Dad Buys Two Pints For 'Old Boy' Unable To Get Drink In Wetherspoon 'Because He Didn't Have App'

A man has shared a heartbreaking photo of an 'old boy' unable to get a pint at a Wetherspoon pub for 15 minutes because he didn't have the app.

Pubs in England were allowed to reopen indoors on Monday (17 May), but people are still unable to order at the bar, with apps becoming the 'new normal'.

But one 79-year-old didn't have the app and was allegedly unable to get the attention of any servers for a quarter of an hour at The Ernest Willows in Cardiff on opening day.

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Eventually, onlooking Mark Farrier decided to step in.

The 39-year-old, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, said: "I just felt a bit sorry for him. He looked like he needed a bit of company.

"He looked like he'd polished his shoes and got a little bit dressed up. He said he'd been sitting in the house on his own.

"I could see him trying to get the attention of the waiter and he just flew past him a few times. He was just trying to get their attention and they were just bombing past.

"I saw him sitting there looking into space on his own. I left it for five minutes, so I said let's get him a pint."

The dad-of-three ended up getting him two pints and shared a good chinwag with the senior citizen, before posting the photo online to raise awareness of how the elderly can become excluded by current Covid rules in the hospitality setting.

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Mark said: "A lot of elderly people will be in this position this week.

"I know it was their first day opening and there was only one person doing table service, but they could have acknowledged him and said, 'Alright, give me five minutes and I'll take your order'.

"The staff were really nice and polite. When I confronted them, they apologised."

Wetherspoon has since applauded Mark for his 'lovely gesture' and explained that customers should be able to order with staff, as well as using the app.

A Wetherspoon spokesperson said: "At present, as a result of Covid restrictions, customers can't order at the bar.

"Instead our pubs across the UK allow customers to pay and order with a member of staff as well as using the Wetherspoon app.

"We are not sure why this individual customer was not served, but we can guarantee that he was not ignored by staff.

"It was a lovely gesture of the fellow customer to intervene and buy him a couple of pints.

"We salute him for doing this."

Topics: Wetherspoon, Pubs, Community

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey