Lewisham café customer calls police 'after he was served the wrong type of tea' and asked to leave

[editor]

Meet Mr Self Important Douchebag:

Police were called to a London café after a bizarre row broke out over a customer's cup of tea.

Sevjan Melissa, 30, who owns Birdie Num Nums in Lewisham Way, New Cross, said staff gave the customer a lemon and ginger tea instead of the lemongrass and ginger tea that he ordered.

She claims that when the man complained staff apologised and offered him a full refund but he was unsatisfied and started writing a TripAdvisor review while still in the café.

Ms Melissa claims that when she asked him to leave, the man then called the police.

However, the customer, Roberto Lattarulo, a 33-year-old recruitment manager for a healthcare regulator, has defended his actions, and claims he was not given a proper reason for being asked to leave.

Unhappy customer: Roberto Lattarulo was served the wrong teabag (Roberto Lattarulo)
Mr Lattarulo, who lives in Lewisham and was visiting the café with his girlfriend, told the Standard: "I wanted a lemongrass and ginger tea, it's not something you find commonly in cafés, so I was quite surprised, but instead I got a lemon and ginger teabag.

"If you haven't got something, you tell the customer you haven't got what they ordered and then offer them an alternative, but they just brought the wrong thing."

Mr Lattarulo claims he was shown a box labelled "lemongrass and ginger tea" - but it contained lemon and ginger teabags.

He said he was then told that the café was waiting for delivery of lemongrass tea, so had substituted in the meantime.

He told the Standard: "I'm a senior contributor (on TripAdvisor), I review restaurants and experiences as much as I can, and because I felt a bit puzzled by the incident, a bit silly, when clearly it was something that was her fault, I started writing a review.

"Obviously she got really p****d off, she said with a hand gesture 'I want you out of this cafe'."

Mr Lattarulo said the couple were not asked to pay for their drinks, but were told to leave immediately.

He told the Standard he felt he had not been given a proper reason for being asked to leave, and called the police to intervene.

Café customer calls police after he was served the wrong type of tea

 

[editor]

Here's the Trip Advisor page Birdie Num Nums, London - Restaurant Reviews, Phone Number & Photos - TripAdvisor

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Did the OB send the Tea S G?

 

[two sheds]

Birdie Num Nums

 

[J Ed]

However, the customer, Roberto Lattarulo, a 33-year-old recruitment manager for a healthcare regulator

FUCK OFF

 

[neonwilderness]

I'm a senior contributor (on TripAdvisor)

 

[dessiato]

Much ado about nothing. The man seems to be an idiot needing to get a life and to realise he is not as important as hd thinks he is.

 

[alex_]

Meet Mr Self Important Douchebag:


Café customer calls police after he was served the wrong type of tea

I suspect he is suffering a lot more than the cafe owner after this (good).

Look at all the five star reviews she's got in the last 24-48 hours.

This was his LinkedIn



This is now his LinkedIn



I think one potential lesson from this is, if you have a very identifiable name - don't be a dick in public.

Alex

 

[A380]

Somethimes there's not ENOUGH police brutality.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Christ, these people really exist don't they? They're not just something from Nathen Barley.

 

[Geri]

He's a twat, but I couldn't bring myself to go to a place called Birdie Num Nums. I would want to burn it to the ground for being so twee.

 

[Chilli.s]

Wasted police time with his little squabble.

 

[Yossarian]

"I'm a senior contributor on TripAdvisor" could be a new contender in the search for a Universal Caption.

 

[Mrs Miggins]

A "senior" contributor?
What?
Do you get a badge or something?

Anyway - my recent travels have confirmed that the overwhelming majority of contributors to Tripadvisor, senior or otherwise, have never eaten a decent meal and are appalled by the presence of bugs in hot countries. They are insane and cannot be trusted. This guy proves it. The sad little prick.

 

[bimble]

Anyway - my recent travels have confirmed that the overwhelming majority of contributors to Tripadvisor, senior or otherwise, have never eaten a decent meal and are appalled by the presence of bugs in hot countries. They are insane and cannot be trusted. This guy proves it. The sad little prick.

Absolutely. I'm going to Mumbai next week, just read a bunch of reviews for a hotel which is in a really old colonial building, tripadvisor is full of people complaining that it's, you know, a bit old.

 

[A380]

" nobody warned us there would be fish in the sea; the children were startled."

