The manager of a pub in the Midlands has hit back at a customer who complained about the family buffet at the venue, claiming they didn’t cater to people with allergies.
It’s fair to say that the manager of the Old House at Home in Walsall didn’t hold back with his comments, pointing out that the woman scoffed down three plates of scran before leaving her complaint.
Oh, he kept the receipts as well, because he’s got CCTV evidence of the woman.
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The pub has a three-star rating on TripAdvisor, and the reviews online are broadly positive, but this person clearly didn’t enjoy their experience, claiming that the food was ‘less than acceptable for those of us with no dietary requirements’, and that those with allergies were not provided for.
The woman – we’re guessed, given that the name provided was Lilli – left a one-star review after hitting up the restaurant in November 2021, writing that they’d booked a family buffet and had told management that two members of the party had food allergies.
However, she then claimed that there were no assurances given to her upon arrival that the allergies had been noted and catered for.
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Her review stated: "Pre-booked a family buffet well in advance, ensured the management knew the exact requirements for two of our guests who had food allergies, one of which has a severe allergy and carries an epi-pen at all times.
"Nothing was as promised and food was provided with no assurance that the allergies had been catered for. The food supplied was less than acceptable for those of us with no dietary requirements.
"Saddest thing is that they will not acknowledge these issues and choose to ignore them. Someone may have died had they eaten an item they were allergic to.
"HAVE TRIED TO CONTACT THEM - but - NO RESPONSE to date."
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However, Adam – the manager of Old House at Home – decided that he couldn’t let her comments pass without responding.
As well as stating that he had responded to the customer by phone and email, he also said he’s got footage of the woman eating loads.
Adam wrote: "I'm very sorry that you felt the need to write this review, particularly as you had contact from us via email and phone call to try and resolve your quarrels. All your noted allergy requirements were met and noted on the buffet.
"May I add that food catered for specific allergens is perfectly fine to eat for people without the allergy. As a sandwich buffet with difficulties around multiple allergens you received more food than our normal allocation for such a small buffet request."
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"We have multiple functions involving buffets and great word of mouth reviews for what we supply. The food cannot have been that bad as you had three plate fulls [sic] of it as far as my CCTV shows so I am unsure what you are trying to achieve.
"My assistant manager has listened and we do our best to fix any issues in house at the time, but no comments were made to any of our team on the day, and she has decided it's best that, should you wish, you contact Marston’s customer services directly.
"I am satisfied that we went beyond the norm for your buffet because of the allergen requests. And whilst we have tried to communicate to resolve the complaint, you slander us on review websites with false information."
It’s not clear who is in the right with this one, but it goes to show, you never know who is going to read things you write on the internet.
Featured Image Credit: Alamy/Google MapsTopics: Food And Drink, UK News, Weird, Travel