‘The damp smell went soon after you left!’ Family-run tea room hits back at bad TripAdvisor reviews calling its unhappy customers ‘ignorant’, ‘puerile’ and even mentally ill

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A family-run tea room has hit back at critics on Tripadvisor with sarcastic comments in which they call complaining customers 'ignorant' and 'puerile'.

Staff at the Well Walk Tea Room in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, which is rated 15th out of 340 restaurants in the county, have taken the time to reply to all their negative reviews. 

It has has earned a 4.5 overall rating out of 477 reviews on review website TripAdvisor, with 78 per cent of customers giving it an 'Excellent' rating.

Staff responded to this review by claiming the customer's comments were defamatory

But it seems it cannot accept the three per cent of visitors who have given them 'Poor' or 'Terrible' reviews and their responses are often sarcastic and scathing.

One customer from Somerset, who visited for afternoon tea in November 2017, left a two-star review, and wrote: 'Would never ever visit again. I was very disappointed to find that not only was there a damp smell when we entered, but it seemed to go downhill after this.

'Afternoon tea is normally delicate cut sandwiches but the sandwiches we received on a single plate were dry and bland. Certainly not what I would call afternoon tea.

'The tea pot is huge and too heavy for my mother to pour her own tea. The tea pot was cracked too. The cakes were presented nicely but not very tasty.

The tea room told this customer who complained of the smell 'it went soon after you left'

'We paid £12.95 each. Not value for money. We were not offered any choice of different teas or coffee and staff not very attentive. Such a shame, wrecked a nice day out.'

And the review did not go down well with Well Walk staff, who responded: 'It's a pity you didn't mention anything at the time? The afternoon tea comes with as much house tea and coffee as desired, if you wanted other varieties, just ask, a lighter pot can certainly be furnished.

'As one gets older the sense of taste diminishes and to be fair the damp smell went soon after you left.'

Another customer, from Cheltenham, who visited last month, also gave a two-star review, and called the tea room 'ancient and rancid'.

When Sue N complained about the 'dirty' plastic tablecloths, Tom replied that they scrubbed the tables after she left

He wrote: 'The experience here was shocking, a really old place, full of stuff as in my grandma's house. The tablecloth was greasy and the cutlery not very clean.

'I asked for a vegetarian option, and I got less food than the others. Definitely not happy. The best part was the staff, very kind people.'

Staff responded: 'We think Grandma's house sounds fab! The kind staff would certainly replace any cutlery etc for you. Rancid? Surely not, Grandma would find that defamatory.'

And the tea room also accused another customer, named Peter D, from Worcestershire, of being 'defamatory', after he left a one-star review in May 2015.

One slightly nonsensical reply from Tom branded a customer both puerile and defamatory

Peter wrote: 'Based on other published reviews we organised a visit from Worcestershire for a small group on a sunny Thursday afternoon as part of a 'day out'.

'Arriving a little later than expected (parking can be hard in Cheltenham) at just past 4pm were were greeted with 'sorry we are closed - we have had no customers for the last hour so decided to close early today'.

'We tried explaining how we had traveled some distance to visit and that there were several of us. But we simply got 'sorry there is nothing we can do..we are closed' - even though the published opening hours on the door show them open until 5.

'I can only advise that if you intend to visit please check they have customers planned to be present before you set off and then continuously in the tea room until you arrive.'

And Well Walk Tea Room responded: 'Some quite defamatory implications in your 'review'. Being ignorant of the taste and quality of our food, implied comparisons with other great establishments is puerile.

In response to a disappointing review the manager said he does not value their opinion

'As you arrived at 4.30pm to visit specifically the Tearoom would it not have been sensible to book or phone ahead? It being a beautiful day we thought we might close half an hour early and enjoy a few hours in the sun to warm our souls.'

And the most scathing response of all was sent to a customer from Ledbury - when the tea room told her they did not value her opinion.

The two-star review, posted in September 2015, read: 'I wanted this to be a lovely experience for my sister-in-law and our families. It was disappointing to say the least.

'Firstly the scones and clotted cream were fabulous and would recommend them. The staff were attentive and kind.

'The tea room its self is cramped with antiques. It was one of the hot days we had in June and sticking to the plastic table cloths did not help. The sandwiches were huge - so great if that is what you enjoy and the fillings were not what I associate with afternoon tea.

'I have deliberately taken time before writing this review as I did not want to be too negative. Would I recommend it or go again? Sorry no.'

Staff at Well Walk did not hold back in their response, writing: 'I am so sorry, but in order for you to insult us, we must first value your opinion.

'Far too many people are walking around unmedicated and unsupervised and affecting our lives.'

The tea room has been approached for a comment.