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A Co Louth hotel owner who turned away diners with an eircode at the Dublin shutdown last week says he was surprised to be scheduled for trying to comply with government regulations against the spread of Covid-19.
Terry McKevitt of McKevitts Village Hotel in Carlingford has described the review on Trip Advisor calling the hotel a “den of ignorance” as “unfair.”
The review advising customers to ‘avoid this place’ reads: ‘My parents came in here for lunch and a young staff member quickly approached them and demanded their electronic code.
“As our eircode begins with a D, she quickly interrupted, declaring that they will not be serving anyone from Dublin.
“Understandably, it was very humiliating for my parents that they were denied service in front of all these people.
“This den of ignorance is not to be frequented by upright-minded individuals.
“My parents changed their habit where the staff were courteous and happy to receive customers. I will make sure that when the current crisis is over, not a single individual I know will be darkening the door of this establishment while I am standing.”
Terry McKevitt says the review has since been removed.
Precautions
Owner Terry McKevitt in response said: “We accept all feedback, whether positive or negative. However, we feel this type of review is very unfair.
“Since our reopening on June 29, we have taken every precaution to ensure the safety of our customers and staff.
“We have completed all the criteria of the Covid-19 safety letter. As a result, we have passed the inspection of Fáilte Ireland and are proud to be registered as a Covid-19 compliant facility.
“Part of these changes has been to comply with all government guidelines in relation to Covid-19.
We do not apologize for protecting our customers both old and new in these difficult times.
“We made the decision as a company not to accept guests from any county affected by government restrictions as a measure of protection for all.
“We do not apologize for protecting our customers both old and new in these difficult times and we certainly do not apologize for doing everything possible to ensure the safety of our personal worker.
“We encourage all potential clients to listen to government guidelines and recommendations and will continue to provide a safe environment for all authorized clients.”
McKevitt, who is the last of five generations to run the family business, added that the incident occurred last Wednesday and was informed of the review Sunday.
“We are open to criticism, but this was unfair and a real slap in the face in our own efforts to try to protect staff and customers and to try to curb the spread of Covid-19.”
“Government restrictions brought Dublin to Tier Three status, advising residents to stay in that county unless essential.
“I cannot believe that we have been programmed to try to do the right thing and comply with these restrictions.
“We always ask customers for their addresses for contact tracing purposes and that’s why the electronic code for Dublin came to light.
“As we are so close to the border, we are also closely watching the restrictions in Northern Ireland and will comply with them in terms of Northern customers as well.”
“We have 26 employees and since the reopening, we have strived to keep them all in jobs and keep them safe and we will continue to do so,” he concluded.
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