Customer Leaves A Bad Review For Cafe, Its Owner Replies, Revealing The Reality Behind It
Nearly from the moment someone in this world invented money, people began to stratify according to its quantity. And, accordingly, different opinions about what is expensive and what is cheap. Especially when it comes to cafes and restaurants, which often leave ordinary customers in awe with their prices.
Another similar story came from Lytham in the UK, where one cafe visitor considered the price of £9 (~$11) for extra slices of toasted sourdough bread for soup to be excessively high, wrote an angry review on Google Maps, and the owner did not remain silent. So please feel free to read this whole story and try to conclude for yourself who is right here and who is wrong.
The Shambles cafe in Lytham, UK, once got a 1-star review from a local customer
Image credits: The Shambles Lytham
The average rating of the cafe is pretty high, both on Google Maps and TripAdvisor
So, let’s now move to Lancashire, in the west of England, where the small town of Lytham with a population of around 42 thousand people is located. Here, in Lytham, in one of the most respectable parts of the town, is the Shambles cafe, where this story unfolded.
As of today, The Shambles has an average rating of 4.5 on Google Maps, based on 183 reviews. In general, most of the reviews were very positive. Customers praised the meals served here, they liked the cozy atmosphere, and several reviews with a negative connotation concerned mainly the prices (some believed that they were unreasonably high) and the level of service (sometimes the servers were not that fast).
On TripAdvisor, the range of user opinions is much more significant – from admiring reviews to the sarcastic opinion that the name ‘The Shambles’ fully characterizes the very level of the establishment, but here, too, the average rating of the cafe is 3.5 based on 39 reviews.
Image credits: Sara Clare
The customer claimed that she had to pay £9 (~$11) for extra slices of sourdough bread to go with her soup
And so, a few days ago, a user named Sara Clare left a 1-star review on the cafe’s pages on Google Maps and TripAdvisor, claiming that going to the cafe was an extremely bad experience. According to the user, they ordered 2 soups and asked for an extra roll with each – but the soup came with only a few thin toasted slices of sourdough bread, and when she asked for more, it turned out that additional toast came at an additional cost.
The total for the bill, as it turned out, was 4 extra slices of toast costing £9 (~$11), and when Sara tried to clarify the situation with the owner, he said that he could not give out bread for free, and that he did not care if she wrote a bad review or not.
Image credits: The Shambles Lytham
The photo of the bill posted by the author on Facebook shows there was toast with butter and jam
Well, we found Sara Clare on Facebook, and there she posts a photo of that very ill-fated bill. As you can see, the order here looks a little larger, but below you can notice just two portions of toast with butter and jam for £9 in total.
According to Sara’s post on Facebook, she’s a carer for adults with special needs, and that day they took three of their charges with them to the cafe, so the experience was doubly negative and disappointing for the whole company.
As often happens, Sara’s angry post went nearly viral (652 reactions and 1.1K shares as of today), and the cafe began to receive poor reviews, even from users who hadn’t been there at all. This practice happens when the owners of an establishment do something reprehensible, in the opinion of netizens.
Image credits: The Shambles Lytham
The cafe owner hit back in the comment to the review, claiming that Sara threatened him with a 1-star review while demanding a refund
Apparently, today the service administration has already deleted all irrelevant reviews and comments, since the most recent review on Google Maps dates back to a week ago. However, the internet cache, as always, remembers everything. Like, for example, the owner’s response to Sara’s review, written literally the next day.
According to the owner himself, he personally served Sara, and checked up on her twice. The menu states that the soup is served with two pieces of toast, and information about additional toast for a fee is given in the breakfast section. In addition, as the owner claims, if customers are not satisfied with the price level, they can always choose not to visit the cafe.
The businessman also stated that in the morning, on the eve of the publication of the post, Sara got in touch with him by phone and demanded a refund, literally threatening to leave a 1-star review otherwise. In any case, as the cafe owner claims, she “seemed very happy yesterday” when he served her.
Image credits: The Shambles Lytham
Well, the vast majority of comments from ordinary users, both on Google Maps and TripAdvisor, largely agree with Sara, arguing that for this amount you can buy an entire loaf of sourdough bread in the store, and criticizing the cafe for its high prices. However, local natives also say that in the area where The Shambles is located, prices are generally quite high.
