Just admit it was you, other wise its like talking behide peoples backs and dont have the nerve to say things to someones face. Honesty is the Best Policy
Well I like going in and we have friends who go there and it's convenient and has a real pub atmosphere but the landlord is so moody and touchy. It's like walking on eggshells around him so avoid him. I'll allow him to serve me but that's it. I don't give cause to talk to him as we've had a few clashes in the past where he's thrown me off guard with his rude abrubt attitude so now I sit down out of his way and don't really speak to him unless he speaks to me and I don't make conversation with him as he's very easily offended and Moody.
For example he wanted us to drink up one night and instead of asking for our glasses at half 11 he said to my wife in an angry tone, "Come on, drink up..Don't take the piss. I want an early night tonight." and one time I was in with my son as a baby and he started crying for his feed and he came over told us to take him outside or we'd have to leave as his customers didn't want to listen to that but it's the way he says things. My son had only been crying for a few seconds and there was hardly anyone else in. It's always very stern and abrupt with an underlying angry tone to him. Another time he told a friend of ours off and asked him to leave after he was sat outside (not inside) in the beer garden playing music on his phone and told him to leave as it was annoying everyone. The only person who was annoyed by it was him. I got particularly annoyed with his attitude once after I walked in on new years day night and before I could order a drink he shouted across the bar, "We've Finished! I had a very late night last night so I'm closing" and as if that wasnt rude enough he came round from behind the bar, escorted me to the front door and locked it behind me while there were still customers in the pub. The guy is a first class arsehole so quite honestly I think my review was quite kind to him considering.
So THIS is why I refuse to confront him to his face because other than a few things I do actually like the pub. It's 100 yrds or so from my house so majorly convenient and have been using it ever since I was old enough to drink and don't wish to stop now. But I know if I told the landlord my concerns to his face he'd just tell me to go somewhere else or bar me. He's actually quite a scary bloke as you never know what mood he is in. One minute he can be all laughing and joking and the next he's literally throwing you out cos he's had enough and wants to go home. He has a member of staff who has a similar rude attitude but apart from these two, everyone else is perfectly nice.
One thing I said in my review was, He has mellowed over the years as is a lot better now than he was but all the same I'd give him a wide berth as you never know what mood he is in. Basically I've learned to stay out of his way and not to give him any cause to say anything to me.
Doesn't sound like your kind of pub mate, sorry. You're never going to see eye to eye with the landlord so while he's in charge I'd suggest finding another place to drink.
If he does know its you then he'll only act worse towards you.
Why would anyone want to drink in a pub where the landlord and staff are rude to everyone?
That was discussed at length when The Wizard first posted about this. The general advice was that it would make more sense for him to find somewhere else to drink, given his description of the landlord as someone who was unlikely to take any criticism on board. Either that, or just put up with it.
Unsurprisingly, such sensible advice fell on deaf ears, so we now have this ludicrous thread.
This is all personal between the OP and the pub landlord. By the sounds of it, they both quite clearly don't get on together. So what does the OP do,..one day, he writes a negative review about his very own local pub which he admits he likes very much on trip advisor. Nasty!
Surprisingly for the OP, he gets found out, or at the very least, suspicion is already on him. The OP's card is what you call well and truly marked.
He then proceeds to delete said remarks on Trip Advisor along with all the others he wrote that may link him. He then says he didn't go back for a while. This gets better as it goes along.
He then, in the same breath says his friends go there, it's convenient for him and he likes the pub and it has a real pub atmosphere.
But just because the landlord - in the OPs opinion, is 'moody' he suddenly finds himself in this mess.
Here's another saying for you - 'You've made your bed, you have to lie on it'.
That was discussed at length when The Wizard first posted about this. The general advice was that it would make more sense for him to find somewhere else to drink, given his description of the landlord as someone who was unlikely to take any criticism on board. Either that, or just put up with it.
