Owner of Jamaica Inn pub in Cornwall hits back at 'peeved' Tripadvisor reviewer
The straight-talking owner of the world-famous Jamaica Inn has blasted a Tripadvisor reviewer who criticised his pub's latte.The owner of Cornwall's iconic inn has made it clear in the past that he is not impressed with people being able to anonymously review an establishment on the platform without any verification, often disagreeing with comments made and even challenging the legitimacy of the claims.Allen Jackson called an earlier reviewer a "dosser" and told her to go back to "whatever (she) crawls into at night" after she made claims about the Bodmin Moor inn.This week he once again defended his inn and staff in a reply to a "peeved" customer, asking if they were "spoilt as a child".
'Stuart M' left a very short Tripadvisor review on Sunday (January 9) leaving the establishment with a 2/5 rating on the basis that the group did not enjoy their coffee and that they were only allowed to sit in the smaller bar.
It read: "We were only allowed to sit in the small bar when there was room in the bigger area with an open fire on a very cold day. Also we were asked to pay for our coffee before it arrived. When it came it was a poor example of a latte. We were told that a person had £100 worth and walked out without paying."
The full response from Jamaica Inn was as follows: "Unfortunately there would have been prior bookings with customers about to arrive for the tables in the main bar you had your beady eye on. There could have been no other reason.
'Maybe it's your palate that's corrupted - just a thought'"However, you seem peeved at not getting your own way and seemingly you imagined you were specially selected for relegation to Joss's or Mary's bar - both of which are very popular, by the way. This prompts me to wonder - were you spoilt as a child?
"We invite our customers to order and pay at the same time to reduce contact and Omicron transfer. This halves the visits to your table, halves the interaction between customers and staff and halves your chance of you getting Covid from my staff and vice versa.
"I am sorry the latte was not to your taste - it is ground fresh at the time of order and it must have been tens of thousands of cups ago when anyone else last complained about it. So long ago I cannot remember when, if ever, so maybe it's your palate that's corrupted - just a thought.
"You are masquerading as an overnight resident by wrongly placing your review in our 'Accommodation' listing instead of 'Restaurant' where it belongs and you mislead others by doing so.
"Obviously resident guests spend much more time with us and can therefore make far more informed assessments which is appreciated by others reading reviews and deciding whether to visit the Inn.
"I would not want them thinking your review is from one of these more informed and reliable guests as in reality you were here one minute and gonethe next.
"You tossed a belated negative review at us on the way out the door, so to speak, based on your brief visit safe with Trip Advisor’s anonymity and total lack of accountability - ‘Stuart M’ you curiously call yourself.
"Incidentally, we get even more top 4 and 5 star reviews from overnight guests than we get from brief visitors like yourself which is rather telling."