Shannon D.
Yelp
This is a good one to share, as just experienced the same in Vancouver - rude attitude and heard just yesterday from someone else.
Why spend money when you are treated like bologne?
To Stafford Lumeley, and for any future patrons of Smitty's Oyster house in Gibsons,
What I observed: On July 1, 2023
It was about 9:00pm and the waitress recommended a bottle of rose as a pairing with oysters, lamb lollipops, a full moon and a clear sky to my girlfriend and I. We accepted the invitation. It seemed a bit strange but she had us pay shortly after we received our snacks. We did, and assumed because we were sitting outside it made the service easier. The night was beautiful, until later in the evening, when a man sat at our table, and without warning told its time to tip up your drinks and fuck off. I assumed he was telling us that they wanted us to go inside. The man followed with, no I am telling you to fuck off. As a deckhand on a commercial fishing boat my girlfriend was familiar with what some describe as salty, but this had an entirely different tone from the traditional sea people salty, nor was it a brand, or corporate culture, it was simply put, ridiculous. A little bit stunned, she told him that we got the message and we would be leaving, but not okay to talk to us that way. He became aggressive with her, and said, now you really need to fuck off. My girlfriend felt threatened, and left immediately. I felt protective and confronted the manager.
The manager grabbed the wine glass from my hand, and told me to fuck off or he would call the police. Other restaurant staff then began to bully me, the men made fun of me and my english, and threatened me. I asked for my full refund as he did not allow me to finish my meal and my wine.
Two police officers arrived at about 10:45pm . The first officer (probably preparing himself to throw a drunk and belligerent person into the drunk tank), walked past my girlfriend and straight for me. Within five minutes the police officers realized neither of us were a threat, nor a concern to anyone and left. The police intimated that this was not the first time that they had to pay an unnecessary visit to Smitty's bar. They cordially explained that the only action we could take was to issue a public complaint, or negative review.
Here it is, Our night was completely ruined! This was our summer holiday, we work very hard, and to have an incident like this occur is unacceptable. If we were approached that the night was ending and told to finish our glass, have our wine corked or receive a refund, we would have left without a problem. This was between 10:00 - 10:30 pm on a Saturday, the website indicates their hours of operation are 12:00pm - late. It appears that the restaurant has a practice of allowing people to come late, where the staff then encourage buying bottles, then push payment before the meal is over, and then promptly kick their customers out. Some would label this practice a con.
Restaurant owners and employees have a duty to provide a reasonably safe environment for patrons. My rights as a patron have been completely violated.
The staff made me feel violated and mistreated on my dime. It's one thing to play it salty, it's entirely another thing to be abusive. My girlfriend was in Gibsons long before Smitty's. Her grandparents were both upstanding community members of the city of Gibsons, who volunteered their time with various organizations. I remember the docks before Smitty's. As a child she fished off the docks, and it would not be an uncommon to make a friend with a tug boat driver, or chat with the magical Gardiner of what was once a community of charming house boats, or bring home a pale of local spot prawns, a treasure of early spring. The culture of the marina was always friendly and inviting. She feels like she is losing threads of the fabric of this community as the big money moves in.
I value community deeply, and after some evaluation of other community members' experiences, it seems a couple key ingredients of community are missing at Smitty's, it appears respect and common decency are frequently unavailable.
This is not an uncommon occurrence in rural communities, as the population grows, larger companies move in and dilute the once vibrant community appeal. The arrogance of this kind of attitude displayed at Smitty's is embarrassing and not in service to the community.
