Will Jamieson, manager of the Rufus T Firefly, Glasgow, penned a light-hearted message aimed at a customer who repeatedly used the pub toilet without asking permission or buying anything.
It read: “To the guy who keeps coming in to do a wee jobby without buying anything then pretends to be on his phone on the road oot to to avoid eye contact. Hiya pal.”
Criticism drawn
The image, which was posted to a Facebook page unrelated to the pub, attracted national press attention and thousands of ‘likes’ but also prompted criticism from some users who suggested the person may have a health condition or be homeless.
Jamieson and his staff had noticed the well-dressed man entering the pub, which is located next to a bus stop, at least three times a week 'after work' but said he never made an attempt to acknowledge staff or ask permission on his way to the lavatory.
'Bad etiquette'
“It was a joke at the expense of bad etiquette,” Jamieson said of the chalkboard message.
“There’s no issue. If somebody needs to use the toilet then I’m not going to stop them. We thought we’d put it on the board, he’ll see it but at the same time it doesn’t give his identity away to anyone else. It was a wee joke to that one particular individual. We’ve never told anyone that they can’t use the toilet."
The image was posted on the Scotland from the Roadside Facebook page by a user called Jamie McKechnie and widely shared.
According to Jamieson, the pub’s signs are often shared on Instagram and Twitter but this was the first time a message had been picked up nationally.
“In terms of our social media, traffic it’s blown up big time," he added. "The phone goes every five minutes with people following us on Twitter and Instagram, liking us on Facebook and checking in."