Brits, when would you write a negative review?
Posted by Regular-Wonderful@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 151 comments
What the title says. Brits of Reddit, what would be your limit when it comes to bad service? When would you write a negative review? Would you ever write a negative review, or would you just move on?
Tl;dr: new-ish server in our local family-friendly pub mocked me loudly to colleagues, then messed up the order for my table, and argued with us when we asked for the issue to be rectified. When he finally sorted it out, he spent the rest of the evening glaring at us every time he came near. I worked in pubs and cafes for three years and would never have behaved like he did. Should I leave a bad review?
My partner, his friend, and I were in a pub for drinks after work. It was early on a Thursday, and the pub was pretty empty. We decided we wanted a snack. The pub has various food items, including loaded nachos in individual and "sharing" sizes. They also do loaded fries with all the same topping options as the nachos, at the same price - however, no sharing size on the menu. The menu does not specify no substitutions.
I went to the bar and asked if there was any chance of doing a sharing size of the fries, and said I'd pay the difference. The young man behind the bar said no. I said smiled and said that was a shame as it would be a great addition, and I'd check with my party and be back. As I walked away, I heard him say to his female colleagues, "Who does she think I am, the chef? Stupid bitch." They laughed at this. He wasn't trying to be quiet and intended me to hear.
I went to our table and told my partner what had happened. I didn't want to eat there anymore, but as we were all seated, the men went in to order the "beef brisket nachos sharer" and more drinks. They came back out and agreed that the server was weird with them. Food came 10 minutes later...nachos, without any brisket. The male server brought it.
My partner stopped him and asked about the missing brisket. He flatly denied that we had ordered brisket and said, "Look, it's here now, can't you just make do?" We were all shocked and confused by this attitude, so my partner asked if he could take it to the kitchen and just have the chef put the brisket on top. He said he didn't think the chef would do that. I then asked if he could bring the brisket out in a bowl, and we would put it on ourselves. He said he'd see, but we would need to "pay the extra", which we said we would, of course. Finally, about 5 minutes later, he brought out a small bowl of cold brisket, charged us £2 extra, and literally stomped off. He then glared at us every time he came near until we left.
I've done his job, and I know how bad customers can be, so I will never allow myself to be rude a rude customer. However, I would also never have dreamed of behaving like he did, especially to customers who were as polite and understanding as we were. We kept cool even when he was basically stomping his feet like a sulky child and, in the end, we even provided solutions so that he could rectify the problem with the least possible inconvenience to himself and the kitchen. Also, we're pretty sure that we paid the full and correct price for the brisket nachos the first time.
My colleagues all seem to think that this behaviour was so extremely bad and inappropriate that I should leave a bad review, but I don't know.
What would you do?
Final_Flounder9849@reddit
If it’s a one off incident in an otherwise perfect decent place I’d let it go without comment.
flipflopcuntflaps@reddit
Fucking retard.
Lowermains@reddit
Is this a case of “the customer is always right?”
I highly doubt that someone working a minimum pay job would go out of their way to piss a customer off. Thus risking their ability to pay rent and buy food. Especially in the current financial climate.
OP read the menu, knew what was on offer, asked for a change and was told no.
Then proceeded to…
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
Doubt away. Knock yourself out.
Lowermains@reddit
Ooh, triggered?😤
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
Not at all. You're perfectly entitled to your opinion, your doubts and your assumptions. I won't waste either of our time here. Hopefully you're able to find a Reddit thread that agrees with you more.
MaximumTiny2274@reddit
Ah the point where he called my partner a "stupid bitch" I probably would have left after giving him a piece of my mind.
phatboi23@reddit
yup, not paying for a damn thing, fuck the whole place and upon their cow.
DeirdreBarstool@reddit
Agreed. OP, I can’t believe you stayed after that AND remained cordial!!
To answer the question, I’d contact the establishment in the first instance and see how they respond. If this was my business I’d want to know and be given a chance to resolve it.
If the response wasn’t satisfactory or they brushed it off, you bet I’d leave a stinker of a review.
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
Unfortunately my first response to situations like this is always to think I must've been in the wrong. I'm working on it!
MaximumTiny2274@reddit
unfortunately people like that bar person can probably tell from your general demeanor that you are the type who would not kick up a fuss, which is probably why he felt emboldened to say that to you in the first place. if he was serving someone more forthright he probably wouldn't have said that. bullies tend to cherry-pick their targets.
