A pair of no-nonsense chippy owners have hit back at a 'nasty' customer who claimed their festive chips 'look bogging' - by brutally telling her 'so do you'. Amanda Charleton and Terry Thomas noticed the cruel comment on a Facebook post advertising their stomach-busting Christmas chips at New Mossley Chippy, Belfast.
Images uploaded show the greasy £8.90 meal drenched in gravy and topped with turkey, ham, stuffing and even three cocktail sausages. After spotting Olivia had said it 'looked bogging', 40-year-old Terry hit back writing 'so do you love, but don't worry there is someone for everyone out there'.
Baffled Olivia blamed her boyfriend Stuart for using her account and jokingly labelling him 'a d***', so he defended his 'valid opinion' by adding the chips were 'just not for me' Amanda, 37, says she then took over the account to add 'we don't really think that of you' before turning on Stuart to tell him 'he's punching [above his weight]' by being with her.
Stuart ended the exchange by telling them 'he'll take it as a compliment', and it's since gone viral with more than 100 reactions on the comments alone. Mum-of-four Amanda defended their brutal response by asking 'If they're going to make a negative comment our way, then why can't we make a negative comment back?'.
However, she says she's pleased the pair appear to have taken their 'banter' well and insists there are 'no hard feelings' despite admitting she's 'fed up' of negative comments.
Amanda said: "If they're going to make a negative comment our way, then why can't we make a negative comment back? I think that was our initial thought. Take it as you give it. Usually we ignore negative comments, but with the cost of living crisis you're trying your best to please customers and stay open, then you get that, so we thought we'd respond for once.
"Terry wrote the message out, asked me if he should post it, and just said 'go for it - it's just a bit of banter'. We turned it into a bit of a joke eventually because the two of them took it so well and had a bit of banter back. There were no hard feelings. We're glad it went that way.
"I took over after we heard it was Stuart and told her no hard feelings to you and wanted to joke about him punching. It was good to see them having a bit of banter themselves. If they'd have reacted negatively I don't think I would have been bothered because at the end of the day it was him putting the negative comment on in the first place.
"Some people don't understand the stresses of the business and everybody's human at the end of the day. We're fed up with it. I wouldn't say it's fine to say what you feel, but there's no harm in having a joke if someone's going out of their way to say something nasty, then why not. You wouldn't walk up to someone in the street and say 'your clothes are horrible' and expect the person not to say something back."
Amanda admits the photos from the post 'weren't great' as she took them 'quickly', but says she's since taken better ones. She claims her and Terry 'haven't stopped cooking turkeys' since they brought their festive chips back after a successful first year during Christmas 2021.
They've even added the option of a pot of cranberry sauce for an additional £1.20 'for those who like a wee bit of sweetness with their turkey'. Olivia and Stuart have been contacted for comment.
