Customer Leaves A One-Star Review For Restaurant, Unluckily For Her, The Owner Remembers Her Too Well
Running a successful restaurant has become a whole lot more difficult in recent years, with a surge in competition meaning only the very best survive, and customer power at an all-time high.
One bad review online isn’t necessarily the end of the world, but if you know it’s unjust, that blemish on an otherwise flawless reputation can really get under your skin. Replying aggressively to obnoxious and entitled customers won’t do you any favors, so sometimes to best way to make a point is with polite restraint, while clearly stating your case and correcting the falsehoods in the review.
This response to a one-star review, shared by Imgur user ctrclub, is a perfect example of this. The restaurant and the customer are both unknown, save for the name ‘Monica,’ but if you run a business and encounter unfair reviews, this is a great example to learn from. Scroll down below to check it out for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments! (Facebook cover image: Iain Farrell)
Someone recently shared the beautifully-worded response by a restaurant owner to a unfair review
Image credits: Michael Coghlan (not the actual photo)
Here’s how people reacted
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I am very thankful for the other parents in the group that profusely apologized for your behaviour..."" is a very polite way of saying" You are a rude lowlife b!tch." And the owner is very right. I would ban her for life.
This shows that almost everytime there are two sides of one story. I'm glad the manager painted the whole situation and stood up for his co-workers. People nowadays are taught to only demand and behave out of line, because there are no consequences. I was taught to treat other people the way I would like to be treated by them. If everyone followed that rule we would grow in a respectful society instead of demanding and bashing one.
That was a very gracious comment. Thank you, the world needs more people like you in it.
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People like her need the fleas of a thousand camels to infest their underwear.
In this case I don’t wish I was Bob because I like this curse 😂
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I'm a Manager for a pizza chain, and just a few days ago we had a booking for 12 people saturday 7pm, of course it be busy.at this day and hour, 7:30pm still no show, so I decided to give the table to another group who was waiting at the door, next thing as soon as the group sat their butts down the no-show group arrived. They had to wait 15mins before next table was available and of course They would complain trying to ask me for FREE beer while they wait, I said to them the only thing Free here is tap water, left them a few Jug and let them be.
They demanded special service for waiting until a table is free? Meanwhile in Korea, it is the most normal thing to have people waiting in long queues in front of restaurants. So normal, in fact, some places will give you a waiting number, like in the bank.
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I have worked in food service for 20 years and 8 years of that has been in management. I must say that was the BEST response to a rude, inconsiderate customer I have ever read!! My hat goes off to the manager who wrote that!! Bad reviews be damned!! Love it!!!
The customer is NOT always right! Love when supervisors/bosses stand up for their employees!
The customer is always right mentality has helped create a nation full of entitled consumers in the US. I appreciate a business that has pride in what they offer and will stand up for themselves when people are out of line.
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Good job to the owner, i just hate people who pull s**t like that. I mean if your massive group of bratty girls arrive 40 minutes early, the place isn’t gonna be ready since you are very early. They won’t wait hand and foot on you just cause you’re early, they have other fricken customers. The fact that the parents and the “complaint” writer were so rude is so disturbing. At least one person had some decency.
I wouldn't have seated them. I would have made them wait until the table was ready, and I would have told them that the staff that was going to serve them weren't on shift yet.
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Never, ever, ever mess with people who prepare and bring you food. Being an a*s to people who serve, or wait on you, only reenforces that you're a total douche bag.
Yes to this! Also reminds me of what my grandma used to tell me as a child, never send restaurant food back to the kitchen, the chef will spit in it :) haha.
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I have been on the service industry for 20+ years and this is a perfect example of when the customer is not always right
I tend to respect and thank the people that make my food and serve my food. They are working their arses off and to disrespect people in food and service industry, that tells me everything I need to know about the said person and the said person if done in front of me is corrected sarcastically by myself because I know that service people cannot say anything, even though it is deserving.
I always taught my children and grandchildren to "be nice to the people who are handling your food". If they asked "why" I told them to think about it. As a food industry survivor, I can say truthfully say that MOST people are not like these were. Otherwise, there would be No One willing to out up with that kind of abuse.
