This cafe had the perfect response to a 1-star TripAdvisor review

This is how you deal with public criticism.
 By 
Sam Haysom
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

LONDON -- What's the best way to handle a one-star TripAdvisor review? Send a carefully worded response? Ignore it and hope it gets buried among the more positive ones?

Nook Neighbourhood Coffee, a cafe in Stockport, UK, took a slightly different approach.

Earlier in the year, it received the following one-star review on TripAdvisor after a disgruntled customer took umbrage with the temperature of its porridge.


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Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Instead of shying away from the criticism, however, Nook decided to embrace it with open arms.

That picture was snapped by a comedian and posted on Instagram. It's since been posted by other people on Twitter, where it's received thousands more shares.

To be fair, Nook does have a strong track-record for chalkboard messages.

"The idea was just to try and do something a bit different," Nook manager Arlo Calderbank was quoted as saying in the Manchester Evening News.

"The lady's comment was quite disappointing because we try to provide the best service at all times. Seeing the comment pop up on TripAdvisor was a bit of a shame."

Calderbank went on to say that the cafe normally receives positive feedback, but people occasionally not liking the food "is part of it all".

He said he was "gobsmacked" by the huge reaction the chalkboard has received on social media.

Topics Reviews

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Sam Haysom

Sam Haysom is the Deputy UK Editor for Mashable. He covers entertainment and online culture, and writes horror fiction in his spare time.

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