, Face/Object Tracking, Fast Focusing, Mic Included for Clear Sound, Small Camera for Photography: £588.00 Prime: amzn.to/3YK9AvW
Ulanzi 63'' 160cm Selfie Stick ULANZI SK-03 3 in 1 Stable Phone Stand for Smartphone/Camera, 160cm Extendable Phone Tripod with Detachable Remote, Compatible with iPhone/Galaxy/Huawei, etc. I find this great for filming both indoors and out since it can extend easily it can raise your camera above people on busy streets. Perfect for vlogging: £22.99 + 10% discount voucher at present Prime: amzn.to/4eDF9Mf
All prices current via UK Amazon Prime on 13 January 2025.
Affiliate Disclosure:
Nikki’s Nosh through our own service company, BusinessButlers (UK) is a participant in the UK Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees & commission at no cost to you when you buy anything using our links above to Amazon.co.uk and affiliated sites.
Music:
All music on this video is original and all rights are reserved © Nikki at Nikki’s Nosh 2024 onwards
Integrity Note:
Just a quick point here. Many influencers seek to get free meals or even payment for a good review. I will ALWAYS pay full price for my meal and will never accept sponsorship from takeaways, cafes, canteens, vans or restaurants. This ensures my reviews are ALWAYS independent and what I say, albeit personal to my experience, maintains my integrity.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
well done girl
Well, it would not have happened if I had remembered to give them the voucher of course, but quite genuinely I didn't and whilst £6.20 is peanuts to many people, it makes a massive difference to me and my budget. But then I am old and stressed and many diners match my profile, so I have to stand up for folk of my age and put the whole thing in context and we have learned that some places do not go the extra mile to help less savvy/organised diners.
Had I handed in the voucher, there would never have been this Part 2, I would have gone away 100% happy but reality cut in and came away saddened a forlorn. At least I got a little bit of a result from the excellent duty manager, 'Amy' (not her real name) who interestingly was on duty when I arrived at the pub but who went home at 5pm. I never got to even know the duty manager who took over from Amy at 5pm but frankly, they should be put back on the customer services - delivering excellence training methinks !
I'm against discounts ''on your mobile phone'' it discriminates against people who are not IT savvy. They should offer a one price to all. As for the Black Bull, it is not a pub but an outlet with many 'hotel' rooms behind. I have taken many people there when taxi driving. The dispute about the bill just kills any joy about the meal and experience. As a big business, they should know this. Keep up the good work.
Allan, you are quite right. I am indeed fortunate that I own a smartphone and know how to work it. Not many people of my age are so able to get it all to work for them. I know that Green King branded outlets offer a Golden Oldies menu for those over 65 and so do the great Drake's Fish and Chip Restaurant in the centre of York and also Wetherby Whaler in Lower Poppleton. How do I know? Well before Christmas I went to both Drakes and the WW and those videos will be coming out, editing permitting on the next two Fridays. I did notice that there is no connection between the Black Bull and the hotel at the back of their premises.
In conclusion, I am going to give the Black Bull the benefit of the doubt that it was a administrative system error that ought to be corrected and I will go back there once more to see if things have improved but I SHALL be asking for sight of the bill and offering up any vouchers BEFORE I hand over payment lol !!!
Totally agree with u a Nikki that’s so wrong I wud of been fuming 😡 about it, well done for not letting it go 👏
In these videos, I have to be the dopey customer because I am probably far more dopey now than I was 20 or 30 years ago when I was razor sharp.
The only reason I would NEVER sign a broadband contract with Virgin Media for example is that I KNOW 100% that they use very nefarious Dark UI schemes, website designs and call centre chicanery to make it night impossible for a subscriber to cancel their broadband.
Was Sizzling Pub trying to dodge out of me cashing in my discount voucher ? I am unsure but I think in this case, it is more down to poor staff training and inept customer care procedures handed down to an outlet from above.
I can see your upset 😡 try not to let it .but i get it im like you i can't stop thinking about it its part of you and you like me get very upset bless you 😊❤
The upset was worse since I had such a lovely meal and up until that point, all the staff were lovely and very helpful. I was in a happy mood as I left the place as you saw.
Well that was a disgrace Nikki! I feel your frustration and I’m actually very mad myself now 😡
Philip in Ireland ☘️🇮🇪☘️👍
I am sorry you are having your own challenges at home and I am sure they are far worse than having to wrestle with cashiers over £6.20. I hope you find a strategy to resolve the conflict and find calm. None of us want hassle.
