Restaurant Treatment

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  #46  
Old 08-08-2022, 11:02 AM
Michael G. Michael G. is offline
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Wasn't there something in the news not so long ago where business sued a party for giving
a bad review on social media?

I always wondered how much legal stand a business would have in a case like that.
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Old 08-08-2022, 11:06 AM
Fun in the sun 2 Fun in the sun 2 is offline
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Default The customer chooses

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Shoelaces View Post
How about $34 for a lobster roll at LightHouse?
Which is a modest amount of lobster salad on a hoagie roll.
I was buying, so I didn't bring it up.
Seems extravagant to me.
I would call that indirect poor treatment.
The customer chooses what she/he wants to eat. The Lighthouse menu is varied and so are the prices. A haddock basket at $19.00 for fish, fries, and cole slaw seems reasonable to me. If $34.00 is more than you think is fair, pick something else.
  #48  
Old 08-08-2022, 11:52 AM
mikeycereal mikeycereal is offline
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Food's gotta be really disgusting and/or the workers real jerks for me to take the time to complain to yelp about a restaurant. Prices, nah, people can see that for themselves before they buy. I'd also much rather read about good places that others really like.

The people that were sued for the bad review were tenants and their landlord hooked up the roofing service. I don't know why these renters got involved outside of their unit management but that's what happened and they were sued for over 100k. If your review is a false statement or slander it's possible you could get sued. But if there's some truth in it then no. Slippery slope. I remember that everyone bashed a dentist who went out and shot a sacred old lion in Africa a few years ago, just bombarded his site online and at his home with nasty stuff. I doubt anyone was sued though. I would think just leaving low stars with a brief (or no) explanation why is safer. Also a business can be fined for instigating the reviewer to take a review down, so goes both ways. We live in a very strange social media world, obviously.
  #49  
Old 08-08-2022, 12:22 PM
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CFrance CFrance is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive View Post
Good post, and advice.

I write a lot of reviews for TripAdvisor, always before reading any of the other reviews first, and sometimes the differences between the reviews can be huge. I always go several times to the restaurant in question: so many of the reviews are "one and done", which in my opinion is NOT fair to the business. It is possible that you catch a waitperson having a really bad day (we have) and as a result form a very negative opinion of the restaurant based on an experience that for the most part is extremely rare.

This is/was especially true of The Lighthouse (mentioned in this thread). Our first experience was very good: great food and service, though the birds eyeballing your food meant that one person always needed to be at the table. The second visit, not so much. Slow service (they were low on staff that day), and food that had too much time to cool before it was served. The difference? The first visit was early on a Saturday evening, while the second was on a Tuesday afternoon, or the difference between the "A" and "B" teams.

Also agree with taking it up with management before writing or saying anything negative. Give them a fair shake. They know that what people think of their establishment often makes it into print and if they care about that, they'll probably try to make things right for you. Some years back my wife and I were eating at a buffet in the midwest. For dessert I was going to have soft-serve ice cream with strawberry syrup. Syrup machine wasn't working too well, so I pressed a bit harder on the top button, and--sploooosh! The nozzle popped of and all of a sudden I was wearing a rather wide ribbon of blood-red strawberry syrup from my shoulder diagonally to about mid-thigh. One of the waitstaff saw it and immediately alerted the manager, who rushed on over. I wasn't really angry (more amused than anything) but he gave me a note saying that the restaurant would reimburse me for a new pair of trousers and shirt (my choice of store), plus SIX free vouchers for future buffet meals. We went straight from the restaurant to a J.C. Penney about a block away for the shirt and trousers.

The clerk sort of gasped when she saw me; I said "don't worry. The other guy looks a lot worse".

Moral? I could have gotten on my high horse, chewed out the manager and stormed on out. But waiting and listening made things a whole lot better.
I'm to disagree with you a bit, but your story's a great one. I think the moral is that the manager at that restaurant cared about his customer base.


I dined with two friends at a popular restaurant in TV a couple months back. The waitress approached with our cocktails, tipped the tray, and all the drinks fell off, mostly into my lap, with glass breaking all over the table. We were given another table, and the waitress brought us new drinks, but nothing was offered--the drinks weren't comped, and nobody offered to have my clothing cleaned.


I'm not one to complain (life is short, stuff happens, and my clothing only needed to be washed), but my friend said something to the waiter (the waitress had disappeared) when the bill arrived. The manager came over and gave me a free card for a meal and offered to pay for dry-cleaning the clothing.


Perhaps the waitress never told the manager what happened but the waiter did. Who knows. Or the manager knew it happened but did nothing until someone complained. Again, who knows. I prefer to think it was the former.


