A restaurant manager has been praised for his level-headed response after his business received a series of one-star reviews online.
Jason Monteforte of Plenty Restaurant and Bar in Mission Beach, North Queensland, used Facebook to show three one-star reviews left by angry guests.
Mr. Monteforte did this to fight back and give his response, instead of accepting the bad reviews and leaving them unanswered.
An angry customer said he had made a reservation for five people but was refused a table on Saturday to celebrate a birthday because only a table for two people had been reserved in his name.
“The manager came out and was extremely unhelpful… No attempt to resolve the issue. We will not be back,” said the person who made the booking.
But Mr. Monteforte was able to tell his side of the story thanks to his message.
“If you make a reservation for 2 people and arrive with 5 people, on the busiest dining night of the week and on what has been our biggest night of the year so far, chances are you will be disappointed,” he wrote.
“After speaking with you for over 10 minutes and giving you options to accommodate your wishes, and you choosing not to accept them, we would appreciate it if you did not go down the path of telling lies and trying to damage the reputation of a quality local business.”
The manager of Plenty Restaurant and Bar (pictured) has been praised for his down-to-earth responses to several one-star reviews the business received online
The person who made the booking said (pictured): ‘The manager came out and was extremely unhelpful… No attempt to resolve the issue. We will not be back’
In his post, the manager also shared a photo of an online booking form that showed a request for two people.
“As you can see, you can’t even get your facts straight when you write scathing reviews about a company, when in fact it’s a result of your own shortcomings,” he said.
Mr Monteforte added: ‘We are sorry that your birthday celebration did not go as planned, but we cannot take full responsibility for the outcome and have done everything we could to resolve the problem.
‘Giving one star for food you didn’t even taste, rating an environment you didn’t like and then rating our service after we did everything we could to please you is downright appalling.’
His candid and uncompromising response was praised by many other customers, as well as the Wandering Panda Coffee Van, who praised him for challenging ‘keyboard warriors’.
In his response, the manager took the time to acknowledge the restaurant’s “valued customers” and emphasize what they get for their money.
“As you know, here at Plenty Restaurant and Bar we offer an exceptional level of customer service, the highest quality food and menu selections, and a serene, beautiful setting and atmosphere, making us a very popular dining venue and destination,” Mr. Monteforte wrote.
His honesty about getting some bad reviews, while still showing appreciation for the vast majority of his customers, paid off. Some of them stood up for him.
‘I love the food and exceptional service at Plenty Restaurant and Bar. We are so lucky to have such a quality restaurant in our area,’ wrote one person.
“Fantastic food and great service,” said another.
The restaurant manager said the bad online reviews (like the one in the photo) were “a horrible act”
A third wrote: ‘The food at Plenty Restaurants has always been fantastic, as has the entertainment. The staff are also great and have always gone out of their way to accommodate us.’
However, others pointed out that bad reviews are a problem, even if they are justified.
“Good luck trying to get rid of a negative review. It will always be there, no matter how wrong it is,” one person wrote.
It’s a shame about your star ratings, but the Wandering Panda Coffee Van pointed out that ‘most people will take these reviews with a grain of salt and read on to see how great you are’.