A woman was bewildered when a waiter ordered her to take off her sun hat on a blisteringly hot day.
She was sitting in a pub garden on Saturday when she was told by staff that she must remove her hat so she could be seen by CCTV.
I'm assuming he meant only 'briefly', rather than 'for the duration of your stay'..?
Shortly afterwards the perplexed pub-goer messaged Sussex Police to see if the venue was within its rights to do so.
A Sussex Police spokesman said the force has “no policy for asking licensed premises to request that patrons remove headgear and would not involve themselves in enforcement of any such requirement in individual premises”.
But a Wetherspoon spokesman said it was necessary for pub staff to ask customers to remove all hats when visiting any of its UK venues.
They. of course, say that it's to
assist the police:
Eddie Gershon, speaking for the pub chain, said: “ We apologise for the inconvenience caused to the lady.
“However, customers are asked to remove their hats in all of our pubs and outside spaces.
“The reason is that if there is an issue in our pubs and we need to hand over CCTV to the police, then they are able to clearly identify people.
“This is not able to be done if people are wearing hats.”
Or burkhas. Luckily, you won't get people wearing those in a pub. Though it might be fun to see what they'd do if someone did walk in with one...
The spokesman also added that if a customer has a specific reason for wanting to keep their hat on, either for religious or health reasons, they are not made to remove it, just asked to look at the camera momentarily.
Hmmm.
"Or burkhas. Luckily, you won't get people wearing those in a pub. Though it might be fun to see what they'd do if someone did walk in with one..."
ReplyDeleteHold my beer . . .
Unfortunately this if rife in the licenced trade and he did not mean just briefly, he did mean for the duration of her stay
ReplyDeleteI've looked after many a pub where the staff have been told that absolutely no hats are allowed and will stick to that rule against all common sense, right down to the old man in a flat cap who couldn't get out of the armchair to kick off
I honestly think that everyone in the trade who has this rule doesn't even know why and has forgot the original reason why it came about, which back in the day, was to ask chavs to remove baseball caps in nightclubs because it looks scruffy. And of course, for the CCTV reason, but that wasn't supposed to apply to dear stalkers and sun hats on respectable people
Unless Wetherspoons have made the removal of headdress a condition of custom, and a notice to this effect prominently displayed, they can jog on.
ReplyDeleteAny insistence to remove a hat on a sunny day, would be conditional on them supplying suitable sun cream free of charge.
Penseivat
Ena Sharples would have been rather annoyed I suspect...
ReplyDeleteIs there a Wetherspoons on Ilkley Moor?
ReplyDelete"Unfortunately this if rife in the licenced trade and he did not mean just briefly, he did mean for the duration of her stay"
ReplyDeleteGood lord!
"...and a notice to this effect prominently displayed, they can jog on."
I suspect they'll try to claim it's on their website. Because everyone checks a pub out online, right?
"Ena Sharples would have been rather annoyed I suspect..."
Heh!