A pub landlord gave a cutting response to a Tripadvisor reviewer who complained about staff taking their breaks in the bar,.
The customer was given a fierce retort from managers after they left a comment on the travel review site.
The Travellers Rest pub in Stanley village, Stoke-on-Trent has a four-star rating on the popular site.
And it is rated the number 14 in restaurants in the area.
But StokeonTrentLive reported how the pub did not go down well with one guest.
They moaned they had seen staff sitting front of house while having their break and complained about beer mats being on the floor.
They went on to criticise the food, despite numerous other positive reviews.
After opening with the title 'the King is dead, long live the King', the guest wrote: "We have used the place for many years and, nothing but praise for the general management and high standards.
"We arrived and were amazed that only one other table was taken for food; the normal ‘after work drinkers’ were noticeably absent.
"I was somewhat surprised to find the cooks and pan wash, socialising ‘front of house’ behind the bar, on several occasions.
"Beer mats on the floor, assume from lunchtime; the menu covered in dried drink stains. When the food appeared, which we have tasted many times, it was bland and of poor quality.
"What a shame to witness such a pub/restaurant to fall into such decline. Come on and, start managing it back to it’s almost faultless standards. You can’t delegate ‘responsibility.’"
"Beer mats on the floor, assume from lunchtime; the menu covered in dried drink stains. When the food appeared, which we have tasted many times, it was bland and of poor quality.
"What a shame to witness such a pub/restaurant to fall into such decline. Come on and, start managing it back to it’s almost faultless standards. You can’t delegate ‘responsibility.’"
But bosses at the bar responded with a sarcastic comment which first apologised before becoming more scathing in its response.
Steve B, owner of the pub, replied to the Tripadvisor review and pointed out that they hadn't complained at the time, and picked up on their opening to the review - 'The King is dead' which he described as being in bad taste.
The landlord is nicknamed the King, but the review was posted shortly after the death of Queen Elizabeth which prompted the initial response.
The manager wrote: "Our apologies for the beer mats on the floor. However, these may have been knocked off by a customer and how you have managed to deduce that they had been lying there since lunchtime is amazing."
"On the issue of staff having a soft drink in the main pub the owner said: "Staff are entitled to have a soft [drink] during their shift.
"As you will be very aware it does get very hot occasionally, especially around the OVENS!"
They added that if they were a regular customer as they stated then they could have spoken to 'The King' about their problems and it could have been dealt with.
However, they pointed out that there was nothing they could do to remedy the problem if they only complained afterwards on TripAdvisor.
The landlord called the review into question, saying: "Looking at your other reviews I notice that you seem to enjoy complaining.
"Next time you visit an establishment and by your comments it looks like it won't be ours, please, if you enjoy your meal try giving them a good review."
