Ive been part of the critics/reviews pages and Ill admit even the critics of the critics page for awhile now. Ive grown up in this area, have seen it change, and Ive worked in local restaurants over the years and have dined in almost all of the restaurants around town multiple times. I truly respect the fact that all businesses are trying to provide a service to the people of southwest Michigan and provide us with a variety of places to spend our hard earned cash. Please understand Im not trying to cause drama and am trying to voice my opinion with as much respect as I can; and Im not going to call out specific examples, these are just observations Ive made on these sites over time. That being said, I sincerely do not understand why the bashing has to occur. What is the end goal? Do you want the restaurant to shut down because its not your favorite place to go? Do you want the server you called out for poor service to be fired on the spot for your review? I dont buy the statement that people want management to know whats going on. You were at the restaurant, ask for a manager or if you dont want to talk face to face, email them privately. I guarantee every restaurant around here cares about their patrons and wants to have happy, satisfied customers and will do what they can to help them return to try the establishment again. If people truly think servers or bartenders or hostesses have no excuse to have an off day at work, ask yourself, are you always 100% on your game at work in your office? Do you always want to be there when your child is sick at home? Or when you didnt sleep well the night before? Or when a loved one is in the hospital? Or some days you just dont feel like working? Id be willing to bet any amount of money weve all been there before. But no one writes about your poor work performance on social media. I bet no one even tells your boss until poor work ethic becomes a chronic habit. Not the case with hospitality workers. They serve a table in a way that table wasnt expecting and they can be called out and vilified on these sites, putting their job and way of making their living in jeopardy. Im not saying every review needs to be spewing rainbows and sunshine. But have some respect! If you just didnt like the food, temper it by saying its not your taste, someone else may love it. Communicate with management at the time of service or privately to get things fixed with major flaws in service. We should all want our local businesses to succeed! There are too many stresses in owning a business without having to worry about what the latest post on Facebook is saying. Social media is great and can do a lot of good for businesses, but in the hands of the wrong people, it can do a lot of damage that may or may not be warranted. I hope we can all put things in perspective. Food is a lot of things; its sustaining, delicious, comes in many varieties, and it can bring people together. Breaking bread with someone is historically considered a bonding, peaceful thing. Critics and review pages should be helping highlight the awesome places we have locally to choose from, not tearing places apart. These sites may provide entertainment for some, but for the owners, managers, and the rest of the employees of these establishments, its not a game and these reviews can have a real impact on the overall business, whether for better or for worse.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 02:58:46 +0000