Unsurprisingly, such sensible advice fell on deaf ears, so we now have this ludicrous thread.
The landlord and regulars blatantly know it was you. As you are a regular they probably know you think these things anyway. You should have just owned up when confronted. They just think you are a liar as well now.
Its clear that the landlord isn't going to change so the whole exercise was pointless. You either need to just accept things as they are or go elsewhere.
Dearie me, Wizard. Even after your various explanations in this thread, I still can't understand why you did this. But anyway, damage limitation:
When you go back in, talk to the landlord yourself. Ask him if he ever found out about who left "that Trip Advisor review" - straight and open. If he says no, then say "Ouch, it must've been a bad one then, because you didn't seem happy the other week." And he'll go, "Er. Well. No, it wasn't really." Then ask what was so upsetting about it, and when he tells you the person said one of my staff was badly behaved, say, "What? You mean they named [insert name] on Trip Advisor? Good heavens! Well, we all know she can be a piece of work, but she's okay really. Anyway, overall it sounds like a pretty good review - you must be pleased."
I get the impression that one of his regulars had just told him about it because a) It's taken him almost 2 months to notice the review so he obviously doesn't check his account and b) After I denied it he walked off to the other end of the bar and said to two of his regulars, "There's your answer. He said he doesn't use tripadvisor" So I got the impression that it was one of these fellas that had just told him so thought it best to delete everything before he got chance to see for himself and check out my past reviews.
BIB Were any other regulars there that could have heard that discussion? Presuming the landlord or whoever hasn't seen your other reviews, it could have been anyone. If there were other customers that heard the exchange, they could seem just as guilty for the vanishing account.
After I denied it he walked off to the other end of the bar and said to two of his regulars, "There's your answer. He said he doesn't use tripadvisor"
...with a knowing look and a smirk that said "That'll shut him up now cos he's scared of me!". Seriously, if you're going to run your mouth off no matter how true it is, then you need to be willing to stand up for yourself. He'll now see you as a complete pussy who backs down at the first sign of confrontation.
If he's one of these guys who believes in a "pecking order" then you've just made the situation a million times worse. First up he's caught you off guard, sucker punched you, and you've not been able to recover. Your reaction, no matter how much you believe you didn't give one, will have gave the game away. He knows it's you, and you've done exactly what he wants which is to remove the offending review. He's intimidated you pure and simple, and you've caved in.
I'd find a new pub to be honest, and hope no one at that place hears about it.
Well I like going in and we have friends who go there and it's convenient and has a real pub atmosphere but the landlord is so moody and touchy. It's like walking on eggshells around him so avoid him. I'll allow him to serve me but that's it. I don't give cause to talk to him as we've had a few clashes in the past where he's thrown me off guard with his rude abrubt attitude so now I sit down out of his way and don't really speak to him unless he speaks to me and I don't make conversation with him as he's very easily offended and Moody.
For example he wanted us to drink up one night and instead of asking for our glasses at half 11 he said to my wife in an angry tone, "Come on, drink up..Don't take the piss. I want an early night tonight." and one time I was in with my son as a baby and he started crying for his feed and he came over told us to take him outside or we'd have to leave as his customers didn't want to listen to that but it's the way he says things. My son had only been crying for a few seconds and there was hardly anyone else in. It's always very stern and abrupt with an underlying angry tone to him. Another time he told a friend of ours off and asked him to leave after he was sat outside (not inside) in the beer garden playing music on his phone and told him to leave as it was annoying everyone. The only person who was annoyed by it was him. I got particularly annoyed with his attitude once after I walked in on new years day night and before I could order a drink he shouted across the bar, "We've Finished! I had a very late night last night so I'm closing" and as if that wasnt rude enough he came round from behind the bar, escorted me to the front door and locked it behind me while there were still customers in the pub. The guy is a first class arsehole so quite honestly I think my review was quite kind to him considering.