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There are a few jobs that I take great pains to avoid doing--because I've done them before & know that they aren't for me...food service is definitely one of those jobs! kudos to the manager for his response--I love that he was mature enough that he stuck to the facts and did not go off on a rant. So nice to see supervisors taking up for their team. Sounds like a pleasure to work for.
Even if I am getting bad service, I don't take it out on employees. If it is truly horrid, I will pay for what I have consumed, and leave. Bad food is not the servers fault. A bad server is not the cooks fault. When you have a large group of 27 people, there will possibly be an issue or two---just because of the numbers. And don't be an a*s to people in front of the young people so that they either never want to go out with you again or adopt your ridiculous habit of being a b***h to people.
I worked in a restaurant and the owners began to refuse service to people who were rude on the phone, demanding reservations (For a Sat/Sun.night busiest time for us) or rude to our waitstaff.
With a large group (anything over 6, actually) most restaurants insist on a 20% gratuity be included in the bill. Stops this kind of nonsense in terms of tipping, at least. Boredpanda, please do not include posts that use words like "retards," as appears in a comment by GoraktheDruminator84. One, it's a term that is no longer acceptable, if ever it was, and two, the people it originally referred to are generally far better people than the ones about whom it is used as a put-down.
I have the job to reply to TripAdvisor reviews as well. Indeed, there are two sides to every story. And many a tine people lie and exagerate in order to get a refund. A customer is not always right. Unfortunately, many tourists, especially from UK, tend to think they have unlimited rights while you have none. And if they can play the racist card they feel invincible. Alas, it is not valid outside the UK or US. Our currency is mutual respect and common sense.
YESS!! I too worked at TripAdvisor and I have to say this is so on point! Although some reviews were just hilarious because of how ridiculous they were. Like complaining that all the signs in this remote village in Greece were all in Greek, or complaining that all the food in India had curry and they "hated curry". Real reviews.
Load More Replies... We had neighbors we lived next door to for years and we only ate out with them once because the wife treated servers and hostesses with such contempt. She would complain if we were seated more than 5 minutes after our reservation time, she would customize her order drastically, send food back, ever say thank you or please. I was horrified and and wanted to disappear under the table. I think if you ever want to really know a person, dining out with them is a great start. Seeing how people treat wait staff is very telling.
Hmm....first mistake was seating them 40 min. before their reservation. Yes, good customer service but no....reservations are made for a reason. Now, if they had arrived 15 min early and it was looking like earlier diners seated where you planned to put this HUGE group weren't going to be out on time...THEN I would have offered the banquet room. In fact, I would take this opportunity to make it a policy to seat any group larger than 12 in the banquet room (because you KNOW they are going to be disruptive to the rest of the room even if they are nice). If this group ever calls to make a reservation again I would 1) tell them they must take the banquet room, 2) will NOT be seated more than 5 min. before the reservation and 3) that the 3 people in question are not welcome on the premises.
I don't get it. The owner probably is very right about their story. But the review was so minimal. Who even cares about such a review and how is it possible to know that this is the customer from the story?
I wondered that too. Are the reviews attached to a Facebook profile or something?
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slavery ended a long time ago but people still think anyone who has a job serving others gives them the right to be rude, nasty and think they are better than them. well your not you still sit on the toilet to poo and you put one sock on at a time just like everyone else and yes your poo stinks
Years ago, I was ops manager and wireless switch and cell tech for a wireless company in our home town. The customer service group was in the office next to my switch equipment room. One day I overheard a loud voice coming from next door. Now take in mind, I heard this over 30 something high speed fans cooling the equipment in the room I was in. I quickly went into the other room and discovered the voice belonged to someone I had known since high school. He had a past reputation as a self-entitled prick from one of the local families with a LOT of money. I calmly invited him into "my" office so that no one would be able to hear what I said to him. Needless to say that when I finished with him, he went back into the customer service area and apologized to everyone there for showing his a$$.
Heh, we had a c**t like that just last night at work- they didn't like what was on the menu so threatened to leave us a bad review on Trip Advisor if we didn't make them exactly what they wanted. If it were my restaurant, I'd just ask them to leave & ban them for life, we really, really shouldn't haver to bend over backwards for people who are so rude and ignorant constantly.
