Monkspath - Solihull. Needed somewhere for a bite to eat after travelling to take my son's assistance dog to a nearby specialist vet practice. I thought a garden centre, with a pet store and a cafe, was a safe choice. How wrong I was. Not dog friendly and the staff were awful. Was a warm day (24*+) so gave the dog a bowl of water in the part of the café we were told dogs were allowed; the dog was in the corner, the bowl of water under the canopy of a plant, and my chair pulled out blocking the corner due to wanting to restrict the dog’s movements (due to him being ill – hence travelling to the area for the specialist vet). The café manager demanded the dog was to be taken outside. I told him I wouldn’t be taking the dog outside in this weather as it was too hot, to which I was told ‘I’ve got a dog sweetheart, it’s not too hot’. I’m well versed in dealing with people who say assistance dogs aren't allowed in restaurants/shops/even a dentist once, but I wasn’t prepared to be told we had to go outside because the water bowl was a health and safety hazard ‘that anyone could fall over sweetheart’. I did ask who could trip over the bowl, in the corner of the room, under the canopy of a plant, with me blocking access; to be told ‘all of us could love’ – as he motioned round where only one other table (in sight) was occupied. I lost count of the times he called me love, sweetheart, or darling as I got visibly upset. Eventually he blamed me and said had I explained from the beginning that the dog was an assistance dog he would not have asked us to go outside. So clearly not the life-or-death health and safety risk he spent 10 minutes condescendingly lecturing me about. We left without our food (not a bad thing either if the reviews are anything to go by) and we didn’t wait around for a refund. Credit where it’s due there was a wonderful member of staff on the customer service desk who was exceptional but that was it. The entire place is grubby and outdated; in the garden centre it felt dark and dirty, outside the plants looked half dead and incredibly expensive, in the cafe there was no fridge so bottles of drink were 'displayed' on a trolley where used trays were put. And the water... kept on a dirty shelf in a 1970's tupperware plastic drinks jug. I never thought that the other, well known, national garden centre chain (that ryhmes with hobbies) was anything exceptional, but in comparison to Notcutts, it's like the Four Seasons.
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Notcutts, Notcutts
