SoWal Restaurant Comment Etiquette

**hnooe** · 09-02-2008, 07:47 AM

I enjoy giving local restaurants very honest feed back on their restaurants, menus, etc. and it seems that public postings all stay in the realm of the 'positve," or very positive, as I think everyone wants our local SoWal restaurants to do well, especially in this economy.

If I have a 'negative" comment on anything about said retaurant, whether it was the noisy ceiling fans, the over-cooked fish, the poor service etc. I will usually ONLY PM that particular restaurant, in all fairness. I have personally seen many restaurants react positively to my PM comments!

Question: Is that the correct thing to do? I have noticed some people commenting "publically posting" on the food, the service etc., and I just know one person's experience may no be the experience of "the many."

**chrisv** · 09-02-2008, 07:57 AM

I think you're handling it perfectly. Often, negative dining experiences are isolated, unique events and are correctable via back-channels. Those that are repeatedly giving poor service or quality are outed in ways other than this board.

**kurt** · 09-02-2008, 07:58 AM

You seem fair and reasonable. Most restaurant management would love to hear from a dissatisfied customer and have the chance to correct mistakes. There's nothing wrong with a negative review on this forum. However, reviewers have a little extra responsibility because of the nature of the medium. A negative (or positive) comment stays around a long time.
Personally, I prefer to accentuate the positive. And I feel there aren't any restaurants in SoWal that I feel would be an awful choice for someone. We do have some that are better than others and you will hear plenty about them here.
There's also something to be said about longevity and consistency. If a place has been open here longer than 10 years you can bet they are on most people's list of favorites.

**scooterbug44** · 09-02-2008, 08:29 AM

I think only posting positive comments doesn't give a fair review and doesn't present an accurate picture of the restaurant. Nothing more annoying than going somewhere that gets rave reviews and then being VERY disappointed - more negative for the establishment to build them up and ignore any flaws than to be honest so people know what to expect. Typically if you post something negative and it's an atypical experience people will rush to defend it and tell you to try it again.

That said, there's a big difference between an honest review w/ polite constructive criticism and a poorly punctuated hissy fit.

**Allifunn** · 09-02-2008, 10:00 AM

I usually won't comment on a restaurant unless it is good. I am a bit more picky than most. My biggest problem is when I can tell a restaurant does not use fresh ingredients (meaning they are taking a short cut to save $$) If you are going to charge top $$ then you better use top $$ ingredients!
As for wait staff...you can usually tell if it is a happy place to work by how the staff preforms.

I had lunch at Sweetie Pies (or maybe it was Sugar Pies?) the other day and, while it was not fancy, it was very good...a pressed paninni cuban sandwich.

If I have lunch or dinner somewhere and it is not good...I'll usually try it again and if the results are the same, I'll not go back.

**SWGB** · 09-02-2008, 11:27 AM

I think a PM is a very good first step. If you don't get a response then perhaps a little more public is the way to go. I know there are times that a retaurant owner/manager gets busy, but they should respond in a timely manner. Of course the best time to point out any short comings is while at the restaurant. Having worked/managed a restaurant nothing was more frustrating than the customer who ate, paid, and then called later to tell you what was wrong. Food is a right now experience and that is really the only time to correct any problems.

**Miss Kitty** · 09-02-2008, 11:34 AM

Two thumbs up for Afunn and swgb!

I, personally, only give good reviews on sowal.com. I think when restaurants
are not talked about here, it speaks volumes. I will almost always give a restaurant in sowal a second chance before I write it off. But, I do agree that any bad experience should be taken up at the restaurant...you then give them a chance to rectify the situation or see that they don't value your patronage.

**olive** · 09-02-2008, 11:58 AM

As a restaurant owner, I have to say that a PM describing the bad experience is always appreciated. We believe in going out of our way to make things right but we cannot do that unless we are aware of the problem. A really negative review especially about an isolated incident can really hurt a small business that is already swimmin' up stream.

And we always hope for a second chance. And we promise not to spit in your food!

**SHELLY** · 09-02-2008, 12:12 PM

Originally Posted by sowalgayboi

I think a PM is a very good first step. If you don't get a response then perhaps a little more public is the way to go. I know there are times that a retaurant owner/manager gets busy, but they should respond in a timely manner. Of course the best time to point out any short comings is while at the restaurant. Having worked/managed a restaurant nothing was more frustrating than the customer who ate, paid, and then called later to tell you what was wrong. Food is a right now experience and that is really the only time to correct any problems.