So THIS is why I refuse to confront him to his face because other than a few things I do actually like the pub. It's 100 yrds or so from my house so majorly convenient and have been using it ever since I was old enough to drink and don't wish to stop now. But I know if I told the landlord my concerns to his face he'd just tell me to go somewhere else or bar me. He's actually quite a scary bloke as you never know what mood he is in. One minute he can be all laughing and joking and the next he's literally throwing you out cos he's had enough and wants to go home. He has a member of staff who has a similar rude attitude but apart from these two, everyone else is perfectly nice.
One thing I said in my review was, He has mellowed over the years as is a lot better now than he was but all the same I'd give him a wide berth as you never know what mood he is in. Basically I've learned to stay out of his way and not to give him any cause to say anything to me.
Simple really, you just go somewere else. If you go out for a meal, and something is not right do you complain there and then or wait till you leave then right a review after, i know which one i do.
BIB Were any other regulars there that could have heard that discussion? Presuming the landlord or whoever hasn't seen your other reviews, it could have been anyone. If there were other customers that heard the exchange, they could seem just as guilty for the vanishing account.
Yes the bar was crowded with at least half a dozen regulars who could have overheard him say this. By the looks if it he had been discussing it prior to me coming in and for all I know could have been after I left.
Also I think he believes the review has only just been written as he's only just aware of it so it's plausable that someone could write a review then delete it not long after. If he says anything about it again this is what I was going to say.
I don't think closing your account will affect existing posts or reviews. A couple of years ago I was banned for life from TA (Destination Experts don't like being proved wrong!), but nothing disappeared. My username was amended in that it began and ended with a three digit number. I've no idea of the relevance of the number.
I've recently written a couple of 1-star reviews for a local pub and a restaurant - because you can't go any lower - and there's no reason I would ever return to them.
It's mostly positive but have criticism over a staff member who is very rude, bossy and has a bad attitude and a face like a smacked arse and the place is in need of a clean up as it's a bit scruffy but it's a pub I use a lot so don't want them knowing it's me as it could cause conflict or bad feeling and not really up for them barring me.
Yes it's my local pub but standards have dropped quite a bit recently and they've taken on a right strumpet of a barlady who is quite abrupt and arsey and the landlord can also be quite moody and abrupt for no reason. I don't want to go in and face a confrontation.
Just don't want them finding out it's me as it will be very awkward and might cause conflict. Despite my negatives I still don't want to be barred from the place.
The landlord is a very moody individual and he bars people for very little. He has a way of speaking to customers which is abrupt and blunt and can be offensive so the last thing I want to do it confront him.
You were advised at the time not to use the pub.
Your descriptions are very personal yet you quake about confrontation.
You posted an "anonymous" criticism of the staff.
You reap what you sow.
Not sure how to handle this now. I don't want to keep out as we like using the pub but not up for another confrontation. Should I just keep denying it?
Accept the fact that you're not going back and start looking for a new local
...with a knowing look and a smirk that said "That'll shut him up now cos he's scared of me!". Seriously, if you're going to run your mouth off no matter how true it is, then you need to be willing to stand up for yourself. He'll now see you as a complete pussy who backs down at the first sign of confrontation.
If he's one of these guys who believes in a "pecking order" then you've just made the situation a million times worse. First up he's caught you off guard, sucker punched you, and you've not been able to recover. Your reaction, no matter how much you believe you didn't give one, will have gave the game away. He knows it's you, and you've done exactly what he wants which is to remove the offending review. He's intimidated you pure and simple, and you've caved in.
I'd find a new pub to be honest, and hope no one at that place hears about it.
Well I hadn't planned on it being traceable. I didn't know that you could look at a review and see all other places which that particular member has been and written about. I thought I was writing it anonymously.
As he's aware of the review I had 3 choices.
1.Own up and face his wrath and face almost certainly being barred then go home and explain to my wife why we can't go in anymore and then face HER wrath for being such an idiot.
