Beaches and delivery: moment a crafty diner uses her own HAIR to put in her roast dinner to pay back her £12.95 restaurant bill
- Tom Croft, 32, refunded a guest £12.95 after she complained about her during the meal
- After reviewing CCTV footage, he saw that the woman used her own hair for the trick
- Do you know the dinners? Send an email to iwan.stone@mailonline.co.uk
A pub owner has been left ‘disgusted’ after a customer put his own hair in his food to get his money back.
Furious Tom Croft, 32, had a guest refunded £12.95 for a beef dinner after claiming they found a hair in their food at the Observatory in Blackburn, Lancashire.
But when he checked CCTV footage to make sure his staff’s hair had been tied up, he was left ‘disgusted’ to see the customer putting her own follicles in the food.
The video shows the female customer whispering to a man before pulling out a strand of her long black hair and placing it on the half-empty plate.
This woman, pictured left, pulled a lock of hair from her head and placed it on her half-eaten dinner to demand a refund for the price of her £12.95 lunch
The woman caused a scene at the bar and forced publican Tom Croft to issue a refund
Mr Croft said the customer then complained to a member of staff and caused a ‘spot’ at the bar – which is why she received a full refund for the meal.
He said: ‘We looked at the footage to see what had gone wrong, in case a member of staff hadn’t tied his hair back or something, but then we found the clip.
‘I was disgusted and angry, very angry.
‘There are people who are willing to risk a company’s reputation and the jobs of its staff for a £12.95 meal.
‘The kitchen team could have thought it was their fault, even though they had done nothing wrong at all.’
Mr Croft has been co-owner of the restaurant for five and a half years, but says he has never experienced anything like it.
He added that if he had not found the CCTV footage, his company’s reputation “would have been a major concern”.
After handing over the money, Mr Croft, pictured, looked at the table’s CCTV footage to determine if one of his staff was responsible for the hair. It was then that he saw the woman putting her own hair on the plate
Mr Croft said this could have had a huge impact on his business as he has a five-star hotel
Mr Croft said: ‘Nothing like this has ever happened before.
“If we had not found the CCTV footage, our reputation would be a major concern and concern.
‘People don’t want to eat in places where you find hair in the food.
‘We have a five-star food hygiene rating and adhere to all food safety guidelines.
“But if we hadn’t found the CCTV footage, it could very easily have damaged our reputation.”
Mr Croft now wants to warn other entrepreneurs, advising them to ‘keep their eyes peeled’ for other people who could pull a similar stunt.
He said: “I would obviously caution other businesses to remain vigilant.
‘You have to keep an eye out, not only for these two people, but also for incidents of a similar nature.
“There are people who want to risk this with another company.”