I agree that the best time to point out a problem is while you are dining.

If something isn't quite to your liking, call the waiter over immediately to get it fixed (the food is cold; the potato is undercooked; the steak is overcooked) so they have time to fix it. Most always (in the good places) the waiter, manager or owner will make a trip to your table during the evening and ask, "Is everything OK?" This is your second chance to speak up and give them an opportunity to make it right and send you away a satisfied customer. However, there are some things that can't be "fixed"--noisy atmosphere; cheaper ingredients; perpetually inferior service. In this case, and in the case that problems expressed to the waiter or manager weren't "fixed," I feel it's OK to post negative comments (with an explanation of why you feel this way).

Sometimes I find my worst experiences at restaurants yield my best recommendations based on how the staff and management responded to problems they encountered (i.e., a sincere apology for the noise or slow service with an credible explanation and an offer to mitigate the situation)...and only those places deserve a second chance.

.

**Paige** · 09-02-2008, 01:34 PM

There are two restaurants that I will not go to specifically b/c of the multitude of negative comments on SoWal. It was not one bad review, it was many. I appreciate the honesty.

**scooterbug44** · 09-02-2008, 01:40 PM

Ditto - handle a negative experience however you want, and certainly let the owner/operator know and give them a chance to correct it, but don't post a positive review unless it WAS a positive experience.

Everyone has their own tastes and opinions when it comes to dining out, but give the FULL scoop so folks aren't wasting their limited dining $.

**bluemtnrunner** · 09-02-2008, 02:37 PM

I tend to not post reviews about restaurants because it is hard to balance positive and negative on the boards without starting a firestorm around the negative comment. I have the added treat of being ChefEd's wife so it will always seem like favoritism/snobbery I think. We do go out to many of the local places and want to hit them all. We enjoy sampling the food and atmosphere of other restaurants in Sowal. We have been disappointed by some of the food, some of the atmosphere and one particularly over large table with very uncomfortable seating BUT....we have always enjoyed ourselves and always found something that we really liked at each place. Ukelele and scallops at Gravel Road, great wine and company at Fish out of Water, Frog Legs and Dred Clampit at Stinky's, even the burgers at Grayton General Store!!!

I like the PM idea, lord knows if I ever disliked something at B&A's I would let the chef know!!!! Of course, that never happens

but I'm sure he would like to know if there were something they could do better.

**Beach Runner** · 09-02-2008, 02:55 PM

Originally Posted by Miss Kitty

Two thumbs up for Afunn and swgb!

I, personally, only give good reviews on sowal.com. I think when restaurants
are not talked about here, it speaks volumes. I will almost always give a restaurant in sowal a second chance before I write it off. But, I do agree that any bad experience should be taken up at the restaurant...you then give them a chance to rectify the situation or see that they don't value your patronage.

The problem is that not everyone has the time to read all of the posts. I prefer something similar to scooterbug's approach. Every restaurant has an off-day/night. If a bad experience happens once, I assume that it's an anomaly. If it happens on multiple occasions, I think that constructive criticism (but definitely not a slam) is not out-of-line.

**elgordoboy** · 09-02-2008, 04:32 PM

There are only two places I have eaten at in the area from which I left feeling that I had been burgled. I don't have the heart to lower the boom plus I think the market will take care of the issue. Though I do feel a little bad because perhaps some well heeded constructive criticism could save a place or two. Allifunn had it right right right! with the fresh ingredients.

**Smiling JOe** · 09-02-2008, 10:19 PM

Personally, I'm of the opinion to criticize the restaurant to the manager in private, if you really want them to improve. Praise them in public. I don't think all restaurants, even those in business for ten years, are good. In fact, I think a couple are rather terrible, but you don't see people giving them praise as they do good restaurants. They will occasionally get a good review from the occasional patron, but mostly, if you don't hear or read good things about a restaurant, you might want to consider trying a place with raving reviews.

I will add that we all come from different places in life, with unique experiences, so I may have high expectations based on what I've heard about a restaurant, and receive avg service and food, so I may be disappointed. We must keep in mind that while there is such a thing as good and bad, expectations play an important role. If one comes from a small town like the place where I was raised, Captain D's was the only seafood place. Come down to south Walton and Elmo's may be fantastic! Try to be fair when judging these places and don't compare a great hole in the wall like Nick's in the Sticks to the elegant Fish Out of Water.

I want restaurants to improve, so keep letting the Mgr and owner know when they are not performing. If they ignore you, move on, and ignore them.