Vancouver restaurant industry experts sound off on social media, food bloggers, online reviews

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      Andrey Durbach, chef and co-owner of Cafeteria, La Buca, and Pied-a-Terre, remembers reading a post about one of his restaurants on a food blog. The blogger had ordered a seafood risotto, which Durbach characterizes as “very, very deluxe” and “absolutely fabulous”. The food blogger complained about the lack of cream and cheese in this rich concoction filled with clams, mussels, prawns, crab, and lobster.

      “If you know anything about Italian food and risotto, you know that you never put cream in risotto. The creaminess comes from the rice,” Durbach told the Georgia Straight. “So sitting there and reading some guy say that it was not very good because there wasn’t enough cream and cheese, is that a well-informed consumer? No, it’s diners being pushed further towards the brink of ignorance.”

      Durbach isn’t alone when he says that food bloggers are affecting the restaurant industry in a major way. When Straight staffers called up over 100 restaurateurs, chefs, and floor managers and asked them for their customer-relations stories, some had a lot to say on bloggers and social media. “The power they have on the Internet is amazing. They can ruin people’s livelihoods,” said Julio Gonzalez-Perini, owner and executive chef at Lupo Restaurant and Vinoteca. “They’re writing things on the Internet like they are all experts, and I find that 60 to 70 percent of the time, they are completely incorrect.”

      That is why Tyson Blume, owner of Uli’s Restaurant in White Rock, doesn’t pay too much attention to food bloggers or online restaurant reviews. “We’ve gotten 13 reviews over the last five years, so it’s not a good sample size,” Blume said about one review website. He also maintains that customers are far more likely to write an online restaurant review if they had a negative experience than a positive one.

      Patti Lombardo, owner of Lombardo’s Pizzeria & Ristorante, has enjoyed seeing her customers share photos of the restaurant on photo-sharing websites like Flickr. “I like it when people upload photos. I think that’s kind of cool,” she said. “They go on there and they’ll go, ”˜Oh, here’s some pictures of Lombardo’s.’ And they’ll have these very kind of impromptu pictures of staff working, or the pizza guy throwing up pizza up in the air. I like that.”

      Heather also frequently looks for pictures of his restaurants on websites like Flickr. “On there, you can see if the portion sizes are where they should be, or if they’re using a pour to pour alcohol properly, or are they free-pouring,” he said. “These kinds of things you can tell by looking at a photograph.

      “You have to use every tool available to you, and we’ve learned very quickly that there’s a lot of stuff out there that can help you run your business,” Heather added.

      Fury, who has helped many businesses get their feet wet in social media, echoed Heather. “Social media is not going away,” Fury said. “It’s here to stay”¦.It’s a new realm of exposure and it’s how to leverage it, that’s the most important thing. I think that restaurants are realizing that.”

      With files from Matthew Burrows, Yolande Cole, and Shadi Elien.

      You can follow Michelle da Silva on Twitter at twitter.com/michdas.

      Comments

      15 Comments

      Mackenzie Chiu

      Mar 24, 2011 at 11:53am

      Great little piece on SM entering the restaurant world..

      Heres my 2 cents:

      1. Mr. Durbach: So what if that person actually thought there was supposed to be cream in a risotto. Maybe thats actually what they thought was true. Saying that people are ignorant and don't know anything about food and shouldn't be talking about it is the wrong approach sir... It is up to us in the industry who DO know about food to educate those people who do not. Now that you saw that "complaint" why don't u invite them back and show them what exactly it is to enjoy a good risotto. problem solved.. and you look like a great person. wouldnt u rather have educated diners eating at your establishment?

      2. IMO people who "can't handle" a negative comment should not be in the business... because it means that your not confident in what you produce or your not confident in your ability to make good food or provide good service.. If you don't want this negativity.. make better food... simple..

      3. I agree with Melody.. all that social media is providing us is MORE of an opportunity to make sure that A: our happy customers continue to be happy and B: our unhappy customers are made into one of our Happy customers..

      Jackie Cooke

      Mar 24, 2011 at 12:35pm

      While Mackenzie states several positive suggestions, I would like to point out that in many cases, unhappy guests don't state their criticisms when they occur. Rather, they blog or post reviews after the fact. This is most frustrating for the restaurant, as they aren't allowed the opportunity to address the issue at the time. Which if done so, hopefully would exceed the guest's experience.

      Rebecca

      Mar 24, 2011 at 12:38pm

      Bloggers are customers, they just have an online outlet. They are not all educated but they do eat at restaurants like the general population. Perhaps Mr Durbach should have left a friendly comment on the post to educate the blogger, it probably would have been well-received.

