A café manager launched a searing - and thorough - defence of their business after a customer left a scathing review on TripAdvisor.
Reviewer Hannah C, from north Yorkshire, branded Bennett’s Café & Bistro in York “absolutely awful” after she visited with friends on December 7.
She said she was unhappy after she ordered hot water and a slice of lemon which came to ￡2 – 10p more than chocolate cake her friend asked for.
She also added staff were rude in the online rant.
Unhappy: Hannah left the comment on the TripAdvisor website
She wrote: “When I asked why I was being charged so much for some water the waiter rudely said "well, do you know how much a lemon costs?" Yes, its definitely not ￡2.
"He then went on to wrongly inform me that a 'pot of tea for one' (which is what I was charged for) is the same price as a lemon. To show just how ridiculous this is, my friend ordered a slice of chocolate cake which was ￡1.90.
"Dreadful place, would definitely not recommend, and the rude waiter that served me should be sacked. I will not be returning and will be advising friends and family not to go there."
However, instead of an apology the café manager replied with a lengthy explanation as to why the price was set at ￡2, describing it as a “cruel reality” of life.
The reply started off : “I’m sorry that you feel that you were “ripped off” and I’ll try to explain why you weren’t."
The post explains how the waiter selected a knife and chopping board before he grabbed a lemon from the fridge and cut off a slice.
The reply added that the cost of rent, business rates, electricity and other overheads comes to ￡27.50 per hour of trading. It said waiting staff are also paid ￡12.50 an hour on top of that sum.
"Therefore, together the cost is ￡40 per hour or 67p per minute, meaning that the cost of providing you with 2-3 minutes of service was ￡1.34 - ￡2.00.
"Then the government add on VAT at 20% which takes the cost of that cup of fruit infusion to between ￡1.60 and ￡2.40 irrespective of whether you had a teabag costing one and a half pence or a slice of lemon costing five pence."
The response ends: "I accept that it makes the price of a cuppa in a city centre cafe look expensive compared to the one you make at home but unfortunately that’s the cruel reality of life.”
p/s Ada paham sumaaaa... 
Post time 14-2-2016 11:28 AM
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