Bengaluru bakery faces flak for slamming negative review online; 'claims of rudeness are manipulative,' it replies

One of the bakeries in Bengaluru, Basque Bakery, recently drew flak for allegedly being rude to customers and replying aggressively to negative reviews about its food and overall in-store experience. However, soon after the backlash gained momentum, the eatery shared a clarification post. In it, the brand admitted that it had been “bold” in responding to a customer who described the place as "overhyped" and expensive.

Bakery drops Instagram post to clarify

"We understand that our response was bold. However, we are equally aware of the demeaning remarks being made, such as "overpriced" and "tasteless." This is our moment to share our side of the story."

"We would like to break down the reality of our Brand's situation. A significant number of people visit our store solely to take photographs without making a purchase, disrespect our staff, and then make manipulative claims of rudeness when they are not entertained. We have also observed a recurring pattern of the same individuals returning repeatedly, despite their persistent negativity toward us. We have come to realise that authentic talent, especially at a brand level, is deeply underappreciated and undervalued in our country due to the normalisation of scam culture. As a result, businesses built with genuine intent often struggle to thrive, simply because sincerity is perceived as "too good to be true" and, ironically, mistaken for a scam itself."

What really happened?

A user named Nandy (nanddyyy.19) took to social media to share her feedback about her experience at the bakery and expressed disappointment over the pricing. "Worst experience had to pay Rs 2000 for a table? So overhyped," she wrote.

The brand responded with a comment that soon triggered widespread backlash: "The above experience is 16k, bet you can't afford that either...Well we can't expect a poor person to understand how an exclusive experience is all about catering the niche and not a crowd."

The reply did not go well with many users online. While the customer was directly hit back at by the brand, several netizens came out in her support and criticised the bakery for being rude.

The comment quickly went viral, drawing intense criticism across social media, with many slamming the bakery’s tone and questioning its approach to handling negative feedback. It resulted in the bakery releasing a statement regarding the issue later.