I know a couple of chefs who flat out refuse to change their menu. You do NOT get to change the dish. You can ask for dressing on the side if you want. They are happy to help you out if you have allergies (I can't have cashews), and pick something else, however if you sit there and make stupid demands, they'll tell you to go elsewhere.
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Good heavens I KNOW this Monica and everyone hates her! Karma is bound to catch up with her!
Incredible, people know a days feel like they are self important I also have a dear friend that is a manager at a national restaurant. The fact the manager went up and above along with the other hostess show that did try to and most likely met every request each and every one of the 27 guests had. I give this Manager a definite 4 star for professionalism in her response to this rude a*s guest. I do hope this business did not lose any patronage due to this unsavory guest
I've seen it time and time again, some people are just plain rude and no matter how hard you work to please them, it always fails. Perhaps some people need a lesson in manners before they are even allowed out into the public. It takes no effort what so ever to be nice. You have to go out of your way to be this much of a twat.
So many people are trash inside. That piece of s**t woman is probably successful in life and doesn’t deserve it at all.
Back in high school I had this kind of hippy guy in class. He didn't agree to some political opinions of our teacher. So, every class he had a big argue with her. It seemed that it doesn’t matter about what, he just fought her. One day, she broke and started crying and screaming, and went home for the rest of the week! I felt so terrible, that the rest of us didn't even try to shut him up. First day of her back, I went to her, alone, and apologized for him, for me, and for the rest of the class. But nobody knew it. She thanked me in front of the entire class and said, that she is very lucky to know, that this guy is alone with his opinion. She was conferred, but I had a terrible year to go till graduation, because no one like snitches :(
What’s wrong with a dissenting opinion in a class?
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Food was okay and wait for terrible! People in first world and there problems huh. I heard someone telling that he had to wait in a plane on runway for 40 minutes, do you have any idea that the seat you are sitting in will fly above the clouds and will safely put to your destination without much of a pain, fck yeah, go back to middle ages and take the bull carts again you ungrateful complaining son of a b***h!
*derp* "don't complain because technology! *derp*
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That would be the last time we would have these idiots in the restaurant. For life.
I like restaurants. This new Blaze Pizza opened up about 9 months ago and I went there every wednesday and they always remembered. Until about 99.9 percent of the staff changed.
To be honest I do not know what is the solution for this as we are unable to remove the fake reviews. It's so easy for the competitors to leave the fake reviews at your google business. Is there any way we can check/verify the user's profile whether it is real or not? https://www.dtapclinic.com
More often than not if you read the entire bad review you will see that the person who posted it is just impossible to please. It's a shame these reviews can actually steer people away from a business if they don't actually take the time to read the review.
I don't think this is a good way to handle it. Makes it seem like too much drama. A vague review like that isn't really anything and can be ignored.
This story reminds me YouTube, where an a**hole will always vote a thumb down even for a best quality video, and that's 'just like this', for no reason, only to be different from the majority. Anyway, I take off my hat in front of this employer, with his excellent answer.
I wonder which restaurant is it..? somewhere in Indonesia I bet. Because the owner said word "gratis" which means "Free" in English :)
You are being served a nice meal. IE: "You didn't have to cook your own dinner, a*****e".
The retort is rude in itself. not such a beautifully worded response imo. don't misunderstand my position, I would have said worse.
Of all the c**p I see people get their feathers ruffled over on this site, and no one is going to say anything about the use of the word "r****d"? It doesn't offend me, but I am utterly shocked that it didn't offend at least one person. Bored Pandas, you are an enigma.
Someone said something and they have like 30 upvotes.
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i look after a friend's holiday cottage. Guests regularly turn up way before the they are supposed to check in -- just on the he off-chance it is ready. Sorry guys but if you get here 4 hours before you are expected, while the previous folks are still there, or the Housekeeper (me) is trying to get it perfect for you Then am sorry. I regularly check the commenst and reviews of the property I care for and would be devastated if someone gave it less than 4 out of 5
If I wanted to show up 4 hours early for check in my thought process goes: it's worth it to ask, all they can say is no. But I can see how it is annoying from the other side of the transaction. I also wouldn't be surprised or upset if I was told, so sorry, come back at check in time!
