It’s got to be tough being a small town food business.

Every customer counts and if even one has a bad experience it can lead to a negative Facebook comment or TripAdvisor review and well, for small companies, that can be catastrophic. Cleverly, one tiny café in Stockport has taken an unique approach and turned their negative reviews into hilarious honest signage. Arlo Calderbank, manager of Nook, said that rather than letting the negative reviews get him down, he wanted to embrace them. Talking to The Metro he said: “The customers have been loving the signs. They’ve been telling us how funny they are.” “The idea was just to try and do something a bit different. But now it’s really taken off.” Calderbank told the Metro about how the experience of one woman’s bad review inspired the first hilarious sign. “The lady’s comment was quite disappointing because we try to provide the best service at all times. Seeing the comment pop up on TripAdvisor was a bit of a shame.” “I was working when the lady complained. I remember her face. She wasn’t particularly happy, she had a bit of a grumble and we gave her a refund.” “The next thing there was a nasty comment left on TripAdvisor.” Instead of feeling deflated, he took his chalk marker to the cafés A-sign and wrote: “Come in & try the worst porridge that one woman on TripAdvisor had in her life.” The sign was a huge hit with punters appreciating the humour and honesty. We applaud Calderbank for his positive approach to the situation. All that springs to our minds is the age old ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.’