MILLER & CARTER DIVIDES OPINION BY ASKING TRAVELLER CUSTOMER FOR ID

The TikTok video captured the incident at chain's branch in Epping
READ MORE: Primary school teacher says he felt like a 'second class citizen' and was 'close to tears' after he and a pal were turned away from Miller & Carter

Steakhouse chain Miller & Carter has been slammed after a viral video appeared to show staff asking Travellers to present their ID if they wanted to order food.

A TikTok clip shared on Monday to the account @gypsytravellerleague showed the front of house manager telling a customer they needed to present ID before ordering food.

The original poster erroneously said the incident occurred in Harlow, but corrected their mistake in the description by clarifying that it took place at the outlet's Epping branch.

It has since amassed more than 2.2 million views, sparking thousands of comments, with many speculating that the move was not discriminatory and that restaurants are just trying to prevent 'dine and dashers' from leaving without paying for their food.

At the start of the footage, the customer asked the manager, who was standing behind the front desk: 'What do you need?' to which he replied: 'ID'.

'For what?' the customer asked, and the manager replied: 'Just need some ID.'

'For why, what's the reason. ID if I wanna get food?' the customer continued.

After being told 'yes', the customer asked: 'Are you serious.'

Nodding, the man behind the desk said: 'No problem, lads, You can phone the head office and they'll tell you.'

'So [at] Miller & Carter, you have to have ID to serve you food,' the customer questioned. 'That's correct, yeah? What's your name?'

After giving the name Damien and confirming he was the manager, the man walked off to avoid being filmed any further.

MailOnline has contacted Miller & Carter for comment.

Reacting to the video in the comments, users were quick to point out that the policy may have been introduced to stop customers from taking food without paying first.

'Probably because they’ve had some many people do runners,' one wrote.

A second suggested: 'If they are a member of PubWatch then ID is to make sure the customer isn’t banned in other venues across the UK.'

Others however pointed out that they've personally never been asked for ID when dining at the chain.

'I've never been asked for ID for food anywhere. Including miller and carter,' one wrote. 'Joke!!'

A second added: 'Never been asked for ID before in any Miller and Carter we been in.'

'That's bang outta order that,' a third penned.

Elsewhere, comments also suggested that the chain should simply make customers pay at the bar after ordering their food, to prevent people from taking it without paying.

They compared it it outlets like Nando's and Wetherspoons, where diners and drinkers are asked for cash in advance.

2024-04-25T08:14:04Z dg43tfdfdgfd