A cafe owner has let loose on boorish customers who put their feet on seats, cut their toenails and steal cutlery then leave poor reviews online.
Ann Maree Reid, 51, finally cracked when a diner sent her a 1,000-word tirade after she asked him to take his feet off the furniture.
Despite saying he wouldn’t complain publicly, he then left a one-star TripAdvisor review of That Place On Sturt in Townsville, blasting her ‘negative vibes’.
Ann Maree Reid, 51, (right) let loose on boorish customers to her Townsville cafe who put their feet on seats, cut their toenails, and steal cutlery then leave poor reviews online
Ms Reid said this outrageous treatment showed how manners and etiquette were eroding in modern Australia.
‘People feel they’re entitled to do what they want, the customer’s always right and I can be as rude or unhygienic as I like,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
The customer who was her last straw came in last week and sat cross-legged with his feet perched on two stools, and she told him to take them off.
He responded that he had a back issue and needed to sit like that, so she suggested he use one of the many comfortable padded chairs in the cafe.
When she returned later he still had his feet on a stool and offered to take his shoes off – a suggestion she naturally refused.
Ms Reid claims he sent the cafe’s Facebook page a message calling her an ‘inconsiderate moron’ who ‘interrupted his peaceful visit to her establishment’ and her requests were ‘irrational and irrelevant’.
Despite saying he wouldn’t complain publicly in his 1,000-word tirade, the customer left a one-star TripAdvisor review of That Place On Sturt in Townsville, blasting her ‘negative vibes’
Ms Reid believes social media made people more likely to complain instead of asking staff (pictured serving customers) to fix an issue on the spot
He ended by said he wouldn’t share his thoughts publicly so he wouldn’t ‘spread the negativity’ or ‘tarnish my public image’.
However, hours later he left a one-star review along the same lines, saying what a ‘terrible time’ he had.
‘I received some really negative vibes from the owner simply for sitting cross legged on a stool,’ he wrote.
‘She claimed that she didn’t want feet on the furniture, even though the stool was made of wood,’ he wrote.
‘There’s no rhyme or reason to that, other customers would be safe from germs assuming they are wearing pants. It’s just utter stupidity, and she is taking out her own negativity.’
Ms Reid replied pointing out the customer’s own ironic negativity and how much his comments had brought her down.
‘I have feelings too and I have the right to ask very politely for my clients to use better etiquette when they are in my cafe,’ she wrote.
Ms Reid told Daily Mail Australia the man’s behaviour was just another example of how rude and inconsiderate a small number of diners were.
Staff pose for a photo inside the shop which has been running since 2012 in central Townsville
Ms Reid said the man’s behaviour was just another example of how rude and inconsiderate a small number of diners were
She said at least once a month she would find clipped toenails on the floor of the cafe or even on the furniture.
‘That really baffles me, I mean who brings scissors in their bag and cuts them while they wait for their lunch to be made? It’s pretty gross,’ she said.
‘Chewing gum also does my head in. You furnish your shop with nice furniture and someone.
‘Also clogging the toilets and walking away. It’s not the staff toilets so we don’t notice it until one of our customers berates us because the toilets are disgusting.’
Ms Reid said someone took three stars off a review because the toilets were left in a state during a very busy lunch rush.
‘They said there was a lovely atmosphere, shop was beautiful, staff were friendly, the food was amazing the coffee was great… but the state of the toilets was absolutely disgusting,’ she said.
A staff member shows off a tray of baked goods that appear to have been made as a test to develop the best version
Ms Reid said at least once a month she would find clipped toenails on the floor of the cafe or even on the furniture
Stolen cutlery, plants, and decorations were also rampant because ‘people think it’s just fine to take what you want, anything is fair game’.
Rearranging chairs and tables without permission or thought for others was also a problem – and some even left dirty tissues behind when they left.
But Ms Reid’s biggest gripe was that she was considered rude for telling customers, like the man on the stool, to behave in her own cafe.
‘Why are we not allowed to say that we’re not happy? Why couldn’t I tell him not to put his feet on the chair? So now I’m an inconsiderate moron,’ she said.
‘If you’re asked politely to do something a different way, what’s the harm? Why does it rate a one-star review? We don’t get the opportunity to review them?’
She believed social media made people more likely to complain instead of asking staff to fix an issue on the spot.
Ms Reid’s biggest gripe was that she was considered rude for telling customers, like the man on the stool, to behave in her own cafe
When Ms Reid told the man to not put his feet on the stool, he responded that he had a back issue and needed to sit like that, so she suggested he use one of the many comfortable padded chairs in the cafe
‘People say whatever they want and don’t have to worry about the consequences, it’s cowardly,’ she said.
‘They get instant gratification in saying ”I told them” when really they didn’t have the balls to confront me to my face. Ten years ago you had to think about it.’
Ms Reid also believed customer behaviour had worsened over her decades in the hospitality industry.
‘Manners and etiquette don’t seem to be pushed in school or at home as much as they used to be,’ she said.
‘My mother would have kicked me in the bum if I did any of this, maybe we aren’t passing it down to the next generation.’