This is what we have to deal with: Seniors chippy boss deals with unfair reviews & uneducated fish wife slurs

Alastair Horabin, owner of Seniors, which has 10 shops across the Red Rose county, said he felt he had no option but to defend his business and staff on social media this week, when his Cherry Tree branch in Blackpool was given one-star reviews - by a customer who got their order day wrong.

“Dreadful, uneducated, ignorant fish wife”

The customer - a former head teacher named Simon Parker - ordered via Just Eat on Wednesday for a pick-up on Thursday, but went to collect the same day. When he was told there was no order - as he was 24 hours early - he blasted the staff and then took his grievances to Google Reviews and Tripadvisor, calling the server a “dreadful, uneducated, ignorant fish wife”.

On Tripadvisor he wrote” Dreadful attitude. Order via Just Eat to be collected. Shop had not received our order despite showing proof of such an order. A very pertinacious (holding strongly to an opinion) woman behind the counter who was both rude and unprofessional. Never again. All we wanted was lunch! My tip: avoid.”

On Google Reviews, he also gave a one-star rating, writing: “Just appalling customer service. A problem with Just Eat where my order was paid for but the shop hadn’t received it. Even showed proof of payment. Dreadful uneducated ignorant fish wife serving behind the counter. Never again.”

Mr Horabin disputes this version of events and says Mr Parker was “vile” to his staff, who tried to offer him food three times, despite his error. He has shown screenshots of the Just East order showing the Thursday collection time, and wants to point out the issues facing the hospitality industry which is subjected to unmoderated reviews containing abuse and inaccurate information.

He said: “The two women who dealt with him, Tina and Paula, are brilliant. I would back them to serve the king. We don’t get things right every day, but we will fix it. All we ask is that you give us the opportunity to make it right. If we don’t then, you can fire at me. But deal in truth and fact and evidence.

“In this instance, it’s so unfair, because the customer got the order wrong. We tried three times to sort it out, and he was vile to my staff. To say we wouldn’t serve him is wrong - I’ll happily take his money.

“But Tripadvisor and Google, they’re not going to take the reviews down, and Cherry Tree might have a slow weekend now with people thinking there’s some truth in it.”

When the order error was pointed out to Mr Parker on social media, he changed the reviews overnight - but still left one-star ratings. On Tripdadvisor under the title of “Apalling customer service”, he said: “Whilst the error of ordering was my fault ie I ordered the food for the wrong day , the way the shop handled it was appalling . We did not know at the time that a mistake had been made but we were treated with a "couldn't care less” attitude by a rude woman behind the counter who wouldn't even let us order again and pay. Unbelievable. Tip: avoid. Very rude and unprofessional.”

On Google Reviews, he slammed Mr Horabin for taking the issue to social media, and claims he will be seeking legal advice over potential defamation.

The Post has reached out to Mr Parker for comment.