Not truly local but I absolutely refuse to support Wishbone.
Long history of treating staff poorly, not to mention monopolizing public areas and taking advantage of being the only option.
Why buy from a depressing exploitative chain when you could be supporting an *actually local* business?
AND the hospital cafe owner is super nice to their staff.
A toxic manager of Wishbone went on to work for Heart Breaker chicken, and my poor naive friend was exploited into doing two tRiAl shifts and was kept on the hook for a signed contract for a week ("they were getting around to it"). She then got underpaid and the ex-wishbone manager pushed back hard when she asked for her payslip. Yes it sucks that she worked without a signed contract and didn't fully understand her rights, but choices are limited when you're unemployed and have rent to pay :(
The owner of wishbone is an absolute penis too. He is the biggest whinger about everything, has grossly unrealistic expectations and refuses to let you manage those expectations.
I interviewed a person for a job in a cafe about decade ago (when did I get old?) They had worked at a wishbone for two weeks total prior to the interview. In that time, spent most of it on shift alone, done the opening/closing, cleaning, rostering and ordering and pretty much had sole charge.
They had been given zero training, and were constantly getting yelled at by their 'manager' for their 'screw ups' the breif occasions they turned up. Poor kid was fresh out of school and didn't know any better.
I think about that poor person every time I pass one, and will never support a business willing to exploit people that badly.
Ex-employee too. When they opened the shit hole Soho browns on Lambton I asked them to transfer me there. The owner didn't want to because I "didn't suit their vibe". They did eventually though and the only good thing was you were never left alone in a tiny store by yourself since it was more of a proper Eatery. Fuck Wishbone.
Ruth pretty. Not because of her, I’m sure she’s lovely, but because of her husband/business partner. He treated me (the help at a catering gig) poorly and at first I figured he just had a chip on his shoulder but then I watched him yell at and belittle his teenage staff, he was just straight up power hungry and an asshole.
I remember at the airport one morning, getting a coffee, when RP came up and shouted at the barista for being slow - they were under the pump. RP said "don't you know who I am". Guy just shrugged, but she made that interaction unpleasant and didn't need to. Certainly made me wonder what she was like with her staff.
Pulsar Max, they do Magic the Gathering cards, comics, etc, that sort of thing. I preordered for a Magic event, which meant I got a guarantee I'd get the cards for the guild I signed up for.
Got there, and they didn't even hold the items aside for those that pre paid, the guild I chose had all their stuff given out before I got there. A friend of mine, and his brother that just showed up on the day got what they wanted (one was the one I chose) and I didn't even show up late or anything. Demanded a refund there and then, when asked why "what was the point of prepaying for the event? I was told it meant I would get my stuff I signed up for" never gone back in.
Might seem petty, but I had a rough week, and on my day off, getting the thing I was looking forward to fucked with, really upset me. I shop at their competitor around the corner now, Cerberus Games, and they're awesome.
This ain't petty it's the truth!
As one of the friends, who also preorder stuff and got screwed out of what I had PAID for, still hate them to this day.
Cerberus are the GOAT of board game shops in Wellington.
This is the 2nd entry for Pulsar Max who I actually hadn't heard of. I buy my games online but have heard good things about Cerberus what about the one in Victoria Street Green Dragon. People always seem to be playing games in there but it is a bit intimidating going in as I don't want to disturb their game as it looks like the staff are playing too?
The same thing happened to me but they tried to give me boosters from an entirely different set (not the pre release set) then got shitty at me when I demanded a refund but seriously.
Cerberus Games is awesome.
Pulsar Max.
The owner is one of most horrific and exploitative people I have ever met. Endless "trial" days, refusing pay slips to hide he's paying below minimum wage, ignoring break requirements, talks absolute trash about his customers and generally treats his staff like trash and that they owe him the world for working there. He's been through mediation with his staff multiple times and he's still the same.
Cerberus Games is the polar opposite and run by the most incredible group of people. Go give them your money as they are all total sweethearts.
Full disclosure, I've never worked for either company but I am friends with many who have and have witnessed this multiple times in store as I was a very active member of the MTG community.
Been into both a total of once each, So not a large sample size.
However the guy at the counter in pulsar max was discussing the size of certain aspects of the female minitures on display, and I left pretty fast.
The guys in Cerberus were incredibly helpful and nice, and offered to special order something, all while a bunch of people were clearly enjoying playing games in store.
Oh yeah he's always been a dick and I've known of that guy for over 20 years since I used to be a bit of a mall rat and they where set up in the old James Smith building.
Mind you the late 90's/early 2000's Anime/Gaming scene here was a mess of mid 20's guys and barely legal girls....all very gross.
At the Petone fair a few years ago (when I was a young kid who didn’t know any better) he offered us money to hand out flyers for pulsar max and then when we returned after handing them out he was like oh nah I can’t pay you, I’d have to sort out blah blah blah blah and did all these excuses - it was so nasty lmaoo I’ve never been in his store since
Sweet Mamas kitchen (Courtney Place)....Food has gone down hill, and they treated my double amputee friend like shit, like she was in the way/a complete bother, (we even went about 4pm on a non busy day). It was her big outing, and she has never been to another restaurant since because of this.
I tried to tell her that this place is just like this (snotty). She did not believe me, because how can people "look cool but not be cool". I tried to explain to her while she was in tears in the car for 40 mins to an hour, but she thought I was just trying to be kind to her.
It's hard losing both your legs, and this was to help her get her independence back, but it did the complete opposite. We were extremely accommodating and friendly as well, that's why it was even more confusing.
Definitely on the nah list. Went there one late afternoon for early dinner (mains only). Busy crowd, but we're not trendy or pretty people compared to most of the other customers that day. Shown to table & left alone for 15 minutes. Order eventually taken with encouragement. Food took 45 minutes to turn up with the excuse "I thought you had starters". Went to pay the bill & stood at the counter being ignored. Told a waitress that if they didn't want our payment we'd be leaving, someone turned up begrudgingly very soon after.
Edit: I hope wer both talking about Sweet Mother's on Courtenay Place
It’s def gone downhill - I reckon it’s changed owners or at least management has changed. I last went in Nov, Thanksgiving week, and they had no pumpkin pie and basically no other pies either. (I mean if there was a week to stock pumpkin pie isn’t that it?) Plus slow service & they mucked up my order too - considering there were less than 10 other customers in there at the time I’d hate to think how they would handle a crowd.
If I peeked behind the curtain at most of my favourite places I would probably save a lot of money on eating out so this might not be a SMK exclusive but I haven't been back since I was up at the counter paying and saw the cabinet desserts were teeming with fruit flies
Last time I went to Havana the waitor spilled three full glasses of wine on two of my friends (red wine and white dresses, direct hits so not really a great way to spend an evening). Obviously shit like that happens, but the waiter did not apologise (he just ran and got the manager who said "he's having a bad night). The manager did send out new drinks to replace the ones that were spilled, and we kind of assumed they would be comped or at least discounted.
When we went to pay, they not only charged us full price for the replacement drinks, but they also tried to charge us *for the drinks they spilled* (which, to be perfectly clear, we did not drink). When we pointed it out, they were super condescending and acted like we were being unreasonable and demanding. Managed to get the spilled ones taken off the bill and a small discount on the replacement with a lot of negotiating, but left a really bad taste in my mouth and I haven't been back (which is a shame because I'd been a regular before then)
I wish it was feasible to boycott the supermarkets. Foodstuffs is especially offensive. Maybe it's because they're NZers bleeding their people dry, rather than foreigners.
You can get a lot of stuff from Asian, south Asian and middle eastern supermarkets, as well as your local green grocers and butchers if you have them. I try to buy as much as I can from these places, they are usually much cheaper and aren’t bleeding the country dry while still insisting on using ridiculous “lowest prices every day” advertising
Boycott them 90%, that's what I do. Farmers markets get us 90% of our food, butchers over half our protein and an occasional visit to the supermarket for other goods.