Image credits: The Shambles Lytham
It turns out the cafe’s menus have information on extra fees in another section, and it’s not that nice at all
“I don’t know exactly who served the customers in this situation, but in any case, the waiter or owner should have warned that they would have to pay for additional toast, and not retroactively refer to another section of the menu,” says Vlad Ostrometsky, the administrator of the UNIT Cafe in Odessa, Ukraine, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment here. “However, owners sometimes resort to such tricks in order to unwittingly increase the amount in the bill; this, alas, is far from a secret…”
“On the other hand, threatening to write a bad review, demanding a refund, is also not entirely correct. If you didn’t like the service, prices or food in an establishment, just honestly write about it, share your opinion, and that’s all. Not to mention fake reviews from people who may not have been to the cafe at all. I understand the sincere indignation and desire to support the author of the post, but a fake review is a deliberate misleading of people, which is also not good,” Vlad believes.
Image credits: The Shambles Lytham
As of today all the negative reviews have been deleted, but people in the comments mostly sided with Sara in her indignation
However, today, all the reviews from people who obviously did not visit The Shambles cafe at all have already been deleted – both on Google Maps and on TripAdvisor, so, probably, the owner was still able to find some kind of compromise with Sara. We have written to both sides of the conflict, and will try to shed light on the outcome of this tale as soon as they answer us, but for now we’re also looking forward to your own points of view about this particular story in the comments below.
Image credits: The Shambles Lytham
Went to their website. Plain as day £4.50 two slices of sourdough with butter. I ate at a tourist trap where I didn't look at the menu and got f****d (€10 for a bottle of Coke). They had the menu and feel they got f****d. Guess which one of us didn't complain and try to get free food?
It was two *orders* of bread, two slices with butter each at $4.50. Idk if they make their own bread, but I do. Made organic, ingredients are about $2 per loaf, but it's labor intensive, with timed stretch and turns, starter maintenance, and just under 24 hrs lead time. Even $15 hourly wages and making multiple loaves in staggered, the price isn't unreasonable after you account for labor, an increment of overhead, and stock. That's why I cook.
Well, yeah, but you only made the one loaf. Bakers usually make multiples. The initial cost of making the loaf would be the same, but you'd be making way more at the same time, so the hourly would be divided by the loafs, and not just the one. I love making my own bread, and it does take forever, but we can't compare the one loaf we make, to the many a pro baker would make in the same amount of time.
Load More Replies...Looks like so many of the commenters haven't bothered to read the full article.
I read the full article and I still agree with the reviewer. That price is extortion. Threats are not the way to handle it but no place in their right mind should be charging that much for a few slices of bread.
Load More Replies...Well we know where the Soup Nazi relocated to after Elaine ruined his NYC business.
Why would someone down vote this comment? Great episode!
Load More Replies...As a long term hospitality people, customers - learn to read the menu and ask questions to us. Their staff - should be more communicative with customers that arnt regulars
Or perhaps the menu should be more clear. As the OP requested rolls, the server should have informed her at that point that the cafe serves toast instead. Server should have clarified that OP wanted extra toast since there weren't any rolls. At least, that's how I would have handled it.
Load More Replies...I would think that if you asked for extra bread you should pay for it. But that's a lot of money for what she got. I would have complained but at the of the day she ordered it. She can say what she experienced but that's all. Threatening the owner is childish and karen like. Dont go back.
I guess I would have just asked how much the extra bread would be first so there would be no surprises. And then I just wouldn’t order it at that exorbitant price because I’m cheap.
Yes, food in a restaurant is more expensive than food at the grocery store. We are paying for other people to serve us, cook for us, clean up after us. How is this a surprise?
$11 for two slices of bread. Eleven. US. Dollars. For two—TWO!—slices of BREAD. A dollar a slice, that's fair, and the establishment still makes plenty of profit on that. Two bucks a slice, I'll raise an eyebrow, but I'll pay it. But five-plus dollars per slice? Are you out of your f*****g mind?
