Cafe Owner Tells Customer to Drop Dead!

PandaPoo · 12-10-2018 02:10AM

Someone posted this on facebook. It was his menu board today

Mebuntu · 12-10-2018 04:11AM

Well done, Tom. At long last someone with the guts to go on air and tell these always-feeling-entitled nothing-better-to-do women where to go. It was worth the long listen just to hear it.

Liveline is actually a good program much of the time highlighting matters that really do affect people but allowing this sort of nonsense "complaint" to be broadcast lets it down.

Peatys · 12-10-2018 04:58AM

Omackeral wrote: »

The very worst of society summed up there. Absolute scuzzbuckets. Sheep. The FB crowd are unreal. Any time there's a ''sighting'' of a white van (it's always a white van) attempting to abduct a child it's nearly always a poorly constructed post by a full-time mammy type with zero else happening. They're the lowest common denominator and the exact sort that would go after a business in the comments just because they've fcuk all else to do while they're waiting for their Candy Crush lives to reset.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-gbacsUKpc

mikemac2 · 12-10-2018 05:38AM

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Sounded like a set up to me. Know the cafe, nice food at a reasonable price. The owner is also known as Texas Tom due to owning a dept store in the town with the name Texas ( he had another in Athlone with same name, recession killed them) he was always good at self promotion.
Enjoyable listen even if it was an extended advertisement.

And yet when Duffy asked if he had a business failure he denied it and claimed he was a succusful businessman

meeeeh wrote: »

I manage to avoid Joe Duffy almost completely but oh played it to me this morning. It was complete drivel and I actually gave up before the interesting stuff. What donkey calls national radio to complain about 2 Euro price increase in a small town cafe?

It wasn’t about a €2 increase, she repeated that several times. It was about Vat increasing in January and poor mouth business owners jacking up prices now and calling it Vat

qo2cj1dsne8y4k · 12-10-2018 05:46AM

mikemac2 wrote: »

It wasn’t about a €2 increase, she repeated that several times. It was about Vat increasing in January and poor mouth business owners jacking up prices now and calling it Vat

It was about two euro though, she tried sully the name of a business for two euro. He doesn’t owe anyone and explanation when he raises his prices. I frequent the cafe regularly myself and even with the 2 euro increase the stir fry is still competitively priced in line with other businesses in the town

12-10-2018 07:23AM

Great to see a business owner fighting back.
I remember being out for a pint with the guy in the flat beside mine. He was a manager in Easons. It was 1991. He came out with a line that has always resonated with me.

“The general public are <snip>.”

RayCon · 12-10-2018 07:31AM

NewbridgeIR wrote: »

“The general public are <snip>.”

Thankfully it's been decades since I had a job dealing directly with the public but from my past experience I can confirm the above statement.

12-10-2018 07:34AM

NewbridgeIR wrote: »

Great to see a business owner fighting back.
I remember being out for a pint with the guy in the flat beside mine. He was a manager in Easons. It was 1991. He came out with a line that has always resonated with me.

“The general public are <snip>.”

"Hell is other people" -Sartre

whisky_galore · 12-10-2018 07:55AM

Whingebag radio. Which is why I avoid it like the plague.

Riskymove · 12-10-2018 08:27AM

Ailani Steep Swine wrote: »

He doesn’t owe anyone and explanation when he raises his prices.

I agree, but if that is the case why did he say it was due to the VAT rise?

facehugger99 · 12-10-2018 08:50AM

What a joke that money is taken from people and used to fund programs such as this on the national broadcaster.

Some awl biddy whinging about €2, facilitated by a windbag being paid hundreds of thousands out of the public purse.

Liveline does nothing more than encourage cranks and moanbags by providing them a platform to air their bladderings.

That we have to fund this bolloxology is the real scandal.

Gimme A Pound · 12-10-2018 08:53AM

Good on him. Sick of vindictive, self entitled pieces of **** pretending they're always right and businesses are always wrong. It's mostly the other way around.

ednwireland · 12-10-2018 08:55AM

i can understand why he might have put it up if he wasnt sure when the rises where coming in, if revenue audit you and you arent charging the correct vat then you still have to pay it.

although a better course of action for the owner would have been " sorry honest mistake , thought the rises were immediate , have afree coffee next time your in"

2smiggy · 12-10-2018 08:56AM

Omackeral wrote: »

The very worst of society summed up there. Absolute scuzzbuckets. Sheep. The FB crowd are unreal. Any time there's a ''sighting'' of a white van (it's always a white van) attempting to abduct a child it's nearly always a poorly constructed post by a full-time mammy type with zero else happening. They're the lowest common denominator and the exact sort that would go after a business in the comments just because they've fcuk all else to do while they're waiting for their Candy Crush lives to reset.

magnificent !!

meeeeh · 12-10-2018 09:00AM

mikemac2 wrote: »

It wasn’t about a €2 increase, she repeated that several times. It was about Vat increasing in January and poor mouth business owners jacking up prices now and calling it Vat

It was about her thinking how smart she was and how she found him out and she had to advertise that to the nation. If a normal person thought a business is ripping them off for 2 Euro they just wouldn't return.

