Grain Alley at Orchard Central has been trending recently for its snippy remarks whilst responding to negative Google Reviews.
In short, in spite of its seemingly high 4.7 star reviews, they have received a barrage of one-star reviews broadly criticising it’s no-work policy and the quality of the food and beverages.
Instead of ignoring these reviews, they retaliated with increasingly passive-aggressive remarks, going so far as to contact the reviewers’ workplaces.
In response to the backlash they’ve received from these scathing remarks, Grain Alley has posted three lengthy statements on Instagram.
Grain Alley’s Official Statement
The first of the series emphasised how Grain Alley prioritises its staff over its customers because they are the reason why the cafe has been able to survive through the pandemic.
“With the high-attrition rate of our industry, it shows how safe our people feel working here, knowing we’ll protect them,” the cafe claims.
They also addressed claims that they bribe customers to leave 5-star reviews with the clarification that they give customers free drinks the day after they leave good reviews as a form of reward, rather than a transactional deal.
In the second installation of the three posts, Grain Alley talked about the specific incident in question, claiming that they had treated the offending group to alcohol worth more than their order. However, by the end of the night, the group delved into the Google reviews and took umbrage at the snippy remarks Grain Alley gave out, resulting in them leaving five consecutive bad reviews on the site.
Grain Alley justified their remarks by arguing that these reviews reflect badly on any service establishment, and are forms of ill-treatment and abuse by customers. They also claimed to have contacted Google to verify that all of their good reviews are real and to flag the spam / negative reviews for libel.
The last post came from the writer of the responses to the negative reviews himself, Joe. He argued that negative reviews left by unpleasant and unruly customers who exhibited bad behaviour was “bullying” and power trips, to the extent of even abuse.
He also quoted freedom of speech as one of the principles behind these actions from the customers, and also the justification for his snarky responses.
The cafe has turned off the comments sections, but continues to comment copies of positive reviews from customers supporting them for standing up for their staff.
Featured Image: Instagram (@grainalleycafe)