Hipster calls 999 after London cafe served him lemongrass and ginger tea instead of lemon and ginger
Cafe owner Sevjan Melissa said the incident was 'the single most ridiculous thing I've ever dealt with'
A FURIOUS hipster called police after being served a lemon and ginger tea instead of the lemongrass and ginger brew he ordered.
Cafe owner Sevjan Melissa said she asked Roberto Lattarulo to leave the London cafe when he allegedly 'intimidated' staff after being served the wrong drink.
She claims she apologised for the mix-up and offered a full refund of £2 and a cake as a gesture of goodwill - but claims he ignored her and start writing a negative TripAdvisor review.
Roberto admits he then rang 999 to complain that he was being unfairly evicted from the premises only to be told it was a civil matter.
However the incident reared its head again when Roberto left a blistering TripAdvisor review criticising the cafe's "shocking customer service".
Sevjan, who runs Birdie Num Nums in New Cross, south-east London, said: "I worked in this industry for more than 10 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 and, 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 him 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.
"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.
related stories
"That's when he rang the police and said I couldn't make him leave. He was looking at a sign to tell them the address and everything.
"But I will always stand up for my staff. I am within my rights to ask anyone to leave who is behaving like that.
"I'm here nearly every minute of my life and I have never seen anything so totally ridiculous.
"He was a grown man of about 35 here with his girlfriend and arguing over a 9p teabag. I think the only way I could have pleased him was by going back in a time machine and making sure it never happened."
Sevjan, who started running the cafe with her sister three years ago, was stunned when a police van pulled up outside the venue 15 minutes later - but their arrival wasn't connected to Roberto's call.
The officers were customers of hers, and she claims they laughed-off the earlier episode when Sevjan filled them in.
Sevjan, 30, said: "When the guy rang the police they were clearly having none of it. So when this van pulled up just after I was like: 'Woah'. I didn't think they would actually take him seriously.
";As it turned out, they were here for totally unrelated reasons. I told them about what had gone on and they were in stitches.
"The whole thing was just hilarious and to be honest I didn't think much more of it. Then I checked our TripAdvisor page and his review was there.
"I went into quite a bit of detail in the reply and hopefully I've got my point across now. There's really no pleasing some people."
Roberto, 33, said: "We only popped in there for something light before we went for lunch nearby.
"I can understand that getting the wrong teabag was just human error. But the waitress insisted to me that I had been served the correct thing.
"She took me behind the service counter and then realised the teabags didn't match the label on the jar, so I was right.
"The manager offered me other things but I said I didn't want them. I am perfectly entitled to do that.
"I sat down and went to look on their TripAdvisor page and I was shocked when they looked over my shoulder and asked me not to.
"They have no right to look at my phone and dictate what I look at. By this point they were asking me to leave and I said no because me and my girlfriend were still finishing our drinks.
"I said: 'Why should I leave?' and said if they felt really strongly they should call the police. Then they became more and more insistent, so I rang the police.
"They said it was a civil matter and they couldn't respond so we left. I eventually finished the review a few days later and couldn't believe their response.
"It was totally unprofessional and I will never be back again. I'm a senior TripAdvisor contributor and I am true to my word."
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said they had no log of the complaint.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368.