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if only the best restaurants survive why are there so many McDonalds?
i would never give a negative review of an establishment - be it restaurant or hotel (unless something was seriously wrong). Depending on circumstances - everywhere has their own opinion and expectations. If you arrive at the agreed time and expect your food freshly cooked to order - when you order -- expect to wait the time it takes to cook
just dont patronise restauants who cook food from fresh - go to a fast-food joint
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And there's no evidence that you are actually real, "Joe."
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I am very thankful for the other parents in the group that profusely apologized for your behaviour..."" is a very polite way of saying" You are a rude lowlife b!tch." And the owner is very right. I would ban her for life.
This shows that almost everytime there are two sides of one story. I'm glad the manager painted the whole situation and stood up for his co-workers. People nowadays are taught to only demand and behave out of line, because there are no consequences. I was taught to treat other people the way I would like to be treated by them. If everyone followed that rule we would grow in a respectful society instead of demanding and bashing one.
That was a very gracious comment. Thank you, the world needs more people like you in it.
Load More Replies... People like her need the fleas of a thousand camels to infest their underwear.
In this case I don’t wish I was Bob because I like this curse 😂
Load More Replies... I'm a Manager for a pizza chain, and just a few days ago we had a booking for 12 people saturday 7pm, of course it be busy.at this day and hour, 7:30pm still no show, so I decided to give the table to another group who was waiting at the door, next thing as soon as the group sat their butts down the no-show group arrived. They had to wait 15mins before next table was available and of course They would complain trying to ask me for FREE beer while they wait, I said to them the only thing Free here is tap water, left them a few Jug and let them be.
They demanded special service for waiting until a table is free? Meanwhile in Korea, it is the most normal thing to have people waiting in long queues in front of restaurants. So normal, in fact, some places will give you a waiting number, like in the bank.
Load More Replies... I have worked in food service for 20 years and 8 years of that has been in management. I must say that was the BEST response to a rude, inconsiderate customer I have ever read!! My hat goes off to the manager who wrote that!! Bad reviews be damned!! Love it!!!
The customer is NOT always right! Love when supervisors/bosses stand up for their employees!
The customer is always right mentality has helped create a nation full of entitled consumers in the US. I appreciate a business that has pride in what they offer and will stand up for themselves when people are out of line.
Load More Replies... Good job to the owner, i just hate people who pull s**t like that. I mean if your massive group of bratty girls arrive 40 minutes early, the place isn’t gonna be ready since you are very early. They won’t wait hand and foot on you just cause you’re early, they have other fricken customers. The fact that the parents and the “complaint” writer were so rude is so disturbing. At least one person had some decency.
I wouldn't have seated them. I would have made them wait until the table was ready, and I would have told them that the staff that was going to serve them weren't on shift yet.
Load More Replies... Never, ever, ever mess with people who prepare and bring you food. Being an a*s to people who serve, or wait on you, only reenforces that you're a total douche bag.
Yes to this! Also reminds me of what my grandma used to tell me as a child, never send restaurant food back to the kitchen, the chef will spit in it :) haha.
Load More Replies... I have been on the service industry for 20+ years and this is a perfect example of when the customer is not always right
I tend to respect and thank the people that make my food and serve my food. They are working their arses off and to disrespect people in food and service industry, that tells me everything I need to know about the said person and the said person if done in front of me is corrected sarcastically by myself because I know that service people cannot say anything, even though it is deserving.
I always taught my children and grandchildren to "be nice to the people who are handling your food". If they asked "why" I told them to think about it. As a food industry survivor, I can say truthfully say that MOST people are not like these were. Otherwise, there would be No One willing to out up with that kind of abuse.
Load More Replies... There are a few jobs that I take great pains to avoid doing--because I've done them before & know that they aren't for me...food service is definitely one of those jobs! kudos to the manager for his response--I love that he was mature enough that he stuck to the facts and did not go off on a rant. So nice to see supervisors taking up for their team. Sounds like a pleasure to work for.
Even if I am getting bad service, I don't take it out on employees. If it is truly horrid, I will pay for what I have consumed, and leave. Bad food is not the servers fault. A bad server is not the cooks fault. When you have a large group of 27 people, there will possibly be an issue or two---just because of the numbers. And don't be an a*s to people in front of the young people so that they either never want to go out with you again or adopt your ridiculous habit of being a b***h to people.
