The blog narrating Hawaiian experience at lemp Brewpub & Kitchen went viral and attracted a lot of criticism. Karan Bhardwaj spoke to Delhiites on more such incidents
Prominent foodies in Delhi are taken aback over the recent incident reported online. A group of youngsters claimed to have been cheated and then bullied by the management of Gurgaon’s lemp Brewpub & Kitchen. In a blogpost ‘How a lunch at lemp Brewpub Gurgaon turned out to be the most horrid experience ever’, the group revealed how a recent trip to the restaurant turned into a nightmare. The group, after following a website’s information online, had gone to the outlet for Hawaiian experience. The description displayed the price as Rs999 per person all inclusive of taxes. But contrary to the information, there was no such food at the restaurant since the chef had fallen sick. later, the youth claimed they were overcharged and humiliated for raising their voice. The owners of the place were hand in gloves with the police authorities which only added to their woes. “This is pathetic, horrible. Once it came to our notice, we immediately shared the blog’s link with our 8000 members. I was really agitated to what happened to this group of young people. I had visited the same place a year ago and found the owner a little errant,” said Pawan Soni of Indian Food Freak. He also stated that most of the restaurants and pubs at Gurgaon are placed at deserted locations and it is extremely horrifying to get caught in such circumstances there. “In Gurgaon, most of the malls are poorly placed. The town is a mix of modern people and villagers. It’s actually a confused place. Such incidents are common at many such malls and pubs,” he said.
Sid Khullar of Chef at large said, “Establishments always try to play down the issue to save their credibility while consumers always scale it up to enhance their claims. There are many such incidents that are being reported nowadays. I had also gone somewhere where they informed that they had discontinued the particular service which I had gone for. But I didn’t create a scene. The point is that once you have ordered the food, you cannot go out of place without paying the bill. The eatery would charge you for that at any cost and it can lead to a mess.”
“In hospitality, you can never shout at customer. Customers may not be right always but you have to maintain the rapport. Unfortunately, people are having bad experiences at many outlets,” said Soni. Deeba Rajpal, who writes blog Passionate About Baking said she had the similar experience at the ladu Sarai’s Rose Café. “I was made to pay Rs11000 against the bill. I had gone there with a group. We had to submit our cards and available cash. It was humiliating. later, the owner apologised to us but it was of no use,” she shared.
lemp’s side of the story
The management of the Gurgaon restaurant finally gave their statement
So far the silence or ‘no response’ from lemp Brewpub & Kitchen was construed differently. But the management said that “social media has been used to tarnish reputation which we have built steadfastly.” The management shared a few important points like the staff informing the guests in the beginning that Hawaiian lunch was not available because of some reasons. “Staff also informed them of all the other options that were available. They then placed their orders and started having beer and starters served to them.
They kept visiting the terrace to have a smoke and therefore over the period of time the food turned cold. They started complaining about the food after consuming more than half of the servings. The staff also went out of its way to serve them something that was not even a part of the Sunday Brunch buffet, within the existing package. They ordered more cocktails and starters and after consumption they expressed their desire of leaving stating their dissatisfaction. Our staff tried to convince them and suggested other dishes and drinks to satisfy them but they just did not agree.
They started walking out refusing to pay anything.The amount due was Rs10,393. However they said all they would pay was Rs1500. The statement mentioned that there was no bouncer present, which can also be seen in the CCTV recording.