2.Wait for him to go home, read the review then find links to all my previous reviews of other places I've been which certainly would I.D it as being me. THEN face a possible grilling on my next visit and almost certainly he would bar me.
3. Trust that he had only found out that night from another customer and delete my account before he finished and locked up and got home so he was unable to read it and see any of my other reviews and just keep denying it was me for without proof he has no solid evidence to bar me. (even though it DOES look suspicious)
Of course my first reaction was to remove all my other reviews which identify me and leave that one standing so it didn't look so obvious however when I asked for the other posts to be removed it said it could take between 24-48hrs to complete by which time the landlord might have seen them so I had to act fast as by this time it was approaching closing time. If I deleted my account all reviews get automatically deleted instantly.
So I went for the option which seemed less incriminating.
Not sure how to handle this now. I don't want to keep out as we like using the pub but not up for another confrontation. Should I just keep denying it?
You tried to be clever and failed, Go somewhere else!
Comments
You can do far more damage to a business than you realise by posting on those sites.
Well I like going in and we have friends who go there and it's convenient and has a real pub atmosphere but the landlord is so moody and touchy. It's like walking on eggshells around him so avoid him. I'll allow him to serve me but that's it. I don't give cause to talk to him as we've had a few clashes in the past where he's thrown me off guard with his rude abrubt attitude so now I sit down out of his way and don't really speak to him unless he speaks to me and I don't make conversation with him as he's very easily offended and Moody.
For example he wanted us to drink up one night and instead of asking for our glasses at half 11 he said to my wife in an angry tone, "Come on, drink up..Don't take the piss. I want an early night tonight." and one time I was in with my son as a baby and he started crying for his feed and he came over told us to take him outside or we'd have to leave as his customers didn't want to listen to that but it's the way he says things. My son had only been crying for a few seconds and there was hardly anyone else in. It's always very stern and abrupt with an underlying angry tone to him. Another time he told a friend of ours off and asked him to leave after he was sat outside (not inside) in the beer garden playing music on his phone and told him to leave as it was annoying everyone. The only person who was annoyed by it was him. I got particularly annoyed with his attitude once after I walked in on new years day night and before I could order a drink he shouted across the bar, "We've Finished! I had a very late night last night so I'm closing" and as if that wasnt rude enough he came round from behind the bar, escorted me to the front door and locked it behind me while there were still customers in the pub. The guy is a first class arsehole so quite honestly I think my review was quite kind to him considering.
So THIS is why I refuse to confront him to his face because other than a few things I do actually like the pub. It's 100 yrds or so from my house so majorly convenient and have been using it ever since I was old enough to drink and don't wish to stop now. But I know if I told the landlord my concerns to his face he'd just tell me to go somewhere else or bar me. He's actually quite a scary bloke as you never know what mood he is in. One minute he can be all laughing and joking and the next he's literally throwing you out cos he's had enough and wants to go home. He has a member of staff who has a similar rude attitude but apart from these two, everyone else is perfectly nice.
One thing I said in my review was, He has mellowed over the years as is a lot better now than he was but all the same I'd give him a wide berth as you never know what mood he is in. Basically I've learned to stay out of his way and not to give him any cause to say anything to me.
"No, I don't use TripAdvisor"
*review, along with others which identify you, mysteriously disappears shortly afterwards*
Nope, can't possibly see how they might have rumbled you
If he does know its you then he'll only act worse towards you.
That was discussed at length when The Wizard first posted about this. The general advice was that it would make more sense for him to find somewhere else to drink, given his description of the landlord as someone who was unlikely to take any criticism on board. Either that, or just put up with it.
Unsurprisingly, such sensible advice fell on deaf ears, so we now have this ludicrous thread.
Surprisingly for the OP, he gets found out, or at the very least, suspicion is already on him. The OP's card is what you call well and truly marked.
