Food Critic revealed then banned.

[Plaidman]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecut...riting-reviews

So, a new restraunt opens up, and the owner learns that a lady is the L.A times food critic. He snaps her picture and tells her and party to get the hell out. He passes her picture out.

She's worked for 15 years to be annoymus.

It's only fair really to be that way. If every restraunt owner knows who you are? They're totally going to be kissing her ass.

They said they did it because she isn't fair and that she makes restraunts close down with bad reviews.

It's just her opinion. Opinions don't offten matter to most people in anycase. But my feelings are, if your food sucks then it shouldn't matter to a critic or not. If you know who that reviewer is though? Your going to be giving them the royal service, which is not going to be the norm.


Total BS.

[DrFaroohk]

Seems to me that she has no right to complain. First, a business owner can choose who to service or not. He chose not to allow someone on the property he owned. Fair enough. And second, it seems like her own fault she was discovered. If she worked a little harder at it her cover wouldn't have been blown. Tough cookies, hun.

That being said, the smart play would have been to pretend they had no idea who she was.

Flashback - reminds me of when I worked for the c-store chain. I got "secret shopped" one day, but the catcher was I knew who she was because she was being really obvious about it. I made sure to do everything right and then made some random comment about "How'd I do?" I "failed" the test because it wasn't fair that I knew she was a secret shopper...not my problem! It's her fault she didn't conceal herself better.

[lordlundar]

Seems to me that she has no right to complain. First, a business owner can choose who to service or not. He chose not to allow someone on the property he owned. Fair enough. And second, it seems like her own fault she was discovered. If she worked a little harder at it her cover wouldn't have been blown. Tough cookies, hun.

True, but subsequently, if she writes that in her review that the restaurant was so concerned about a poor performance that they kicked her out, then there isn't anything they can do about the bad press either. Every choice has consequences and all that.

[Plaidman]

Its true that owners can kick whomever out whenever. However it wasn't simply a rude customer or a someone, it was a restraunt critic. He was so concerned with getting a bad review, he not only kicked her out but shared her picture to the world.

Now she lost a job for the most part. All restraunts now know her on sight, and now she can NEVER again be able to give a unbias answer. Any restraunt that ether allows her in will now fawn over hands over feet in hopes of getting a great review, much like you did for secret shoppers.

The difference is that while in secret shoppers it is often you that is rewarded when you give good service to them, a restraunt reviewer has to have an unbias opinion. Otherwise her career is on the line. She gives a great review to restraunt X, and people go there. But since people know her, she will given great service, and she will be writing

FALSE expecations.

That isn't fair. At all. She has to write fairy tell stories to people, and she will lose fans, she will lose jer job, she will lose alot.

She can always write, but can't be an unbias restraunt critic since every one knows.

[Greenday]

If she's widely known for unfairly judging restaurants, banning her and outing her seems like a legit idea to me. I mean, if she just ends up writing that places were too scared of having a bad performance, everyone will just realize it can't possibly be that every place is bad.

[Plaidman]

If she's widely known for unfairly judging restaurants, banning her and outing her seems like a legit idea to me. I mean, if she just ends up writing that places were too scared of having a bad performance, everyone will just realize it can't possibly be that every place is bad.

Hm, so her opinions don't matter, but the restraunt owner does?

He just thinks that her reviews are cruel and irritional. He doesn't go into detail as to why.

But seeing as she been in the business for 15 years, I fail to see how an irritional and cruel critic would be in business.

Maybe he thinks it's prefectly alright for all restraunts to have rats (and lets face it, the bulk do. It's just the good ones that don't let it be known). Maybe she likes having a wide varity of choices, and some restraunts just want small menus.

Without going into more detail as to why he thinks she's irritional and cruel, we can't make a fair judgement if he was right or wrong, but I'm leaning toward it being wrong.

His felt his business was being threatened, and so he eliminated a threat.

[Greenday]

But seeing as she been in the business for 15 years, I fail to see how an irritional and cruel critic would be in business.

Happens all the time. This shouldn't be a surprise.

[Plaidman]

Happens all the time. This shouldn't be a surprise.

True. I mean, look at Rattatonie movie which I loved, and Nostalgia Critic, Angry Video game Nerd.


But again, we don't know what he defines as crueled.

And reading her reviews don't seem like she's cruel at all. She even states that if a health code violations are issue and have a low rating, she'll have a pause but she'll still go in, as she states that some restraunts just have a big fat rush and super busy they forget minor things, and that's when the the inspector comes. As such that grade is just from a visit from a inspector day, nothing that shows it's constant.

Alot of her reviews are pretty fair and often nice and put everything in light. She may not like some aspects of a restraunt, but she does go into other details of what she DOES like in said restraunt. If food was bad, fine, but the waiters and staff were awesome, the place super clean, the music great. She always has something good in every one of her reviews that I've read thus far.


The owner was just a prick, and a kinda genuis.

With all the publicity he's getting for /outing/ a critic? He going to get alot of business.

[Greenday]

I'm just saying if he is telling the truth and she is unfair for a lot of people, outing her is a good thing.

[Gravekeeper]

Throwing her out? Fine, that's his right. Assholish as it is. Outting her and damaging her career? Dick move.

Sides, 45 minute wait for a table with a reservation? -.-

Also, bad publicity. His restaurant is being shitkicked on Yelp because of this. He's done himself no favours me thinks.

[Plaidman]

I'm just saying if he is telling the truth and she is unfair for a lot of people, outing her is a good thing.

You can read her reviews on the LA times site. None I've read so far have been very unfair at all. She seems to strive to give at least some good points to every restraunt she went too.

[FArchivist]

Hm, so her opinions don't matter, but the restraunt owner does?
He just thinks that her reviews are cruel and irritional. He doesn't go into detail as to why.

Because that's his perogative?
I dunno, the whole thing smacks to me of "My house, my rules." I long ago resolved that if I ever operated any type of business, Jimmy from the 99X Morning Show would be completely banned from service from the get-go, simply because I think he's an annoying asshole.

But seeing as she been in the business for 15 years, I fail to see how an irritional and cruel critic would be in business.

Spite sells. Irrational and cruel critics remain in business for the same reason gossip columnists do.

As it is, I'm amused by the fact that she thinks she has a 'right' to anonymity. She's a public figure by definition; right of privacy doesn't apply to her in the same way that it would apply to Joe Average.

[Hyena Dandy]

I've looked over her reviews. I think she's pretty fair.

This more feels to me like the restaurant owner doesn't like food critics. Or he was afraid he would get a bad review.

I don't know if she has a right to anonymity, because I don't know whether or not I could count a food critic as a public figure. But anonymity is part of her job. And I think it was petty and inappropriate to essentially take away her job because he didn't agree with her reviews. Which, I think, were pretty fair.

Maybe he just hates all food critics. I wouldn't be surprised. If I was a restaurant

[kibbles]

Seems the owner had something to hide..maybe crappy food and/or crappy service?

[Imprl59]

Also, bad publicity. His restaurant is being shitkicked on Yelp because of this. He's done himself no favours me thinks.

Ever hear the saying there is no such thing as bad publicity? Every person in the vicinity knows the restaurant exist now. Hell a fat middle aged guy on the other side of the country now knows his restaurant exist and wants to go there. Even if half the people disagreed with him and wouldn't go it would have cost millions to get that kind of name recognition with the other half. Hand well played I would say.