This happened in 2004
I had a part-time job at a pub in Golders Green whilst at uni. The pub was part of a chain, so occasionally the barstaff would be asked to go and help out at other related pubs in London if they were short-staffed. Well, one weekend, my manager informed me that my Saturday and Sunday shifts were going to be at the "Merryhills" pubs in Oakwood (A Mr Q's pub, look it up on beerintheevening for reviews, they'll give you a indication of what it's like there), as they were shortstaffed that weekend.

I got there, to be confronted with this scene: broken pool queues, the loo doors half hanging off, 3 smashed windows, glass all over the place...you get the idea. It had been trashed. Why? Well, the previous manager of this pub had been generally disliked by the chavvy clientele, and when he fired a barmaid for snorting coke whilst at work, they took their revenge. A couple sneaked into the manager's flat upstairs on the Friday night, waited there until after closing time, and ambushed the manager when he went to bed. They held a gun to his head and made him empty the safe. They then knocked him unconscious and smashed the place up. However, the police drove by, noticed the lights on, caught them, and freed the landlord. He quit that night.

So we got there, and quite a few locals dropped in while we were making the place presentable and openable for the Saturday lunch shift. Various warnings of "seriously, we suggest you don't open tonight, the [arrested] chav's mates are after blood" were given to us, which we reported to head office. Given that the pub was smashed up, it was a viable excuse to not bother opening for the weekend. They told us to open anyway.

I was in the function room upstairs, working for a private party, so missed what happened at 10pm: a group of 25 or so spotty teenage chavs bundled in, bought a coke between them, and sat around in ominous silence. Barstaff and acting manager tried to act as if nothing was wrong, but were bricking it. At a nod, chavs launch themselves at barstaff, and whoever else was drinking there. Smashed glasses, cut a lot of people up, blood started spattering everywhere. POlice turned up and started hitting everyone indiscriminately, trying to restore order. They got the upper hand and collared the little shits that hadn't already scarpered. The function I was working for finished, and I wandered into the pub to a scene of total devastation. Blood everywhere, up the walls, behind the bar, all over the staff...We called the emergency line at head office, and they told us to clear up as best we can, so we could open up on time the following morning.

We quit immediately. We'd rather be unemployed than work for a pub chain who so knowingly put their staff into very real danger.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Thu 14 Feb 2008, 17:21, Reply)