A disgruntled visitor to Worcester Cathedral has complained he felt under pressure to donate during a 'shakedown' at the entrance.
The visitor left a negative TripAdvisor review about the Cathedral, saying he felt 'hassled' to donate by volunteers and claimed one visitor was left 'trembling'.
Leaving the Cathedral a 1 out of 5 rating, the visitor even threatened to return and covertly film volunteers if they carried on 'pressuring' people to donate.
He spoke of an 'unacceptable and almost physical pressure to "voluntarily" donate'.
However, Cathedral leaders have responded on TripAdvisor, saying they want everyone to feel welcome but also described the costs of maintaining the building.
Overall, the Cathedral remains the most highly rated attraction in the city on TripAdvisor with a rating of 4.5 out of 5 after close to 3,000 reviews.
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The review read: "Is it a shakedown at the entrance? (does often feel like one!) Unacceptable and almost physical pressure to "voluntarily" donate If anything, the "shakedown" for donations just inside the entrance is worse than before and comes over as sinister e.g. a member of staff actively blocking your way until you "donate".
"I've seen an elderly couple shocked, and the woman trembling, at this treatment ahead of me (I just glared at the volunteer and ignored her rudeness).
"The Cathedral needs to choose between a mandatory entrance fee, or a TRUE voluntary donation e.g. where there isn't pressure or insinuation to donate. If it carries on with the current practice, then I'm going to start covertly filming the unacceptable way the volunteers hassle people for money, and the clips will go online."
Worcester Cathedral responded to the comment directly on TripAdvisor.
A spokesperson said: "Dear John, Thank you for your feedback. We want everyone to feel welcome at Worcester Cathedral and we are sorry that this has not been the case for you.
"We are committed to keeping Worcester Cathedral free to enter for all, but we are sure you can understand the need for us to encourage donations in order to maintain the Cathedral’s work, worship, fabric and the many other facets of Cathedral life.
"We have passed your feedback on to our visitor experience team, and they would be really happy to meet with you to discuss your concerns and how we might improve our welcome in more detail. If you would like to arrange a meeting, please contact Daniel on visits@worcestercathedral.org.uk With very best wishes, the Team at Worcester Cathedral."
Worcester Cathedral has been approached for comment.
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