ROCAT

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crabbing

isn't this obviously someone's homework for an internet marketing class?

ajnaro

I know my partner takes pictures of every item served when we go to a special restaurant, but not the normal every-day restaurants near home. He also takes a picture of the menu. I often use the photos to remind me of the relevant facts while writing a review on TripAdvisor. We are also guilty of asking the server to take a picture of us or the group we are with. However, I never text or use the phone to speak (my phone is still old fashioned enough to allow speech) during the meal and wind up finishing at about the same time as those who do text. As for pre-dinner wifi difficulties requiring the waiter’s attention, most people have unlimited cell data service these days, so that rarely happens. And I can’t remember any significant after dinner texting sessions. So, my conclusion is that while the restaurant’s posting may be a bit exaggerated, it is basically correct. Perhaps some of the exaggeration is due to the fact that it is a tourist restaurant.

bennos

A woman sitting next to me in the VS JFK Clubhouse asked me to help her figure out why her (European) phone couldn't connect to the wifi. (I work in IT, but not for VS.) We easily spent 5 minutes trying to figure it out before giving up.

So, like the rest of the article, plausible but unverifiable.

sithpuppet

Several friends circulated that piece a few weeks ago, and it resulted in a rant from me

Regardless of whether this is apocryphal or true, it doesn't change the view I expressed.

Posted below for your reading pleasure is the full text of my rantply (rant + reply) to that email thread. I've redacted the "offensive" items for those with delicate constitutions.


I agree that deciding to own / invest in a restaurant isn't all pudding and pie. Bourdain's 'Kitchen Confidential' paints a very compelling picture of the travails involved.

And while I do sympathize with the sentiment of the article, I also say "tough ....." If they can't adapt to a changing society, then their failure can only be blamed on themselves. Pointing out something that is an entrenched fact of current social life as a cause for bad reviews is ludicrous. Reading through that whiny liturgy, one solution immediately comes to mind: hire more people. If you don't want to because it's an added expense and takes away from your profit margin, then again I say "tough ....." You're not willing to adapt or creatively work with / around it. How about trying a "free dessert when you turn in your phone at the hostess desk?" How about training the waiters to politely but firmly say 'I'm sorry, I don't know how the wifi works, what can I get you to drink?" How about a bottle of wine on the house for any table that does NOT have any phones / devices? There are innumerable ways customer behavior can be influenced. Most would probably even increase the appeal of the restaurant - "OMG Suzie, you have, like, got to go to, like, L'Idiot. This really hot, OMG, like hot hot, waiter, he like, came up and asked if we would, like, trade in our phones for, like, a bottle of wine! That is, like, soooo fancy!" You are not entitled to a "gimme" from the public.

On a tangent, I've had the same conversation with several people whose position is basically "using your (smart)phone" at a restaurant - especially at your table when others are dining with you - is rude." I would agree - to a point. Loud one-sided conversations? Kick their ... out. "Who let the dogs out" ringtone? Kick their ... out. Quietly engrossed with something on their screen? Deal with it. Badgering you for help connecting to wifi? Deal with it - you provided it after all.

People don't seem to realize that while it might seem "rude," it's now part of the social fabric and mores. Behaviors change and everyone needs to adapt. Just browse through a ten or fifteen year-old edition of Emily Post and you'll see what I mean. Not pulling a lady's chair out is "rude." Doing it these days makes you look like a cad at best (granted, if you're wearing a tux and she's in evening dress, by all means), and slapped by a feminist at worst. Ditto with standing up when women leave or return to the table. Ditto with doffing your hat - who even wears a hat anymore?

There are so many restaurants who deal with the phone "problem" every day. And yes, they get Yelped negatively. Most don't blame the patrons for spending too much time on their devices. What're these whiners gonna do when your average customer has Google Glasses (or similar), a smart watch and a fitbit, an insulin tracking contact lens, and so on?

Kagehitokiri

complaints can be perfectly valid. but it seems to me that these days few people complain about actually valid problems with quality standards. rather they complain about things that have zero to do with quality standards. (which is a part of why quality standards continue to drop in many areas. because consumers accept drops.)

sithpuppet

True ^. But in this case, the purported complaints are because of the restaurant's perceived lack of quality standards (slow service, etc). The customers in this case made it clear that they do not accept that. Which the restaurateur then turns around and blames the customer(s) for.

Kagehitokiri

all i can say is i read the article from a different perspective. while i certainly thought about possibilities and probabilities i try to avoid making assumptions.

any comments (anywhere) on the reseating issue?

sithpuppet

Actually, it just occurred to me that restaurants have had the "solution" to this for the longest time, they (and we) have just forgotten.

Remember when you walked into a restaurant and one of the first things you're asked is... "Smoking or Non-Smoking?"

There ya go, problem solved.

"Signal or No Signal?"

drphun

I found this late but it is totally believable. Note that they mentioned it is near Times Square so not only is it likely they have tourists, it may be an unusual restaurant that attracts tourists and groups (not necessarily a foodie restaurant), so more things to take pictures of, etc. For example, I know of one particular restaurant about a block from the Mariott Marquis that is popular with both tourists and locals celebrating special events (although most of the locals I know say it is too touristy, but then they go anyway.) The portion sizes are enormous - it is meant to be family style i.e. you only need to order a couple entrees for a group of 4 to 6 people, but it doesn't really say that on the menu and it doesn't really work well if you don't have a minimum that size of group. There is always a wait. And that is a few years ago. I can totally see how with the increases in international tourists and everybody using phones to take pictures, it would really tough for customers to not take a lot of pictures when a restaurant was unusual. That could indeed really slow the service down and stretch out the waits. (Although I do wonder why a restaurant would need video to discover this - they should already know how many tables they serve a night, average check size, etc - Those are basic statistics that a good operator would track.)