DeirdreBarstool@reddit
Yep, I’m sure he wouldn’t have done/said similar if it was a 6ft 20 stone man.
MaximumTiny2274@reddit
unfortunately people like that bar person can probably tell from your general demeanor that you are the type who would not kick up a fuss, which is probably why he felt emboldened to say that to you in the first place. if he was serving someone more forthright he probably wouldn't have said that. bullies tend to cherry-pick their targets.
DeirdreBarstool@reddit
I totally get it, I’m the same in many situations!! Being called a bitch though I’d flip haha. For the record, you don’t seem like a bitch at all, you seem very nice from your post and comments on here!
IcyPie6377@reddit
Some people are totally uncomfortable with anything confrontational. And we are in Britain, it's the British way to put up with bad service, tut and seethe silently! 😜
I mean that's totally not me. But I now work in a department where everyone is scared of telling the truth and you are actively encouraged to sugar coat everything and put up with bad behaviour.
notthatbluestuff@reddit
He openly called you a “stupid bitch,” that goes behind ordinary bad service I’m afraid.
phatboi23@reddit
if minus was an option i would do...
as fuck that place, there's a time and place to complain about customers and it's in the kitchen away from them and outside having a smoke.
saying that in front of customers? shocked they're not dragged to the manager over it by other staff...
Scotto6UK@reddit
And OP's pals still wanted to give the place their custom after this
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
That's not entirely fair to party. Our friend was in the loo when I first came back to the table, and when I told my partner, there was a loud table celebratimg nearby and I was very quiet. He did hear me say the "stupid bitch" part, only the server's comment about not being the chef. We've also really loved this place up to then and had been hyping up the food, which has always be great, to our friend
Swayfromleftoright@reddit
I would send an email to the pub and complain about that server specifically, using their name, and explaining what they did so the owners know he’s insulting their clientele.
If it’s an otherwise nice pub, then the owner probably doesn’t want his clientele being spoken to like that.
Might be able to get the prick fired, especially if he’s new
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
Unfortunately I don't know his name and they don't wear badges
aziel123@reddit
Per chance was the place called 'the ship'
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
No, but the name is water-related...
Swayfromleftoright@reddit
Describe him as best you can then. And give the time you were there.
There’s a lot of people out there who’d want a job. Owners done them a favour by hiring them. And I’m sure they’d much rather have someone who isn’t actively scaring their clients way
IcyPie6377@reddit
If its a chain pub look up their customer services email and add it in. Worked for a well known brewers for awhile and head office would not have been happy about this.
At a time when pubs are struggling and they want people in for food, this kind of behaviour doesn't go down well.
ItsDominare@reddit
Right? If OP was my partner and told me some employee had said that to her, a bad review would be the least of their concerns.
Ricky_Martins_Vagina@reddit
This is a perfect example of the British tolerance for shockingly shit behaviour and service.
Call it out directly in the moment. Speak directly to the manager on duty.
Sending an email or writing a review is utterly feeble for what you experienced.
Address it with the management and if you don't feel they take it seriously or do anything about it then write a review.
dinkidoo7693@reddit
Why didnt you tell his boss before you left?
Im sure the kid won’t have the job long if thats his attitude
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
Honestly, I was so shocked I didn't know how to respond at the time. I also have social anxiety and really didn't want to cause a scene.
pajamakitten@reddit
Causing a scene would be justifiable here.
aziel123@reddit
That is not ok.
dinkidoo7693@reddit
You wouldn’t have caused a seen, he did that by calling you a bitch
IcyPie6377@reddit
To be fair, if he was openly hostile I could see why she didn't want to approach the manager. I would have, but then I take no shit, but not everyone is like me and some people don't like confrontation.
I would have been on the phone or writing an email to the manager the next morning though.
aziel123@reddit
Kid wanted to finish early how dare people come into a restaurant and order food.
IcyPie6377@reddit
Yep, unfortunately you get people like that. They shouldn't be working in hospitality.
Splendifirous@reddit
I'm convinced people get away with acting like this because people don't hold them to account enough anymore. You're literally being called a stupid bitch basically to your face???
And you're conflicted over whether or not to leave a negative review? Insane.
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
Because I can't actually prove anything.
Huge_Horse_8945@reddit
If they have a higher than 10% service charge is my starting point. A 10% tip is more than generous and anything above that is pure greed.
If the restaurant allows a lot of unnecessary noise or rude servers, I definitely write a critical review.
