Argyll Hotel

The food wasn't awful, but the beef pie my 88-year-old Great Aunt ordered had meat dried at the edges and felt very basic for the price. It reminded me of a bad Spoons meal left on a hot plate too long. She didn't eat any of it, and when the waiter came to collect the plates, she told him she wouldn't. Nobody had checked on us earlier, so there'd been no chance to raise it before then. We'd gone there anyway because the walk was shorter for her, even though our AirBNB guy hadn't recommended the place. The waiter chewed gum throughout and acted like an annoyed teenager. He shrugged, rolled his eyes, and said, “mmm ok.” When my aunt said it wasn't good enough, he asked what we wanted him to do, as if it was no big deal. I explained that if a customer leaves a meal because they're unhappy with the quality, the usual response is a refund or another meal. He gave another eye roll and “mmmkay,” then said he'd talk to someone. Nobody came. We sat alone for 20 minutes. We went to the drinks bar to pay and explained what had happened. Apparently they knew about the problem, but had still left us waiting. The man there said the chef thought the meal was fine, so they couldn't refund us. I asked if meal quality was decided by a jury, and whether my 88-year-old aunt's experience had to be verified by the chef, who had an obvious interest in defending the food. He repeated that the chef said it was fine, so that's how it was. I asked to speak to a manager, and was told there was no manager there. When I asked if there was really nobody to talk to about the service, he said, “No manager, no sorry.” I pointed out how it looked to charge full price for food she hadn't touched while denying anything was wrong because the cook said it was fine. I can't fully remember what happened after that. We thought we'd negotiated paying half for the meal, but the bill only showed £2 off. Both meals were about £18, and we each had a G and T for £7, basic, served in a coke class with no lemon. We were people-pleasing and didn't push for more than a few quid back, and ended up paying for almost everything. I've never left a bad review before, but this was a crazy experience. I was bad at hospitality myself, clumsy enough to get fired from two cafes, and even I never saw that kind of sass from a waiter. It's the opposite of the job when you're paid to be in hospitality. To the staff, customers aren't trying to scam you. That's not how it works in Scotland. There's no need to play us back. Based on their accents and confusing performance, it seemed the two staff had recently arrived in the country for work and had been given no training. What's the point? It seems ownership is disadvantaging both staff and customers, presumably to have more pliable workers they can pay and treat badly because they depend on the owner's sponsorship to stay in the country. Our AirBNB guy's warning makes sense now. I wouldn't recommend going unless ownership changes. They're using the skin of an old Scottish establishment, but the inside feels hollowed out and replaced by people who think you're liars.