Yiasou George’s Oliver Brown praised for handling savage google review with classy act

A disgruntled customer of a top Adelaide restaurant left a savage review wishing cancer on the owner – but it’s backfired with the restaurateur praised for the unusual way he handled the situation.

The Big Easy Group managing director Oliver Brown. Picture: Keryn Stevens

An East End restaurateur is being praised for how he handled a disgruntled customer, who said his “waiter was allergic to fun” and he “wished the owner gets cancer”.

Oliver Brown, managing director at The Big Easy Group, took the high road after the savage post by a Google reviewer of his restaurant Yiasou George on New Year’s Eve.

The reviewer complained the restaurant had been advertised as a “party disco vibe” but their table was “too loud” and “if zero stars were available, I would give it”.

“Happy new year, and I hope that the owner gets cancer,” he wrote.

In a social media post, Mr Brown said while they loved seeing their customers having fun, “my staff inform me you already had a bit too much fun before you arrived, and they politely asked you to respect the other people dining in the restaurant”.

“What isn’t very fun is cancer. And it’s not very funny to wish it upon restaurant staff who are doing their jobs,” Mr Brown wrote.

He said they were starting 2023 with “good vibes and love and support for anyone facing cancer” by donating $499.95 – the full amount of the man’s table – to the Cancer Council.

Yiasou George donated the full amount of the man’s bill to the Cancer Council.

“At Yiasou George and the Big Easy Group, we treat everyone with respect and won’t tolerate this type of behaviour,” he wrote. “So we’ve invited (the reviewer) to never dine with us again. Here’s to a damn good 2023 full of good vibes only.”

Mr Brown told The Advertiser the staff member involved had handled the situation “amazingly” and all diners were emailed a post dining survey for direct feedback.

“I don’t believe they’ve written anything to us directly and, as much as some feedback is bittersweet, we take it on and use it to improve,” he said.

The post has received praise on LinkedIn by East End developer Steve Maras: “You’re a champion Ollie. Who would ever dare to write a review and wish cancer on anyone??”

Kylie Munchenberg said: “Well done for showing everyone - your staff and customers that poor behaviour won’t be tolerated within or towards your business.

“And congratulations on raising the bar both in hospitality and as a human being … this post makes me want to dine with your crew even more than I already do!”

Mr Brown said if anything came from this, he wanted to “shine a light on the seriousness of cancer and the heartache it brings to families”.

Yiasou George has requested the Google review be removed and in an response was told “we have not found a violation of our policies. Due to this, the review will remain visible”.

The reviewer has been contacted for comment.