Cheese and whine: Customers complain on Twitter after festival 'runs out of food'
A cheese and wine festival in London turned into a disaster at the weekend when customers criticised organisers on social media.
The Giant Cheeseboard event in Greenwich reportedly ran out of cheese, much to the alarm of those who had paid £41.25 a ticket.
They said the organisers refused to offer refunds despite disgruntled customers complaining about cold wine and a distinct lack of ‘unlimited’ cheese.
.@MailOnline @TimeOutLondon really should check out the #giantcheeseboard organised by @studio338 and also look on FB event – this thing is a JOKE. I should’ve bought a block of cheddar from Tesco instead. nearly the whole event demanding a refund and being lied to.
— Mark Byrne (@markyb_88) December 16, 2017
The event was held at the weekend at Studio 338 in south-east London, but many festival-goers left early in anger.
It promised six hours of ‘unlimited cheese, mulled wine and fun’, but what it got was a Twitter storm as punters took to social media to criticise the event.
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Festival-goer James Young said: ‘The cheese was really poor. The mulled wine was cold and weak.’
Sounds like the #GiantCheeseboard festival blew up spectacularly. All that is left is de brie.
— David smith (@Davidsm92204981) December 17, 2017
Mark Byrne said: ‘This is an event which scammed people out of up to £40, lied, wont refund and now are deleting reviews.’
Jessica Walker demanded a full refund and said she was ‘surprised and disappointed to find no cheese at #GiantCheesebroard only 1.5 hours after opening’.
She accused the organisers of deleting her online review.
I was so excited about the #giantcheeseboard event. Such a shame it fell far below what was advertised. My friends and I probably managed to consume about £5 of wine and cheese, on a £35 ticket each. After opening an hour late. Refunds due for sure
— TwistedGlamour (@twistglam) December 16, 2017
Tickets for the events cost between £30 and £37.50, but some came with a £3.75 booking fee that took the price up to £41.25.
I was working at the #GiantCheeseboard event yesterday. Everything about it was diabolical! I really feel for those who had travelled to London to experience such a poorly executed event and for everyone who spent good money to attend. I ended up walking out during the evening.
— Daniel John Lynch (@DanielJohnLynch) December 17, 2017
Daniel John Lynch tweeted that he was working at the event and was so disgusted with how customers were treated that he ended up walking out on the festival.
Surprised and disappointed to find no cheese at the #GiantCheeseboard only 1.5 hours after opening. Oversold and underprepared. And you’ve deleted my Facebook review. I am looking for a full refund.
— Jessica Walker (@Jeeskababy) December 16, 2017
‘Everything about it was diabolical!’ he said.
‘I really feel for those who had travelled to London to experience such a poorly executed event and for everyone who spent good money to attend.’
But one Twitter user was less sympathetic, tweeting: ‘Frankly anybody who paid £35 for #Giantcheeseboard tickets has got exactly what is coming to them.’
The people struggle for the last scraps of Camembert. The suffering has gone on too long. pic.twitter.com/Qtyd7CBodE
— Tom Capon (@TomCapon) December 16, 2017
In a statement, the event organisers said claims they ran out of cheese were ‘completely untrue’.
It said: ‘We are truly passionate about cheese and have put months of planning and huge investment into this project – we are obviously very upset seeing any negative reactions at all… but to make the statement some of you are in messages and social media is just totally unfair and false!
‘If we had run out of cheese, or limited anything or just stuck some tables in a room then fair enough… but that is absolutely not the case and there are loads and loads of ways we can prove this to anyone who’s interested to know more.’
Another Giant Cheeseboard event is scheduled at the same venue this Saturday, December 23.