Restaurant owner shames customer after they made a special request
When there's a special occasion to be celebrated, some people like to go all out.
If you book a meal with family and friends you may order a cake, pop open the fizz or decorate the table to make the mood a little extra special. But recently one customer's request didn't go down too well with the restaurant.
They emailed the venue asking if they could have a free dessert, and the request ended up being plastered across social media. Not what you'd expect.
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The email was sent to the owner of WOOD restaurant in Manchester, with the subject line: "Re: Festive Menu’ which Simon Wood, the chef and owner, shared on X, formerly Twitter, to tell people about the request.
The customer wrote: "Hello Daniel, that’s awesome thank you. As it’s the first anniversary from me and my husband, would it be possible to give us a good table with a nice view and maybe a complimentary dessert? As I want to surprise my partner. Thanks in advance for your answer."
The query was quite polite, and sometimes such offers are made to diners when it comes to birthdays or engagements. The restaurant, which is described online as a "chef-driven open kitchen with à la carte, theater & tasting menus, full bar & a chic, modern vibe" just may not have been the best place to ask for a freebie.
The owner was quick to slam the customer on social media, and tell people about the email he received. He wrote: "Unbelievable…. Free food for celebrations, that’s why we’re here after all…."
It didn't go down well with people after he shared it, as some people seemed to think it was ok to ask the question.
One wrote: "I really don’t see the problem with this, so many restaurants and hotels do this for people for special occasions. You’ve outed a polite customer asking for a £10 dessert for what??"
Another said: "Still, how easy would it have been to say no instead of humiliating her on socials."
But some defended Wood pretty quickly too, with one person saying: "I think it’s the expectation of it, I think a lot of places would do it maybe if they weren’t asked and it was a surprise maybe as good will, but good will ends when everyone starts expecting something for free really."
The matter left people quite torn, but quite a few seemed to think taking to social media was a bad idea. They didn't think the customer should have been publicly shamed.
One person said: "Publicly shaming a customer that asked for a complimentary dessert on their special day is so ghetto. She asked nicely and with courtesy.
"Could have used this to show empathy and score cheap points with it. It's just a f*****g Tiramisu ffs. Chef needs Cusomer [sic] service training."
On December 17 Wood replied to some of the comments to thank everyone for their interactions and also share some of his dishes.
Wood, who won MasterChef back in 2015, wrote: "Thanks for all the interaction folks. I’m moving on to sweeter things, enjoy this topic amongst yourselves. Happy Christmas and au revoir."
When asked about the matter, Wood also told LADbible: "Hospitality isn’t about giving profits away in the worst economic climate for decades. Hospitality means extending a welcome to travelers or offering a home away from home, within that we provide great service and ambience alongside well thought out seasonal dishes prepared with care and each one is made by the chefs meticulously from scratch.
"We have around a 150-200 celebrations at WOOD a week, giving something to everyone shouldn’t be expected, the entitlement surrounding this is obscene. Going to a nice restaurant and celebrating is the treat, the icing on the cake, the whole experience and team you have assisting you are building that memory with your loved ones.
"Any business can help you do that, but it costs money as you know, when you choose to go somewhere it costs money: restaurants, gigs, bars, theatres, shows, cinema are all hospitality and night time economy. Hospitality is an agile generous industry. It’s not one that operates on large margins.
"And simply to ask for free things before you get somewhere is not acceptable. Why is this expected of restaurants, why not holidays, flights, cars, buying a new iPhone or a newspaper?
"We provide on average 50-100 free meals each week at WOOD, around 4,000 a year for various food-related charities in the city, the people who come in and buy a dessert and keep the restaurant ticking over enable myself and the team at WOOD to be able to do that. But the negative take will always outweigh any positive."
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