Tonight i was tricked into a $600 meal at what I can honestly say was one of the worst restaurants I’ve ever been to. The price/quality ratio was so grossly out of whack that I left feeling flummoxed wondering how a professional chef actually cooked that crap.
What bothers me most (and what I’d love your opinions on) is the fact that for a number of years there was quite a nice restaurant in the same location (with the same name!). Unbeknownst to me, the good restaurant shutdown and after a number of months it was purchased by a new owner who then hired a new chef/staff and re-opened.
The signage remains unchanged and there was no indication from yelp/trip-advisor that there had been a change so my friends and I were tricked into this criminally-expensive terrible experience. Does anyone else think that it was dishonest for the new owner to give no indication of the change? Anyone have suggestions as to the best way to draw attention to what has happened? I’m currently reaching out to some restaurant critics to request they considering reviewing the place.
With most businesses, when you buy the business and the name (and especially if in the same location) you are also buying the goodwill and reputation of the previous owner. As the new owner, you are of course free to run that reputation into the toilet as rapidly as you like, which is what may be happening here. They will coast a while on that old reputation and then rapidly slide down to where they belong, or close. That sort of begs the question of why, if the previous restaurant was so good, they closed in the first place.
In the meantime, of course, I expect you are posting your own reviews to Yelp and TripAdvisor and any other sites you can think of. People who pay attention to the dates of reviews will get the message.
You were not defrauded in any way. You were provided the meal you ordered and you didn’t like it. Nobody tricked you. If you are unaware that businesses can change ownership then you have only yourself to blame.
It is certainly dishonest of the new owner to trade under the old name. I would have assumed that under those circumstances the owner would be required to put up a sign stating, “Under new management.” I know I have seen plenty such signs.
I would contact the owner and ask for a discount due to your disappointment with the meal. After he tells you to fuck off you can happily leave scathing reviews on all the ranking sites. Don’t forget to mention his attitude when you asked to be compensated.
When you see those “Under New management” signs. They usually put those up there to convince people to give the place another chance as the place sucked under the previous management.
If a restaurant is doing well at the time it was sold, the new management would have to be retarded to put up a sign: “Under new management”.
I normally think this is a douchey thing to do, but a $600 place I’d call it more than acceptable (assuming that this was $600 because it was an expensive place, not a party of 60 at a cheap place).
Why is it douchy? Sometimes people make mistakes, and you want to give them a chance to fix it. A while back, I sent back a steak that was ordered rare but arrived well done. The second steak arrived medium, not rare, so I cancelled the meal, paid for my drinks, and walked out. Not an expensive meal, but you should get what you order.
Someone I worked with, whose parents ran a restaurant, said that they appreciated it when a customer spoke up about flaws in the meal so that they could take steps to improve the product.
I’m also curious about how you spent $600 on one meal. How many people were you buying for?
Do they need to put up a sign if there’s a new chef? Or put up a sign on the chef’s day off saying the sous chef is making meals that day? What other staff changes do you expect to be notified about?
What would you do if you ordered bacon, it didn’t come until after you reminded the waitress twice that you had ordered bacon and it still didn’t come until you were finished with your meal and it was so raw you were in doubt the cook had even waved it over the stove to cook it?
Would you happily eat the raw bacon?
Anyways eating in restaurants is over-rated. I grow my own restaurants at home and they taste loads better than any you can buy at the store.
Dave: Well, this is the place I’ve been telling you about.
Kevin: Yeah, it’s really nice. So… what do you eat when you come here?
Dave: Well, I’ll tell ya. If you’re gonna eat here, you’ve gotta try the “Shitty Soup.”
Kevin: Shitty soup?
Dave: Oh yeah, everyone that comes here has the “Shitty Soup.”
Kevin: It doesn’t sound that great.
Dave: Oh, it’s not, it’s awful. That’s why they call it “shitty.”
Kevin: Oh.
Dave: So, are you in?
Kevin: 'Course! Let’s have two “Shitty Soups.”
Dave: Great.
Kevin: Yeah, that’s only the appetizer. What do you have for the entree?
Dave: I’m telling you, after you’ve had this soup, you’re not going to want a main course. [laughs] In fact, this soup is so vile, it will dominate your palate for the next seven months. You may never want to eat again!