Chef who called customer 'pathetic' over cancellation fee sent 'death threats'

26 February 2024 , 12:13

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Jen Royle has hit out at a customer over a cancellation fee and subsequent viral spat (Image: MediaNews Group via Getty Images)

A massive cancellation fee from a restaurant has resulted in a huge viral spat between the owner and the person who was unable to attend the venue.

The row has been rumbling along since December when Trevor Chauvin-DeCaro, from New York, made a reservation at TABLE for January 6, when he was planning to take a trip up to Boston to see Madonna at TD Garden. But Mr Chauvin-DeCaro said that after his AmTrak train was significantly delayed, he found himself in the hospital.

The cancellation meant Mr Chauvin-DeCaro and his husband were forced to call round hotels and businesses, including TABLE, to let them know they wouldn't be coming. According to Mail Online, Mr Chauvin-DeCaro told the restaurant: "The delay was a blessing in disguise. Thank God we were still home." He then went to the ER, after which the whole trip was cancelled.

EXCLUSIVE:

The owner was fuming over the cancellation fee being disputed (trevorshowvan/Twitter)

Trevor Chauvin-DeCaro hit back at the restaurant owner for searching for him (trevorshowvan/Twitter)

And that's when restauranteur Jen Royle, who owns the North End eatery found his account weeks after the cancellation and sent him a message. She branded the New York man "pathetic" for disputing the hefty cancellation fee of incurred when he cancelled a reservation due to being hospitalised.

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Because the cancellation occurred inside the 48-hour window the establishment has laid out as being acceptable, the staff told the pair they would have to pay the £197 ($250) fee – £98 ($125) per person. He contacted Chase, his credit card company, to activate the card's travel protection insurance, which includes coverage for cancellation due to hospitalisation and "never thought of it again," he said – until Ms Royle sent him a direct message on Instagram.

She said: "Hi Trevor. I own TABLE restaurant in Boston. I just wanted to personally thank you for screwing over my restaurant and my staff when you disputed your cancellation fee. I really hope in the future you have more respect for restaurants, especially small businesses such as mine. Pathetic."

But Mr Chauvin-DeCaro labelled her message "wildly unprofessional". He said that there was no reason for her to ever do that to a customer and added that it was "unhinged". After the original exchange, the pair went back and forth with their messages being shared online by the customer and have since amassed some 23 million views on X (formerly Twitter).

Chauvin-DeCaro posted at length about his disgust and the reasons why he cancelled (trevorshowvan/Twitter)

Chauvin-DeCaro said that he would share his experience of Royle with his 'network' (trevorshowvan/Twitter)

But Ms Royle was not finished there, as she posted on her own Instagram as well as the restaurant's, addressing the fight. She said: "BOO HOO. Then call and cancel and explain! DISPUTING A CANCELLATION FEE IS WRONG!!! I spoke to about a dozen business owners today who shared their frustrations in people walking all over them and disputing their credit card charges. THIS HAS TO STOP! The lack of respect and entitlement is gross."

Adding in a post on the business's Instagram "We privately messaged you and you chose to take this public. The amount of slander that the business is receiving is absolutely horrific. You will be hearing from our lawyers."

The restaurant's social media accounts have been quiet since the dispute went viral, and the chef is now claiming she is receiving death threats. The restaurant's legal team is threatening action against him with Royle's attorney, Michael Ford, saying his client "doesn't want to be hurt anymore" by the "false statements, the defamatory statements, the death threats, the abusive comments" she's allegedly been on the receiving end of.

"She's been facing attacks on the internet, and now she is getting bombarded with death threats," he said. He added he believes Mr Chauvin-DeCaro's hospitalisation story is "bogus".

Paul Donald