Food & Drink

Local pub tells ‘strange people’ who complained about face masks to take their business elsewhere

Daisy Jackson - 22nd December 2021

One of Manchester’s most celebrated pubs has told customers who complained about their Covid safety measures to ‘leave our staff alone’.

The Marble Arch said that some ‘strange people’ have been complaining to staff about the pub’s face mask policies.

The Rochdale Road boozer recently reintroduced the mandatory wearing of face coverings when moving around the venue, as well as table service, in a bid to create a ‘safe environment’.

But Paul Plowman, a director at Marble Brewery, said that some people have taken issue with the rules.

Some customers even threatened to boycott the Marble Arch.

He invited those who aren’t happy about the new safety measures to take their business elsewhere, saying they ‘really don’t care’ and will ‘bat on without you’.

His words, making it ‘abundantly clear’ that unpleasantness towards staff won’t be tolerated, have been praised by thousands on social media.

One person even asked if Paul fancies running the country.

Paul wrote: “Yesterday our flagship pub the Marble Arch made the decision to make masks mandatory whilst not seated and make the use of table service.

“The bottom line reason for this is this: Our priority is keeping our staff and customers safe whilst simultaneously trying to keep our business going, and with no government support, keep our staff paid.

“Seems reasonable to me.

“However since this we’ve had a number of strange responses on social media (to be expected) but more importantly our management and staff have had to put with strange people in real life complaining about these measures.

“I would like to make this abundantly clear to anyone who feels they want to reply to this or speak to our staff with anything along the lines of ‘right well that’s my custom you’ve lost’, we really don’t care.

“Honestly, we will bat on without you.

“Throw as many insults as you like, leave the pub in disgust if you want, as long as you leave our staff alone, we really don’t care.

“Finally I’d like to take a moment to thank all our customers who don’t really see the fuss with the measures, and have supported our business at a time when we need it the most.

“Cheers, have a great Christmas!”

People have praised Paul for sticking up for his staff, with one person writing: “Good to see some real leadership, taking the necessary steps to protect people, both staff and customers. You don’t fancy running the country do you?”

Read more: ‘Growing madness’ forces flurry of Manchester restaurants to close early for Christmas

Another said: “Big vibes for the directors coming out to support the staff right now. We love to see it.”

One of Marble’s employees wrote: “This week has been horrid. Whatever side of the bar you’re on, you know just how hard Xmas run up is even at the best of times, and I can’t find words to express the frustration at the moment.

“But I’ll tell you summat for nothing, though. I’m bloody proud to work for this team.”

Featured Image – The Marble Arch MCR