Pub landlord lashes out at ‘freeloaders’ who think complaints get you free stuff
A pub owner responded to a one-star review from an unhappy customer by accusing her of trying to get a ‘freebie’.
The Trumpet Inn hit back after being criticised for having ‘very rude staff’ and ‘rubbish’ food and beer by the unwelcome guest.
The highly rated pub, in Evesham, Worcestershire, not only rebutted the claims but advised all pubs in the area not to serve the punter.
With a 4.5 rating on Google reviews, the take was one that seemed to detract from the usual high standards at the inn.
The entry reads: ‘Don’t ever go here they are very rude staff rubbish quality food and beer.
‘Ordered two steak pies which were so chewy we could not eat.
‘So sent back and was told to not come back even though they were paid for. Avoided [sic] this place at all cost.’
The visitor scored the pub just one out of five stars for each of food, service and atmosphere.
The traditional public house found the criticism too much to weather.
The unnamed owner responded: ‘The fact you didn’t get a meal, because we banned you months ago, says everything.
‘Every time you came in, you complained just to try and get a free meal.’
The owner continued that, ‘to turn this around we advise all pubs in the Evesham area not to serve’ the guest and her partner, adding: ‘Because all they want is a freebie.’
When contacted by Metro.co.uk, the inn said it had nothing to add at present but was happy with the position it had taken on Google reviews.
The spat follows the owner of another pub hitting back at a customer who branded him an ‘angry little man’ in a scathing TripAdvisor review.
Heath Ball was ‘baffled’ when a customer at the Red Lion & Sun in Highgate, London, helped herself at a frozen cocktail machine assuming it was free.
The punter left a three-star review on TripAdvisor saying that as there was no one to pour drinks she assumed the refreshment was on the house.
The reviewer described being ‘greeted by a rude man who demanded I pay for the drink’ and went on to call him a ‘very angry little man’.
Heath, 50, later said it is tough enough for pubs to make money without handing out free alcohol and it was not ‘rocket science’ to understand that you have to pay for drinks in a licensed premises.
Speaking to MailOnline last month, he said: ‘She was drinking all day and it’s quite clearly advertised with signs the prices of these drinks. If it was free, then we’d have a queue around the block, it’s just a stupid excuse.’
Another pub used humour to respond to a one-star review, also on Google.
In July, The Burnt Post in Styvechale, Coventry, took exception to the person who said that there was ‘no burnt post’ at the venue.
The pub responded with a list of names of other licensed premises nearby, which read: ‘Phoenix: No flames of sightings of a “Phoenix” have been recorded. Aardvark: Ants are safe here.
‘Unicorn: My daughter lives in hope. The Bulls Head: Would be weird. Rainbow: Has been known but not every visit.’
The reviewer subsequently updated the rating to five stars.
Google’s own advice for businesses responding to bad reviews includes ‘stay professional and courteous’ and to ‘apologise when appropriate but don’t take responsibility for things that weren’t your fault’.
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