To the person that disagrees or anyone else that does.
You're right in away, I do check the total no matter where I am before paying, but we are all human.. well, some of us are lol. But the establishment should be reasonable if there is a clear error, but they have been dismissive in this case, if it had been a supermarket or some such they would have sorted it. And in most cases you have customers service
Well, one of my obsessions is wrongly labelled goods in supermarkets and I have also found that in one place I reviewed the price of one meal was different on the table menu to the website HTML version and different again to the PDF you could download for later.
And NONE carried a valid from/to date. I am even thinking about doing a video about it? What do people think?
They have made a mountain out of a mole hill really. It should have been sorted out on the night by the manager who was hiding somewhere in the back, or maybe in the freezer, where he thought he wouldn't be found.
I would have been frustrated too, however, I would have been showing them the voucher before during and after the meal. But hey ho!
As frustrating as it was, you were sent a £10 voucher, so you came out on top in the end.
Lesson learnt..
Completely agree with you. You should never have raised the score. It took a lot of palava for them to try and resolve it. I've left them a review too to say I'll never be visiting them. That service was appalling. They should have refunded you in total after all your attempts to get them to see and acknowledge their faults. The Duty Manager should be sacked. I can just imagine, when they were interviewed for the job - 'What would you do if a customer wanted to speak to you because they were not happy?' - answer ' Oh no way I'd speak to them' - Interviewee - 'Brilliant you're the one for the job for us' 🤣🤣🤣. I really think you should leave an online review and it should not be good. That's the only way they'll change their greedy culture - if all your followers leave a review like this. You shouldn't have to ask to speak to the manager to be refused, then contact Head Office etc etc. So so bad. You're too kind to have upped their score. The service isn't just about the food - it's about the whole experience. Anyway I love to see people standing up for themselves like you have. I always do it too. We are the people who drive their standards up, not the other way around. Well done. Still enjoying watching your vids. You already showed your voucher. Like you say - they should be routinely asking customers if they have a voucher they want to use. They're just greedy with awful customer service. Well done Nikki. 👍
Thank you, Michelle. To be fair to the place, they have just come out of a refit and so they might have new staff. I also think they are supportive of staff that are neurodivergent which is a good thing, being ND myself. I cannot help but wonder if staff training is behind schedule after them opening back up just before Christmas.
The issue I had was not an individual staff member issue, it was very specifically a company policy issue that had not been thought out properly in my opinion. She was just 'following orders' poor lass.
I will go back there at some point to see if things have improved since I DID enjoy the meal a lot.
@@NikkisNosh you obviously have more knowledge than I do. Things do need a serious change bendy if their policy is for managers not to speak to customers they are guaranteed to fail whether short or longer term. Nevertheless I'm pleased to see you wouldn't let it drop. ❤️👍
I’ve had many vouchers for Toby Carvery, I have to say I’ve always said when paying the bill that I had a voucher. I wouldn’t expect when placing the order to automatically receive the discount. Not everyone would have a voucher.Yes agree the manager should have come and explained to you.
Brenda, I have never had a problem at any other Mitchells and Butler branded hostelries and I have had probably more great meals from their many outlets than any other company in the past 15 years (I hardly went out before I did this channel), so it came as a shock. It also was a shock that if pressed they CAN and WILL reverse a receipt to add on a voucher and if you are over 65, some account ought to be taken of us Oldiewonks' inability to remember everything as well as many old folks being on reduced incomes where £6.20 discount is another cooked meal at home they can afford.
Meals out are a very rare thing for folk on reduced incomes and at present, every £1 I spend on these meals comes from my state pension with a bit of a one-off top up from my very small pension pot which should help fund me until the end of 2025. Of course, If I am lucky to get monetised then that bit of extra income will then subsidise my eating out. For that reason, I cannot currently afford to go further afield than York but heck, we have over 500 eateries I can go to before I have to repeat visit and I still have never been to Wetherspoons or McDonalds lol.
@ Hi Nikki, off I went tonight with my husband, Sister & her friend to try what you had with my voucher, but unfortunately it was so busy we couldn’t get a table. Ended up leaving to go somewhere else. Pity as I thought what you had looked very appetising. Look forward to your blogs, keep it going.We live in York
@@BrendaMcMillan-j1u Well I went to a place this evening (16th) that I have wanted to go to for ages. I ordered a full 3 course meal and it was totally amazing and about the same price as my Black Bull 3 course meal excluding the beer.
