I don't care if the the food is inedible ..... update page 3

[Yvaine]

I would be so tempted to write a new review to let everyone know about the owner's answer.

If I'm right about how the site works, there's no need to--he posted his ridiculous comment right there in public! 

[lady_disdain]

Oh, dear. That goes beyond professional Darwinism. I thought it had been a private message.

[Audrey Quest]

I use the website airbnb.com

It's a website where you rent a room in someone's house.  Some people run things a little more like a business and not so casual.  Users leave reviews for people they stayed with and host leave reviews of guests.

There was one place I was considering staying at that had a mixed bag of reviews.  There were a lot of good reviews and most of the bad reviews weren't that bad, but raised issues that a potential guest might really want to know about.

The thing that turned me off was how the hostess went after every even slightly negative review so vehemently that I knew I didn't want to be anywhere near a person like that.

So, in the end, it wasn't the reviews that sunk that person but her own behavior toward people giving their opinions.

[POF]

Oh, dear. That goes beyond professional Darwinism. I thought it had been a private message.

Right in public - plu he sent another review a nasty email - which this reviewer posted about. And that review was not terrible - not great - but not awful.

I can't believe he would say he doesn't care if the food is inedible IN PUBLIC.

He also said if he goes out of business - less taxes for the town.  Ummm the building is leased and the owner is paying the property tax ( although there might be a business tax ).

[siamesecat2965]

I'd say he just put the kiss of death on his own business. I read a lot of reviews, whenever I'm looking for a restaurant, place to stay, etc. Generally speaking, I've gotten pretty good at figuring out which ones are legitimate, and which ones are very speshul snowflakes. 

I've also seen a negative or not so great review, where the owner, manager, etc. responds and says thank you for your comments, we are doing a, b, and c to hopefully resolve the issues you experienced, etc.  Even if its something petty. I'd be more likely to patronize a place like that, then one where the owner chastizes someone who wrote a fairly accurate review. I don't see him lasting long.

[Spring Water on Sundays]

Also, you don't owe a local business your loyalty just because they're local. If anything, local businesses should endeavor to treat people BETTER than chains because they're serving their neighbors and are more invested in the community.

Sadly, I have been lectured by acquaintances for stopping going to this local business or that--I stopped going because it was horrid, but somehow I should just keep putting up with the awfulness because LOCAL!  I'm all for local, but there are local places that don't stink!

I will gladly spend a little more AND go out of my way to shop at a local business if they provide an exceptional product/service I can't get somewhere else. But if the product/service is subpar (sorry local cupcake place and your sickeningly sweet icing atop a dry-as-a-desert $3 cupcake) or can be easily obtained elsewhere for cheaper (local indie bookstore just closed down - cute shop, I was sad to see them go, but anything they had in store could be purchased on Amazon for literally HALF the price), well, I work for my money, too! A local business is not a charity and isn't owed my hard-earned money. My neighbors and friends also work for their money and I will be honest if they ask for my opinion on a local business.

[Girlie]

I am in no way a proponent of "the customer is always right" mantra. Often when I've heard that, it's from a customer who is demanding treatment that is rather unfair and unequitable and, if performed regularly, would drive any honest company out of business.

Having said that, online reviews have the potential to do either great good or harm for a business, and as a customer, I take a lot of stock in the responses provided by the management team to negative reviews.
A good example would be when we were planning our wedding - my DH and I found a beautiful local estate that offered affordable wedding packages. We were on the fence about the place for various reasons, and so we went online to read their reviews. The attitude of the owner of the estate towards the negative reviewers told me everything I needed to know, and I decided then and there that I wouldn't let them do my wedding.

The owner of this restaurant is shooting himself in the foot with these rude responses to criticism. Where he could use them as an opportunity to show growth and a desire to please, he is instead proving that he is a special snowflake who has little to offer the customer by way of quality food and service.

[rose red]

I would be tempted to reply "Thank you for proving me right.  Your comment tells more about the quality of your business than any reviewer ever could."

[Cat-Fu]

I'd be tempted to share the link with Consumerist. 

[CakeBeret]

I'd be tempted to share the link with Consumerist. 

Oooh. Yes, I think so.

[doodlemor]

And when this guy goes out of business he will blame the community for not supporting him.

I live in a small town, and have seen some clueless people run businesses into the ground. 