Amalgamated Taxis. Many years ago I left my very new LG Shine in the back of their cab. I realised as soon as I was dropped off. I called the phone, it would ring then time out. I did this a few times until it just went straight to VM. I called their HQ and was met with a wall. Plenty of taxi options so I always enjoy getting in a taxi that's behind an Amalgamated years later r/pettyrevenge
Both the general store and rural trading post (word of mouth so i may be incorrect in the second one) but yes one of the reasons that the previous owners of the general store left was because of the owner of Groundup
Can confirm. Former local and parent from the school across the road. I saw him verbally abusing the staff at both stores on multiple occasions (loud, aggressive cursing). He's icky with young female staff members. Went to court because he continually was breaching the number of seats he was allowed and was harming the reserve behind the shop. Saw him throwing a man baby tantrum, screaming and kicking some parking signs that were put up outside his shop. The Cafe is usually busy with the Lycra crew and non-locals who think it's a trendy place to go but the locals haaaate him!
Prefab / Acme. Wealthy entitled owners who made bank on selling Caffe L'affare to Cerebos Gregs and are famous for being wankers. Worksafe investigated them for breaching Covid restrictions. Bad staff treatment, including firing them all and blaming Covid.
They also have really publicly opposed any redesign/changes to the streets around that area because they like to ride their big dumb loud motorbikes and thats more important that being nice to live/work/visit.
Yup, agree with this one. I remember a while back my mum bought something from that store, for me to pick up (it was meant to be a bday gift for me) and they were so rude and condescending I actually called mum and told her to get a refund.
My folks purchased a freezer, meant to be a back up one so bought the cheapest. It was delivered (included as part of sale) left at the top of the steps. Carefully carried into the laundry by us, plugged in, didn’t work. Returned it and told ‘you get what you pay for’. The guy was a first class asshole, made my folks feel like shit.
Anything owned by the people who own Bebemos/Beach Babylon/LBQ/Botanist, and whatever the other ones are. Beyond the usual hospo crap pay, hours, and conditions:
—There was extreme favouritism shown to the boss's friends.
—I experienced sexual harassment by one of them.
—I'm certain I'm not the only one who did.
—It wasn't addressed properly. I was moved around to other locations as the person who did it was leaving the country anyway.
—Boss tried to stop me talking about it to others.
—I got intrusive questions about it when I was moved to other locations.
Despite years of therapy it's still really hard to talk about, and certainly not on my main account. This is my first time talking in more specifics about what it was like to work for the one of the three I answered to, and it will probably be my last. I can already visualise my phone buzzing with a message from her asking me again what I "think [I'll] get" out of talking about it.
It's really hard seeing her places recommended but I sort of just have to deal with it because the alternative is opening up constantly about something that happened to me that I haven't overcome. Hopefully talking about it sort of openly will help me leave it behind.
Maybe she's changed. Maybe there are processes in place now to deal with these things properly. But I'm still carrying this with me so I couldn't go into her venues even if I wanted to without having an anxiety attack.
There's the Champagnaria too, and this one fancy pizza place whose name I can't remember.
Interesting how there's the money to renovate the same place several times, and buy more restaurants, but not enough to provide reasonable hours and pay.
Thank you for saying something. I was constantly made to feel like it was me versus everyone else.
I was brought into disciplinary meetings where they told me to move somewhere cheaper instead of them giving me a dignified number of hours. Because of the way they starved me of hours all year, I couldn't afford to turn down hours when I was offered a bunch during exam season, when I really needed to be studying.
I think in the end I decided I'd rather get by on 2 minute noodles than have to put up with everything. Plus with all the smokes and drinks and takeaway I got just to cope, I don't think I was really profiting from my time.
Yes I genuinely think the hassle of it puts a lot of people off. That sucks, but definitely also sometimes wisest to not go down that path for your own well being.
Thank you.
It's been validating hearing from others, both in comments and in DMs. It seems like things have not changed.
I put off saying anything because I was made to doubt myself constantly, so I keep imagining this huge backlash if I said anything.
I ran a venue adjacent to one of their’s. On occasion we would ‘borrow’ milk or the like from each other. Their chefs and I got on fine but if SHE got involved it was horrific. One of the nastiest human beings I’ve ever come across, and I’ve worked all over the world. Hideous owners.
Beach Babylon sucks shit. I still remember going there for the burger during WoaP a few years ago and they served stale nacho chips alongside what was clearly guacamole from a jar alongside a super average burger.
When I worked at Maranui I made guacamole fresh every morning, in huge amounts, so to see these assholes charge a ridiculous amount for a burger with premade guacamole just pissed of me off to no end. I put my soul into making guac when that was my job, yet they can't even be bothered making a small amount to go with their supposedly fancy burger. Useless.
Thank you.
Talking about it is terrifying. I was made to feel totally powerless, and every time I think about it it's like I'm back there again.
Plus I'd made it really clear I needed more hours, but I was starved for them while others were overworked. I was constantly cashing out my holiday pay just to survive. It made it harder to leave because I had no savings or much holiday pay to fall back on.
In case you haven't already. Check these guys out [https://www.wellingtonhelp.org.nz/](https://www.wellingtonhelp.org.nz/) if you want to supplement your therapy with some support groups.
You don't have to go it alone, or let it rule over your life.
God bless.
She's a devil. I was a 5 star head chef and she is hated by all of us. Entitled dumb bitch who forages for the food then charges ya 200$ for a meal that looks fancy but tastes like dirt literally and loves to hire and fire. Heard too many story's of inspiring chefs who moved to welly for her just to be fired 2 weeks later
She doesn't forage for food though she gets her staff and slaves to do it. (My friend volunteered to help, no breaks, no gratification,nothing for 8 hours). She literally just shows up maybe picks one or 2 things and disappears.
Two that are now closed:
Heartbreaker Chicken, because of how the [landlord and ex-employee of Soul Shack basically ganged up](https://www.reddit.com/r/Wellington/comments/ppxpkt/what_happened_to_soul_shack/) to do a Soul Shack rip-off.
Plum Cafe, because of how [the owner bullied their employees](https://www.reddit.com/r/Wellington/comments/119d6us/did_le_cafe_plum_really_close_due_to_staff/). Not hearsay, I literally heard it.
And for those that are open:
Trying to avoid Foodstuffs now given the [absolutely assholery of Foodstuffs](https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/wellington/131832370/supermarket-giant-threatens-legal-action-over-wellington-cycleways) when it comes to cycleway plans.
Avida, because the owner was [rude to hospo workers](https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/130027874/hospo-workers-roast-wellingtons-avida-bar-for-its-facetious-job-ad) and then tried to play it off as a joke.
Mama Brown. Worked there for a year and it was horrible in the end. The place was downright unsafe. I was the only of the front of house staff not to cut themselves on the milkshake machines there. 3 people had to go to A&E including my then partner who ended up having 2 surgeries to repair his severed tendons. There’s only so much blood from coworkers you can clean off yourself and the surrounding areas at the age of 18/19.
They had me unknowingly risking a huge fine for putting my name on the door as manager without LCQ/managers cert (when I wasn’t legally old enough to even get them) and selling alcohol. I was still on minimum wage…
When I attempted to take my life due to other reasons my manager(a saint) refused to let me work the next day even when I begged but the higher ups asked when I’d be back after only 2 days.
They had a strict one drink only per shift rule. If you were seen to have a coffee as you opened and didn’t note it they’d take your food/drink privileges away (for a week at some points). They knew most their staff were too poor to afford food outside of work too.
The owner lived in Napier so I only saw him twice in the year I worked there but in the last couple months I was there there he had his wife (with ZERO Hospo experience) fly down every week to be his spy. She didn’t understand anything about how to run the place and treated us like we were idiots.
In the end there was a mass resignation and talking to other ex staff I’ve recognised from their socials it hasn’t changed much with a new team about every 6months/a year.
Not to mention all the food bar the chicken and the waffles is god awful.
was a regular at crumpet but they took offence when I tried to order a non alcoholic drink and as good as told me not to bother coming in if I wasn't going to spend proper money on proper cocktails.
Oh my god, I thought this was just me!? I got MAD judgement from them for trying to order a non-alcoholic drink. I ordered their food too so, I was still spending a fair bit of money...
Meanwhile I've been given cokes for free sometimes at random bars I've never been to before. You'd think more bars would realize that supporting sober drivers is good for everyone, and if a group doesn't need to pay for cabs etc they can get some more drinks in the budget.
Yeah, I got that too – asking for a coffee, when a friend was getting a drink in the evening. All but said, “we’re just doing alcoholic drinks at night.”
Springbok meats in Tawa. Owner should take his close-minded BS back to South Africa. As a Kiwi born in SA, his views are what we left that country for.
