The Backroom, Leeds, Room 2

Horrific!!! Don’t appoint security guards who will lose their shit at any instance and will start shouting at customers. I was there yesterday with two other friends at night I didn’t have physical ID I had my E-Visa ready to show. The security standing didn’t even know that e-visas are allowed entry we showed the other guy standing next and he approved. He started explaining to carry my id i said right now i have E-visa i can enter because i didn’t want to talk further and wanted to get in he started screaming at me asking his colleague to let me out. He was screaming “let her learn some manners”. If you gona lose your shit like that please don’t come to work. I wasn’t even having an argument with him but he started screaming and yelling. It’s him who didn’t have the manners. Please stop hiring abusive, impatient, aggressive idiots you’re gona lose customers each day. I am telling all my known people to not go there. Thanks!

I’ve been a regular at The Backroom for a long time, but after my experience on Saturday, I’m genuinely appalled — and seriously reconsidering returning. At around 2:43 AM, I went to the downstairs bar and ordered a double vodka orange from one of the staff members (a Black male wearing a white Off-White/Black top). When I tapped my card to pay, I was charged an outrageous £26 for a single drink. He then casually told me that the card reader had the wrong total on it — and that the charge was meant for someone else standing next to me. Despite this being entirely his mistake, he made no effort to correct it, apologise, or issue a refund. I explained the situation to the two other bartenders (one Black male in a black top, and a white male also behind the bar at the time), and was met with completely dismissive and uninterested attitudes. One of them even had the nerve to suggest I should “sort it out with the guy next to me” — which is absolutely unacceptable. As the server who presented the payment machine, it was his responsibility to ensure the correct amount was charged — not mine, and certainly not the other customer’s. When I asked to speak to a manager, one of the staff claimed he was the manager and said there was “nothing he could do.” Eventually, someone named Joe came over (who also claimed to be a manager), and he at least acknowledged the issue and said he would process a refund for the overcharge. I tapped my card again and am now waiting to see if the refund has actually gone through. Frankly, I’m shocked at how poorly trained, unprofessional, and rude the bar staff were — especially considering this is a venue I’ve visited regularly and previously enjoyed. I’m requesting that this incident be escalated. I also want to know: • What action will be taken to hold these staff members accountable? • What steps are being put in place to ensure this doesn’t happen to anyone else? • And what compensation will be offered for the way I was treated? This was an extremely disappointing experience, and it’s unacceptable for a well-known club like The Backroom to allow its customers to be treated like this — especially when it involves mishandling payments.