Dobbies Garden Centres - Marple Reviews 333

As a regular visitor to Dobbies until December last year I was shocked to read the reviews about the food there. That was until yesterday. Hubby and I visited gor breakfast, arrived before 10.30am to be told that the agency chef on duty hadn't set up yet for breakfast. By 11.00am he still wasn't ready!!! At 11.15am we were told we could order either a bacon or sausage roll but no breakfast. I ordered one of each, the sausage one was okay, unfortunately, the bacon was absolutely rock hard I thought I was in danger of losing my fillings.
One bright thing the young man on the till Aaron is an absolute asset to the company, polite, friendly and helpful. I felt sorry for him having to keep asking the chef when he was planning to start cooking.

Dobbies Marple .. Mother’s Day … basic breakfast .. what a rubbish experience!
Poor service
No cutlery
Lack of choice / sold out
Cobwebs above eating area
Average food / fairly cold
This is my local garden centre .. I spend hundreds of pounds a year here ..
I got a Simple apology… feedback is important ..

£31

Been so many times and been told they arent doing hot food for various reasons. Been Wednesday this week...waited in the queue only to be told the chef was off. Tried again today...2 days later. Ordered a brie and cranberry pannini...no brie. I give up! Waste of mine and my husbands time. Not worth going.

Awful place, if you like waiting, and then waiting some more then this place is for you!

Wish I’d checked the reviews before ordering and travelling to it. Really is poorly run and in need of overhaul.
We had a click and collect order. They charged us for the items but when we got there they didn’t have them despite confirming they were ready for collection via email. Apparently they gave them to someone else in error. Not too surprising given all the orders were just piled up in a trolley by the tills.
Whilst I can accept mistakes happen the Customer service from Dobbies central team and then finally the garden centre themselves was really poor afterwards and after a couple of weeks of getting nowhere I’ve had to charge it back via my card provider to get my money back.
We definitely won’t use Dobbies again. The reviews are pretty accurate for this one judging by our experience.

We called in for a drink and a snack. The table close to us looked like a chimps tea party had been there. Cake all over the floor,no attempt made to clear it.
Cakes didn't look that great, no sultana scones. Poor lady on the till was doing everything, hence the long queue. Most people ordered coffee which takes time to make. Although she was overworked she was extremely pleasant and not fazed by the situation. Young girl popped her head round the corner but then continued talking and laughing to someone else.
The whole place is soulless.
It needs a manager capable of organising the available staff.
Will never go again unless I hear that it has improved.

DO NOT GO, unless you want to pay 10 quid for a toasty which took 1 hour and 8 minutes to arrive and then it wasn't what was ordered. Dirty tables and floor, horrendous service.

The location, which boasts considerable potential, was discovered to be in a state of disarray upon our arrival. We had previously reserved the soft play area for our son at 11:45, yet there was no verification of payment upon entry, and self-entry into the play room was permitted. Regrettably, he was unable to access the play room due to overcrowding, with an excessive number of children occupying a confined space. The delay in getting drinks from the cafe was also noteworthy, taking 35 minutes for a simple water and coke order, despite the line not being excessively long. Furthermore, the mini train to visit Santa did not provide advance notice of its cash-only payment method, leading to a lengthy queue of over an hour, only to discover this fact at the front of the line. It was disheartening to observe children playing in the car park and on a pile of rubbish and wooden crates, given the apparent lack of risk assessment. The overall impression was one of disorganization and chaos.

cafe! Dont bother the service is terrible filthy tables, and only one staff serving! Play area a hygiene issue it was filthy! Overpriced stock. DEFINITELY AVOID!!

I went for afternoon tea ,I had to change my chair it was filthy the one I got from another table wasn't much better . The tables were not cleaned it looked as though they didn't pay for cleaners if they did they weren't doing there job .I will not be going again.

I ordered two drinks and one was served in a cup that had 2 chips around the rim. The server didn’t seem very happy when I pointed it out and asked her to change the cup!

