A PUB has been bombarded with one star reviews on Tripadvisor after an angry barman invited the public to complain about his boss on social media.
A disgruntled worker also served up free pints and generous measures of spirits to customers at Dirty Dick’s, Edinburgh.
The row blew up after another member of staff at the Rose Street watering hole was allegedly fired for eating a salad during a 10-hour shift.
An unidentified barman took revenge last Monday by chalking a message which invited drinkers to leave bad reviews on TripAdvisor.
The worker claimed: “A member of staff was fired today without warning for eating a salad on a 10-hour shift! Do you still want to support the owner of this business?
“Please leave a bad review on TripAdvisor.”
A dozen one star reviews have since appeared, in which the management of the bar are heavily criticised.
One reviewer claimed management treat “staff badly”.
Another alleged that a member of the management team was a “nasty piece of work” and expressed sympathy for workers.
Kattymcd claimed: “Saw the employees being treated terribly.The name describes the management perfectly. Never going back.”
ZoeN wrote: “Got free beer all day from the staff. Best day ever.”
Kahlum Grant from Aberdeen, had travelled into Edinburgh with his girlfriend to visit the Christmas market when they stopped at the pub around 7:30pm.
The 28-year-old said: “We were there for about two hours in which time I had five bottles of beer and got three of them for free.”
Girlfriend Megan Wilson, 23, from Dunfermline, said people drifting into the quiet pub had been taking advantage of the hospitality.
“The place was pretty much dead but the barman drew our attention to the blackboard with the message on it,” she said. “He was really angry.
“Apparently a girl who was working there had been fired earlier for eating a salad during a ten hour shift – she was accused of stealing it.
“When people came in they all thought what the sign said was pretty shocking.”
Miss Wilson said that the bartender insisted he wasn’t meant to be working that day but had been called in to cover for his former workmate who had been sacked.
“He literally did not care,” she added. “He was Australian and he was travelling, so he was just doing jobs here and there to pay for his flat and the next couple of months.
“He kept pouring exaggerated shots – the other guys that came in were loving it.”
Before the row blew up, Dirty Dick’s had enjoyed a clear majority of four- and five-star reviews on TripAdvisor.
Fans labelled it as “quaint”, a “great place” and “one of the best pubs in Scotland”.
Gordon Henderson from the Federation of Small Businesses, said comments made on a popular review site could be damaging for any business and warned against rushing to judgement without knowing the full facts.
He said: “There has clearly been a dispute between the business owners and their staff here. I think it’s a shame that it can’t be resolved in private.
“I don’t think we can comment further on this case without knowing the full facts.”
Online, the pub describes itself as “Edinburgh’s most favourite pub that offers quality food and drinks at affordable prices.”
A man who answered the phone at Dirty Dick’s and identified himself as the owner, said: “I just want this to go away. I don’t want to comment further.”