Load More Replies...Just because the owner responded to the comment that she "seemed happy" and that she "demanded, not asked, demanded" a refund, does that make it true? That very well could be the restaurant twisting the narrative in their own favor too. Honestly, we don't know, and while I don't think she deserves a refund, as they ate it and it *is* on the menu, she has every right to leave a one star comment for her opinion about the extortive price of bread.
A 1 star review for one small part of a larger order? No. No ordinary, fair person would even think that was slightly appropriate. If she was being fair she would provide a 4 star review stating what the FOOD was like, what the service was like, and then state. "Would have been 5 stars, however, I feel the food is overpriced." She DIDN'T think the food was overpriced though, just the 2x orders of 2 slices of sour dough. And to be truthful, complaining food was overpriced isn't actually fair either, as a patron chose to purchase the food at the cost stipulated in the menu. If it was overpriced, you would decline to dine there once you viewed the menu (available oustide before even enteeing the establishment). Well, that's what I do, and i'm fairly normal....
Load More Replies...I feel the customers went too far in blasting the restaurant. Pricing has risen everywhere you go. But to get other people who hadn't even visited the restaurant to write bad reviews is childish & immature. I personally enjoy writing good reviews or I don't go back nor do I associate with any mental midget that would be influenced by my tantrum or threats NOT to write a review to a Restaurant they'd never dined at.
1. Pay someone to check inventory to see how much sourdough is needed 2. Pay someone to order sourdough 3. Pay someone to stock new sourdough inventory 4. Pay someone to take your order for extra tosat 5. Pay someone to toast sourdough bread and turn it into toast 6. Pay someone to serve toast 7. Pay someone to clear your table 8. Pay someone to wash and put away clean dishes 9. Pay all utilities involved with that piece of toast 10. Try to make a profit THAT'S THE REAL WORLD I'M RON MEXICO
So nobody gonna talk about the customer wanting their money back ON THE NEXT DAY...? Tourist traps and expensive restaurants are not cool but they're a thing. Asking for your money back on the next day, for unexplained reason(s) is entirely new to me. What is this, amazon??
Sara has blocked any comment regarding this incident on her FB page but luckily this is a "free speech" platform. Prices aside, it's outrageous that she demanded a refund AFTER she ate the toast, and posted a comment AFTER she left the restaurant. Nothing was said about the "butter and jam" which hopefully she tucked into her purse if she was so indignant. Frankly, I would never eat at this place for £30 per person when I could have Kedgeree at Fortnum and Mason Jermyn Street for £20.50. And people who drink Diet Coke don't carry much weight and credibility IMO.
Prices have gone up everywhere. Apparently it's a problem in the UK as well. If the breakfast menu listed extra bread was extra $, where was that info on the lunch menu? However, the time to demand a refund is not after you've eaten it all, paid, gone home and waited until the next day. If you're in a restaurant you've never been to before, most people would ask "what comes with the soup?" Then the waitperson would have told them specifically. Rolls are quite different than pieces of toast. At least in US. Those terms may be different in other countries. I think it was miscommunication on part of OP. If something isn't clear, just ask.
Sara has blocked any comment on her FB page, but luckily this is a "free speech" platform. Her outrage aside, it's even more outrageous she demanded a refund AFTER she ate the toast and AFTER leaving the restaurant. Nothing was said about the butter and jam, which I hope she tucked into her purse if she was so angry. Frankly, I would never eat at this place for £30 per person when I could get Kedgeree at Fortnum and Mason on Jermyn for £20.50. People who drink Diet Coke don't get my respect or attention either.
If the business practices are unfair than the cafe owner will go out of business. That is why I never feel sorry for the independent owners that go out of business due to "chain restaurants" running them out of bI grew up with hardware stores and restaurants serving only premium products, and charging premium prices. There were no cheaper options. So if you wanted a power drill it was DeWalt only. No Black& Decker. And if you wanted lunch it was only premium, organic, handgrown, handmade, top of the line stuff. Not just a burger and fries. So I quit frequenting all of these premium establishments as did everyone else around me and they went out of business. The owner can charge what he wants. But if he has the morals of the snapping turtle, it will show.