Some places care; other places don't. You got a good one!
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Old 08-08-2022, 12:53 PM
JKELLYNY JKELLYNY is offline
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  #51  
Old 08-08-2022, 12:55 PM
Spikearoni Spikearoni is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MandoMan View Post
My understanding is that this is the going price in Maine this summer, but it may have a pound of lobster. The lesson to learn is don’t buy a lobster roll unless you are at a notable lobster roll place on the coast of main. Lobster is far more expensive this year than it usually is, including for restaurant owners.
We are vacationing in Falmouth, Maine now and the cost of a 4 oz lobster roll on a hot dog roll is $38 in area restaurants.
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Old 08-08-2022, 03:44 PM
Carla B Carla B is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cbmerl View Post
You certainly knew when you ordered it just how much it cost. You didn't need to order it if you thought it was too expensive. Right??
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fun in the sun 2 View Post
The customer chooses what she/he wants to eat. The Lighthouse menu is varied and so are the prices. A haddock basket at $19.00 for fish, fries, and cole slaw seems reasonable to me. If $34.00 is more than you think is fair, pick something else.
Poor Tyrone Shoelaces. Some people don't read; some read but don't comprehend. Again, he didn't order the lobster roll, his guest did. When Tyrone saw the bill I imagine he was shocked at the price.
  #53  
Old 08-09-2022, 07:01 AM
RiderOnTheStorm RiderOnTheStorm is offline
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Default Restaurant Treatment

Quote:
Originally Posted by retiredguy123 View Post
I have a different opinion. Posting a restaurant review on social media, good or bad, is fine, as long as the information is honest and accurate. It is very informative to people who have not been to the restaurant. A bad review of a good restaurant will usually be countered by other posters, and the restaurant will benefit. Encouraging people to not post bad reviews to protect a restaurant or other business is absurd. As far as I know, it is still a free country, mostly.
The problem with this approach is that more critics than admirers speak out, hence the posts tend to be negatively slanted. Not fair to the owners.
  #54  
Old 08-09-2022, 07:09 AM
bilcon bilcon is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RiderOnTheStorm View Post
I couldn’t help but notice a number of recent threads related to restaurant issues, usually to express dissatisfaction over a meal or service.

While I do not own a restaurant, I know some who do, and can tell you that it is a hard business in the very best of times. Many fail, even without the additional challenge of today’s COVID crisis, supply chain issues, inflation and difficulty finding good help.

That said, I urge anyone who may feel they were poorly treated to try to resolve the issue with the restaurant manager or owner, before posting it on Talk of The Villages. I have found most restaurant owners very eager to work with you to rectify the situation.

Classic studies have shown that a publicly expressed complaint will reach an average of 22 people. Involving a social platform significantly increases that number. Many who hear it are likely to avoid the restaurant.

Please consider the impact your posts could have on the restaurant’s business before “going public” with them. Working with the restaurant is also likely to provide you a better outcome.

Thank you.
OK. Here's a positive. I always get a certain type of large pizza at Piesanos. Two times, it was not great. I went back two weeks later and told the manager, Curtis, about it. He personally watched and gave instructions to the Pie man, and Wallah! the pie was great again. Last night I ordered the same pie and Curtis was there. I told him how great the pie was two weeks before. He again took it upon himself to make sure the pie was perfect. This time, it was even better. That's good management.I did not post any negatives on this site, but instead talked to the manager. Thank you Curtis.
  #55  
Old 08-09-2022, 12:14 PM
worahm worahm is offline
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The wife and I have been eating out at least five meals a week in this area since we moved here in 1996. The wife is gone now, but I can attest to the fact that the quality of the food served, the service and certainly the price in previous years was far better then it is today.
  #56  
Old 08-09-2022, 07:22 PM
pauld315 pauld315 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Shoelaces View Post
How about $34 for a lobster roll at LightHouse?
Which is a modest amount of lobster salad on a hoagie roll.
I was buying, so I didn't bring it up.
Seems extravagant to me.
I would call that indirect poor treatment.
I doubt anybody forced you to buy it
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  #57  
Old 08-10-2022, 10:39 AM
fdpaq0580 fdpaq0580 is offline
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I like lobster, but a "lobster roll", imho, is a waste of good lobster meat, not to mention the money. 4 oz of lobster flavored mush on a freakin' hotdog bun -$38. Crazy, stupid, or both.
  #58  
Old 08-10-2022, 10:53 AM
Stu from NYC Stu from NYC is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bilcon View Post
OK. Here's a positive. I always get a certain type of large pizza at Piesanos. Two times, it was not great. I went back two weeks later and told the manager, Curtis, about it. He personally watched and gave instructions to the Pie man, and Wallah! the pie was great again. Last night I ordered the same pie and Curtis was there. I told him how great the pie was two weeks before. He again took it upon himself to make sure the pie was perfect. This time, it was even better. That's good management.I did not post any negatives on this site, but instead talked to the manager. Thank you Curtis.
Always give the restaurant the chance to solve the problem before complaining on social media
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