A pub has hit back at a customer who left a scathing review about 'beer mats on the floor' and 'staff having a soft drink at the bar' by pointing out from many of the diner's Tripadvisor reviews it appears they 'like complaining'. The customer took to Tripadvisor to complain about the Travellers Rest pub in Stanley - a four star pub ranked as the number 14 restaurant in the Stoke-on-Trent area on Tripadvisor.
The guest complained that menus were stained and said the food was 'bland and of poor quality'.
Steve B, owner of the pub, replying to the Tripadvisor review pointed out that they hadn't complained at the time, and picked up on their opening to the review - "The King is dead". The pub's landlord is nicknamed the King but the review was posted shortly after the death of Queen Elizabeth, reports StokeOnTrentLive.
The original review reads: "We arrived and were amazed that only one other table was taken for food; the normal ‘after work drinkers’ were noticeably absent. I was somewhat surprised to find the cooks and pan wash, socialising ‘front of house’ behind the bar, on several occasions.
"Beer mats on the floor, assume from lunchtime; the menu covered in dried drink stains. When the food appeared, which we have tasted many times, it was bland and of poor quality.
"What a shame to witness such a pub/restaurant to fall into such decline. Come on and, start managing it back to it’s almost faultless standards. You can’t delegate ‘responsibility.’"
However, management at the pub was not impressed, and issued a scathing response to the review.
On beer mats being on the floor the pub said: "Our apologies for the beer mats on the floor. However, these may have been knocked off by a customer and how you have managed to deduce that they had been lying there since lunchtime is amazing."
On the issue of staff having a soft drink in the main pub the owner said: "Staff are entitled to have a soft [drink] during their shift. As you will be very aware it does get very hot occasionally, especially around the OVENS!"
The response in full (Image: TripAdvisor)
They added that if they were a regular customer as they stated then they could have spoken to 'The King' about their problems and it could have been dealt with. However, they pointed out that there was nothing they could do to remedy the problem if they only complained afterwards on TripAdvisor.
The landlord called the review into question, saying: "Looking at your other reviews I notice that you seem to enjoy complaining. Next time you visit an establishment and by your comments it looks like it won't be ours, please, if you enjoy your meal try giving them a good review."
