And finally… storm in a teacup

An alarmed customer at a café took extreme action after being served the wrong type of tea by calling 999.

Roberto Lattarulo, 33, was given a lemon and ginger teabag rather than the requested lemongrass and ginger one.

But despite the offer of a full refund and free cake from Sevjan Melissa, 30, owner of Birdie Num Nums café, Mr Lattarulo ignored her and began writing up a negative review for TripAdvisor while still in the shop in New Cross, London.

After being asked to leave, he called 999 to complain about his unfair eviction from the premises.

Mrs Melissa said: “I’ve worked in this industry for more than ten years and this is the single most ridiculous thing I’ve ever dealt with.

“We sell lemongrass and ginger tea but unfortunately we ran out. In a rush, we bought in teabags that were actually lemon and ginger. The guy had ordered lemongrass and the server forgot to inform him that he was getting a different teabag. That was a mistake so we said sorry for that. I offered a refund, a different tea, a cake, a smoothie, everything. But all he was interested in was writing a negative TripAdvisor review while I was stood talking to him.”

She added: “I have received other negative reviews in the past, it’s not an issue, I try to use them constructively. But this was frustrating as I was actively trying to solve the problem while the customer was right there. The girl who served him is quite timid and she was quite intimidated by the way he was acting so I asked him to leave. I will always stand up for my staff. He was a grown man there with his girlfriend, and arguing over a 9p teabag.”

Police later turned up at the coffee shop, but not to deal with Mr Lattarulo’s call. They had simply come for a cup of tea.

When Mrs Melissa told them the tale they are said to have burst out laughing.

Share icon
Share this article: