7th September 2008
Nasty atmosphere, grumpy staff
Okay, there's something really, really strange about this deli.
Situated in a pleasant residential area near Hammersmith, I worked close to Buchanan's earlier in 2008. The food is nice through pricey. Combining a deli store with a small cafe, it's popular with people looking for an above-average takeaway lunch in an area which doesn't have a huge amount of choice unless one walks over to the centre of Hammersmith. I tended to opt for a salad box with a sort of Italian folded pizza thing, which I asked to be heated up. This set me back about £5.50, but was very filling. The coffee's good too.
The main problem here seems to be that the staff tend to make the customers feel incredibly uncomfortable. Personally I always had to steel myself to go in. As someone who was new to the place, I needed some help with what things were, whether they were served hot or cold, what sizes were available, and so on: certainly it wasn't all labelled up in such a way that made these things obvious. The staff often seemed both grumpy and reluctant to help. Occasionally the person serving me spoke very little English, so was both unable to understand my question (e.g. "Can this be heated up?") or answer it. On another occasion when I was selecting what I'd like in my salad box, I had to be most insistent about what I wanted (nothing too vinegary) as the girl serving me that day seemed to have other ideas. Seriously, we were practically shouting at each other! All this made me feel stupid and gauche when in fact all I was trying to do was order something I'd enjoy for lunch.
This po-faced grumpiness seemed to infect the customers too. I came through the door one cold windy day and, being a well-mannered type, was just turning to close it behind me when a man sat at a table yelled at me to close the door. Not nice. Not necessary.
I know my colleagues tended to avoid Buchanan's for much the same reasons, so these aren't isolated incidents it seems. I persisted with the place at first simply because I love my food and don't mind paying for it, but later gave up and went to M&S instead. Sad.
I'm awarding two stars for the tasty food and coffee, but won't be going back.
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