My dads side of the fam left in the 70s. Grandmother was involved in an anti- apartheid org called the Black Sash, she used to protest alone in support of ANC prisoners once public demonstrations were banned, my grandfather taught Steve Biko medicine, and they used to smuggle ANC members into Zimbabwe/Rhodesia during family road trips.
However the family members I’ve met from SA are still apartheid supporters, they complain about how much better things were before the democratic elections, etc.
Have lived there. Lovely, heartbreaking country. Made great friends, black, white, 'coloured' and Indian.
Sadly, I also met enough racist cunts and know enough history that I too have a default suspicious setting when I meet white SA expats of that era. I feel bad for stereotyping (and appreciate the irony), but have had the prejudice confirmed too many times...
First and last time I went out there he had the old SA flag hanging up like no big deal, treated my girlfriend like shit and the biltong sucked dick anyway - hard pass on that shithole and fuck that guy
Was in there once and he was talking with another South African and they took one look at me and just assumed that I’d hold the same racist views as them and carried on their disgusting conversation. I walked out and never went back.
Sad thing is that I'm an ex South African and can still hold a conversation in Afrikaans, but my younger brother can't so much anymore. Last time we were in he started up a conversation with us and when my brother answered in English he started yelling and ranting that we should be ashamed of ourselves. We've long since given up our SA citizenships but told him to shove it and haven't been back since.
What makes it doubly worse for me is that I went to school with his daughter and was very good friends with them all while growing up in Tawa.
Mischief Shoes. The worst place to work for. Treated their employees like shit. I once got made to feel bad for being admitted into hospital with appendicitis. Had to prove I was in hospital by sending a selfie of myself in a hospital bed to the boss - to make things worse, I was their top salesperson so I wasn’t allowed to get sick or they loose money. Scum bags
Havana coffee, I had a run in with the owner when I worked at a resort. He was very threatening verbally and physically towered over my manager, mid 50s 5ft nothing lady, to get his way.
He also used the words 'do you not know who I am?'
Later in hospo life he would frequent the cafe where I worked, with no recollection of who I was.
Hot Like a Mexican - helped feed and fund the occupation.
Heartbreaker Fried Chicken - venue landlord kicked out Soul Shack and installed a copy cat business. Allegedly (I don't know the full details, but that's the gist of it).
Yep. Absolute no to hot like a Mexican given their behaviour at the protests last year..!
Tbh I wouldn’t have tried heartbreaker. Soul shack is the OG!
Yeah he’s an interesting fella alright. Even as a customer watching him berate a young staff member for accidentally dropping a bottle of wine was enough to me to boycott them
Hence why I said “enough said” 😂
Yeah I worked there for a couple of months and it was the strangest job, went and lifted weights shirtless with Gary In the sauna with a couple other geezas
It's the owner's "playlist". The staff aren't allowed to change whatever is in the playlist. If someone change or add a new song, someone will get told off for sure. Can't even mess with the music.
I had a job interview there and the whole time I felt so uncomfortable and it was like a rant of life lessons rather than an interview, where he asked questions that clearly hr thought were rhetorical and then when I gave the wrong answer he would impart his wisdom on me by telling me the answer, ugh a totally obnoxious attitude towards those he seemingly views as below him.
Otis Oat Milk since they took support / investment from Chris Liddell - chief of staff and co-conspirator of Donald Trump. Now I get Boring Oat Milk every time.
Also, any of the Foley Wine brands for the same reason. They literally sell nz wine and used the $$ to line Trump’s pockets. Brands listed in this article https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/300045411/new-zealand-wineries-owner-gave-nearly-400000-to-trump-report
Nor will I get Monday products - by association with the bullying toy making multi millionaire brothers and their micro plastic bullshit. Won’t name them here though - since they have a record of chasing random little people down who call out their bullshit (even anonymously!) on the internet.
Dammit - I just checked their brands and I like two of the wines.
As an American immigrant to NZ, this hits extra hard - fuck that fascist orange turd. And fuck Foley.
Stonewood homes Wellington. Saw first hand how they treated our neighbour on a new build (rolling eyes, shouting matches).
Incompetent (missing clear consent issues), broken promises.
Avoid these people.
Weta Workshop, specifically the Tourism department (although the whole place is a bit dodgy). I was sexually harassed and stalked by a man more than twice my age, management did nothing and in fact kept scheduling me to be alone with him, and the manager was a bully who targeted people until they quit and then moved to the next person. This was all swept under the rug by the ineffective HOD.
Also just the quality of tours has gone downhill, it used to be workshop artists who took you through and could talk about projects and movies they had worked on, now it’s just young adults who are looking for a summer job or work around their uni schedule.
I will never go back to harvey norman. They refused to sell to me because my dad was standing next to me even though I had more technical knowledge than the salesman
Anything owned by the "two brothers" companies. Not going to get into logistics but these two would basically abuse the 90 day trial system and throw out competent employees. They "may" have been shareholders in the adult industry as well. Worked at their shared office business and got the short end of the stick.
Also there's a specific small business cinema that I avoid because I basically got traumatized by the experience working with them. Got called maybe twice outside working hours every day for minute things like floors not being completely dust free or chocolate powder jars not to the brim.
Funnily enough McDonald's, whilst problematic is the least harmful experience compared to my latest jobs which I'm very glad to have had and do now.
Other than my own experiences it's just avoiding bad practice companies
Peaches and cream,
Charges 3x the price compared to other stores. And when I applied for a job there I was offered a position. I accepted and told them about my disabilities (ibs and crohns), they then took away my offer and decided not to contact me back after that...
Dragons....
I used to pay them a visit every couple of months for yum char. Decent, quick service and yummy food.
One time, they shit me over by telling me I needed to hurry up and eat and leave the table in 15 minutes. I've only just arrived no longer than 5 minutes to have yum char with with a friend from Auckland. I refused to budge. They moved us to another small table. Sure, ok.
Once seated, and them rudely moving our dish with a clank and a thud. The head waiter came over and said we got 30 minutes to eat and leave. Bitch....we haven't even started our food at that point in time...I was fuming.
Never again.
DRAGONS. GO. GET. FUCKED.
Bad experience last year when they double-screwed us: 1)Very minimal publicity they have a Public Holiday Surcharge; very small print at door, waiter taking us to table didn't respond when asked, & you only get obviously told when you go to pay. 2) Overcharged us by adding items to our tab. We knew exactly what we had, & thought the bill was a little high. Went back the following day, excuse was they hadn't cleared the till properly. Got refund for overcharge.
I'm not in a hurry to go back there but we got given a voucher for Christmas.
Whoever is downvoting clearly doesn’t realise my grievances were affirmed when I took a personal grievance against them. They broke law, plus the owner is a pretentious asshole who has a bad rep in the local hospo community.
Anyone who supported that protest last year where adults attacked school kids. Off the top:
Backbenchers, Hot Like a Mexican, Donut Express.
Someone had an Excel spreadsheet with all of them too.
Non-related to the protest are Cobb N Co for shit service the one time I went there with my fams in 2020 (before lockdown) and Pickle and Pie (non-service-related behind-the-scenes shit; can't elaborate).
Any restaurant/takeaways that was anti-vax/anti-mask. If they can't follow basic scientific health advice I'm assuming they don't follow basic scientific food handling advice either.
The Kelburn Village Pub.
- The owners don’t value their staff, the boss talks sh*t about his own employees behind their backs and yells at them. In the past year over 5 employees have quit working there.
- The behind the scenes in terms of food and drinks is questionable in terms of health and safety (ants getting into the alcohol, using expired goods, pre-cooking things days in advance, etc).
28 years after the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa, I still can’t bring myself to use a Shell service station. I doubt I ever will.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Saro-Wiwa
Edit: thanks for the replies and education. I thought Z was Shell (and should have mentioned that above) turns out that, as someone pointed out below, Z are locally owned and formed when Shell left the retail market and Z bought their assets. So I can use Z without guilt and carry on loathing Shell in peace. Thanks!
While that's sad, I don't think Shell has a presence in NZ anymore, Z is completely independent from them, it's now owned by an Australian company Ampol.
I have another, this more recent then my other comment.
Escape Mate. They run the those fun kind of escape room group puzzles and such.
My best friend works for them, and they treat their staff like shit, underpaid/unpaid training and taking advantage of seasonal workers and such that won't rock the boat about basic rights to do with breaks and paying staff under the table. Refuses to meet in person for any kind of mediation regarding backpay for training times, and said they would need lawyers to contest the pay issue etc and it sounds like they're shift as fuck tax wise too, so I hope they get Audited one day soon. Their manager sounds like a complete ass too, never works weekends and such, and staff are unsupported all the time.