Go to McDonald's and see that a McDouble is close to what, 3 bucks now. 3 bucks for a tiny fast food sandwich. Prices have gone up everywhere, unfortunately. Always check prices. It's like going to the movies and complaining about the price of candy or drinks you can get far cheaper elsewhere. A business can charge whatever they like. Don't like it? Don't buy it. I'm with the owner on this one.
Doesn't mean that just greedy parasite that they are
Load More Replies...Did anyone else go look up the menu for this place? Nowhere in the menu are extras mentioned. The closest thing I saw was sourdough toast with jam (as mentioned in article) at 4.50 a serving. If that sourdough didn't come with jam, OP shouldn't have been charged 9.00. Simple.
Did you even read the article, including the owners reply? You literally have named the food items they ordered additionally to increase the amount of bread to the level they wanted. They were served what they ordered. Just because they declined a part of that order, or didn't use it, doesn't mean you pay less for the meal.
Load More Replies...11 dollars for 2 slices of bread is pretty much insane in any industrialized nation. Even organic everything. Unless they are personally growing their own micro crops on site and are grinding their of wheat- on site. Milling their own seeds. Yada yada. Just because they “can” get away with being absurd doesn’t mean they should. Feeding people is an act of joy and responsibility- I think the owner has missed the point or is too burnt out to be in the biz anymore.
It wasn't $11 for 2 slices of bread. It was £4.50 for the 2 slices of bread and all the costs associated with providing those 2 slices of bread to the customer, including the cost of the bread itself, the delivery charges, the wages of the staff for preparing, serving and cleaning up afterwards, and the cost of the building, marketing etc etc. You cannot compare the prices charged in one country by exchanging it into your own local currency. That ISN'T how local pricing etc occurs. $11 might seem expensive to you, however, if the minimum wage in your country was $26 per hour, would $11 be expensive then? 'Feeding people is an act of joy and responsibility'. No, feeding people is a job and business, which requires that a business is covering its costs to survive. The woman only became upset about the price the following day, after eating the food, paying and leaving. The owner hasn't missed any point. However, you clearly have.
Load More Replies...the menu says that you get 2 slices of bread WITH the soup, she Ordered ANOTHER extra bread and she KNEW she had to pay for that, however she DIDN'T get that extra bread and had to pay for the one that was already WITH the soup.. and ladys n gent's, gere in germany you get an entire bread for 3€ (almost the same in £ and $) y'all are getting scammed
Incorrect. She ordered the soup, that came with 2 slices of toasted sourdough, and ordered an addition order of toasted sourdough (an additional 2 slices). They were charged £9 because they received 4 extra pieces of sourdough.
Load More Replies...Did you go to their website? The soup comes with a slice of sourdough. An order of two slices with butter says £4.50... they ordered two. It's right in the menu. Blindingly obvious.
Load More Replies...Went to their website. Plain as day £4.50 two slices of sourdough with butter. I ate at a tourist trap where I didn't look at the menu and got f****d (€10 for a bottle of Coke). They had the menu and feel they got f****d. Guess which one of us didn't complain and try to get free food?
It was two *orders* of bread, two slices with butter each at $4.50. Idk if they make their own bread, but I do. Made organic, ingredients are about $2 per loaf, but it's labor intensive, with timed stretch and turns, starter maintenance, and just under 24 hrs lead time. Even $15 hourly wages and making multiple loaves in staggered, the price isn't unreasonable after you account for labor, an increment of overhead, and stock. That's why I cook.
Well, yeah, but you only made the one loaf. Bakers usually make multiples. The initial cost of making the loaf would be the same, but you'd be making way more at the same time, so the hourly would be divided by the loafs, and not just the one. I love making my own bread, and it does take forever, but we can't compare the one loaf we make, to the many a pro baker would make in the same amount of time.
Load More Replies...Looks like so many of the commenters haven't bothered to read the full article.
I read the full article and I still agree with the reviewer. That price is extortion. Threats are not the way to handle it but no place in their right mind should be charging that much for a few slices of bread.
Load More Replies...Well we know where the Soup Nazi relocated to after Elaine ruined his NYC business.