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
I didn't even look at a service charge. You pay at the bar before they bring the food
Jumpy-Jello-@reddit
In my head, all the time.
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
100%
dprophet32@reddit
Personally I'd have to really angry to bother. If it's just poor service or badly cooked food I wouldn't make the effort I just won't return
mrbios@reddit
Papa John's fucked up a takeaway order last week, guy said "free pizza next time" in broken English and hung up on us. Wife phoned them today for said free pizza and guy hung up on her saying "too busy, ring back tomorrow" basically papa John's is a bag of shite. Consider this my negative review as I lack the drive to do it elsewhere.
jogglingswimmer@reddit
When premier inn promises to have air conditioning and they turn it off during the night!!!
glasgowgeg@reddit
I typically won't go out of my way to leave a review unless they've properly fucked up.
UltraHawk8843@reddit
The moment a flyer comes through my door despite my sign saying no junk mail. Instant negative review.
dwair@reddit
I only really write negative restaurant / cafe reviews when I get hit with an automated service charge or tip when I come to pay and I feel it's fair to warn other people.
Bad service / food has to be really atrocious before I can be arsed slating somewhere.
m1nkeh@reddit
For me it would have to be a series of continuous fuck ups. At the end of the day, things happen mistakes are made and it’s how you recover from them that matters.
However, I once had a suit made and it was just a terrible experience, spending so much money and being treated like an inconvenience
caniuserealname@reddit
I work in hospitality too, so I know all too well how much management push those metrics, so generally speaking I'll leave a 5 star so long as everything is within a reasonable margin of what's expected of it.
I know what's not really what 5 stars should be for, but I also know that most places, especially inhospitality, treat anything below 5 as a failing grade, and it's gutting to see your metrics crash because the customer booked a hotel stay in the middle of a heatwave and was shocked to find things are quite warm.
But I mean, come on my dude there's a limit.. and this server sprinted right past it.
EugeneHartke@reddit
Honestly never.
The worst customer experience I had was an airbnb.
When we got into bed on the first night, the bed frame collapsed under my weight. It had clearly been broken by the previous occupants and dobge fixed.
I took photos and sent them to the agency that delt with the property. They forwarded pictures of to Airbnb and tried to charge me for the damage.
I spent 3 night sleeping on a mattress on the floor and paid £300 a night for the privilege.
The agency repeatedly phoned me and contacted me through the bnb app. They called me some horrible names.
When it came to writing the review of the bnb I had two choices.
Firstly, write an honest review and deal with more of the same from the agency.
Secondly, say nought and never have the deal with them again.
I chose the latter. No regrets.
Victorius_Meldrus@reddit
Employees chat the absolute power of shit about customers and clients all the time. But there's a massive difference between doing it discreetly and doing it in earshot of any customer, not just the customer in question. That's the risk you take when you make these kinds of comments at work, and you need to understand that if a complaint is raised on this basis, your job is as good as gone.
I'd 100% go back and make a complaint. You might feel that the ship has sailed, but I'd still want to make the management aware about the conduct of their staff. A half-decent manager would already be aware of the attitudes of their employees, and this might be what they need to have that individual sacked (something that's becoming increasingly more difficult to do - particularly in chain/franchise businesses).
You took this incident particularly well, but there might be a customer in the future who could react in a much less favourable way to being called a 'stupid bitch'. Somebody who has suffered from historical domestic abuse might have all kinds of traumas pulled up due to comments such as these.
That member of staff is a fucking idiot, and absolutely deserves to lose their job. Make the complaint. In person.
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
This is an interesting point. Although I usually tried to avoid talking shit about anyone unless they were exceptionally bad - I did encounter some absolutely flagrant scammers - as I'd just tell myself they were having a bad day, we did of course have moments of shared fury/disgust behind the bar. Usually we shared a look when the customer was gone and waited til closing to decompress. But, the people behind the bar here are all young (early 20s) and hipster-looking. I've never seen anyone who lools old enough to be an owner/manager in there
Victorius_Meldrus@reddit
Or he's just a prick.
Ronald_Villiers_67@reddit
Who actually writes reviews? I'll only write a review if its to say there is something manky in the place like hair on food or something. Other than that who cares. Those people are at work to make money not actually be good people
Intruder313@reddit
When I receive a bad product or service but try to be constructive where possible
GabberZZ@reddit
I generally prefer to post positive reviews but recently I had to leave a 2 star review. One of the servers walked up beside me and grumbled about why these 2 old blokes had sat at the largest table. They were my dad and uncle who I was about to join. I called her out on that.