He then proceeds to delete said remarks on Trip Advisor along with all the others he wrote that may link him. He then says he didn't go back for a while. This gets better as it goes along.
He then, in the same breath says his friends go there, it's convenient for him and he likes the pub and it has a real pub atmosphere.
But just because the landlord - in the OPs opinion, is 'moody' he suddenly finds himself in this mess.
Here's another saying for you - 'You've made your bed, you have to lie on it'.
I wouldn't delete your account.
You can almost feel the tension.
I see.
Thanks
Its clear that the landlord isn't going to change so the whole exercise was pointless. You either need to just accept things as they are or go elsewhere.
When you go back in, talk to the landlord yourself. Ask him if he ever found out about who left "that Trip Advisor review" - straight and open. If he says no, then say "Ouch, it must've been a bad one then, because you didn't seem happy the other week." And he'll go, "Er. Well. No, it wasn't really." Then ask what was so upsetting about it, and when he tells you the person said one of my staff was badly behaved, say, "What? You mean they named [insert name] on Trip Advisor? Good heavens! Well, we all know she can be a piece of work, but she's okay really. Anyway, overall it sounds like a pretty good review - you must be pleased."
And see where you go from there.
BIB Were any other regulars there that could have heard that discussion? Presuming the landlord or whoever hasn't seen your other reviews, it could have been anyone. If there were other customers that heard the exchange, they could seem just as guilty for the vanishing account.
Don's say anything you would not say to their face.
If he's one of these guys who believes in a "pecking order" then you've just made the situation a million times worse. First up he's caught you off guard, sucker punched you, and you've not been able to recover. Your reaction, no matter how much you believe you didn't give one, will have gave the game away. He knows it's you, and you've done exactly what he wants which is to remove the offending review. He's intimidated you pure and simple, and you've caved in.
I'd find a new pub to be honest, and hope no one at that place hears about it.
Ain't that the truth!
You have 3 choices really. Fess up, front it out or don't use that pub again.
I agree
Simple really, you just go somewere else. If you go out for a meal, and something is not right do you complain there and then or wait till you leave then right a review after, i know which one i do.
Yes the bar was crowded with at least half a dozen regulars who could have overheard him say this. By the looks if it he had been discussing it prior to me coming in and for all I know could have been after I left.
Also I think he believes the review has only just been written as he's only just aware of it so it's plausable that someone could write a review then delete it not long after. If he says anything about it again this is what I was going to say.
I've recently written a couple of 1-star reviews for a local pub and a restaurant - because you can't go any lower - and there's no reason I would ever return to them.
You were advised at the time not to use the pub.
Your descriptions are very personal yet you quake about confrontation.
You posted an "anonymous" criticism of the staff.
You reap what you sow.
Accept the fact that you're not going back and start looking for a new local
Well I hadn't planned on it being traceable. I didn't know that you could look at a review and see all other places which that particular member has been and written about. I thought I was writing it anonymously.
As he's aware of the review I had 3 choices.
1.Own up and face his wrath and face almost certainly being barred then go home and explain to my wife why we can't go in anymore and then face HER wrath for being such an idiot.
2.Wait for him to go home, read the review then find links to all my previous reviews of other places I've been which certainly would I.D it as being me. THEN face a possible grilling on my next visit and almost certainly he would bar me.
3. Trust that he had only found out that night from another customer and delete my account before he finished and locked up and got home so he was unable to read it and see any of my other reviews and just keep denying it was me for without proof he has no solid evidence to bar me. (even though it DOES look suspicious)
Of course my first reaction was to remove all my other reviews which identify me and leave that one standing so it didn't look so obvious however when I asked for the other posts to be removed it said it could take between 24-48hrs to complete by which time the landlord might have seen them so I had to act fast as by this time it was approaching closing time. If I deleted my account all reviews get automatically deleted instantly.
So I went for the option which seemed less incriminating.
You tried to be clever and failed, Go somewhere else!