Restaurant bites back over online TripAdvisor reviews
DISGRUNTLED diners visiting James Dahl’s Indian restaurant in Birmingham who decided to leave a bad review on TripAdvisor did not know what they were letting themselves in for.
For the few left unhappy by their experiences at the Arcadian eatery have faced some rather spicy responses – with the restaurant accusing them of lying, being stupid, narrow-minded and childish.
When one reviewer complained about the quality of food at the restaurant, the reply was: “You probably were ill or your tastebuds were off duty.”
Other comments included: “We are probably the first Indian restaurant in Birmingham to be run by an educated family.”
In fairness, the vast majority of reviews of the restaurant on TripAdvisor are glowing and call it excellent or very good – but the few that disagree are accused of posting fake or “clearly contrived” comments.
James Dahl is currently ranked the 24th best restaurant in Birmingham on the reviews site.
And when approached by the Birmingham Post, owner Husban Ahmed said he believed the reviews were part of a “dirty tricks” campaign from rival restaurants.
But he has now said he will take down some of the rude posts which are attributed to him.
Despite all the responses being signed by Mr Ahmed, he claims they were written by someone else, his “personal writer” who deals with his PR.
And he added: “I will tell my PR team they need to be a bit more friendly and professional behave with respect.”
But he did admit to replying personally to one review, in which he accused the poster of being childish, lying and trying to bribe him.
He wrote: “You are a mature woman, please act your age, not your shoe size.”
The latest review to incur the restaurant’s wrath was left by student Shahwaiz Anjum, who visited in July to celebrate his birthday.
He complained on TripAdvisor about the long wait for “bog standard” food and the service charge, adding “I would avoid this place like the plague”. and
But James Dahl’s reply was: “We know this is a fake review. We know you haven’t dined at our place.
“In the history of our restaurant, only one table waited an hour because the kitchen equipment failed.
“Perhaps you should invest in a watch.”
Mr Anjum complained they were “charged an extortionate amount for the pickle tray which was on the table when we got there”.
The restaurant replied: “This is clearly a lie, it is unimaginable that a pickle tray is left on a table.
“Even stupidity has standards, the Oxford Dictionary wouldn’t be able to come up with a word to describe what you just said.”
Mr Anjum told the Post: “Their reply was simply astonishing and it seems I am not the only victim.
“They take any criticism very badly and tend to reply with outrageous personal insults.
“To me this is appalling. It’s not how a restaurant should behave.
“We ordered the food at 8.10pm and it eventually came about 9pm after I asked where it was.
“There were eight of us and the bill came to £170-something, so the service charge was 10 per cent of that – nearly £18.”
James Dahl Indian opened early this year with head chef Mofu Miah, who has cooked for the Spice Girls and Tom Cruise.
The restaurant has 163 reviews on TripAdvisor, of which 126 are excellent and 22 are very good.
Only three have called it “terrible” and awarded it only one star, and these are the ones which Mr Ahmed – or his PR – have attacked.
Mr Ahmed said: “I only replied to the first ‘terrible’ review because it annoyed me.
“The diner was rude to my staff and made them feel very uncomfortable.
“The other two responses were written by my personal writer, the girl who deals with my PR and online stuff. I won’t disclose her name.
“She thought the latest bad review was fake because we went through all the bills and couldn’t find any with an £18 service charge.
“So I told her she could act on my behalf and write something suitable in reply, but said ‘don’t be arrogant’.
“I will be sitting down with her and will get her posts removed.”
You are a mature woman, please act your age, not your shoe size Reply to review on TripAdvisor