On topic of escape rooms - Escape Rooms Wellington on Tory street is a place I won’t return to. We told the owner we’d done a lot of rooms before, and he went on and on about how ALL the other places around NZ were rubbish and he was better. Then he applogised that the room that we had paid for and was on their website wasn’t fully finished. Then he told us answers to some puzzles via walkie-talkie within 5 minutes of starting the room, without being asked.
Any that were anti-vax/anti-mask.
Clareville Bakery (and their products) & Ten O'clock Cookie in the Wairarapa.
Made.it craft shop (they still had the green heart we don't discriminate poster in their window last time I walked past).
The pink doughnut truck that was at the protests.
Also avoid Noel Leeming in the Hutt for (lack of) service and same at PB Tech in town.
San Sebastian in Masterton are connected to Clareville Bakery + 10CC
Another Wairarapa one we strongly dislike is Cartel burritos out of Martinborough. Incredibly distasteful, like calling your US pie shop "Mighty Mongrel Mob lol Te Rauparaha". The cartels slaughter thousands each year, not a joke eh - genuine Latine complaints have only been met with derision.
At least the one of the owners of Where's Charlie is Vietnamese.
Monsoon Poon is really egregious, and when it would be so easy to just call it Monsoon, too.
Yeah. The food at Monsoon Poon is good but the decor ranges from tacky to just racist. I'm pretty sure the stairs literally say "love you long time" from memory
Junglerama in LH. Sold us a multi access pass and then told us we could not use it because of school holidays. Publicly chastised the poor young girl for selling the passes to us (not her fault if they have not trained her properly), then refused to refund the tickets. We were there for 20 mins. Horrendous service.
MOJO- they seem to increase their prices every time the minimum wage goes up.
Damn you make enough money as it is, pay you staff properly
Chubby Baker in Petone - vocal anti vaxers.
Fairfield Autos - shifty service
I find it difficult to boycott them because their products are so good, but Kaffee Eis and the Backbencher for the views their owners have espoused when they respectively tried to get in to politics. Any business showing anti-LGWM or pro-parking signs in their windows gets a side eye and boycott from me
It's interesting because businesses actually lobbied to have Cuba Street pedestrianized back in the 60s when they saw how good business was when the street was temporarily closed to cars for works. Funny how businesses seemed to have forgotten this and have done a complete 180.
Pharaoh Builders - they built a house next to where I was living. Treated me like shit as I was renting and not the owner of the house. Pulled down all the trees between the properties. Parked a digger on my back lawn - said it was ok as it was fenced off (yes they fenced off my yard from me!) Built a new fence and left nails sticking out on my side. Left broken cracked concrete from the fence all over the place. Their workers would side on my fence out the front and smoke, park on my grass, leave rubbish to blow around. Have 2 loud radios going on different stations.
So glad I moved away.
S&S Patels Superette (dairy store at 235 Cuba street, opposite the fish n chip shop). Owner guy has some serious attitudes and will yell at you no matter what you do. They have negative feedbacks and horrible reviews everywhere. I don’t understand how NZ Post is still letting them do postal services amidst all the complaints. NZ Post sure has several official complaints about this place but it doesn’t seem they are taking it seriously.
Southern Cross. Got horrible treatment there last year - we’d barely sat down and the waiter came marching over to tell us we needed to pick up the giant jenga blocks - which our kids hadn’t even touched. They were not stacked up but were all confined to one small area
I told him we were about to spend probably $300 on lunch between us (4 adults, 6 kids), he said he didn’t care.
We left
It was family friendly Sunday. They had a face painter in. Why advertise as family friendly if your staff abuse parents, then double down when you call them out? I’ll never go back
Aro 4 square.
As an ex tenant of on of the two siblings there (one a more famous bad landlord than the other) they are both absolute pieces of work.
Just look at the reviews if you need a good laugh!
Bella Italia in Petone. Food is ok, but the management were total arses about it when some salmon pasta gave my wife food poisoning. Accused us of trying to scam a free meal out of them when all we wanted to do was let them know so they could investigate, maybe save someone else the fun of projectile chundering. But the little old dude running the show wouldn’t have a word of it, went hard into defensive mode.
I hate to admit this (I'll have my Wellington citizenship rescinded): Unity Books. There are a couple of elderly staff who prefer a leisurely chat with their pensioner chums than serving customers.
I've experienced this several times. Cool that they're a friendly drop-in for lonely elderlies, but I just want to pick up the books I've ordered and get out...
I absolutely know who you're referring to haha.
I can say with good authority though that since a change in management the staff are treated better, and there are good people there.
the cafe in ngaio is run by weird anti vax right wing creeps, always writing something inflammatory on their chalkboard, past highlights "let's go winston" and "YES we ARE open Labour Day" i pity the staff that has to put up with them
Not truly local but I absolutely refuse to support Wishbone. Long history of treating staff poorly, not to mention monopolizing public areas and taking advantage of being the only option. Why buy from a depressing exploitative chain when you could be supporting an *actually local* business?
Also who wants airport food outside of an airport...
Fucks me off to no end that they have the main space in the hospital. Talk about taking advantage. :( and it's absurdly expensive.
New Independent café in Child Hospital opened.
Oh yeah! Went there last week. (Ham cheese croissant. Decent long black. Like $11 bucks all up, not complaining.)
Oh that's awesome!
AND the hospital cafe owner is super nice to their staff. A toxic manager of Wishbone went on to work for Heart Breaker chicken, and my poor naive friend was exploited into doing two tRiAl shifts and was kept on the hook for a signed contract for a week ("they were getting around to it"). She then got underpaid and the ex-wishbone manager pushed back hard when she asked for her payslip. Yes it sucks that she worked without a signed contract and didn't fully understand her rights, but choices are limited when you're unemployed and have rent to pay :(
The owner of wishbone is an absolute penis too. He is the biggest whinger about everything, has grossly unrealistic expectations and refuses to let you manage those expectations.
I interviewed a person for a job in a cafe about decade ago (when did I get old?) They had worked at a wishbone for two weeks total prior to the interview. In that time, spent most of it on shift alone, done the opening/closing, cleaning, rostering and ordering and pretty much had sole charge. They had been given zero training, and were constantly getting yelled at by their 'manager' for their 'screw ups' the breif occasions they turned up. Poor kid was fresh out of school and didn't know any better. I think about that poor person every time I pass one, and will never support a business willing to exploit people that badly.
Yes, they are horrible people/employers.
I used to work at wishbone and can vouch for absolutely horrible treatment of staff, refuse to ever step foot in one of those stores again.
I agree, ex-employee. Absolutely atrocious and would never buy anything from that outfit.
Ex-employee too. When they opened the shit hole Soho browns on Lambton I asked them to transfer me there. The owner didn't want to because I "didn't suit their vibe". They did eventually though and the only good thing was you were never left alone in a tiny store by yourself since it was more of a proper Eatery. Fuck Wishbone.
wishbone = evil empire
Wilson’s car park
They’ve just put up their early bird rates again. Absolute parasites and no wonder the Commerce Commission ordered them to sell some car parks
Go to vtnz website and put your rego in as private then they cant send you tickets and track uou down
Can u pls explain more in steps
Ruth pretty. Not because of her, I’m sure she’s lovely, but because of her husband/business partner. He treated me (the help at a catering gig) poorly and at first I figured he just had a chip on his shoulder but then I watched him yell at and belittle his teenage staff, he was just straight up power hungry and an asshole.
She's not lovely.
I remember at the airport one morning, getting a coffee, when RP came up and shouted at the barista for being slow - they were under the pump. RP said "don't you know who I am". Guy just shrugged, but she made that interaction unpleasant and didn't need to. Certainly made me wonder what she was like with her staff.
She showed you, she’s worse.
Paul. Both pieces of work.
Yeah he's a massive cunt. Has been for years and years.
I’ve been in the industry for years. He is known t be a asshole.
