Cafe scraps pensioner special because of aggro from impatient elderly

A seafood restaurant with a zero tolerance policy against abuse has ended a deal for pensioners.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays in October, elderly people could get a three course meal of soup, fish and chips, and a daily special for dessert for £15 at the Hive Beach Cafe in Dorset.

The Silver Surfers promotion proved so popular that it led to queues out of the door and a long wait.

But some diners got so angry they started swearing and shouting, reducing one young waitress to tears while another one dreaded coming in to work.

Waitress Lou Fell said: ‘We try to explain to people that we have fewer staff than usual because the pandemic has meant people are wary of getting a hospitality job in case we get closed down.

‘But they just don’t care. They want their food and they want it right now – they’re not willing to wait. Our elderly customers have been especially rude.

‘They just tell us we’re not good enough, that the system clearly isn’t working, and that we need to hurry up.

‘There have been times when I’ve gone home in tears because the abuse is constant and I know we are going to have to do it all again the next day.

‘Every single shift one of our team members is shouted at by customers waiting in line.

‘One lady who must have been in her 60s shouted at me, “Oh for f***k’s sake”, when I asked people not to congregate near the front door.

‘Another time, a new member of the team was on her first shift. She was only 18. She walked over to a line of people and explained that we were working as fast as we could to get them seated.

‘She came back visibly shaking because three women in their 60s and 70s screamed at her – by the end of the day she was in tears.

‘It’s not fair – we’re a very close team doing the best we can for our customers’.