A hugely popular tearoom has spoken out after a customer complained that their food was served hot instead of cold. Having received hundreds of five-star reviews on TripAdvisor, The Rabbit Hole Tea Room in Stoke-on-Trent was rated the city’s best eatery.
Yet one fussy diner was left unimpressed after visiting the cafe, located in Glebe Street, for a belated birthday present this month. The customer shared their experience in a review, posted on May 14, StokeonTrentLive reports.
The customer had ordered the savoury board and tea, which, despite being made with loose leaves, they said ‘had no taste’. Although the waitress offered them extra leaves the diner said that ‘you need to use Yorkshire tea bags’.
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Then they complained about their food being hot. They wrote: "Then my savoury board turned up - the quiche and sausage roll was served hot - I was not asked if I wanted it hot.
"The grease that came off the sausage roll was awful. Everyone knows when you reheat sausage rolls they become greasy, talked to manager and told him he should ask people.
"Sandwiches like doorstops, egg mayonnaise was more mayo than egg. I took the cheese home to eat later.
"Unfortunately I became really sick from the greasy sausage roll and quiche. I thought if was very expensive - I would not recommend and I will not go back."
Overall the unhappy customer gave the tearoom - which has a quirky Alice in Wonderland theme - just one star out of a possible five - the first the cafe has ever received from 459 reviews.
The owners of the family-run tea room have now responded on their Facebook page. They wrote: "Yesterday Lee got up and worked a 16-hour day - he started early, baking and preparing for a busy Sunday, everything freshly made to ensure we are offering our customers the best possible food, to then see a one star review which totally changed our weekend and made us feel quite sad, alongside so far a sleepless night thinking that someone was so dissatisfied with their visit this was their only option."
The owners explained that they miss numerous family events and watching their daughter growing up, plus seeing their friends because 'our little tea room is our life'. They also highlighted the difficulties the hospitality industry has faced in recent years, and how it is hard not to take bad reviews personally.
They said: "We are told to not take it personally but it’s hard not to when you put so much into your business. Every negative comment on a post or a one-star review, whether it’s a real review or not, about our business contributes towards all the worry we have as small business owners trying to keep everything going in the current climate."
They said the review was 'soul-destroying' for the team 'who give 100% everyday'. They added: "We’re not going to highlight every minor issue or complaint we receive on social media, but it doesn’t sit right with us that we have a one-star review, and not be aware of the issue it could cause to our business, or ignore something that is potentially damaging."
They implored diners to make them aware of the issue before giving them a bad review, as "we are a family run business, not a massive company. We rely on your support, we will try our best to make your visit a good one and at the end of the day we are only human with feelings. We love our business and customers so we want it to be right."
Fans of the tea room have now come out in force to offer their support. Chloe Williams said: "My surprise baby shower was thrown at your tea room in 2019, it was amazing, still one of the best afternoon teas I’ve experienced!
"Lots of cakes and treats, tasty sandwiches, and tea and coffee aplenty. And an amazing atmosphere!"
Emma Elsmore said: "Some people just like to complain, ignore them. Every time I've been the food has been amazing, the staff always helpful and cheerful and the place is beautiful and quirky.
"Some people's lives are miserable and they have to try and bring everyone down with them." People have now reacted to the post over 500 times, and it has received over 100 comments.
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