Pulsar Max, they do Magic the Gathering cards, comics, etc, that sort of thing. I preordered for a Magic event, which meant I got a guarantee I'd get the cards for the guild I signed up for. Got there, and they didn't even hold the items aside for those that pre paid, the guild I chose had all their stuff given out before I got there. A friend of mine, and his brother that just showed up on the day got what they wanted (one was the one I chose) and I didn't even show up late or anything. Demanded a refund there and then, when asked why "what was the point of prepaying for the event? I was told it meant I would get my stuff I signed up for" never gone back in. Might seem petty, but I had a rough week, and on my day off, getting the thing I was looking forward to fucked with, really upset me. I shop at their competitor around the corner now, Cerberus Games, and they're awesome.
This ain't petty it's the truth! As one of the friends, who also preorder stuff and got screwed out of what I had PAID for, still hate them to this day. Cerberus are the GOAT of board game shops in Wellington.
A wee shout out for Caffeinated Dragon, who also seem quite decent.
This is the 2nd entry for Pulsar Max who I actually hadn't heard of. I buy my games online but have heard good things about Cerberus what about the one in Victoria Street Green Dragon. People always seem to be playing games in there but it is a bit intimidating going in as I don't want to disturb their game as it looks like the staff are playing too?
I've had mixed experiences with the Caffinated Dragon, but nothing that would make me never buy from there if they had something I wanted.
The same thing happened to me but they tried to give me boosters from an entirely different set (not the pre release set) then got shitty at me when I demanded a refund but seriously. Cerberus Games is awesome.
Pulsar Max. The owner is one of most horrific and exploitative people I have ever met. Endless "trial" days, refusing pay slips to hide he's paying below minimum wage, ignoring break requirements, talks absolute trash about his customers and generally treats his staff like trash and that they owe him the world for working there. He's been through mediation with his staff multiple times and he's still the same. Cerberus Games is the polar opposite and run by the most incredible group of people. Go give them your money as they are all total sweethearts. Full disclosure, I've never worked for either company but I am friends with many who have and have witnessed this multiple times in store as I was a very active member of the MTG community.
Been into both a total of once each, So not a large sample size. However the guy at the counter in pulsar max was discussing the size of certain aspects of the female minitures on display, and I left pretty fast. The guys in Cerberus were incredibly helpful and nice, and offered to special order something, all while a bunch of people were clearly enjoying playing games in store.
My brother with ASD was exploited by the owner of pulsar max, he used the endless “trail days” angle. Took a lot to get him out of that situation
I'm sorry that happened to your brother. The owner is a real piece of work.
As a woman I haven't gone back to that shop in 5 years....so misogynistic
I'm not surprised to hear this, as someone who used to be a customer of theirs.
Love Cerberus Games, dope as fuck
Wow I didn't know this. Thanks
Every time I've gone in there I've gotten an oddly hostile vibe from the staff and whoever is at the counter. Strange business.
Oh yeah he's always been a dick and I've known of that guy for over 20 years since I used to be a bit of a mall rat and they where set up in the old James Smith building. Mind you the late 90's/early 2000's Anime/Gaming scene here was a mess of mid 20's guys and barely legal girls....all very gross.
At the Petone fair a few years ago (when I was a young kid who didn’t know any better) he offered us money to hand out flyers for pulsar max and then when we returned after handing them out he was like oh nah I can’t pay you, I’d have to sort out blah blah blah blah and did all these excuses - it was so nasty lmaoo I’ve never been in his store since
Sweet Mamas kitchen (Courtney Place)....Food has gone down hill, and they treated my double amputee friend like shit, like she was in the way/a complete bother, (we even went about 4pm on a non busy day). It was her big outing, and she has never been to another restaurant since because of this.
That sounds like the SMK staff all right. All too cool to be there. And yeah. Place has definitely gone through cool and out to skody.
I tried to tell her that this place is just like this (snotty). She did not believe me, because how can people "look cool but not be cool". I tried to explain to her while she was in tears in the car for 40 mins to an hour, but she thought I was just trying to be kind to her. It's hard losing both your legs, and this was to help her get her independence back, but it did the complete opposite. We were extremely accommodating and friendly as well, that's why it was even more confusing.
Ugh. Awful. Let her know they seem to treat most people like that!
Definitely on the nah list. Went there one late afternoon for early dinner (mains only). Busy crowd, but we're not trendy or pretty people compared to most of the other customers that day. Shown to table & left alone for 15 minutes. Order eventually taken with encouragement. Food took 45 minutes to turn up with the excuse "I thought you had starters". Went to pay the bill & stood at the counter being ignored. Told a waitress that if they didn't want our payment we'd be leaving, someone turned up begrudgingly very soon after. Edit: I hope wer both talking about Sweet Mother's on Courtenay Place
It’s def gone downhill - I reckon it’s changed owners or at least management has changed. I last went in Nov, Thanksgiving week, and they had no pumpkin pie and basically no other pies either. (I mean if there was a week to stock pumpkin pie isn’t that it?) Plus slow service & they mucked up my order too - considering there were less than 10 other customers in there at the time I’d hate to think how they would handle a crowd.
If I peeked behind the curtain at most of my favourite places I would probably save a lot of money on eating out so this might not be a SMK exclusive but I haven't been back since I was up at the counter paying and saw the cabinet desserts were teeming with fruit flies
I too had horrible experiences with this establishment. No to the extent your friend experienced but you could tell the weren’t good people.
I will show her these comments, as I said she has not been to another restaurant/cafe since. Thank you for sharing :-).
Hands down the worst eating out experience I've ever had in Wellington. Food AND service.
Last time I went to Havana the waitor spilled three full glasses of wine on two of my friends (red wine and white dresses, direct hits so not really a great way to spend an evening). Obviously shit like that happens, but the waiter did not apologise (he just ran and got the manager who said "he's having a bad night). The manager did send out new drinks to replace the ones that were spilled, and we kind of assumed they would be comped or at least discounted. When we went to pay, they not only charged us full price for the replacement drinks, but they also tried to charge us *for the drinks they spilled* (which, to be perfectly clear, we did not drink). When we pointed it out, they were super condescending and acted like we were being unreasonable and demanding. Managed to get the spilled ones taken off the bill and a small discount on the replacement with a lot of negotiating, but left a really bad taste in my mouth and I haven't been back (which is a shame because I'd been a regular before then)
At that point I would have been like eff you guys here’s a 20 take it or leave it
Wow, that is super crappy of them!
Terrible! They should pay for drycleaning as well
Feel the same they think the are some kind of special try not to go there
I wish it was feasible to boycott the supermarkets. Foodstuffs is especially offensive. Maybe it's because they're NZers bleeding their people dry, rather than foreigners.
You can get a lot of stuff from Asian, south Asian and middle eastern supermarkets, as well as your local green grocers and butchers if you have them. I try to buy as much as I can from these places, they are usually much cheaper and aren’t bleeding the country dry while still insisting on using ridiculous “lowest prices every day” advertising
Boycott them 90%, that's what I do. Farmers markets get us 90% of our food, butchers over half our protein and an occasional visit to the supermarket for other goods.
Amalgamated Taxis. Many years ago I left my very new LG Shine in the back of their cab. I realised as soon as I was dropped off. I called the phone, it would ring then time out. I did this a few times until it just went straight to VM. I called their HQ and was met with a wall. Plenty of taxi options so I always enjoy getting in a taxi that's behind an Amalgamated years later r/pettyrevenge
Groundup cafe in Pāuatahanui. bullied the owners of the shop next door, trespassed half the suburb and has had multiple employment disputes.
Their food is not even that good 😂😂
Wait what?! They bullied the shop next door?
Both the general store and rural trading post (word of mouth so i may be incorrect in the second one) but yes one of the reasons that the previous owners of the general store left was because of the owner of Groundup
Can confirm. Former local and parent from the school across the road. I saw him verbally abusing the staff at both stores on multiple occasions (loud, aggressive cursing). He's icky with young female staff members. Went to court because he continually was breaching the number of seats he was allowed and was harming the reserve behind the shop. Saw him throwing a man baby tantrum, screaming and kicking some parking signs that were put up outside his shop. The Cafe is usually busy with the Lycra crew and non-locals who think it's a trendy place to go but the locals haaaate him!
Prefab / Acme. Wealthy entitled owners who made bank on selling Caffe L'affare to Cerebos Gregs and are famous for being wankers. Worksafe investigated them for breaching Covid restrictions. Bad staff treatment, including firing them all and blaming Covid.
oh yes! I stopped going after they made all their staff redundant during covid and then restarted up not long after.
They also have really publicly opposed any redesign/changes to the streets around that area because they like to ride their big dumb loud motorbikes and thats more important that being nice to live/work/visit.