I worked in a restaurant and the owners began to refuse service to people who were rude on the phone, demanding reservations (For a Sat/Sun.night busiest time for us) or rude to our waitstaff.
With a large group (anything over 6, actually) most restaurants insist on a 20% gratuity be included in the bill. Stops this kind of nonsense in terms of tipping, at least. Boredpanda, please do not include posts that use words like "retards," as appears in a comment by GoraktheDruminator84. One, it's a term that is no longer acceptable, if ever it was, and two, the people it originally referred to are generally far better people than the ones about whom it is used as a put-down.
I have the job to reply to TripAdvisor reviews as well. Indeed, there are two sides to every story. And many a tine people lie and exagerate in order to get a refund. A customer is not always right. Unfortunately, many tourists, especially from UK, tend to think they have unlimited rights while you have none. And if they can play the racist card they feel invincible. Alas, it is not valid outside the UK or US. Our currency is mutual respect and common sense.
YESS!! I too worked at TripAdvisor and I have to say this is so on point! Although some reviews were just hilarious because of how ridiculous they were. Like complaining that all the signs in this remote village in Greece were all in Greek, or complaining that all the food in India had curry and they "hated curry". Real reviews.
Load More Replies... We had neighbors we lived next door to for years and we only ate out with them once because the wife treated servers and hostesses with such contempt. She would complain if we were seated more than 5 minutes after our reservation time, she would customize her order drastically, send food back, ever say thank you or please. I was horrified and and wanted to disappear under the table. I think if you ever want to really know a person, dining out with them is a great start. Seeing how people treat wait staff is very telling.
Hmm....first mistake was seating them 40 min. before their reservation. Yes, good customer service but no....reservations are made for a reason. Now, if they had arrived 15 min early and it was looking like earlier diners seated where you planned to put this HUGE group weren't going to be out on time...THEN I would have offered the banquet room. In fact, I would take this opportunity to make it a policy to seat any group larger than 12 in the banquet room (because you KNOW they are going to be disruptive to the rest of the room even if they are nice). If this group ever calls to make a reservation again I would 1) tell them they must take the banquet room, 2) will NOT be seated more than 5 min. before the reservation and 3) that the 3 people in question are not welcome on the premises.
I don't get it. The owner probably is very right about their story. But the review was so minimal. Who even cares about such a review and how is it possible to know that this is the customer from the story?
I wondered that too. Are the reviews attached to a Facebook profile or something?
Load More Replies... slavery ended a long time ago but people still think anyone who has a job serving others gives them the right to be rude, nasty and think they are better than them. well your not you still sit on the toilet to poo and you put one sock on at a time just like everyone else and yes your poo stinks
Years ago, I was ops manager and wireless switch and cell tech for a wireless company in our home town. The customer service group was in the office next to my switch equipment room. One day I overheard a loud voice coming from next door. Now take in mind, I heard this over 30 something high speed fans cooling the equipment in the room I was in. I quickly went into the other room and discovered the voice belonged to someone I had known since high school. He had a past reputation as a self-entitled prick from one of the local families with a LOT of money. I calmly invited him into "my" office so that no one would be able to hear what I said to him. Needless to say that when I finished with him, he went back into the customer service area and apologized to everyone there for showing his a$$.
Heh, we had a c**t like that just last night at work- they didn't like what was on the menu so threatened to leave us a bad review on Trip Advisor if we didn't make them exactly what they wanted. If it were my restaurant, I'd just ask them to leave & ban them for life, we really, really shouldn't haver to bend over backwards for people who are so rude and ignorant constantly.
I know a couple of chefs who flat out refuse to change their menu. You do NOT get to change the dish. You can ask for dressing on the side if you want. They are happy to help you out if you have allergies (I can't have cashews), and pick something else, however if you sit there and make stupid demands, they'll tell you to go elsewhere.
Load More Replies... Good heavens I KNOW this Monica and everyone hates her! Karma is bound to catch up with her!
