A pub has hit back at a customer who left a negative review online to complain that the bar staff's attitude "really dampened our spirits".
After a recent visit to the The Cricketers Arms Hotel in Sydney, the customer named Lisa posted a three star rating on Google where she took issue with the service she had received after the pub was allowed to reopen following coronavirus restrictions.
It read: "Nice bar but has the crankiest bar tender in town! I've been there many times and will definitely go again, but the barman really dampened our spirits on Saturday night.
"Two strangers came up to us and said the same."
Rather than simply roll out the robot responses many companies use in reply to negative reviews, the business posted a brutally honest rebuttal to address the situation.
It read: "Hi Lisa, thanks for the review.
"We've had a chat with our barman regarding this and he'd like it to be publicly known that the ongoing instability of a global recession that could render him unemployed at any moment, the lurking danger of Covid-19 potentially killing everyone he loves, the destruction of entire eco-systems due to climate change and the inability to find a bloody cheap pouch of tobacco in the inner city has all made it quite difficult for him to find much joy in life at the current moment.
"He said, however, that he will try and make more of an effort to smile. Thanks! Crix x."
A spokesperson for The Cricketers Arms defended the reply, stating that negative reviews during an already difficult time makes it even more challenging for businesses to "get back on their feet" during the pandemic.
They said: "Small businesses, especially hospitality, are currently doing it very tough.
"With ongoing restrictions on capacity limits and pressures to maintain social distancing and strict hygiene standards, it's very difficult for businesses to turn a profit, and can be quite stressful on staff.
"To leave a negative review for small businesses at the current moment is quite counterproductive to getting them back on their feet after an extended period of closure.
"We thought by responding to this review as we did, it would be a gentle and humorous reminder to support not only small businesses but each other through this weird time."