If I could leave zero I would
I had read the reviews mostly one star before we went But thought we would see for ourselves
We went today 6 aug 25 with our grand daughter and her Baby for a lunch
It’s quite a large area but we struggled to find a table without food left on it
There did not appear to be anybody clearing tables through our visit as we left tables were still full of left food and drink
The floor had not been swept there were crisps and crumbs everywhere
It was a mess , the seating was badly stained and it just did not feel clean
We the menu is limited ( not what is available on Dobbies web site
The kids box meal £6 a bag of Crisps
Half a cheese sandwich with sliced cheese one slice and a small juice drink £6 small pot of tea for 2 £6
And a cheese tostie another £6
We travel a lot and this has got to be one of the most dreadful meals we have had for a long time
Where are the management ????
A quick walk around would high light most of these problems other staff are larking around to pop music played over the sound system Get a grip!!!
This is a multi million pound business and this is shocking someone needs to be sacked !!!
Angie and bill Stewart
Yes that’s us

I wrote a review 3 yrs ago stating the same issue. Nothing has changed.
I went to Dobbies Marple, the cafe was quiet so my friens and I decided to have food as well as a drink.
I order was requested. Soupa and a tuna sandwich, and a jacket potatoe with tuna,
1 hour later the soup came, no sandwich,
after another 45 mins no jacket or sandwich,
I went to the counter when another person was asking re their order,
I was told my snadwich was not on the board, ie order had not been put through, and some one should have come out to say they had no more jackets left, How ever on ordering it My firend was told she was getting the last one.
The person on the till named Poppy, was quite rude, couldnt be bothered to take the blame, that she had not ordered my sandwich, and told me I only ordered soup and a drink.
at this time the jacket came.
We were given our money back once I said we should get something complementary, so we were give a piece of cake, how ever non were gluten free.
We were both given cash back even though my friend paid by card, which should have been credited to her card, not offered cash.
I feel the CAFE staff should have customer service training, and learn how to order on the till properly.
going round the garden centre I questioned a price on a product. The yound lad went to the tills to rescan the item, came back and told me the price and that the item had had the wrong price on it and promptly removed it. apologized for the inconvience.( customer service )
at the tills Jackie served me, very pleasant,smiling and friendly, introduced me to the 30 day card trial. She also said that quite a few had come though not happy with the CAFE.
She kept apologising for keeping me waiting whilst she was imputting my details for the card. She was doing her job correctly, made sure I knew what would happen next with the card.
Jackie is an assett to the team.
I wonder if any management will take my comments on board and speak and alter issues in the CAFE. Obviously nothing has been dne in 3 years since my other review of the CAFE.
The rest of the staff are friendly and helpful

I visit Dobbies cafe regularly but the cafe service is so slow. It’s not the fault of the lovely staff, they work hard but they are so understaffed! Please improve this Dobbies as there’s alternative cafes to choose from close by!

Ann E....Dobbies cafe Marple....Absolutely shocking . Dirty stained chairs, the whole place needed a good clean! Service was dreadful but very few staff.Will never go again, this place has really deteriorated

Recently went to buy some plants from dobies in marple , the staff, when you can find them always seem to busy and unhappy to give advice, I bought 2 delphiniums and eventually found someone to ask how I should care for these plants and I felt like she too busy and resented me asking. A couple of weeks later one plant starts showing signs of it’s demise, I went back to ask if I could get a refund, the assistant just shrugged his shoulders and said you you’ll have to bring it back to be wasted. I explained that it was quite a large plant to carry as it was in a large pot as advised. I have emailed several times and they NEVER answer their phone or emails . needless to say I won’t be going back and would advise anyone else to do the same.

Plants died after a week,, rung up and no one came back to me really poor customer service

Friendly welcome. Good selection of healthy plants.

Got the exact plant l was looking for at a good price ,it is flourishing in my garden