Restaurant bans customer for life after he complained his food was undercooked on Facebook
The diner was told he 'won't be welcomed' in the restaurants again
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Your support makes all the difference.When you give a restaurant a negative review, you don't expect the restaurant to fire back with a lifetime ban.
But this is what happened to 33-year-old entrepreneur Sam Chisnall after he complained about his 'uncooked' meals on social media.
The diner from Essex griped to the manager of the Pavilion Restaurant who agreed to reduce his bill from £220 to £140.
But he later decided to leave a scathing review on social media, only to be told by the restaurant that he 'won't be welcome' back.
The group behind the restaurant, The Elysium Group, cited the diner's "aggressive" and "abusive" behaviour that led them to issue a lifetime ban.
Mr Chisnall says he is shocked by the decision and is lost for words.
"The four of us were just trying to have a good night out and we had some issues with the food and I complained," he said.
"The manager was very abrupt and confrontational, disrespectful and in general an absolute disgrace.
"He clenched his fist and told us, after ruining our meal, he will not take money off our meal that was massively undercooked.
"I feel so embarrassed after taking a few clients out for something other customers rant about how good it is.
"I thought they could at least be professional. They were completely unresponsive to our comments.
"I'm lost for words and completely thrown, I'm sorry to say."
Mr Chisnall, who owns a business and was entertaining clients that evening, wrote the review on the restaurant's Facebook page. But was shocked to read a message sent by the manager, Maciej Andros, stating he was no longer welcome back.
It read: "As a group, we obviously cannot exceed your expectations.
"Therefore, to avoid future disappointments, I would like to inform you that you won't be welcomed in our venues ever again.
"That includes Mimosa, Hudson and Qube."
The group owns six high-end restaurants in Colchester and claims to provide 'exquisite intimate dining' in its bars and restaurant.
But Sam attests that he was treated unfairly and was not aggressive to the restaurant staff.
He said: "I did not think we would have such an issue like this when I left.
"It takes a lot for me to leave a bad review and I always try to tip and give a good review when I have had a good meal, but we were treated terribly.
"I have been to their restaurants many times and have mostly had good experiences in the past, but I would never go back - even if I weren't banned.
"I do not understand how anyone was aggressive. It was a simple disagreement."
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