A restaurant has apologised after it shared the name, email and mobile number of a diner who didn’t show up to a table booking.
Bully’s, in Pontcanna, Cardiff, shared the apology on Twitter a day after owner Russell Bullimore revealed the customer’s personal details on the social media site.
Mr Bullimore shared customer Emily Quinlan’s details because he was ‘frustrated’ that she hadn’t turned up to a reservation.
However, despite his apology, the restaurant later thanked a Twitter user who described Ms Quinlan as a ‘selfish cow’.
Bully’s restaurant tweeted the personal details of a customer who didn’t make a table reservation
When MailOnline contacted Bully’s, a staff member said they couldn’t pass on Mr Bullimore’s contact details because it breached ‘data protection’.
The owner said he had tried to get in touch with Ms Quinlan but had been unsuccessful.
Responding to the restaurant’s reveal, Ms Quinlan claimed that she could not make the booking because of an emergency.
She also said that she had only booked a table of two and didn’t think she’d cost Bully’s that much money for not making the reservation.
She wrote: ‘I will be passing this on to the Information Commisioners (sic) office. Your complete lack of professionalism and decorum has clearly lost you a lot of custom already.’
Russell Bullimore, pictured, is the owner of Bully’s restaurant in Cardiff and revealed a customer’s details in frustration
Emily Quinlan responded to the restaurant’s tweet and said she could not make the booking because of an emergency
Following Ms Quinlan’s comments, Mr Bullimore issued a grovelling apology on the restaurant’s Twitter account.
It read: ‘Apologies for last nights tweet guys. It was fuelled by emotion and for that we can only apologise profusely.
‘Please remember that this is a family business run by passion and a strong community spirit. We’re not a chain restaurant, we’re an independent that loves what we do.’
However, the restaurant later appeared to ‘like’ a comment from a Twitter user describing Ms Quinlan as a ‘selfish cow’.
It later tweeted ‘I haven’t met you but thanks x,’ to the Twitter user.
After Emily Quinlan criticiticised the apology, Bully’s appeared to like a comment from a user who described her as a ‘selfish cow’
Later, Bully’s tweeted a reply to the Twitter user where it seemed to thank him for defending the restaurant’s actions
Before the apology, Mr Bullimore said, in an interview with WalesOnline, that he just ‘thinks and does things’.
He said: ‘You take bookings and try and call them back and sometimes you get them and sometimes you don’t.
‘If I don’t get them on the landline I’ll try on my mobile and they’ll answer and often say, ”Oh I cancelled” or there’s some excuse, or they’ll just hang up.
The restaurant, pictured, later deleted the tweet but has been slammed on social media by customers
‘I lose about 12 people a week who book, and it’s about £40 per person.. In a year it can add up to £50,000.
‘The table of six no-show last night – I rang them and they said I cancelled on Wednesday.
‘I know every person who has called, and if they are cancelling I thank them for ringing in time. I am constantly checking my phone, my emails. My phone currently has more ‘no-shows’ listed than actual friends.’
When asked about sharing personal details, he said: ‘I just think and then do things. I’m going to put an apology on Twitter.
‘It’s a mobile number and a name. If someone has a car crash and takes a picture of the car’s number plate they can be ID-d from that.
‘I get cold calls all the time because my details are out there.’
Bully’s was awarded AA Restaurant of the Year in Wales 2014-15.
It claimed that it had eight diners – a table of two and a table of six – not show up for last night’s dinner service.
Emily Qunilan, the customer whose details were revealed, replied to the restaurant’s post and said that she couldn’t attend because of an emergency
She also revealed that she had booked a table for just two people, and doubted whether she had cost the restaurant much money
Mr Bullimore said that no-shows are becoming a big problem, but admitted that he wasn’t sure what to do.
‘I don’t want to have to start taking money off people before they sit down, I want people to pay for food because it deserves it. I’ll probably have to invest in some way of getting people’s credit card details [for deposits].
‘Out of everyone who doesn’t show what percentage of them has a life problem?
‘It’s common courtesy, lots of them probably have a hangover or can’t be bothered or have gone somewhere else. Not all people do. But people used to be more courteous to each other.’
Both the owner and the restaurant have been blasted on social media for revealing the personal details.