It hope to have it edited for coming out around lunchtime this Sunday (19th Jan 25) so watch out for that one !
If you have any personal recommendations of York eateries, please tell me and I shall put them on my list. I have got over my Christmas/New Year blues and so am well and truly back on the horse as it were.
Glad you haven't been to witherspoons or McDonald's I hate them too ❤😊
What a bad experience Nikki. I don't believe you did come out better in the end, You got a GBP 10 voucher (sorry I don't have a Pound symbol on my computer!). That means you have to go back to one of their restaurants, which means extra travelling costs and you are going to have to spend more than 10 Pounds to get a good meal and a beverage. There is also the principle of the matter. You were right. They should have asked you if you were availing yourself of their offer before cashing up. So they scored 6 Pounds but they got an unhappy customer with some influence in York (you having a RUclips channel). Some people are driven by greed and money and will put it ahead of customer satisfaction. I hope they get to see this video. Take care.
What I was trying to get across is when one gets a bad experience it is can often be down to intransigence on the business which as I explained was most probably not intentional but had a negative effect on customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Sure, I should have been more attentive to present the digital voucher before paying which would have not given rise to the bad taste in the mouth, but many customers are not in their first bloom of life nor are they very 'digital savvy'.
A kindly prompt would have helped a great deal and at 70, I am becoming more forgetful and the damn ADHD also plays its part when I am under pressure - and believe me, doing a YT video is really quite stressful with so so many things to remember to do - like remembering to get the receipt !
A responsible business should also have systems in place to ensure that older folk and those with memory or neurodivergent conditions are considered and a rigid doctrinaire refund system is one that is incongruous with 'This Century' thinking as many more of eatery's customers are the Oldiewonks.
I have no excuses on the tech front. I DO understand how my devices work. After all, I have to do everything myself on the channel without ANY help from others. I set up the camera, mic, work out what to say (on the hoof of course) then when I get home, I fire up my PC and edit the footage using Davinci Resolve editing software and along the way, create the extra graphics and thumbnail.
Then, once the end product is rendered, I have to know how to upload it and write a punchy Title and write the description. It is really all quite exhausting hahaha but I still am enjoying doing it.
But bad experiences knock me more at my age now than they did when I was 50. That said, my viewed experiences are specifically FOR folk over 45 so if something is going to happen to me, it very much might happen to my viewing demographic of course !!
I wonder if I succeed, if I will still be doing this malarkey when I am 80 - Perish the thought!!
Thank you Bianca. It doesn't affect my much since I DO need to review other restaurants and pubs owned by Mitchells & Butler Plc so I can cash in the voucher which is valid for 6 months within the next month since to build this channel, I HAVE to go and eat in such places.
Before I started doing the channel, I hadn't eaten in a restaurant for 5 years and only had the occasional Chinese or fish and chip takeaway once a month.
I am taking a financial chance with the channel that more people will come over from other people's food review channels to boost my subscribers and increase my watch hour count and then I get monetised. I don't have deep pockets and actually plundered my very small personal pension to be able to afford to buy these meals I review and eat a lot less between reviews to stretch the budget out to create content. So 2025 will be a make or break year for me and my channel since I cannot afford to keep eating out 100% at my own expense beyond 2025.
So, when I miss out on a discount for my own or their stupidity, I really HAVE to stand up and make the point known and tell viewers if there were any lessons learned !!!
Bad idea alienating customers like that. Thanks for the heads up. Why offer a discount if theyre reluctant to honour it. You weren’t asking for the refund off the voucher, - just a refund of the difference. Yes they could refund the transaction then put through again. Bet loads of people dont feel comfortable complaining but they won’t go back. Ok you got a £10 voucher but you had to kind of fight for any recompense and it just should t have come to that.
I was of course remiss in forgetting to cash in the voucher before I paid but there were ample mitigating circumstances and I DID find out, as you said, they can reverse a bill if ther really want to.
It would’ve been nice if they’d refunded some, but I’ve got to say the obvious: You should’ve mentioned the voucher before you paid!!
Unless you offer up your discount code/voucher, well obviously they’re going to charge you the normal price.
I can’t believe you never blamed yourself at all. The first thing I’d do in your situation would’ve been to say damn, I forgot that voucher, my fault. Maybe they’ll be able to sort it, otherwise come back again and use it OR put it down to experience and learn from it.
Oh I blamed myself but I AM old and have ADHD. Now, those two things are common in many other people and it was important and I was genuinely upset. At present, every penny has to count - I fund these meal from the small amount of money I took out of my tiny pension pot - no different to other old folk. So this is how that brand handles forgetful people - they do nothing to help them. Imagine how many people would have internalised their disappointment and never went back there?