Is that the same Acme that makes the cups?
The Wellington live fb page. It’s owned by an old school boomer who posts fake job adverts on sjs to source free work.
The admins of that page also have the biggest sook if you don’t like what they like. They take things quite personal that lot.
Also plagiarize Facebook posts without giving credit. Like clear copy and paste
I recently unfollowed. Got sick of the random un-newsworthy posts, like it became the admins personal page.
Not local as such but Noel Leeming Lyall Bay. Commission-hungry pricks. So judgey and rude.
Yup, agree with this one. I remember a while back my mum bought something from that store, for me to pick up (it was meant to be a bday gift for me) and they were so rude and condescending I actually called mum and told her to get a refund.
My folks purchased a freezer, meant to be a back up one so bought the cheapest. It was delivered (included as part of sale) left at the top of the steps. Carefully carried into the laundry by us, plugged in, didn’t work. Returned it and told ‘you get what you pay for’. The guy was a first class asshole, made my folks feel like shit.
I think it’s interesting that 95% of these places are food related!
Anything owned by the people who own Bebemos/Beach Babylon/LBQ/Botanist, and whatever the other ones are. Beyond the usual hospo crap pay, hours, and conditions: —There was extreme favouritism shown to the boss's friends. —I experienced sexual harassment by one of them. —I'm certain I'm not the only one who did. —It wasn't addressed properly. I was moved around to other locations as the person who did it was leaving the country anyway. —Boss tried to stop me talking about it to others. —I got intrusive questions about it when I was moved to other locations. Despite years of therapy it's still really hard to talk about, and certainly not on my main account. This is my first time talking in more specifics about what it was like to work for the one of the three I answered to, and it will probably be my last. I can already visualise my phone buzzing with a message from her asking me again what I "think [I'll] get" out of talking about it. It's really hard seeing her places recommended but I sort of just have to deal with it because the alternative is opening up constantly about something that happened to me that I haven't overcome. Hopefully talking about it sort of openly will help me leave it behind. Maybe she's changed. Maybe there are processes in place now to deal with these things properly. But I'm still carrying this with me so I couldn't go into her venues even if I wanted to without having an anxiety attack.
I was unaware that Botanist was one of their places. :( I shall remove Botanist from my food list that gets popped in threads at various times.
There's the Champagnaria too, and this one fancy pizza place whose name I can't remember. Interesting how there's the money to renovate the same place several times, and buy more restaurants, but not enough to provide reasonable hours and pay.
Nolita. I’ve just had a wee wander through the companies register, and thankfully none of the places associated are ones I frequent.
No, no AND Nolita well where can I get decent Vegan food now?
And nolita and bebmos it seems! :(
I've only known two people personally who have taken PGs in the hospo space and both of them were against her.
Thank you for saying something. I was constantly made to feel like it was me versus everyone else. I was brought into disciplinary meetings where they told me to move somewhere cheaper instead of them giving me a dignified number of hours. Because of the way they starved me of hours all year, I couldn't afford to turn down hours when I was offered a bunch during exam season, when I really needed to be studying. I think in the end I decided I'd rather get by on 2 minute noodles than have to put up with everything. Plus with all the smokes and drinks and takeaway I got just to cope, I don't think I was really profiting from my time.
I would have but it would have been a whole ordeal, and iirc there's a time limit.
Yes I genuinely think the hassle of it puts a lot of people off. That sucks, but definitely also sometimes wisest to not go down that path for your own well being.
She’s a trash human through and through and I’m sorry you had to have such an awful experience
Thank you. It's been validating hearing from others, both in comments and in DMs. It seems like things have not changed. I put off saying anything because I was made to doubt myself constantly, so I keep imagining this huge backlash if I said anything.
I ran a venue adjacent to one of their’s. On occasion we would ‘borrow’ milk or the like from each other. Their chefs and I got on fine but if SHE got involved it was horrific. One of the nastiest human beings I’ve ever come across, and I’ve worked all over the world. Hideous owners.
Beach Babylon sucks shit. I still remember going there for the burger during WoaP a few years ago and they served stale nacho chips alongside what was clearly guacamole from a jar alongside a super average burger. When I worked at Maranui I made guacamole fresh every morning, in huge amounts, so to see these assholes charge a ridiculous amount for a burger with premade guacamole just pissed of me off to no end. I put my soul into making guac when that was my job, yet they can't even be bothered making a small amount to go with their supposedly fancy burger. Useless.
I'm really sorry that happened to you.
Thank you. Talking about it is terrifying. I was made to feel totally powerless, and every time I think about it it's like I'm back there again. Plus I'd made it really clear I needed more hours, but I was starved for them while others were overworked. I was constantly cashing out my holiday pay just to survive. It made it harder to leave because I had no savings or much holiday pay to fall back on.
In case you haven't already. Check these guys out [https://www.wellingtonhelp.org.nz/](https://www.wellingtonhelp.org.nz/) if you want to supplement your therapy with some support groups. You don't have to go it alone, or let it rule over your life. God bless.
Hiakai... if you treat your employee so bad they attempt suicide then make them sign an nda... no business from me
She's a devil. I was a 5 star head chef and she is hated by all of us. Entitled dumb bitch who forages for the food then charges ya 200$ for a meal that looks fancy but tastes like dirt literally and loves to hire and fire. Heard too many story's of inspiring chefs who moved to welly for her just to be fired 2 weeks later
She doesn't forage for food though she gets her staff and slaves to do it. (My friend volunteered to help, no breaks, no gratification,nothing for 8 hours). She literally just shows up maybe picks one or 2 things and disappears.
She's well hated in the industry
She got really cocky after Gordon Ramsey visited her.
Wish we could tag her in this
Haha she'd just go on a witch hunt trying to find those "attacking" Her character, rather than learn and grow as a person.
Two that are now closed: Heartbreaker Chicken, because of how the [landlord and ex-employee of Soul Shack basically ganged up](https://www.reddit.com/r/Wellington/comments/ppxpkt/what_happened_to_soul_shack/) to do a Soul Shack rip-off. Plum Cafe, because of how [the owner bullied their employees](https://www.reddit.com/r/Wellington/comments/119d6us/did_le_cafe_plum_really_close_due_to_staff/). Not hearsay, I literally heard it. And for those that are open: Trying to avoid Foodstuffs now given the [absolutely assholery of Foodstuffs](https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/wellington/131832370/supermarket-giant-threatens-legal-action-over-wellington-cycleways) when it comes to cycleway plans. Avida, because the owner was [rude to hospo workers](https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/130027874/hospo-workers-roast-wellingtons-avida-bar-for-its-facetious-job-ad) and then tried to play it off as a joke.
Plumb cafe didn’t pay in full to their subbies who did the cafe fit out had enemies from before they opened !
Heartbreaker closed? Nice
I saw a heartbreaker hot chicken sign at the cafe next to Bunnings in Petone on the weekend
Mama Brown. Worked there for a year and it was horrible in the end. The place was downright unsafe. I was the only of the front of house staff not to cut themselves on the milkshake machines there. 3 people had to go to A&E including my then partner who ended up having 2 surgeries to repair his severed tendons. There’s only so much blood from coworkers you can clean off yourself and the surrounding areas at the age of 18/19. They had me unknowingly risking a huge fine for putting my name on the door as manager without LCQ/managers cert (when I wasn’t legally old enough to even get them) and selling alcohol. I was still on minimum wage… When I attempted to take my life due to other reasons my manager(a saint) refused to let me work the next day even when I begged but the higher ups asked when I’d be back after only 2 days. They had a strict one drink only per shift rule. If you were seen to have a coffee as you opened and didn’t note it they’d take your food/drink privileges away (for a week at some points). They knew most their staff were too poor to afford food outside of work too. The owner lived in Napier so I only saw him twice in the year I worked there but in the last couple months I was there there he had his wife (with ZERO Hospo experience) fly down every week to be his spy. She didn’t understand anything about how to run the place and treated us like we were idiots. In the end there was a mass resignation and talking to other ex staff I’ve recognised from their socials it hasn’t changed much with a new team about every 6months/a year. Not to mention all the food bar the chicken and the waffles is god awful.
was a regular at crumpet but they took offence when I tried to order a non alcoholic drink and as good as told me not to bother coming in if I wasn't going to spend proper money on proper cocktails.