My food was cold. My family had moved tables as the smaller tables were near unbearably loud speakers.
A plumber was fixing the flooded toilets but where was no out of service sign so I stepped into god knows what.
They got an extra star as my dad and uncles food was ok.
Future-Exercise-7433@reddit
I'd speak to management there first I think. Independent businesses live or die on reviews and the owners might be good people who'd want a chance to nip that behaviour in the bud
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
This place has a lot of positive reviews so mine may go unnoticed
aziel123@reddit
Oh they will notice. They look at the negative reviews more than the positive cos positive is just another Tuesday.
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
My response in situations like this is unfortunately to always think I must've been in the wrong somehow. I'm working on it
Normal-Ear-5757@reddit
I think if I was killed, brought back to life, then tortured to death and reanimated a second time I might consider leaving something like "Not very friendly but at least they were kind enough to resuccitate me."
CrimsonKaiserRyu@reddit
I'd be writing a bad review for the stompy temper tantrum he threw. Calling you a bitch goes well beyond that and I'd be either speaking to his line manager directly, or if it's a chain pub, writing to their complaints team.
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
We're not actually sure who owns it. It seems to be a family run independent. It might be owned by a chef-proprietor
aziel123@reddit
Name the place.
Away-Ad4393@reddit
Just leave a review repeating what you have just written here.
aziel123@reddit
Doubling fries is easy to sort back of house but sometimes they are tied to the pos system and an overly ornery manager head chef that says no. Calling you a bitch was out of line.
Tall_Stick5608@reddit
Usually only when I feel like I got scammed / misled / mistreated
Fit-Mistake-4390@reddit
If i’ve had a completely unacceptable experience, like you did, wouldn’t you want people to know about it?
If your friends said they were going to dine at this pub, would you confidently tell them to avoid it?
If so, why not help strangers with the same? That’s what reviews are for
IcyPie6377@reddit
I do think she needs to make an official complaint as well. A bad review can be dismissed as someone being bitter. Far easier for the server to lie and say it didn't happen. Official complaint as well, will hold more weight.
IcyPie6377@reddit
I'd give them the chance to put this right. Well as right as they can. This was one person, not the entire team. However, if they didn't do something, then I'd have at the review.
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
That's the thing, he said it to his two colleagues who were behind the bar with him, so I wonder if that's the culture in that workplace
IcyPie6377@reddit
Ahh yeah. Fair point. Missed that bit. I'd be complaining to head office if it's a chain.
TheSecretIsMarmite@reddit
I'd be emailing the manager or owner depending on the venue outlining item by item.
How they respond to that email would determine whether I post a really bad review, and any poor or nonexistent response from management would be part of the review.
Dry_Action1734@reddit
Absolutely leave a bad review. Name the person if you know his name.
I’ve done that kind of work and the worst I ever did was act very mopey right after being broken up with.
What he did is completely unacceptable.
EuroSong@reddit
The most recent time I wrote a negative review was when I had been inspired to visit George’s Café in Brentford, following glowing reviews online. Google said it should be open on a Saturday morning. I went last Saturday morning.
Took me 45 minutes to get to Brentford, including parking. My wife and I walked to the café - only to find it was closed. No website. No answerphone message. No warning whatsoever that it was not open for business. High hopes dashed.
I left a 1-star review on Google, describing this experience. Sadly I never got to try the food, which I understand is otherwise excellent.
Beautiful-Opposite78@reddit
Bad service for me or if the food is egregiously bad. Went to a place one time and basically just got sat in a corner and ignored, food was really good but the service was so bad I’d never go back.
Fine-Night-243@reddit
Just copy and paste this into TripAdvisor or whatever people use these days.
Otherwise-Tie-9055@reddit
I would have had to call them out on the comment and then left and been straight on to leaving a bad review
sihasihasi@reddit
Sounds like a cunt - I'd 100% be leaving a review. TBF - I'd also have complained loudly to his boss, whilst in the pub, too.
Icy-Initial2107@reddit
I follow DBAD (Don't Be A Dick) rules. You can have a bad day, maybe something is on your mind, that's OK. You don't have to be friendly and jolly, it's a job, we all get it. By all means moan about it, I don't mind. But don't take it out on us, that's being a dick.
