measured across 187 UK cafés
We read every Google review reply published by 423 UK cafés — 299 of them mention price and value complaints. Below is what those replies actually do, then real examples: the review, the reply published underneath it today, and the reply our software writes for the same review. Business names, email addresses and people's names are removed. Nothing here is invented.
Price is the one complaint where the business is usually right and almost never says so. A reply that apologises for its own prices tells every future reader the prices are wrong.
I used to love this place but now I won’t go back. My friend and I bought a coffee and hot chocolate. The portion sizes have been dramatically reduced but are still the same price. The cup wasn’t even filled up to the top!! Not to mention they got my friends coffee order wrong and my ‘hot’ chocolate was cold. I also saw a staff member using their bare hands to pick up salad items to put on a plate and not wash their hands afterwards. ——— disappointed.
Thank you for your review and bringing this to our attention. We have taken immediate action and addressed this with the staff members working. All staff are trained to follow hygiene standards and should always be washing their hands prior to handling food and there are also food handling gloves and utensils. The drink you have been served is not only poured short but the cup used is for our kids hot chocolates. That is not our standard sized hot chocolate. The two staff members, though new have been trained by experienced members of staff as well as myself (owner) covering drinks and processes. This should not have happened and I am truly sorry for your recent experience. Unfortunately, we have had staff sickness the last week which meant we were down an experienced member and supervisor this week. This is not an excuse and they have been trained on our processes and standards. It should not have happened. I have spoken with both members of staff to ensure this does not happen again. I would be grateful if you could email me ———? I need to locate your transaction and process a refund. Please do accept our apologies and thank you again for your feedback. ———
The cup should be full — that is not a judgement call, and a hot drink should arrive hot. On the coffee order, getting two drinks right for the same table is a reasonable expectation. The food handling point we take seriously. ——— or gloves at the counter is the standard, not the exception.
Very disappointing experience. The main course was extremely late (40mins+ wait), and despite the delay, they still tried to charge us a service fee, definitely not worth the money. Would not recommend!
Good morning ——— Y, thank you for taking the time to leave a review of your reservation at ——— restaurant. I apologise for the food delays, but would like some clarification whether or not any expected delays were communicated by your server. ——— items, such as on the bone steaks, can take 35-45 minutes to cook. Service charge is discretionary (as noted on all menus) and can be removed or amended via request without any problem. ——— you have any further feedback in relation to your reservation, please reach out to the e-mail ———. Kind Regards, ———
A 40-minute wait for a main is too long, and we know that. The service charge is optional — it can be taken off the bill before you pay, and on a meal that kept you waiting, that feels like the right call.
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