 

[Eggby]

storm in a (lemon and ginger) teacup

 

[Mrs Miggins]

Absolutely. I'm going to Mumbai next week, just read a bunch of reviews for a hotel which is in a really old colonial building, tripadvisor is full of people complaining that it's, you know, a bit old.



My top tip....never trust reviews that say "the best pizza/burger i have ever eaten!!!!!" Cos i can guarantee it wont be the best you've ever eaten

 

[spliff]

I like the owners response on tripadvisor

Sevjan M, Owner at Birdie Num Nums, responded to this review, 5 days ago

Hi Roberto,

Thanks for giving us all a good laugh buddy.

You have left out a couple of key points. Such as the fact that we agreed we were totally at fault, you were wrongly given the tea bag and should have been informed prior to purchasing that we had made a last minute substitute. We apologised repeatedly and offered you a refund or exchange. Neither of which were satisfactory to you. My staff were polite and understanding of the distress receiving a lemon & ginger teabag instead of a lemongrass and ginger teabag caused you and it would have been nice if you were a little more understanding to what was clearly human error.

Unfortunately, after I asked you to leave because you thought you could raise your voice and intimidate my staff. You thought I should let you use MY internet that I work 90 hours a week to pay for to let you post scathing reviews about my small independent business that I have poured my heart and soul into.

You then took it one step further and decided it best to phone the police and report me for asking you to leave the premises?! (NO, seriously people this actually happened!)

Obviously the police thought it as ludicrous as I did that a grown man would phone them to report being given a teabag with an incorrect ingredient in and then offered an apologetic refund, so opted not to waste their time coming out and stick the real emergencies.

Ironically however, the police actually popped in a little while later, as they often do for their afternoon coffees. I explained the whole situation to them (still in disbelief) and we all had a good laugh. They even let me pose with said teabag in front of their van as they thought the whole thing was hilarious!

So, many thanks for your feedback Roberto. You were, without a exception the rudest and most exasperating customer I have dealt with in my ten years in the catering industry.

Please do not come back to my café. Your girlfriend however, is more than welcome, anytime. Poor lass looked mortified throughout the entire exchange.

All the best,

Sevjan

 

[two sheds]



My top tip....never trust reviews that say "the best pizza/burger i have ever eaten!!!!!" Cos i can guarantee it wont be the best you've ever eaten

Yep cos the bastards who wrote that review had the best one

 

[isvicthere?]

"I'm a senior contributor on trip advisor," is right up there with, "Do you know who I am?" as a badge of pure twatdom.

 

[Smangus]

I like the owners response on tripadvisor

Yeah, that's a brilliant riposte. Love it, especially the girlfriend comment!

 

[Treacle Toes]

Lewisham Lemongrass Altercation Sparks Three Nights of Rioting

 

[phillm]

To be fair he is probably an OCD sufferer and can't control his arseholish behaviour.

 

[Treacle Toes]

To be fair he is probably an OCD sufferer and can't control his arseholish behaviour.

On what grounds are you making that massive assumption?

Some folk are simply arseholes or behave like one sometimes.

 

[Sea Star]

He's a twat, but I couldn't bring myself to go to a place called Birdie Num Nums. I would want to burn it to the ground for being so twee.

i cringe inwardly everytime i go past it

 

[Sea Star]



My top tip....never trust reviews that say "the best pizza/burger i have ever eaten!!!!!" Cos i can guarantee it wont be the best you've ever eaten

i usually only use it to warn other would be guests about B&Bs that serve substandard (cheap) sausages with their breakfasts.

 

[Maggot]

To be fair he is probably an OCD sufferer and can't control his arseholish behaviour.

OCD = One Cuppa Drama

 

[phillm]

On what grounds are you making that massive assumption?

Some folk are simply arseholes or behave like one sometimes.

Yes tis a massive assumption but with such socially dysfunctional behaviour like that I can only think he has some sort of affliction. Surely no 'sane' person would call the police over such a trifling issue. I've met many arseholes in my life but none as extreme in such a setting as him.

"Perfectionism - you are bothered, in a way that other people are not, if things are not in the exactly the right order, not balanced or not in the right place. For example, if books are not lined up precisely on a bookshelf."

http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/healthadvice/problemsdisorders/obsessivecompulsivedisorder.aspx

 

[Sea Star]

sorry, application of Occam's Razor says entitled tit. Nothing more can be gleaned.