RandomPi31@reddit
You either raise it with management on the spot or say nothing.
There's no win for you leaving a bad review and a whole load of potential trouble if you publish one online which is subsequently challenged and you can't prove your assertions.
Zubi_Q@reddit
Definitely warrants a 1 star. Piss poor service there
infieldcookie@reddit
I wouldn’t have stayed and eaten there if one of the staff called either me OR a member of my party a bitch! I’m actually really shocked your partner didn’t defend you.
I also definitely would leave a bad review in an instance where a mistake was made but not fixed. I had a server spill a drink over me and they made me clean it up myself… that warranted a bad review for sure.
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
My partner didn't hear that part. I was pretty quiet.
Jasboh@reddit
Sounds like he was trying to get fired tbh
kifflington@reddit
Don't leave bad reviews, or good reviews. Leave factual reviews that are your honest evaluation.
Fanny_Flapps@reddit
As far as I'm concerned, if you shove a card machine in my face that's begging me for a tip, your whole establishment is getting 1-star no matter what the food or service was like
It's our civic duty
MaximumTiny2274@reddit
reviews reflect your experience at a place, good or bad. that's why they are called good or bad reviews. at least that's how I think of them.
Atlantean_Raccoon@reddit
I will grant you, I have never written a bad review in my life (and not that many positive ones either, find them a bit cringy on the whole). That said I have never encountered a situation where waiting staff have felt they could get away with insulting me half as much as this cretin insulted you.
I'm going to set the whole Brisketgate incident aside for a second, being called a "stupid bitch" is not something anyone should stand for (at least from anyone but the closest of friends). This is not an example of poor service, it is an example of abusive behaviour, utter disdain and disrespect for you as a person as well as a customer and is bang out of order. This should not have happened to you, or anyone else for that matter and I'm sorry you had to experience this.
I would suggest that this is not something to write a review over, at least not yet. This requires a complaint to the manager/owner of the establishment. If the employer is anything shy of apoplectic at how this employee treated you on company time and colleagues for playing along with it, if only for the risk they are posing to the business and if no, or insufficient restitution is offered then write and leave as scathing an honest review that you can muster up because this business deserves to lose custom.
PomPomBumblebee@reddit
I've only ever left 2 reviews on Google in my life. One very positive and one very negative.
The positive was to the great service and experience I got buying my wedding dress that ended up crossing into the pandemic. Independent business running it from an extension from her kitchen, made a good offer if I chose to buy from them today (choosing / customising a design later) and was very attentive but not pushy. I wanted to praise her especially as a plus sized bride as I feared I would end up with some shapeless bag of a dress and I ended up feeling and looking like a princess on our big day.
The negative review was for my GP surgery. Notoriously bad at communication, admin and frankly the front desk at times but overall their phone service was terrible. Literally impossible to make an appointment. They would put you through electronic options for 4-5 minutes only to ask for a code you have no idea about, randomly cut you off or say nothing was available. I had a horrific ear infection which they had not shown any concerns for getting me in soon (I work at a dentists and even if we are full we always have places to refer to and actively try to help). I ended up being on the phone for about 40 mins split into 3 calls to them only to be dropped or to have this weird code thing asked. I expect they had NO ONE booked through this service yet they could not book me physically at the building. I ended up crying and suffering waiting 3+ hours in a walk in clinic after the pharmacist had a look saying I needed antibiotics yesterday. I had a horrific time and even the people on 111 commented they had heard bad service about my practice.
So I left a scathing but controlled review. I got a response about 3 weeks later asking me to come in to discuss changes, I had posted anonymously and no I didn't want them to know it was me and black list me at the practice.
However, within 3 months the service miraculously improved to the point it was only crap not 100% useless and a physically challenging system so I like to think my bad review helped.
On a separate note, at my dental practice we had a lady leave a one star rating to out practice, name and photo visible, on the Google review. As part of our management, they contacted her, like my GP tried to do, to find out how we could improve their service as the reception team and the dentist who saw her knew her well and she seemed very happy to satisfied with seeing us that day. She got very flustered apparently on the phone denying she ever left a review and was back peddling like mad and got very quiet when my HR manager mentioned she might want to check her Google profile that she was not anonymous (I think she was pissed off she didn't get a free clean as she needed to go to the hygienist).
MrJones-@reddit
When the customer service is appalling.
I’ve never complained but I’m tempted to do so to the Co-op near me. They have these headsets and while serving customers they constantly carry on their personal conversations. At first you don’t realise they’re talking to you but it’s incredibly rude to ignore customers.