One man had a restaurant that wasn't doing as well as he thought it should.  He became fixated on the fact that there was a medium sized tree out front, partially obscuring his sign.  [Note - in a small town like like this everyone knew his restaurant was there, despite the tree.]  After complaining to the Village Board several times publicly about the poor tree, he cut it down illegally.  He then lost the tree lover's business, and closed shortly thereafter.  It seemingly never occurred to the guy that his food and service might be at fault, or that people might object to his chain smoking waitress.

A few years back a chef in Buffalo, NY, opened a unique restaurant.  If my memory is correct he had no menus.  People who went there were served whatever he decided to cook that day.  I'm sure the place is long gone.  There was some publicity when he opened, but I haven't heard of the place since.  Perhaps SnowDragon remembers, and knows more about it.

Over the years I've gotten the impression that sometimes people open their own businesses because they are difficult people who have trouble working for others.  IMHO these people think that they will be the "boss" of their own business, that people will come and all will be well.  They don't realize that small business owners work incredibly hard, and for long hours.  Their "boss," so to speak, is the shopping public.

[weeblewobble]

DH reminded me of the case of the Rude Local Pizza Guys.  The owners opened up a restaurant that serves the closest thing you could get to authentic New York pizza in my small southern hometown. Seriously, the pizza is AWESOME.  Unfortunately, it came with a side of snide, surly, downright rude service.  If you asked a question about a dish, the counter guys would wordlessly point at the menu while glowering at you.  If you ordered a small lunch (a slice of cheese pizza and a drink - a total of about $3.50), the counter guys would groan about you being a cheapskate who was going to put them out of business. If you weren't ordering fast enough?  "Come on, come on, I ain't got all day!"

About ten years ago, it got to the point that despite the fact that I loved their pizza, I refused to give the business any of my money.  I will not patronize your business only and get rewarded with hateful treatment.

Apparently, the owners treated their employees the same as they did their customers because around the time I abandoned Rude Pizza Place, one of their employees quit over a pay issue, and opened his own place, Lovely Pizza Place. (Using different sauce recipe and focusing on "specialty" pizzas like barbecue chicken.)  The pizza is even better than Rude Pizza Place and the employees are absolute sweethearts from the bus boy to the manager.  They make the restaurant a comfortable, family place.

The Rude Pizza Place hired counter people, who I hear, are much nicer.   But Lovely Pizza already has my loyalty. Lovely Pizza Place is always busy while Rude Pizza Place seems to be limping along.

Not caring or understanding local culture, manners, etc., is the kiss of death for a new business.

[nuit93]

There was a business in my area that was like that...the reviews were very firmly mixed.

Turns out the owner had been asking her friends to leave good reviews in Yelp (a BIG no-no!), so after the place had been open a year there was a series of 4-5 star reviews and just as many 1-star reviews.  Luckily, any review that contained reference to the owner being a friend of the reviewer's got pulled, but that didn't stop people from resubmitting the same review without mentioning their relationshp to the owner.

I wasn't surprised when they went out of business. 

[siamesecat2965]

I am in no way a proponent of "the customer is always right" mantra. Often when I've heard that, it's from a customer who is demanding treatment that is rather unfair and unequitable and, if performed regularly, would drive any honest company out of business.

Having said that, online reviews have the potential to do either great good or harm for a business, and as a customer, I take a lot of stock in the responses provided by the management team to negative reviews.   

I totally agree. Having worked in retail, yes, sometimes the company or store messes up, and in those cases, I will do whatever I can to assist the customer. LIke the time a customer came in to return something she purchased online, and paid shipping, I pushed CS to refund the shipping as well, since it was not her fault she received the incorrect item."

But then there are the ones who seem to think that no matter what the company policy is, it doesn't apply to them, as in our final sale policy. Final sale means no returns or exchanges. period. not for store credit, not for a different size or color, nada. While I may not agree with all of it, I have to abide by it, and no amount of screeching and carrying on will get you the result you want. I can't make an exception because YOU think "the customer is always right"

[BeagleMommy]

The restaurant owner is killing his business himself.  His response to Yelp reviews was unnecessary and, frankly, a bit shocking.  Most chefs/restaurant owners will insist their food is not the problem.  This guy is stating he doesn't care if the food is inedible and people should come there to eat it just because he's local?  Huh?

There are several small, local restaurants that DH and I frequent.  They are all polite and friendly and have fantastic food.  Any time we've has mistakes/issues they've been resolved speedily.  There are also local places we won't go to because the service is horrible.

It's very likely this man will never see the errors of his ways and will always blame the community for "not supporting" him.