I actually disagree, you should have shown your voucher when you paid. Did you not realise the bill was high before you paid it? The transaction had been completed 🤷🏼♀️.
You're right in away, I do check the total no matter where I am before paying, but we are all human.. well, some of us are lol. But the establishment should be reasonable if there is a clear error, but they have been dismissive in this case, if it had been a supermarket or some such they would have sorted it. And in most casses you have customers service
@helensmith1648 but there was no error here though. The vouchers are there for you to use at your disposal. The vouchers do not automatically come off any meal you have. The choice is yours, in other words. If you want to use the vouchers for some money off then you say that when you pay. Tbe restaurant will have assumed she did not want to redeem them that time. I dont know why anyone would pay without checking their bill first. If she had done that she might have remembered she had vouchers she could use🤷🏼♀️
Old saying but in business, the customer is always right. Even if they are not, if you want to keep them as a customer.
Of course, you are right, Sheila and it will not be putting me off from going back to the Black Bull but it was important to retell the events if for some reason - stress, old age, memory issues or neurodivergent brains meant you simply forgot.
I would say 90% of people my age are not as savvy with regards to modern tech as me. I had the advantage of running a business in the 90s that sold computers, expensive software and the like and whilst I had staff, I reasoned that if I couldn't do what they were doing, how would I ever know if they were doing it right.
In the 90s I also did some Govt funded Business Advice Consultancy where I would go into a small business and draw up a plan of how they might move forward by embracing tech as well as running their business better. Often it was human and manual systems that were the road-block to their success and not the need for PCs etc.
I then started up my first business, proper, and won business awards for both business excellence in terms of customer service as well as getting the finances in place, so I well know why running a tight ship is vital. In the 10 years that business operated, I only ever had ONE bad debt and at its peak my business was turning over 3/4m pa.
So, the theme of my video was to get across what happens and why when someone , customer or staff member, innocently forgets one of the steps they should have followed - in this case, me not presenting the voucher before paying and the Black Bull personnel not handling the remedial process in an considered and customer-focussed way without causing anxiety or financial risk to all parties.
My conclusion is clear, it is likely M&B Plc are lively emailing quite generous vouchers on a regular basis via email and advertising but if you try to use one of these vouchers, you sure as hell need to double and triple check you are complying with EVERY rule or assumption if you are to successfully cash it in.
And, I need to be less trusting. In all my videos to date, I have just paid what was asked at the till without checking the bill then adding a gratuity if that option was on the bill. I have not always seen the bill, as was the case at the Black Bull.
Will I be asking to examine the bill before paying it in future ??? I give you the assurance that ALL future videos will have me checking the bill off camera of course so this sort of event never happens again.
Will my viewers do the same as me in future? You bet they will - in all restaurants, bars, cafes and takeaway outlets.
The barman did know - indeed I think we discussed it on camera. The duty manager who rang me on Saturday morning, 'Amy' even acknowledged I wanted to use the voucher. And when I set up my 'tab' the first thing George did was scan my loyalty card. So I sort of assumed, now it seemed wrongly, the voucher had also been logged.
Now, I might be a bit of a Loyalty Card Queen, but in many shops, I DO get reminded to apply any coupons or vouchers - it has happened to me in Tesco, Lidl and Asda I think.
I just wish doing these videos didn't get me so stressed. If I was calmer, I would have remembered but at no time was I shown the bill - not at the table or when I asked to pay, the first time it has happened to me in recent times.
Ha, ha - in my student days, at the end of term a gang of us would go to the same restaurant in York, Giovanni's. The food was the best Italian grub in York in the early 70s but Giovanni (now long gone), bless him, was a terrible crook and he ALWAYS ALWAYS loaded up the bill and we ALWAYS ALWAYS enjoyed the argy bargy at the end of the night as part of the experience !!
It was always done in good humour, but I suspect that he did this on a regular basis over the decades he was in business and it was easy to see. Generally there were 10 of us eating and invariably there were 15 starters and 12 mains on the bill.
His food was brilliant but his dodgy accounting was a perpetual risk. And he did it EVERY time we went there.
So, I really SHOULD assume that other food businesses might be pulling the same sort of tricks, so I recommend to myself and everyone here to ALWAYS check the bill before agreeing to pay - that way, you might also remember to cash in that digital voucher on your phone too !!