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
I've seen this in our Sainsbury's Local! Some of the conversations you overhear are so inappropriate...
MrJones-@reddit
100%
GrumpyOldFart74@reddit
That goes beyond “bad review” and into “complain to the manager”
I would certainly have done so if he’d said that about my wife… and frankly your partner should have done. And if I’d been the manger he’d have been sacked on the spot for gross misconduct.
We’ve managed to get to the point where somebody with a legitimate complaint is afraid to say anything for fear of being thought a “Karen”. We need to get back to people being called out for being offensive.
JohnCasey3306@reddit
Bad service, or terrible food if it is overpriced as good food.
I've worked in service, I know what the minimum acceptable standards are ... If a service business doesn't meet them I'll write an honest review and it does have an effect.
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
As someone who also worked in service and technically still does, I feel those standards are getting lower and lower. I remember having to memorise the main menu and the specials, including all the "trimmings", available substitutions and sauce options so that I was prepared for customer's questions. Now, if I ask a question about a menu item, I feel like I'll just get a blank look 8 times out of 10
maceion@reddit
Please leave a bad report, the owner needs to know about bad staff.
IcyPie6377@reddit
Wouldn't contacting the owner be a far better approach and give them the opportunity to make this right?
BastardsCryinInnit@reddit
When?
When it is fair, and never vindictive.
Which i think is in your case.
People make mistakes and also things happen outside of anyones control. If there is any attempt to explain and do customer service recovery in those situations, I dont leave a bad review.
I have done just under 100 reviews on Google, only 1 is a 1 star review and that was when the restaurant made no attempt to make the experience better, nor acknowledge their mistake and apologise. They kept digging themselves a bigger whole and then when we declined to leave a tip, gave a big sob story about how poor their wages were.
heroics-delta8s@reddit
This is many tiers away from just bad service.
Voltalox@reddit
Uhh yeah I'm not someone who writes bad reviews, but if I was treated like that in any establishment I'd definitely put them on blast.
hhfugrr3@reddit
At the point he called me a stupid bitch i would have told him to fuck off, left and written a review naming him.
Uhura-hoop@reddit
I think it can be hard as a Brit to confront other, even openly rude people. It puts you on the back foot to be spoken to like that unexpectedly. I find that sometimes just looking someone straight in the eye and saying ‘I beg your pardon?!’ Is enough. You draw attention to them, they have to make a choice then whether to repeat it whilst looking straight at your face. A lot of dickheads are cowards though and will mutter and turn away. Either way, you reply ‘I thought so’ and take it from there.
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
Thank you so much for saying this. I wish I'd had the courage to call him out, and hopefully I would if something like this happened again
IcyPie6377@reddit
Did you ask to see the manager? If its a chain pub/restaurant I would contact the head office and ask for the area manager to contact you.
I think that's more productive than a bad review. This person needs reprimanding/sacking.
Personally I would go the official channel before making a bad review. Give them a chance to make right piss poor behaviour. If they don't, then it's review time.
Peanut0151@reddit
I would speak to the manager or proprietor and give him the chance to put it right. I think just going straight to doing a review is a bit passive aggressive. If I didn't get satisfaction from making a complaint personally, then I'd do a review and they'd get both barrels
princewinter@reddit
This is where I would have asked for the manager, explained what happened, and left.
thecxsmonaut@reddit
You are way too polite for your own good
breakfast90210@reddit
I’d have reacted at the time, and then left a review. I’m quite tolerant and wouldn’t leave a review if ppl were working hard and fixed mistakes, but this is mental!
Routine_Ad1823@reddit
Yeah, I recently had some broken shell in a seafood pasta and they were super apologetic about it and made an effort to fix it, giving us a complimentery desert and taking the pasta off the bill.
Accidents happen - that's no problem. It's how people deal with them that's important.
laoxue@reddit
Frankly, a complaint is the least he deserves! Calling someone a bitch in a pub as a server is a quick-fire way to getting knocked out! Assuming he isn't connected to the owners, I'm sure they'd be delighted to get rid of the idiot before he loses them custom.
Regular-Wonderful@reddit (OP)
That's the thing, he did it so confidently that and easily that (a) I think it must be the culture there and (b) I think he must feel he's very safe in his position
GeneralProof8620@reddit
Name and shame?
