A review in which a customer described seeing a manager biting a waitress and slapping her on the bottom has been removed by TripAdvisor for contravening its guidelines.

Christina Fowler of Bedford left the review on TripAdvisor on 8 March, also International Women’s Day, after eating at The Bell at Westoning in Bedfordshire. In her original review, she wrote:

Today, on International Women’s Day, I saw the pub owner bite a young waitress on the shoulder, which she tried to shrug off but then appeared to complain to her fellow waitress. Five minutes later he slaps her on the bum and made kissy noises when she jumped. A huge reminder that we still need feminism, even in 2015.



Shortly after it was posted, Fowler received a rebuttal from the pub’s manageress, which led to her posting the exchange on Twitter.



“I posted it on Twitter and it spread like wildfire from there,” said Fowler.

The review gained even more traction on social media after it was featured on tech website ShinyShiny. Then, after more than 100 recommendations, it was taken down on Tuesday night, with Fowler receiving an apparently automated email saying the review was removed because it was not “relevant to trip planning and research”.

The email Christina Fowler was sent by TripAdvisor. Photograph: ShinyShiny.tv/Christina Fowler

Fowler said: “I was quite surprised – I don’t really understand what was wrong with it. I was allowed to repost it in the end removing the words ‘misogynist’ and ‘feminist’, but I don’t see that either of those words are particularly shocking.”



TripAdvisor spokesman James Kay said the review was removed because it breached guidelines which asks reviewers to refrain from personal political, ethical or religious commentary.

He added: “To be clear, the review was not removed because the reviewer’s first-hand experience was considered irrelevant. In fact, we encouraged the reviewer to resubmit their review in order that their experience be shared with the travel community.”

Fowler’s new review was posted on March 10.

The response left to Christina Fowler’s review by the manageress of The Bell at Westoning. Photograph: ShinyShiny.tv/TripAdvisor

The original review met an angry response from the restaurant’s manageress, posted using the TripAdvisor account of its manager, Roberto Perrini. Now deleted along with the post, it read:

On TripAdvisor we are not here to discuss or comment on feminism or who makes ‘kissy’ noises; the latter is something we believe pre-school children may discuss. It is such a shame that you spent your time focusing on your feministic views and not our food; had you done so you may have actually found something interesting to write about that would be of interest to others.



Perrini told the Guardian the incident was “taken out of context” and that part of the appeal of his restaurant was that he and his staff are “like a family” to one another. He also said the bite was “a fake bite” with no harm meant.

He added: “I bite them, they bite me – we’re like a family. I’m the same with the boys and the girls.

“My manageress was very upset, which was why she posted the response.

“If you look at our reviews, they are mostly five star reviews. And that’s not just about our food it’s about the atmosphere we create. The reason we are successful is because our customers come here and feel at home.

“When I saw the review, I didn’t really know what to say about it.”