An independent business owner has spoken of his 'heartbreak' after his Bristol bar received an 'unfair' one-star review.
Dan Heath opened the Cider Box in August last year to run alongside his cider distribution service of the same name, which he launched eight years ago in Shepton Mallet.
Taking over a Victorian railway arch in Silverthorne Lane formerly home to a car repair workshop, Cider Box has received dozens of glowing reviews on Google in its first year, with people praising the range of ciders on offer and the 'friendly' staff.
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But on Saturday (June 19), a visitor to the taproom posted a scathing review in which they complained the owner was 'more interested in getting smashed himself than looking after his customers'.
The reviewer went on to say that drinks were 'never brought over' having been ordered on the app and that there 'seemed to be a complete lack of Covid safety with people moving between tables and not wearing masks'.
Dan, 40, said that while he welcomes feedback on his bar, he thinks the criticism was unjustified and unfair.
"Although I'm the proprietor of the business, I don't work on Fridays and instead employ people to take care of the bar," he told Bristol Live.
"I might sit outside and enjoy a pint or two to unwind after a busy week of pouring my heart and soul into the business, but I would never 'get smashed' while working as the reviewer suggested.
"If there were people who needed to be served and I could see that my staff were busy, I would serve them, but I would never work while drunk."
Dan said that customers are never waiting longer than 10 minutes to receive their drinks having ordered them, because the app used by the venue makes an 'irritating bell sound' which grows louder the longer people go waiting.
"If we don't deliver perfect service, the app essentially goes ballistic and won't stop beeping at us, so customers never wait for more than five or 10 minutes, that simply doesn't happen," he added.
"The information they shared isn't true and I think it's unfair, especially considering the pressure the hospitality sector is under right now."
The venue has a number of measures to keep customers safe, said Dan, including hand sanitiser and use of the NHS Test and Trace service, and is regularly visited by the council's Neighbourhood Enforcement Team to ensure it is a Covid-secure environment.
The council inspectors' most recent visit was on Friday (June 18), he said, and they were satisfied with the precautions in place.
'Frustration and heartbreak'
Dan 'leapt up with excitement' when he received a notification on Saturday morning informing him that his bar had received another review, but his 'smile quickly turned upside down' when he read it.
His initial feeling was one of frustration and heartbreak.
"I totally agree that people should be able to share their views as they please, but it's disappointing when people do so via an anonymous Google account they created simply to leave a damning review," he said.
"I felt a mixture of frustration and heartbreak when I read it because I've worked incredibly hard on the bar, and reviews are in the public domain forever but there's not much you can do about them.
"If they had just approached me on the night to voice their aggrievances there would have been a good chance of a pint on the house.
"Anyone who isn't happy with what we do more is more than welcome to pop in and tell us. At the end of the day we're a new business and we're operating under new restrictions which isn't easy."
'Damaging' for business
The cider lover is worried that just one negative review such as this one could have a detrimental impact on his bar, which is less than one year old.
"A lot of people have told me not to worry about it and just move on," he said.
"But that review now shows up as the most relevant on Google, despite the fact there have been plenty of positive reviews since that one was written.
"I think people do make decisions on where to go based on reviews and personally I always look at the negative reviews first when I book a hotel or restaurant, so I'm sure others do too.
"It's a really difficult time for hospitality right now and we're a brand new business, so anything that makes a challenging situation even harder is really damaging."
