Subway owner’s one star Google review about a rival food store sparks controversy – so did it cross the line?

A Subway franchise owner and political candidate has been forced to defend a scathing Google review he penned about a rival food store.

Businessman and Queensland Liberal National Party candidate Damian Culpeper gave the One Mile Bakery in Ipswich a one-star review, complaining about the quality of the bread. 

‘Very average – well below what I would expect from a bakery,’ Mr Culpeper said – although his verdict was far outweighed by its 4.5 out of 5 star average rating by other customers. 

‘Dry, maybe yesterday’s bread. I don’t think the bread was fresh.’

The One Mile Bakery questioned if Mr Culpeper had even visited the business but declined to comment further.

‘If people want to write nasty reviews, then that’s fine,’ a worker said.

But Mr Culpeper’s mild criticism of baked goods has been called out by Labor, because he proudly describes himself as a champion of small businesses and owns the Subway in Annerley, Brisbane.

‘He claims to be a fighter for small business but denigrates a small, long established and popular local institution. The hardworking owners and staff of One Mile Bakery deserve an apology from Mr Culpeper.’ 

A Subway franchise owner’s scathing review of a rival bakery has come back to haunt him

In response to questions about the Google review, Mr Culpeper would only attack Labor Premier Steven Miles’ policy for free school lunches.   

‘I’ve been in the business of lunches for two decades,’ Mr Culpeper told Daily Mail Australia.

‘But in all that time, only Steven Miles’ desperate and stale school lunch program gets a one-star review.’ 

Griffith University business lecturer Graeme Hughes said unkind reviews, especially those written by a business rival, were more likely to backfire.

‘Whether they’re trying to put somebody out of business or something along those lines, it can certainly be used in that manner,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.

‘If you’re making an unsolicited claim about a rival business, and it can’t be substantiated, customers will see straight through that.

‘They’re written with a tonality or a description which probably wouldn’t be in line with your own happenings or dealings, then you might not trust what’s being said.’ 

Mr Hughes said unkind reviews were often hard to remove from Google Reviews, creating extra work for a small business that had been unfairly targeted.

‘Because of the logistics and the complications, with dealing with a big behemoth like Google, you can’t simply call up their call centre and get through – it’s very difficult for businesses to navigate that quite complex landscape,’ he said.

While Ipswich is a safe Labor seat, the LNP claimed the neighbouring electorate of Ipswich West with a massive 17.8 per cent swing in a March by-election

The One Mile Bakery questioned if Mr Culpeper had even visited the business but declined to comment further

In a three-minute video on YouTube, wearing a Subway uniform, Mr Culpeper admitted he hated paperwork.

‘If I sit at my desk for more than half an hour, I go crazy,’ he said.

Mr Culpeper is running for the Ipswich seat in the Queensland election, which will be held on October 26.

His Subway in Annerley, in Brisbane’s inner south, is 35km away from the electorate he is seeking to represent.

While Ipswich is a safe Labor seat, the LNP claimed the neighbouring electorate of Ipswich West with a massive 17.8 per cent swing in a March by-election.

A similar kind of swing could see Mr Culpeper get elected, with Labor holding Ipswich with a 16.5 per cent margin, in a seat once held by former Liberal deputy premier Sir Llew Edwards.

Labor has been in power since 2015 and Mr Miles is widely expected to lose the upcoming election as voters deny the ALP a fourth, consecutive term, with Newspoll predicting an 8 per cent, state-wide swing against the government.