      Love Melody's comments here too. People are talking about your restaurant no matter what. With social media, you're finally hearing about it - instead of the chatter living privately by the watercooler at the office.

      Remo

      Mar 24, 2011 at 1:56pm

      There seems to be a little lack of full disclosure here and around the web in general with bloggers of all kinds. I've noticed that a lot of bloggers have been venturing into the area of PR and not disclosing that fact.

      Seems awfully fishy to me (food pun not intended) that the restaurants that have a positive attitude toward social media and food bloggers, have in a lot of cases, employed a PR firm with heavy ties to twitter and bloggers. It's a little too coincidental that certain bloggers buzz about the same businesses that are also the clients of specific PR firms. It's understandable; bloggers (freelance writers) are trying to make a business for themselves like anyone else. I just find it unethical that bloggers don't disclose the fact that they're on a PR firms go to roster.

      Plus if you want to be categorized as a "food" or "fashion" or whatever type of blogger, at least be educated in that area because Mr. Durbach is right, you are talking about people’s livelihood. For you to consider yourself a food critic, because that's what food bloggers are doing, critiquing the food, then, at the very minimum, have some idea of how to make the food. Because if you don't know that rizzotto doesn't have cream in it then you haven't even so much as read the directions on the side of a bag of Arborio rice!

      There’s a reason why people who are famous for being bloggers like Perez Hilton aren’t main stream. It’s because they’re famous for being bloggers not for being journalists, or food critics, or music execs. And that is also why Hilton is not a judge on American Idol, in spite of his best effort to lobby to get on the show. It’s because he doesn’t know sh## about the music industry.

      My parents told me when I was young that those that can’t do, teach, and those that don’t try, criticize.

      Jonathan Cho

      Mar 24, 2011 at 3:44pm

      Mackenzie Chiu's comments illustrates the ignorance of bloggers. The underlying conflict that has the restaurant industry throwing their hands up and waving white flags is the issue of blogger credibility.

      Every business owner in the world will tell you that it's impossible to please everyone. So when (not if) there's a complaint, they have to qualify the criticisim, perspective and intention of it. Who would have a better idea of what risotto should be like? Durbach or an anonymous blogger? Of course I would choose Durbach having researched his credentials. Had he asked the blogger to come back for that same risotto, I would expect it to not have changed a single bit, but rather be exceptionally consistent. And the smugness of Mackenzie's idea of educating the customer about risotto? Get real! The last thing I would want is my server educating me and my guests about dining out. We go out to enjoy ourselves, and our company. Not to be lectured by the restaurant. You can't please everyone....

      What we really need to be thinking about is how the internet and social media has changed human behaviour. 10 years ago if people had a complaint, they would speak to the manager. Nowadays, people who want to complain have access to a veil of anonimity to rant online for everyone to read. And what is their intention? Should they really expect the restaurant to hunt down their post? What a self-indulgent way to live...

      brodie31k

      Mar 24, 2011 at 4:05pm

      I'd suggest that these restaurant owners take a look at the cluetrain manifesto. http://www.cluetrain.com/

      "There are no secrets. The networked market knows more than companies do about their own products. And whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone."

      CC

      Mar 24, 2011 at 6:26pm

      Some people are uneducated in food. There is not supposed to be cream in risotto. It is frustrating that some people do not check the facts before they post but I think when people have a bad experience they just want some empathy. There are spiteful people or rival restaurateurs blogging negative comments because they might not like the people who run the establishment. On the other hand I ( I work in the industry) have seen owners post fake positive review on these sites. In general I love the idea of everyone is a critic but unfortunately there are a few people out there who ruin it for everyone.

      Second Nation

      Mar 25, 2011 at 9:12am

      <Hu-rump!> This Internet has allowed the unwashed masses to speak with one another!

      There were similar protests by the elites when the reading, writing and the printed word became common-place.

      liquifyem@gmail.com

      Mar 25, 2011 at 11:30am

      Agreed that a lot of foodies/food critics/food bloggers are clueless!!! If you're going to talk about any topic be well informed - don't do it to feel self important or get freebies. I don't consider myself a foodie but I love food, am a great cook and I still would feel qualified to critic a restaurant publicly as a living as some of these people do.

      The horrifying thing is that they attach themselves to mediocre restaurants because they get paid for PR and promo those as being excellent establishments to eat at. Having been subjected to a few events from certain food bloggers around town I've come to realize most of these people don't even know good food!

      Yes social media is here to stay and restaurants can and should use it to their advantage but not to chase after these self important ignorants.