A restaurant owner has hit out at an Instagram influencer who asked to "try out" his meals for free in exchange for publicity on social media.
The owner was not too happy to receive this request and posted a public scathing comment in response.
Food blogger Elle Groves, who posts under the account name @twoteaspoons along with her friend Annie Knight, approached the restaurant for the "collaboration".
Groves wrote to the unnamed owner: "We would love to come and try it out in exchange for some stories on our personal accounts, and a post and stories on our food page accounts."
Restaurant critic John Lethlean later shared the owner's response, in which he said: "Hey Elle, apologies for the delay... I've been grappling with how much rage to demonstrate/throw in your direction."
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He continued: "I've decided to take the high road and explain a few things to you in the hope that you'll learn something and become a better person.
"Reaching out blind to a venue you know nothing about looking for free stuff is a s****y enough thing to do in the best of times."
He went on the highlight that the request was "even worse" because the Covid-19 pandemic is ongoing and has been severely affecting the hospitality industry for the last two years.
The owner also told Groves that her message "triggered" him because the pandemic forced him to take on a second job in order to keep paying his staff when there was no money coming in.
In a statement to the Daily Mail Australia, Groves and her friend Annie said that their page was designed to help small businesses by promoting them further.
"We have never asked companies for free food, it is always left open to them to what they want to offer. We have dined at 99 percent of restaurants featured on our page paying full price," they said.
"We only wanted to offer this professional exchange based off the amazing feedback we received from the companies that approached us."
They added: "We always have the restaurants interest at heart and have a huge passion for food and the experiences it brings."
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The response to @twoteaspoons was posted with the hashtag #couscousforcomment, a viral trend that shames influencers in Australia for trying to get free stuff.
It often includes what some consider to be justified responses from the owners of such businesses shaming the influencers for their behaviour.
Several social media users praised the restaurant owner's response, saying that it was "brilliant" and "on-point".
One person wrote: "How good is the response. Words that speak for an industry on its knees. Kudos to whoever penned this."
The @twoteaspoons account has since been deleted from Instagram.
