Guest User
June 19, 2024
My old schoolfriends and me visited for afternoon tea to all celebrate being 75 years old. I arrived there early having walked from Egham Station so I was ready for a drink of something cold! I offered cash and was promptly told it was a cashless establishment. The only problem was, I had no card as I was waiting for a replacement after a possible skimming incident. I immediately felt humiliated and embarrassed. The staff suggested I waited for my friends to be seated at our table and they might be able to sort something out cash-wise. I was unhappy that I wasn't even offered a glass of tap water! My friends arrived and we were seated around a coffee table, not really conducive to eating and drinking and quite uncomfortable. Afternoon tea was served, the sandwiches were very poorly filled and therefore of little taste. The scones and jam and cream were the best food! The little cakes were OK but I believe out of a packet! Finally the crunch came to pay, a couple of us wanted to pay cash and fortunately one of the others offered to use their card only to be confronted with an unexpected service charge, yet another embarrassment! Thank goodness we were able to wander around the well-tended gardens.