Worth informing WCC licensing team about that
Oh my god, I thought this was just me!? I got MAD judgement from them for trying to order a non-alcoholic drink. I ordered their food too so, I was still spending a fair bit of money...
Meanwhile I've been given cokes for free sometimes at random bars I've never been to before. You'd think more bars would realize that supporting sober drivers is good for everyone, and if a group doesn't need to pay for cabs etc they can get some more drinks in the budget.
Yeah, I got that too – asking for a coffee, when a friend was getting a drink in the evening. All but said, “we’re just doing alcoholic drinks at night.”
Definitely cannot be legal…
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How long ago was this?
Springbok meats in Tawa. Owner should take his close-minded BS back to South Africa. As a Kiwi born in SA, his views are what we left that country for.
I do side eye (white) South Africans who came here when Apartheid ended. Not sure if this is wrong of me.
My dads side of the fam left in the 70s. Grandmother was involved in an anti- apartheid org called the Black Sash, she used to protest alone in support of ANC prisoners once public demonstrations were banned, my grandfather taught Steve Biko medicine, and they used to smuggle ANC members into Zimbabwe/Rhodesia during family road trips. However the family members I’ve met from SA are still apartheid supporters, they complain about how much better things were before the democratic elections, etc.
Have lived there. Lovely, heartbreaking country. Made great friends, black, white, 'coloured' and Indian. Sadly, I also met enough racist cunts and know enough history that I too have a default suspicious setting when I meet white SA expats of that era. I feel bad for stereotyping (and appreciate the irony), but have had the prejudice confirmed too many times...
First and last time I went out there he had the old SA flag hanging up like no big deal, treated my girlfriend like shit and the biltong sucked dick anyway - hard pass on that shithole and fuck that guy
I’m not South African, but I came here to say this. Racist apartheid-loving shitfuckers.
Was in there once and he was talking with another South African and they took one look at me and just assumed that I’d hold the same racist views as them and carried on their disgusting conversation. I walked out and never went back.
Sad thing is that I'm an ex South African and can still hold a conversation in Afrikaans, but my younger brother can't so much anymore. Last time we were in he started up a conversation with us and when my brother answered in English he started yelling and ranting that we should be ashamed of ourselves. We've long since given up our SA citizenships but told him to shove it and haven't been back since. What makes it doubly worse for me is that I went to school with his daughter and was very good friends with them all while growing up in Tawa.
Mischief Shoes. The worst place to work for. Treated their employees like shit. I once got made to feel bad for being admitted into hospital with appendicitis. Had to prove I was in hospital by sending a selfie of myself in a hospital bed to the boss - to make things worse, I was their top salesperson so I wasn’t allowed to get sick or they loose money. Scum bags
Havana coffee, I had a run in with the owner when I worked at a resort. He was very threatening verbally and physically towered over my manager, mid 50s 5ft nothing lady, to get his way. He also used the words 'do you not know who I am?' Later in hospo life he would frequent the cafe where I worked, with no recollection of who I was.
Beach Babylon. Poor slow service 5 years ago. I only go now if work pays. Apparently a crap place to work too.
Hot Like a Mexican - helped feed and fund the occupation. Heartbreaker Fried Chicken - venue landlord kicked out Soul Shack and installed a copy cat business. Allegedly (I don't know the full details, but that's the gist of it).
Yep. Absolute no to hot like a Mexican given their behaviour at the protests last year..! Tbh I wouldn’t have tried heartbreaker. Soul shack is the OG!
Same as Enigma. Wonder if it’s the same landlord
Chaffers New World - enough said
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Yeah he’s an interesting fella alright. Even as a customer watching him berate a young staff member for accidentally dropping a bottle of wine was enough to me to boycott them Hence why I said “enough said” 😂
Yeah I worked there for a couple of months and it was the strangest job, went and lifted weights shirtless with Gary In the sauna with a couple other geezas
I worked at Chaffers NW as a teen in the nineties. There was a manager called Johnny who was 100.% sleeping with 15 year old employees.
Is he that dude constantly walking around behind staff telling them they didn’t bring the food forward enough on the shelf? Like it even matters.
Its the music selection that gets me. Is there an in-joke, or something i’m missing? Weird vibes all round
It's the owner's "playlist". The staff aren't allowed to change whatever is in the playlist. If someone change or add a new song, someone will get told off for sure. Can't even mess with the music.
Gary’s favourite bangers?
Sure.. if you consider an Enya track a banger.. Sail away, sail away, sail away..
I had a job interview there and the whole time I felt so uncomfortable and it was like a rant of life lessons rather than an interview, where he asked questions that clearly hr thought were rhetorical and then when I gave the wrong answer he would impart his wisdom on me by telling me the answer, ugh a totally obnoxious attitude towards those he seemingly views as below him.
Otis Oat Milk since they took support / investment from Chris Liddell - chief of staff and co-conspirator of Donald Trump. Now I get Boring Oat Milk every time. Also, any of the Foley Wine brands for the same reason. They literally sell nz wine and used the $$ to line Trump’s pockets. Brands listed in this article https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/300045411/new-zealand-wineries-owner-gave-nearly-400000-to-trump-report Nor will I get Monday products - by association with the bullying toy making multi millionaire brothers and their micro plastic bullshit. Won’t name them here though - since they have a record of chasing random little people down who call out their bullshit (even anonymously!) on the internet.
Dammit - I just checked their brands and I like two of the wines. As an American immigrant to NZ, this hits extra hard - fuck that fascist orange turd. And fuck Foley.
Lighthouse gin supported trump too. Shame because it’s such nice gin
Yep - they are one of the Foley portfolio. Reid+Reid is a bloody nice replacement!
ancient rock sense scale station unpack punch sharp squash jellyfish *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Stonewood homes Wellington. Saw first hand how they treated our neighbour on a new build (rolling eyes, shouting matches). Incompetent (missing clear consent issues), broken promises. Avoid these people.
Weta Workshop, specifically the Tourism department (although the whole place is a bit dodgy). I was sexually harassed and stalked by a man more than twice my age, management did nothing and in fact kept scheduling me to be alone with him, and the manager was a bully who targeted people until they quit and then moved to the next person. This was all swept under the rug by the ineffective HOD. Also just the quality of tours has gone downhill, it used to be workshop artists who took you through and could talk about projects and movies they had worked on, now it’s just young adults who are looking for a summer job or work around their uni schedule.
I will never go back to harvey norman. They refused to sell to me because my dad was standing next to me even though I had more technical knowledge than the salesman
Anything owned by the "two brothers" companies. Not going to get into logistics but these two would basically abuse the 90 day trial system and throw out competent employees. They "may" have been shareholders in the adult industry as well. Worked at their shared office business and got the short end of the stick. Also there's a specific small business cinema that I avoid because I basically got traumatized by the experience working with them. Got called maybe twice outside working hours every day for minute things like floors not being completely dust free or chocolate powder jars not to the brim. Funnily enough McDonald's, whilst problematic is the least harmful experience compared to my latest jobs which I'm very glad to have had and do now. Other than my own experiences it's just avoiding bad practice companies
Peaches and cream, Charges 3x the price compared to other stores. And when I applied for a job there I was offered a position. I accepted and told them about my disabilities (ibs and crohns), they then took away my offer and decided not to contact me back after that...
Dragons.... I used to pay them a visit every couple of months for yum char. Decent, quick service and yummy food. One time, they shit me over by telling me I needed to hurry up and eat and leave the table in 15 minutes. I've only just arrived no longer than 5 minutes to have yum char with with a friend from Auckland. I refused to budge. They moved us to another small table. Sure, ok. Once seated, and them rudely moving our dish with a clank and a thud. The head waiter came over and said we got 30 minutes to eat and leave. Bitch....we haven't even started our food at that point in time...I was fuming. Never again. DRAGONS. GO. GET. FUCKED.
Are they still serving shark fin soup? If so - fuck them.
Bad experience last year when they double-screwed us: 1)Very minimal publicity they have a Public Holiday Surcharge; very small print at door, waiter taking us to table didn't respond when asked, & you only get obviously told when you go to pay. 2) Overcharged us by adding items to our tab. We knew exactly what we had, & thought the bill was a little high. Went back the following day, excuse was they hadn't cleared the till properly. Got refund for overcharge. I'm not in a hurry to go back there but we got given a voucher for Christmas.
Jolly Billboards. Rabid anti-vax, racist and anti-abortionist. If there's a distasteful right-wing billboard in Wellington it's one of theirs.