Routine_Ad1823@reddit
I don't mind mistakes, or even bad food/drink, but bad attitude is not really forgivable and would probably result in a bad review from me. But they have to be really quite rude for me to bother.
stephani29@reddit
If this happened to me, I'd put in a complaint to the management and give them a chance to respond. If I wasn't happy with the response, then I would leave a negative review that covered the original issue and also the management response
Background_Fox@reddit
I'd put in a complaint first and see management's response - it might just be an individual being a twat. I'd put a poor review in if it appears to be standard practice.
Saying that, in this case I'd have been putting in a complaint at the time, especially as it sounds like you paid twice for the brisket.
Vegetable-Spite-1778@reddit
Visited on a quiet Thursday evening and unfortunately had a very poor experience. The server was rude and made an inappropriate comment about me to colleagues within earshot. Our order also came out incorrect (missing brisket), and when we raised it, he denied the mistake and was unhelpful in resolving it. The situation was eventually sorted, but the overall attitude and service made the experience uncomfortable. I hope management addresses this, as it’s not reflective of good customer service.
strooplard@reddit
I left a review for a company that made me a footpath. The work was excellent ( I had used them before), but they did not clear up, and I had to get someone else in to do it. I then had to sue the original company to recover my costs. I even had to send bailiffs. My review basically praised the product to the skies but cautioned to make sure you were the main job not the half-day-free job. Just that. Business owner then replied that I had sued him and had my money blah blah leave me alone blah blah my son was ill (true, very ill in fact). None of which needed to be said in that place. I just said he can always delegate in times of need ( not sure he knew what that meant). Two other customers contacted me with similar experience. As you can’t delete Facebook reviews he turned the feature off, which was a shame. Product is really good. His son recovered.
My point is this: if others would benefit from a review, leave one. I only look for negative ones as I’m inclined to think the service I’m looking for will be good by default as they are actually trading. Experience of others is a good guide.
Dull_Hawk9416@reddit
I always leave a negative review if the service and or food is bad. On this occasion I would’ve probably asked to speak to management and if none was there I’d go back to have a word.
OldEcho@reddit
Holy shit lmao sometimes it's okay to make a bit of a scene. Both those stories you related are fucking wild. Ask for a manager, an owner, leave a shit review, whatever. I sure as hell wouldn't eat there, they probably spat in your food.
Are you some kind of minority they were bigoted against or were they just genuinely hostile and shite?
Dread_queen23@reddit
I'd leave the review but I'd also complain to the management
loaferuk123@reddit
I do hotels - if you wrote a review like that, the staff member would be in proper trouble.
TopAd1846@reddit
Personally if it was just me I would have put up with it, but disrespect my friends when theyve done literally nothing wrong then the manager better be in
PetersMapProject@reddit
I would leave a bad review for this one.
In general I won't leave a review if something was simply not to my taste or there were matters beyond the control of the business.
I will leave a bad review if they have been objectively difficult, rude, unaccommodating or just bad. The more persistent and deliberate they are in worsening the experience, the worse the review.
ErrantBrit@reddit
Got a lasagne without a white sauce component at a resturant. Never left a Google review so quick. Tried to be honest and light hearted with the review but still got to the crux of the matter.
xxx654@reddit
This goes way beyond bad service. I’m amazed that you stayed after the ‘stupid bitch’ comment, but this needs to be communicated to the manager. If it’s a chain, it needs to be communicated directly to the head office.
It’s wildly inappropriate.
I have a very nice and gentle relative that would really take this stuff personally and might not go out for years if something like this happened. People with thicker skin need to call out the arseholes.
I’m not sure a snippy tripadvisor or Google review cuts it.
SpectreSingh89@reddit
Never I don't do reviews.
Meat2480@reddit
When they balls up your tax by not sending your P45 and you end up owing the tax man £900
tfn105@reddit
Definitely annoying, albeit a temporary problem
Mysterious_Beach_673@reddit
Absolutely would leave a review, in fact I’d be willing to go back and ask to speak to the Manager about it, or contact him/her in one way or another.
Crisps33@reddit
I'd probably make a complaint to the manager first. They'd probably be very apologetic and might offer a refund or voucher or something, or maybe just promise to have a word with the member of staff. If I didn't feel like I'd got the outcome I wanted after that, then I'd leave a bad review.
lostandfawnd@reddit
Write your reviews. This is definitely worthy.
ellie_coldwell@reddit
To be honest I never write one I just don’t go back if it was a bad experience 😂
zephyrthewonderdog@reddit
Speak to the owner/manager/ chef. They will probably be completely unaware this is going on.
