The owner of the restaurant accused the blogger of asking for free food to change the post

Elle Groves and close friend Annie Knight are food bloggers on Instagram, both with more than 5,000 followers on their personal pages. Groves and Knight jointly run a food review blogger site that has more than 2,600 followers.

Insider Recently, two female Influencers were criticized by a restaurant owner in Melbourne, Australia for making a request to eat for free in exchange for advertising posts for the restaurant on her personal blog.

“My friend and I have a food page, we think your restaurant is very good. We really want to try it and will post some stories on our personal page, as well as write articles on the common page. . Is the restaurant willing to cooperate?” Elle Groves texted the restaurant in February.

Elle Groves and close friend Annie Knight currently run a food review site on Instagram. Photo: @twoteaspooons.

The restaurant proposed by the two girls to cooperate is Little Andorra Turkish restaurant. The owner, Luke Bresnan, replied: “Sorry for the delay. But it’s difficult for us to accommodate this request.”

“Going to a place you don’t know anything about to get free stuff is pretty bad. It’s even worse when the Covid-19 epidemic is still having a serious impact on businesses like us,” Bresnan said. write more.

Message from a female blogger to cooperate with a restaurant owner. Photo: John Lethlean.

The owner said that like many other restaurant owners in Australia, he struggled for two years, working part-time jobs on days off to pay his staff. Therefore, the request of two female bloggers to eat for free is “nonsense” in the context of the still-lockdown.

Bresnan also advises that influencers should consider the business context to make recommendations, and see if they already have enough followers for their “collaboration” to actually bring the communication effect, instead of just concern themselves with their own interests.

“Eat, drink, pay and tip instead of begging, you’ll be on the right track,” the owner wrote.

In his post, Bresnan also attached #couscousforcommentthe hashtag that Australian netizens often use to mock Influencers who ask for free food in exchange for posts.

After being criticized by restaurant owners and netizens for suggesting a partnership, Elle Groves and Annie Knight added the captions “Best meal we’ve ever paid for” or “Yes” to their food reviews. , we paid for this.”

Groves gave an interview to Insider that the restaurant owner’s response to his request was a “malicious confrontation”.

Two female bloggers were bullied and threatened by netizens by text messages after the scandal. Photo: @ellegroves.

“Restaurant owners have a right to express their views on the pandemic, and we appreciate that. What’s frustrating is that he’s caused us to be bullied, belittled and harassed. We never have. wanted to hurt anyone’s feelings,” Groves said.

The female blogger said that she and her friend both received threats from netizens. “Sadly, people behind keyboards often forget that they’re texting someone with emotions.”

Groves explained that she often reaches out to companies that match her goals, and if they want to invest in this type of Instagram marketing, she is always open to work.

“We never asked for a free meal, my offer is always open to them to choose whether it is free or not. 99% of the dishes that Knight and I have recommended are fully paid,” she affirmed. determined.

According to Zing