Restaurant owner hits back at diner who ‘would’ve rated 0’ over waiting time

A restaurant owner has hit back at a diner who left a scathing review about his restaurant on Tripadvisor.

Owners of Sai Surbhi in Preston, Lancashire, hit back at the customer who claimed they were waiting an hour and a half for their food to arrive.

This review was one of only a few that left a poor rating for the restaurant, with Sai Surbhi regarded as one of Lancashire's higher-rated south Asian cuisine restaurants, boasting four and a half stars on Trip Advisor.

However, this one customer did not agree with the majority of reviews, in a review that was titled 'I would rate 0 if I could'.

Sai Surbhi/ Facebook

In this review, the customer claimed they waited over an hour and a half for two curries and some bread, which they had pre-ordered on their phone.

They also claimed they were issued with a refund, but only after being told it wouldn't be possible on numerous occasions by staff.

The review read: "Ordered only two curries and a bread that still wasn’t ready after 1h 30min of waiting.

"When asked how long the the food would be, the same answer was given 'shouldn’t be too long now'.

"I ended up getting a full refund which was challenging as I was told NO three times by the staff member and I that I can wait for my food.

"I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, clearly the staff need training.

"No organisation and understaffed. I can’t comment on the food, if it was ever put on I would assume it was over cooked."

The restaurant owner hit back at the review, alleging that the customer 'threatened' to give a bad review of the restaurant because their order was '10-15 mins late'.

Sai Surbhi/ Facebook

Sai Surbhi's response read: "Your order had an allocated time of 9.30pm, you were kicking up a fuss at 9.40pm. Your refund was processed by 9.45pm.

"How you were waiting an '1hr 30min' for an order that was refunded within 1 hr since the time of the phone call made placing the order which you showed us, just shows again your nature.

"As it was a Saturday night all orders were all allocated 45mins-1hr. Minimum, because we are that organised & we know how long our kitchen takes.

"We don't just knock out curries, we make each dish individually so it's not just a case of 'I only ordered 2 curries'.

"After I heard you berating my staff for having to wait, which she repeatedly apologised for, I stepped in and explained to you we had your order down for 9.30, it was now 9.40pm."

The response continued: "You had ordered the lamb shank (excellent choice) a very tender dish that is slow cooked so the meat falls off the bone in a delicious curry sauce, and it takes longer to cook.

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"We are busy, so it is running late (there was a full restaurant to view).

"As I explained this to you, you abruptly instructed us that on our website we are offering 15% discount off which you should be entitled to.

"Which my team member then informed you that this discount had already been applied without you even realising or asking (You're welcome).

"Following this information of no further discount you then threatened you'd be leaving us this bad review for being kept waiting, as if you should have been compensated?"

The owner then reiterated the point on how the customer allegedly spoke to staff rudely, something they apparently apologised for.