A pub owner has clapped back at a customer who branded him a “very angry little man” in a review that complained about having to pay for drinks.
Heath Ball, who owns the Red Lion & Sun pub in Highgate, London, penned an amusing rebuke to a review of his establishment that complained about the fact that ‘frozen margaritas outside were not free’.
In the TripAdvisor post on Mr Ball’s pub the disgruntled patron said: “We then went to sit outside and there was a frozen margarita stand with pouring machine with no one there to pour and no signs explaining this was not a complimentary drink or where to pay so I assumed as there was clean glasses on the stand they were free.”
Continuing their thoughts, the reviewer added they were surprised to be “greeted by a rude man who demanded I pay for the drink”.
They added: “I wasn’t prepared to pay £12 for a drink I thought was free he then took the drink away and poured it away and came back with a rather aggressive sign that was not really required.”
The review went on to say: “It’s a pub it’s meant to be fun environment and in this instance the customer was not right!! Lol it’s a shame about the very angry little man who happened to be the manager who then continued to storm around past me and continued to tell the other members of staff who then also looked over.”
In the eyes of the customer they said the reponse to making sure drinks were paid for was “a bit over the top for a minor misunderstanding”.
Mr Ball addressed the person’s three-star rating and comments by firstly thanking them for their review, before giving his opinion on their thoughts on acquiring frozen margaritas for free.
The publican wrote: “Since you are the only customer who has helped themselves to the margaritas, we have not had a need for a sign before you.
“Also, having complained about the lack of a sign, when I then added a sign, in your review you said it was not required.
Mr Ball added: “There’s also no signs on the bar, but people don’t generally go and help themselves there either. Are you the reason it says “do not drink” on bottles of bleach?”
Turning the tables Mr Ball signed off his reply with the tongue-in-cheek reponse “quite rightly very angry little man”.