I have been in the same situation and spoke to the owner, told him his food was amazing and the place looked fantastic but some of his serving staff were shit. He was actually seemed quite grateful and guessed straight away who I was talking about.
Last_Car7649@reddit
[ Removed by Reddit ]
Pocket_Aces1@reddit
I've done one 2 star review. I had multiple issues with the order, from them not posting it within their terms and conditions, to them not having the items I ordered in stock, to them missing items from my order, along with the lack of communication for it all.
They were a business with a physical store. They were an established business that branched out into another genre but the same type of business (at least online). So I cut them a bit of slack, hence not giving 1 star.
They seem to have sorted themselves out and have decent reviews over a year later.
If it's just mutual stuff, I won't leave a review, or leave a neutral or just mention it in the review if it wasn't a big deal/very simple no-harm mistake.
Illustrious-Divide95@reddit
Hospitality professional here.
I would have made an immediate complaint at the time to get it dealt with. As a manager I would want to know this and personally i would fire this individual if appropriate.
Personally i would call the restaurant and speak to a manager/owner. This is absolutely unforgivable behaviour.
The_Geralt_Of_Trivia@reddit
It shouldn't have to be this bad for you to consider writing a bad review. Write an honest review. In this case, it'll also be a "bad" one.
elhazelenby@reddit
My last bad "review" (it was more of a "stay away from this place post" on Facebook so people near me would know about it) was when I ordered from this greasy late night takeaway, I'd ordered other things from, one night and received a BLUE chocolate chip cookie dough. Later when I was telling someone at work about it I showed them the picture because they didn't believe me and they were like "are you sure it wasn't bubblegum".
I find myself more likely to write a more positive review even if I may criticise one or two things. I like to appreciate someone's great service. I recently reviewed the Glasgow Subway when I was on holiday there and while it was a brilliant and cheap way to travel it was not very accessible for me as a crutch user as it lacked lifts and escalators all the way down to platforms. Even then I gave it 3 or 4 stars out of 5 I think.
MysteriousFan7983@reddit
I’ve only read the TLDR and that’s bad enough I would have put in a complaint, rather than a bad review of the place
Distinct_Project_979@reddit
If a server openly called me a bitch I’d be speaking with management. Call me a Karen but id rather let the higher ups know he’s going to lose them business before writing a review that might harm the business. Depending on management response that would let me know if a review is warranted (if I get the brush off). If the manager seems apologetic about servers behaviour I’d leave it at that.
Bigoli91@reddit
Mistakes happen people get a chance to fix a mistake if they choose not to engage in fixing things that’s when we start to go down negative review alley.
Jlaw118@reddit
I pretty much usually leave negative reviews when something doesn’t go right and the company doesn’t want to help me in any way, shape or form. I always try to at least give them the opportunity to help and make things right.
We all make mistakes, and as a business owner myself if a customer is unhappy with something, I try my best to make things right, even if it costs me/my business money. Treat customers right and they’ll come back is my opinion.
But I’ll leave negative reviews when they don’t make the effort to help me and basically don’t care. My most recent negative review was for a business loan company who were constantly threatening me with debt collectors for a loan that was being repaid by me to the agreed amount. They were sending the emails, but not acknowledging my replies and calculations. In the end because of my review I was given a £50 apology voucher for Amazon
Proud_Ad_8915@reddit
I would have told his boss and left a negative review. Even if they had sacked him if you had spoken to the boss, they don't seem to keep an eye on how their staff are treating the customers
caroline0409@reddit
I would have complained at the time and left a bad review.
InsurancePurple4630@reddit
I will only leave a negative review if I was to leave a positive review if the service was good. So hardly never.
Sloth_Broth@reddit
I would write exactly this in a review. But also id have never let them speak to me like that either. And if some young barstaff had called my partner a stupid bitch I'd have gone ballistic.
LadyInAllPower@reddit
If the service made me feel bad. Which would usually be a combination of slow service and mistakes, combined with lack of apology or recognition that things were bad. Or outright rudeness.
clovenheart1066@reddit
Just tell his boss he's an arse. If he's new he's probably on probabtion. Serves him right for being a dik and if he's young it'll be a required lesson.
Individual-Rope-3769@reddit
I’d have ripped them a new one there and then. I’m not much for reviews really.
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