Patrick2010 · 12-10-2018 09:03AM

So the generous consensus here is that Tom is a great man, businesses can charge whatever they like and if someone complains tell a blatant lie that its due to the VAT rise. Tell your customers to stick their complaints up their arse and drop dead and enquire if they're on drugs or leechers.
If we get poor customer service its because we put up with characters like Tom or the ones quoted above who believe the public are spastics.

Timberrrrrrrr · 12-10-2018 09:07AM

NewbridgeIR wrote: »

Great to see a business owner fighting back.
I remember being out for a pint with the guy in the flat beside mine. He was a manager in Easons. It was 1991. He came out with a line that has always resonated with me.

“The general public are spastics.”

I see your general public and raise you drunk general public!

Feisar · 12-10-2018 09:08AM

Patrick2010 wrote: »

So the generous consensus here is that Tom is a great man, businesses can charge whatever they like and if someone complains tell a blatant lie that its due to the VAT rise. Tell your customers to stick their complaints up their arse and drop dead and enquire if they're on drugs or leechers.
If we get poor customer service its because we put up with characters like Tom or the ones quoted above who believe the public are spastics.

See post above yer own, just vote with your feet. No need to go contacting the national broadcaster.

I do see similar drivel in the UK papers, Tesco charged some woman £20 for a loaf of bread. Simple labelling error, no need to go running to some rag having a slow news week.

iamwhoiam · 12-10-2018 09:08AM

This weekend I was overcharged by a hotel . I politely pointed out the charge and the owner politely investigated why the charge was made . He didn't shout or roar but looked into it and explained . He was wrong and I was right and he listened and understood my reasoning
I got my €15 back and it was done politely . I will be back to that hotel but will not be eating a fry in a restaurant where an owner speaks to customers like he did

meeeeh · 12-10-2018 09:12AM

Patrick2010 wrote: »

So the generous consensus here is that Tom is a great man, businesses can charge whatever they like and if someone complains tell a blatant lie that its due to the VAT rise. Tell your customers to stick their complaints up their arse and drop dead and enquire if they're on drugs or leechers.
If we get poor customer service its because we put up with characters like Tom or the ones quoted above who believe the public are spastics.

I don't know what he us like, I don't know what food is like there and I don't know if it's good value. What I do know is that there are other ways to show your dissatisfaction than going on Liveline and try to destroy business with whingfest about 2 Euro price increase. What does it matter why he raised prices, maybe his overheads are too high, maybe he wanted higher profits, maybe staff need to be paid more to be retained? However some windbag has no problem going on national radio trying to destroy business and get those who work there out of job because of her ego. It's completely disproportionate when normal thing to do would be not to eat there.

pebbles21 · 12-10-2018 09:23AM

I know Tom going back in the clothing industry years ago .. He's a very successful and wealthy man but very down to earth and loves a good laugh .. I can guarantee Tom got off the phone from Joe and was bent over belly laughing at this.. Good man Tom ..

facehugger99 · 12-10-2018 09:25AM

What is the missing step in the thought process that gets you from

'I think I've been over-charged by €2'

to

'I'm ringing Joe Duffy to complain'?

25 years go we'd laugh at the notion of this kind of behavior being tolerated never mind encouraged. Society has become infanatilised and people have been conditioned to view every minor inconvenience as some sort of travesty that needs the spotlight of national attention.

I blame the media for encouraging this bollox and social media for hot-housing these cranks in echo-chambers.

God help us if some real natural disaster befalls the country, we saw what a few inches of snow did to the place earlier in the year. I have no confidence in the current generation to manage their way through an actual crisis.

Fcuking snowflakes!

Your Face · 12-10-2018 09:34AM

Listened to this on the way into work.

It is gold.

doolox · 12-10-2018 09:38AM

Some people have jobs that they need very badly to survive and keep a roof over their heads. They might not be as educated as some of our luckier residents and have to take whatever job they can get.

Some other people in the general mass of public in our country can spot an easy target when they see one and get their kicks from over reacting and displaying faux outrage at perceived slights and mistakes directed against them.

I see this a lot of times at customer service desks in our shops and supermarkets with aggressive busybodies harrassing shop staff knowing full well that they will not be argued against or rebuffed as they would be with an unconnected member of the public.

You can bet your sweet life that a well positioned professional such as a bank manager, doctor, business owner etc would not be approached or treated in an aggressive or hectoring manner by these types of people. Also security men, barmen etc would not take nonsense from anyone and quite rightly so. It is always the junior floor staff and immediate front-line staff who have to take the aggression head on with little support or protection from management.

