Owners of an all-you-can-eat restaurant have hit back at a 'spiteful' TripAdvisor review - after a customer described staff as "very rude" and complained about being moved. The buffet eatery has previously been hailed for its "excellent" staff and "very relaxed atmosphere" - but not all diners agreed.
One complained about being greeted by "rude and abrupt" staff. They also claimed they were told to move tables halfway through the meal.
The Gurkha Buffet Restaurant in Blackpool responded by telling the complainant they were no longer welcome to eat there. Replying to the negative review, it pointed out that English is the second language of the member of staff who was the subject of the complaint, Lancs Live reports.
The restaurant serves a variety of dishes including Chinese, Indian, Nepalese and Thai cuisine. It has fixed prices with adults charged under £16 on peak days.
The unhappy guest, who visited in March, rated the restaurant as 'Terrible'. They wrote: "We were greeted at the door woman behind the reception desk very rude and abrupt told we had to move tables halfway through the meal as the table was then booked, food was nowhere near as good as it has been in the past, very VERY disappointed."
The Gurkha's owners decided to clear a few things up in their own response - telling the customer their review was "harmful". They also said move was to a "bigger, nicer and more private table".
They wrote: "We are sorry to hear you did not enjoy your recent dining experience at The Gurkha. The receptionist did inform me on the situation, however, we did not expect to receive a poor review from you as you did not complain at the time or report it to the Manager.
"We are also sorry that you felt the receptionist was rude and abrupt - unfortunately with English being her second language, we do understand it can sometimes be perceived this way. We apologise for asking you to move tables 50 minutes in, however, please be reminded that we were actually asking you to move to a bigger, nicer and more private table by the window.
"To compensate for the inconvenience, we even informed you that you could stay longer past the 90-minute dining limit, to which you declined. In fact, a woman from your group told us 'no it's okay, we're finished anyway'. This led us to believe you were all fine with this, especially with us being a buffet where customers are required to stand up, move about and help themselves anyway, so it would have been just a matter of returning to a different table (which was close by).
"We believe this review is unfair, written out of spite and doesn't reflect a true version of events of the evening. You had every opportunity to complain but you did not, nor did you mention anything about the quality of the food when paying your bill.
"In future, we hope you will allow restaurants to deal with any issues you may have first before writing a harmful and negative review online. Please also be informed you are no longer welcome at The Gurkha. We hope you have a nice day."
Many previous customers have praised the quality of food at the restaurant which is currently rated 4.5 out of 5 on TripAdvisor. Out of 439 reviews, 335 guest rated their time at The Gurkha 'Excellent' and 53 rated it 'Very Good' . Some of the more recent have been five star reviews, praising the buffet restaurant.
One customer wrote: "The staff were excellent and very attentive the tables were kept clean and tidy, empty plates were removed by the time you get back with your next dish. The food was excellent and very hot. Good selection and plenty of options for the children.
"The Lamb Gurkha curry was amazing but not for the faint hearted as it’s got a good kick to it. The decor is great with lots of Gurkha memorabilia and war memorabilia.
"Very relaxed atmosphere you will not be disappointed. We are going back this week whilst in Blackpool and look forward to another great meal with family and friends."
Another happy diner commented: "We were visiting Blackpool for the weekend and fancied some nice food. This was the best buffet restaurant we have ever been to. Food was hot. Not lukewarm. Great selection. Friendly staff. Nice relaxed atmosphere."
Meanwhile another satisfied customer wrote: "8 of us went for the buffet meal on Wednesday 18th of March. Some of our party had never eaten Nepalese/Indian but they thoroughly enjoyed their meals and having the chance to try something different. Staff were very attentive and helpful. Value for money and well worth a visit."