Incredible, people know a days feel like they are self important I also have a dear friend that is a manager at a national restaurant. The fact the manager went up and above along with the other hostess show that did try to and most likely met every request each and every one of the 27 guests had. I give this Manager a definite 4 star for professionalism in her response to this rude a*s guest. I do hope this business did not lose any patronage due to this unsavory guest
I've seen it time and time again, some people are just plain rude and no matter how hard you work to please them, it always fails. Perhaps some people need a lesson in manners before they are even allowed out into the public. It takes no effort what so ever to be nice. You have to go out of your way to be this much of a twat.
So many people are trash inside. That piece of s**t woman is probably successful in life and doesn’t deserve it at all.
Back in high school I had this kind of hippy guy in class. He didn't agree to some political opinions of our teacher. So, every class he had a big argue with her. It seemed that it doesn’t matter about what, he just fought her. One day, she broke and started crying and screaming, and went home for the rest of the week! I felt so terrible, that the rest of us didn't even try to shut him up. First day of her back, I went to her, alone, and apologized for him, for me, and for the rest of the class. But nobody knew it. She thanked me in front of the entire class and said, that she is very lucky to know, that this guy is alone with his opinion. She was conferred, but I had a terrible year to go till graduation, because no one like snitches :(
What’s wrong with a dissenting opinion in a class?
Load More Replies... Food was okay and wait for terrible! People in first world and there problems huh. I heard someone telling that he had to wait in a plane on runway for 40 minutes, do you have any idea that the seat you are sitting in will fly above the clouds and will safely put to your destination without much of a pain, fck yeah, go back to middle ages and take the bull carts again you ungrateful complaining son of a b***h!
*derp* "don't complain because technology! *derp*
Load More Replies... That would be the last time we would have these idiots in the restaurant. For life.
I like restaurants. This new Blaze Pizza opened up about 9 months ago and I went there every wednesday and they always remembered. Until about 99.9 percent of the staff changed.
To be honest I do not know what is the solution for this as we are unable to remove the fake reviews. It's so easy for the competitors to leave the fake reviews at your google business. Is there any way we can check/verify the user's profile whether it is real or not? https://www.dtapclinic.com
More often than not if you read the entire bad review you will see that the person who posted it is just impossible to please. It's a shame these reviews can actually steer people away from a business if they don't actually take the time to read the review.
I don't think this is a good way to handle it. Makes it seem like too much drama. A vague review like that isn't really anything and can be ignored.
This story reminds me YouTube, where an a**hole will always vote a thumb down even for a best quality video, and that's 'just like this', for no reason, only to be different from the majority. Anyway, I take off my hat in front of this employer, with his excellent answer.
I wonder which restaurant is it..? somewhere in Indonesia I bet. Because the owner said word "gratis" which means "Free" in English :)
You are being served a nice meal. IE: "You didn't have to cook your own dinner, a*****e".
The retort is rude in itself. not such a beautifully worded response imo. don't misunderstand my position, I would have said worse.
Of all the c**p I see people get their feathers ruffled over on this site, and no one is going to say anything about the use of the word "r****d"? It doesn't offend me, but I am utterly shocked that it didn't offend at least one person. Bored Pandas, you are an enigma.
Someone said something and they have like 30 upvotes.
Load More Replies... i look after a friend's holiday cottage. Guests regularly turn up way before the they are supposed to check in -- just on the he off-chance it is ready. Sorry guys but if you get here 4 hours before you are expected, while the previous folks are still there, or the Housekeeper (me) is trying to get it perfect for you Then am sorry. I regularly check the commenst and reviews of the property I care for and would be devastated if someone gave it less than 4 out of 5
If I wanted to show up 4 hours early for check in my thought process goes: it's worth it to ask, all they can say is no. But I can see how it is annoying from the other side of the transaction. I also wouldn't be surprised or upset if I was told, so sorry, come back at check in time!
Load More Replies... if only the best restaurants survive why are there so many McDonalds?
i would never give a negative review of an establishment - be it restaurant or hotel (unless something was seriously wrong). Depending on circumstances - everywhere has their own opinion and expectations. If you arrive at the agreed time and expect your food freshly cooked to order - when you order -- expect to wait the time it takes to cook
just dont patronise restauants who cook food from fresh - go to a fast-food joint
Load More Replies... And there's no evidence that you are actually real, "Joe."
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