I have witnessed junior catering staff, usually from politer and more pleasant parts of the world being hectored and bullied by Irish customers in cafes, bars and restaurants in the so-called posher parts of our cities and the image it portrays of Ireland is not flattering. Most other European countries have a much higher standard of politeness and standard of treatment of front of house staff than in blighted little isle. Most Irish staff can bluff through it but the constant daily harassment and ill-treatment must eventually wear thin.

What jars with me is the way some people can switch persona in mid flight, being aggressive and bullying with junior staff and then all oily politeness and charm with more senior or socially upward and more powerful people. It should be possible to treat everyone the same way but this is too hard for some people.

xabi · 12-10-2018 09:39AM

After listening to that I will make a point of visiting Tom in his Cafe at some stage, well done Tom.

12-10-2018 09:46AM

jobeenfitz wrote:

Ya, heard it. The customer questioned owner about â‚¬2rise in meal. He (the owner) told her it was because of VAT rise, according to customer.

jobeenfitz wrote:

Now I don't know who's telling the truth but I have an opinion after hearing the discussion. The owner sounded like an ignorant, mean chancer. The lady's point was "the VAT rate rises on Jan 1st.

I heard it myself. I don't know for definite who is telling the truth but I suspect the woman is the truthful one. Why would she make it up for starters?

Shop owner denied the wording she used as he remembered exactly what was said. So challenged him, what words Did you you use. Then he couldn't remember the exact words. A minute later he admits he doesn't remember talking to her at all.

At this stage I don't care who is telling the truth. He is ignorant git. If it were the only cafÃ© in my area I still wouldn't go.

QuintusFabius · 12-10-2018 09:47AM

anewme wrote: »

The Facebook whingey brigade are putting negative reviews on his page despite not having eaten there.

Underneath their whinging he just replies each time....drop dead.

He's really ripping the p out if them.

I though the customer came across poorly. She was passive aggressive going on liveline in the first place trying to point score and he'd just had enough.

This would make me go out of my way to eat there and give top reviews ...
whats the name of the place, ill give it a top review on FB..

amcalester · 12-10-2018 09:48AM

doolox wrote: »

Some people have jobs that they need very badly to survive and keep a roof over their heads. They might not be as educated as some of our luckier residents and have to take whatever job they can get.

Some other people in the general mass of public in our country can spot an easy target when they see one and get their kicks from over reacting and displaying faux outrage at perceived slights and mistakes directed against them.

I see this a lot of times at customer service desks in our shops and supermarkets with aggressive busybodies harrassing shop staff knowing full well that they will not be argued against or rebuffed as they would be with an unconnected member of the public.

You can bet your sweet life that a well positioned professional such as a bank manager, doctor, business owner etc would not be approached or treated in an aggressive or hectoring manner by these types of people. Also security men, barmen etc would not take nonsense from anyone and quite rightly so. It is always the junior floor staff and immediate front-line staff who have to take the aggression head on with little support or protection from management.

I have witnessed junior catering staff, usually from politer and more pleasant parts of the world being hectored and bullied by Irish customers in cafes, bars and restaurants in the so-called posher parts of our cities and the image it portrays of Ireland is not flattering. Most other European countries have a much higher standard of politeness and standard of treatment of front of house staff than in blighted little isle. Most Irish staff can bluff through it but the constant daily harassment and ill-treatment must eventually wear thin.

What jars with me is the way some people can switch persona in mid flight, being aggressive and bullying with junior staff and then all oily politeness and charm with more senior or socially upward and more powerful people. It should be possible to treat everyone the same way but this is too hard for some people.

I worked in a management role for a UK retail bank and was forever being called over to deal with angry customers, usually I'd listen to what they had to say and then ask my colleague, who had already tried dealing with them,
how they thought we could fix the issue, and then agree with my colleague.

Customers were always happy with this because a manager was there even though the outcome was the same and suggested by a mere "junior" employee. People are weird.

Mebuntu · 12-10-2018 09:50AM

xabi wrote: »

After listening to that I will make a point of visiting Tom in his Cafe at some stage, well done Tom.

Me too! and I'll make a point of having a double Drop Dead Stirfry.

Homer · 12-10-2018 09:54AM

Sleeper12 wrote: »

I heard it myself. I don't know for definite who is telling the truth but I suspect the woman is the truthful one. Why would she make it up for starters?

Shop owner denied the wording she used as he remembered exactly what was said. So challenged him, what words Did you you use. Then he couldn't remember the exact words. A minute later he admits he doesn't remember talking to her at all.

At this stage I don't care who is telling the truth. He is ignorant git. If it were the only café in my area I still wouldn't go.

And thats the great thing about this little democratic country of ours. He is entitled to say what he likes and not give a sh1t what the likes of you think! I doubt he will be closing his doors anytime soon because some internet strangers are claiming faux outrage, and are adamant they will never set foot in his business (in a town hundreds of miles from where they live :rolleyes:)

Cafe Owner Tells Customer to Drop Dead!

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