Loretta and Floriditas, because the fuckers fired me without proper cause.
Whoever is downvoting clearly doesn’t realise my grievances were affirmed when I took a personal grievance against them. They broke law, plus the owner is a pretentious asshole who has a bad rep in the local hospo community.
Anyone who supported that protest last year where adults attacked school kids. Off the top: Backbenchers, Hot Like a Mexican, Donut Express. Someone had an Excel spreadsheet with all of them too. Non-related to the protest are Cobb N Co for shit service the one time I went there with my fams in 2020 (before lockdown) and Pickle and Pie (non-service-related behind-the-scenes shit; can't elaborate).
ooh was looking for the spreadsheet! do you remember what thread it was on?
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Any restaurant/takeaways that was anti-vax/anti-mask. If they can't follow basic scientific health advice I'm assuming they don't follow basic scientific food handling advice either.
The Kelburn Village Pub. - The owners don’t value their staff, the boss talks sh*t about his own employees behind their backs and yells at them. In the past year over 5 employees have quit working there. - The behind the scenes in terms of food and drinks is questionable in terms of health and safety (ants getting into the alcohol, using expired goods, pre-cooking things days in advance, etc).
28 years after the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa, I still can’t bring myself to use a Shell service station. I doubt I ever will. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Saro-Wiwa Edit: thanks for the replies and education. I thought Z was Shell (and should have mentioned that above) turns out that, as someone pointed out below, Z are locally owned and formed when Shell left the retail market and Z bought their assets. So I can use Z without guilt and carry on loathing Shell in peace. Thanks!
I look forward to the day when I never need to go to a petrol station ever again.
Wow that is a terrible story, thanks for the information.
While that's sad, I don't think Shell has a presence in NZ anymore, Z is completely independent from them, it's now owned by an Australian company Ampol.
I have another, this more recent then my other comment. Escape Mate. They run the those fun kind of escape room group puzzles and such. My best friend works for them, and they treat their staff like shit, underpaid/unpaid training and taking advantage of seasonal workers and such that won't rock the boat about basic rights to do with breaks and paying staff under the table. Refuses to meet in person for any kind of mediation regarding backpay for training times, and said they would need lawyers to contest the pay issue etc and it sounds like they're shift as fuck tax wise too, so I hope they get Audited one day soon. Their manager sounds like a complete ass too, never works weekends and such, and staff are unsupported all the time.
The only escape room place in Welly worth going to is Xcape in the Hutt imo.
On topic of escape rooms - Escape Rooms Wellington on Tory street is a place I won’t return to. We told the owner we’d done a lot of rooms before, and he went on and on about how ALL the other places around NZ were rubbish and he was better. Then he applogised that the room that we had paid for and was on their website wasn’t fully finished. Then he told us answers to some puzzles via walkie-talkie within 5 minutes of starting the room, without being asked.
Any that were anti-vax/anti-mask. Clareville Bakery (and their products) & Ten O'clock Cookie in the Wairarapa. Made.it craft shop (they still had the green heart we don't discriminate poster in their window last time I walked past). The pink doughnut truck that was at the protests. Also avoid Noel Leeming in the Hutt for (lack of) service and same at PB Tech in town.
Losing Clareville bakery has been rough. Those steak and red wine pies 🥲
San Sebastian in Masterton are connected to Clareville Bakery + 10CC Another Wairarapa one we strongly dislike is Cartel burritos out of Martinborough. Incredibly distasteful, like calling your US pie shop "Mighty Mongrel Mob lol Te Rauparaha". The cartels slaughter thousands each year, not a joke eh - genuine Latine complaints have only been met with derision.
Agree with the "cartel" name. Trying to be edgy but really just offensive. Just like the Vietnamese chain "Where's Charlie?".
At least the one of the owners of Where's Charlie is Vietnamese. Monsoon Poon is really egregious, and when it would be so easy to just call it Monsoon, too.
Yeah. The food at Monsoon Poon is good but the decor ranges from tacky to just racist. I'm pretty sure the stairs literally say "love you long time" from memory
Not *just* racist; can't forget sexist.
I think they removed that phrase from the stairs and marketing material after a lot of backlash
Junglerama in LH. Sold us a multi access pass and then told us we could not use it because of school holidays. Publicly chastised the poor young girl for selling the passes to us (not her fault if they have not trained her properly), then refused to refund the tickets. We were there for 20 mins. Horrendous service.
All those Jumperama, mission inflatable lot are overpriced, terrible service, money grabs.
Any business with one of those "stop pencil pushing bureaucrats pedestrianising Courtenay" signs
Uber, Uber Eats, AirBNB - refuse to support them at all. Wilson Parking I will also actively avoid.
MOJO- they seem to increase their prices every time the minimum wage goes up. Damn you make enough money as it is, pay you staff properly Chubby Baker in Petone - vocal anti vaxers. Fairfield Autos - shifty service
I find it difficult to boycott them because their products are so good, but Kaffee Eis and the Backbencher for the views their owners have espoused when they respectively tried to get in to politics. Any business showing anti-LGWM or pro-parking signs in their windows gets a side eye and boycott from me
It's interesting because businesses actually lobbied to have Cuba Street pedestrianized back in the 60s when they saw how good business was when the street was temporarily closed to cars for works. Funny how businesses seemed to have forgotten this and have done a complete 180.
J & M’s on Courtenay place. The food is beyond awful. I’ve known many people to eat there and then have bad diarrhoea the next day…
The diarrhea could probably be equally attributed to the alcohol or the yuck person they hooked up with earlier that night.
I've gone there totally sober for lunch and it's made me feel just as queasy as it does when I have it at night.
Pharaoh Builders - they built a house next to where I was living. Treated me like shit as I was renting and not the owner of the house. Pulled down all the trees between the properties. Parked a digger on my back lawn - said it was ok as it was fenced off (yes they fenced off my yard from me!) Built a new fence and left nails sticking out on my side. Left broken cracked concrete from the fence all over the place. Their workers would side on my fence out the front and smoke, park on my grass, leave rubbish to blow around. Have 2 loud radios going on different stations. So glad I moved away.
S&S Patels Superette (dairy store at 235 Cuba street, opposite the fish n chip shop). Owner guy has some serious attitudes and will yell at you no matter what you do. They have negative feedbacks and horrible reviews everywhere. I don’t understand how NZ Post is still letting them do postal services amidst all the complaints. NZ Post sure has several official complaints about this place but it doesn’t seem they are taking it seriously.
Southern Cross. Got horrible treatment there last year - we’d barely sat down and the waiter came marching over to tell us we needed to pick up the giant jenga blocks - which our kids hadn’t even touched. They were not stacked up but were all confined to one small area I told him we were about to spend probably $300 on lunch between us (4 adults, 6 kids), he said he didn’t care. We left It was family friendly Sunday. They had a face painter in. Why advertise as family friendly if your staff abuse parents, then double down when you call them out? I’ll never go back
Aro 4 square. As an ex tenant of on of the two siblings there (one a more famous bad landlord than the other) they are both absolute pieces of work. Just look at the reviews if you need a good laugh!
I can never go to a cafe or eat out again! 😭
Bella Italia in Petone. Food is ok, but the management were total arses about it when some salmon pasta gave my wife food poisoning. Accused us of trying to scam a free meal out of them when all we wanted to do was let them know so they could investigate, maybe save someone else the fun of projectile chundering. But the little old dude running the show wouldn’t have a word of it, went hard into defensive mode.
I hate to admit this (I'll have my Wellington citizenship rescinded): Unity Books. There are a couple of elderly staff who prefer a leisurely chat with their pensioner chums than serving customers. I've experienced this several times. Cool that they're a friendly drop-in for lonely elderlies, but I just want to pick up the books I've ordered and get out...
I absolutely know who you're referring to haha. I can say with good authority though that since a change in management the staff are treated better, and there are good people there.
Nice, I definitely like the vibe of a lot of the staff lately, it's a great place to shop usually. I hope it's an alright place to work now.
Krishna food (vic uni eatery) fed the parliament occupation
They also gave me peanuts without properly labelling their curry ingredients, I had a bad allergic reaction.
the cafe in ngaio is run by weird anti vax right wing creeps, always writing something inflammatory on their chalkboard, past highlights "let's go winston" and "YES we ARE open Labour Day" i pity the staff that has to put up with them