Why would someone down vote this comment? Great episode!
Load More Replies...As a long term hospitality people, customers - learn to read the menu and ask questions to us. Their staff - should be more communicative with customers that arnt regulars
Or perhaps the menu should be more clear. As the OP requested rolls, the server should have informed her at that point that the cafe serves toast instead. Server should have clarified that OP wanted extra toast since there weren't any rolls. At least, that's how I would have handled it.
Load More Replies...I would think that if you asked for extra bread you should pay for it. But that's a lot of money for what she got. I would have complained but at the of the day she ordered it. She can say what she experienced but that's all. Threatening the owner is childish and karen like. Dont go back.
I guess I would have just asked how much the extra bread would be first so there would be no surprises. And then I just wouldn’t order it at that exorbitant price because I’m cheap.
Yes, food in a restaurant is more expensive than food at the grocery store. We are paying for other people to serve us, cook for us, clean up after us. How is this a surprise?
$11 for two slices of bread. Eleven. US. Dollars. For two—TWO!—slices of BREAD. A dollar a slice, that's fair, and the establishment still makes plenty of profit on that. Two bucks a slice, I'll raise an eyebrow, but I'll pay it. But five-plus dollars per slice? Are you out of your f*****g mind?
Load More Replies...Just because the owner responded to the comment that she "seemed happy" and that she "demanded, not asked, demanded" a refund, does that make it true? That very well could be the restaurant twisting the narrative in their own favor too. Honestly, we don't know, and while I don't think she deserves a refund, as they ate it and it *is* on the menu, she has every right to leave a one star comment for her opinion about the extortive price of bread.
A 1 star review for one small part of a larger order? No. No ordinary, fair person would even think that was slightly appropriate. If she was being fair she would provide a 4 star review stating what the FOOD was like, what the service was like, and then state. "Would have been 5 stars, however, I feel the food is overpriced." She DIDN'T think the food was overpriced though, just the 2x orders of 2 slices of sour dough. And to be truthful, complaining food was overpriced isn't actually fair either, as a patron chose to purchase the food at the cost stipulated in the menu. If it was overpriced, you would decline to dine there once you viewed the menu (available oustide before even enteeing the establishment). Well, that's what I do, and i'm fairly normal....
Load More Replies...I feel the customers went too far in blasting the restaurant. Pricing has risen everywhere you go. But to get other people who hadn't even visited the restaurant to write bad reviews is childish & immature. I personally enjoy writing good reviews or I don't go back nor do I associate with any mental midget that would be influenced by my tantrum or threats NOT to write a review to a Restaurant they'd never dined at.
1. Pay someone to check inventory to see how much sourdough is needed 2. Pay someone to order sourdough 3. Pay someone to stock new sourdough inventory 4. Pay someone to take your order for extra tosat 5. Pay someone to toast sourdough bread and turn it into toast 6. Pay someone to serve toast 7. Pay someone to clear your table 8. Pay someone to wash and put away clean dishes 9. Pay all utilities involved with that piece of toast 10. Try to make a profit THAT'S THE REAL WORLD I'M RON MEXICO
So nobody gonna talk about the customer wanting their money back ON THE NEXT DAY...? Tourist traps and expensive restaurants are not cool but they're a thing. Asking for your money back on the next day, for unexplained reason(s) is entirely new to me. What is this, amazon??
Sara has blocked any comment regarding this incident on her FB page but luckily this is a "free speech" platform. Prices aside, it's outrageous that she demanded a refund AFTER she ate the toast, and posted a comment AFTER she left the restaurant. Nothing was said about the "butter and jam" which hopefully she tucked into her purse if she was so indignant. Frankly, I would never eat at this place for £30 per person when I could have Kedgeree at Fortnum and Mason Jermyn Street for £20.50. And people who drink Diet Coke don't carry much weight and credibility IMO.
Prices have gone up everywhere. Apparently it's a problem in the UK as well. If the breakfast menu listed extra bread was extra $, where was that info on the lunch menu? However, the time to demand a refund is not after you've eaten it all, paid, gone home and waited until the next day. If you're in a restaurant you've never been to before, most people would ask "what comes with the soup?" Then the waitperson would have told them specifically. Rolls are quite different than pieces of toast. At least in US. Those terms may be different in other countries. I think it was miscommunication on part of OP. If something isn't clear, just ask.
