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A whisky bar in Scotland had the best response to a one-star review on Tripadvisor
A Glaswegian whisky bar has delivered a fiery retort to a punter who left it a one-star review on TripAdvisor.
A manager at The Pot Still, a bar in Glasgow city centre with a selection of some 700 whiskies, was quick to respond when a guest left the unfavourable review on the website after his flying visit didn’t go to plan.
“Walked in 13:34 today 9 January and two men were behind the bar counting coins,” said the reviewer, before going on to complain about the bar’s “non-existent” service.
“A woman also working there was to the side eating food from a bag. Stood right in front of them and neither of them acknowledged me. Not even a ‘we will just be a moment’. Walked out and went to the Drum and Monkey where I was greeted and served with a smile. So much for their great whiskies at the pot still.”
“Their service is non existent,” he added.
But not ones to take criticism lying down, the bar’s manager hit back with the suggestion that he was too impatient to truly appreciate a good dram.
“Having reviewed the video, the two team members on duty on the bar did indeed sort something out with the till while you were in the bar,” said the rebuttal.
“While I apologise for you not being acknowledged as soon as you came up to the counter, and i will be raising peripheral awareness with the team, we don’t expect visitors to be in such a rush, so we normally give them a chance, especially on a first visit, to take in the pub, acclimatise and, when ready, come to the bar to find out what dram they’re after, or what they like or don’t like, or just what they’ve tried to pick some suggestions out.”
The manager then detailed every second of the punter’s minute-long visit to the bar, before delivering his a withering conclusion.
“You put your foot on our front door step at 13:32:03. You finally came to the bar at 13:32:51. You turned away from the bar at 13:33:11. You took your foot off our front door step at 13:33:18”
“So all told you spent 20 seconds waiting at the bar in a visit that lasted a minute and a quarter. The youngest Scotch we sell waits three years in cask before its even considered a whisky, let alone ready to be bottled. The oldest whisky we have waited 50 years before being bottled. When it went into cask, no-one knew who Sergeant Pepper was and the UK was trying to get INTO Europe.”
“If you feel 20 seconds is too long in your life to hang on in that company, then maybe you’re not ready for whisky yet.”
“We’ll be happy to help you with recommendations when you are.”
Adding insult to injury, the boss closed with:Â “Some of the troops behind the bar at the Drum & Monkey drink here. Make of that what you will.”
19 seconds when you are stood waiting in an empty bar, with up to 3 people not acknowledging you is quite a long time. You’re supposed to be in the service industry. Try and polish it anyway you like, your customer walked out and went somewhere else. There are loads of bars, where the staff think they are better than the customers and that they will just have to wait. But fortunately there are also lots of places that value every customer and will now be getting my business. You didn’t just lose the one customer, you’ve also lost my business. 🙂
Great Response! There is a hot dog stand, in Chicago which get publicity for rude and sometimes degrading service and sentiment towards customers. It a part of there brand image. The wouldbe patron could have spoke up, if he felt neglected. I agree with the manager, maybe he is not ready for Whisky or Whiskey!!!
“No soup for you!”
Hi Bob,
you seem to miss the thrust of my retort. While I acknowledged the two team members on duty should have acknowledged this reviewer, anyone who is visiting our bar for the first time pauses to scan the gantry and take in the selection of over 700 whiskies on offer. That is our USP, our specialty, our pride. This chap had no time apparently for that delight. Having investigated this reviewers previous reviews, he’s a drama queen, five stars or one, precious little in between. After mentioning the Drum & Monkey he sadly neglected to praise them with their own review, just cast it up to underpin his argument, which falls at the first hurdle when, as I stated, some of the Drum & Monkey crew drink in The Pot Still.
If you feel that blustering here that we have lost your business will trouble us, please rest assured it will not. We welcome customers who are ready to explore the range of flavours on offer, to make a foray off their usual path and find something new to enjoy. If you are that sure of the veracity of the petted lip review of someone who’s review of a hotel was “Knock it down,” then feel free to ignore all the other 4 and 5 star reviews of everyone else who has visited us and felt moved to review their experience positively. They obviously know nothing. If however you realise that they might know something you don’t yet, and that a visit to one of the best whisky bars in the world might be something you would enjoy, come on in and we’ll talk about drams and find you a cracker. But put some time aside. You may stay longer than you had planned once the first dram hits your lips…