Café forced to issue apology to family over ‘disgusting’ note written on their receipt following funeral
A coffee shop has been forced to apologize to a grieving family after one employee wrote a 'disgusting' note on their receipt after a funeral.
Hannah Pharoah and family were at the Crossroads café in Poundbury, Dorset, UK, for her father's wake and were left shocked by the service they received and a 'sick joke' played by a member of staff.
Sue, Hannah's mother, spent more than $270 to have the wake at the coffee shop, but 30 mourners were left shocked by staff who they claimed to be rude.
Hannah stated she felt the café staff saw the wake as a bit of an inconvenience and wanted them out at the first possibility to reopen the coffee shop for the general public.
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At the end of the wake, Hannah asked Crossroads café for a receipt and put it in her mother's purse without really looking at it.
It wasn't until the next day when the 34-year-old discovered a note on the receipt that stated 'Depressed f...s'.
Hannah immediately called up the coffee shop to complain, with the co-owner, Matthew McCaurtie, telling her it was joke and refunded the family $270.
That wasn't the end of the matter however, as a family member took to social media to describe their unpleasant experience. This lead to an employee of Crossroads directly messaging Hannah and calling her a 's***y human being'.
The staff member involved has since been suspended, Sahil Dalvi, the co-owner of Crossroads, has confirmed.
Hannah said: "I found the whole thing disgusting. We were a grieving family at a wake for our father and this sick joke has made things even worse. We are beyond angry. There were about 30 people there dressed in black and there were orders of service around. They knew it was a wake."
She continued: "We were a grieving family and a room full of friends paying our respects. To mock our grief and my father's death in that way is beyond unprofessional, it is cruel, arrogant, and heartless."
Speaking of what happened at the wake, Hannah said: "They were rude, disinterested, and visibly eager to hurry us along, as though our gathering was an inconvenience.
"There was no warmth, no professionalism, and certainly no compassion, something you would expect as a bare minimum when hosting a wake.
"Somebody got the wrong coffee and they were treated like it was their fault."
Crossroads coffee shop, which Hannah and her family had visited regularly up until the wake, has since issued an apology and stated action has been taken against one staff member.
Dalvi wrote on social media: "Following a full internal review, I confirm that the incident involved a member of staff and, regrettably, the complaint is valid. I want to offer my sincere apologies to the family affected.
"The circumstances in which this occurred make it even more upsetting, and I'm truly sorry.
"A full refund has already been issued. The staff member involved has been suspended pending further action, and I have requested a formal written apology from them.
"As a small, family-run business, we take pride in treating every customer with respect and compassion. This behaviour does not reflect our values, nor the standard of service we work hard to uphold."
Callum Jones