Sara has blocked any comment on her FB page, but luckily this is a "free speech" platform. Her outrage aside, it's even more outrageous she demanded a refund AFTER she ate the toast and AFTER leaving the restaurant. Nothing was said about the butter and jam, which I hope she tucked into her purse if she was so angry. Frankly, I would never eat at this place for £30 per person when I could get Kedgeree at Fortnum and Mason on Jermyn for £20.50. People who drink Diet Coke don't get my respect or attention either.
If the business practices are unfair than the cafe owner will go out of business. That is why I never feel sorry for the independent owners that go out of business due to "chain restaurants" running them out of bI grew up with hardware stores and restaurants serving only premium products, and charging premium prices. There were no cheaper options. So if you wanted a power drill it was DeWalt only. No Black& Decker. And if you wanted lunch it was only premium, organic, handgrown, handmade, top of the line stuff. Not just a burger and fries. So I quit frequenting all of these premium establishments as did everyone else around me and they went out of business. The owner can charge what he wants. But if he has the morals of the snapping turtle, it will show.
Go to McDonald's and see that a McDouble is close to what, 3 bucks now. 3 bucks for a tiny fast food sandwich. Prices have gone up everywhere, unfortunately. Always check prices. It's like going to the movies and complaining about the price of candy or drinks you can get far cheaper elsewhere. A business can charge whatever they like. Don't like it? Don't buy it. I'm with the owner on this one.
Doesn't mean that just greedy parasite that they are
Load More Replies...Did anyone else go look up the menu for this place? Nowhere in the menu are extras mentioned. The closest thing I saw was sourdough toast with jam (as mentioned in article) at 4.50 a serving. If that sourdough didn't come with jam, OP shouldn't have been charged 9.00. Simple.
Did you even read the article, including the owners reply? You literally have named the food items they ordered additionally to increase the amount of bread to the level they wanted. They were served what they ordered. Just because they declined a part of that order, or didn't use it, doesn't mean you pay less for the meal.
Load More Replies...11 dollars for 2 slices of bread is pretty much insane in any industrialized nation. Even organic everything. Unless they are personally growing their own micro crops on site and are grinding their of wheat- on site. Milling their own seeds. Yada yada. Just because they “can” get away with being absurd doesn’t mean they should. Feeding people is an act of joy and responsibility- I think the owner has missed the point or is too burnt out to be in the biz anymore.
It wasn't $11 for 2 slices of bread. It was £4.50 for the 2 slices of bread and all the costs associated with providing those 2 slices of bread to the customer, including the cost of the bread itself, the delivery charges, the wages of the staff for preparing, serving and cleaning up afterwards, and the cost of the building, marketing etc etc. You cannot compare the prices charged in one country by exchanging it into your own local currency. That ISN'T how local pricing etc occurs. $11 might seem expensive to you, however, if the minimum wage in your country was $26 per hour, would $11 be expensive then? 'Feeding people is an act of joy and responsibility'. No, feeding people is a job and business, which requires that a business is covering its costs to survive. The woman only became upset about the price the following day, after eating the food, paying and leaving. The owner hasn't missed any point. However, you clearly have.
Load More Replies...the menu says that you get 2 slices of bread WITH the soup, she Ordered ANOTHER extra bread and she KNEW she had to pay for that, however she DIDN'T get that extra bread and had to pay for the one that was already WITH the soup.. and ladys n gent's, gere in germany you get an entire bread for 3€ (almost the same in £ and $) y'all are getting scammed
Incorrect. She ordered the soup, that came with 2 slices of toasted sourdough, and ordered an addition order of toasted sourdough (an additional 2 slices). They were charged £9 because they received 4 extra pieces of sourdough.
Load More Replies...Did you go to their website? The soup comes with a slice of sourdough. An order of two slices with butter says £4.50... they ordered two. It's right in the menu. Blindingly obvious.
Load More Replies...
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