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Old 07-12-2008, 08:29 AM   #1
redc5
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Question What is going on in this section lately?

I love this forum and I get a lot out of it. We bought a place up here a little over 2 years ago and have found a ton of great info and new restaurants to try.

Lately, there are a lot of bashing going on. WHY?
Are a lot of people having bad days? I doubt it.

I am not, have never been and will never be in the reasturant business, but I am a business man. For some reason several people (or maybe just one person with several forum names) are logging on and with their first or second post are knocking the crap out of the area restaurants and then disappearing. Some of these are new places and some are old staples that have been here for years. I don't get it??? And I don't put a lot of stock into their bashing. For example: I refuse to believe a lot of what I read in the Lobster Pound thread http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...ead.php?t=6155 To me it seams to be just plain sabotage, perhaps out of jealousy??

I do know, that an happy customer will tell one or two people, but an unhappy customer will tell anyone who will listen or read.

I also know, that many of them should follow the advise my mother gave me over 35 years ago. If you dont have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

If you have a complaint, take it to the manager and see what happens, most likely they will take care of you.

OK I'm getting off my soapbox! Maybe I'll spend the weekend trying all the restaurants that have been bashed here lately....although I don't think I can eat that many times.
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Old 07-12-2008, 08:40 AM   #2
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Unfortunately the expression had changed. "If you have nothing nice to say put it on the Internet" seems to be the way to do it now. It's a double edged sword. Before there was the internet it was difficult to get your complaints into a public forum. Lots of people tried to solve problems, got nowhere and quietly took it on the chin, telling only thjose few people near them about their negative experience. Now you have the ability to tell the whole world in seconds if you choose. As a result we see a lot of these one post wonders dropping by long enough to bash someone, then leave. Your're prbably right, and most here seem to agree, those have to be taken at face value. In a lot of cases it's just someone trying to settle a score, trash someone they are mad at, and could be all made up.

This topic would be a good one for Charlie Gibson on ABC news as one of his "SIgn of the Times" segments.
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Old 07-12-2008, 08:58 AM   #3
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Redc5.....glad you brought that up and you've made a good point.My observation is,as a forum member for many years,that some of the uncomplimentary posts are made by people with issues such as a disgruntled employee, family and friends of competitors and so on.Fortunately,Don,the webmaster, keeps a close eye and dumps the posts that cross the line.But most are made by people who think of themselves as restaurant critics.If you check their other posts you'll find that these same people slam restaurants over and over again.My advice is to ignore what you read and try them yourself.If you're happy,say something nice on the forum.....if not,direct your complaints to the owners and I'll bet they scramble to make it right.
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Old 07-12-2008, 08:59 AM   #4
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Eric, you are right.

MeredithBay logged on for the first time 7-4-08 had 3 negitive posts on the 6th and 7th and has not logged on since.

Personally, I put zero credibility in those 3 posts
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Old 07-12-2008, 09:06 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SAMIAM View Post
Redc5.....glad you brought that up and you've made a good point.My observation is,as a forum member for many years,that some of the uncomplimentary posts are made by people with issues such as a disgruntled employee, family and friends of competitors and so on.Fortunately,Don,the webmaster, keeps a close eye and dumps the posts that cross the line.But most are made by people who think of themselves as restaurant critics.If you check their other posts you'll find that these same people slam restaurants over and over again.My advice is to ignore what you read and try them yourself.If you're happy,say something nice on the forum.....if not,direct your complaints to the owners and I'll bet they scramble to make it right.
Guess I better not post about our experience at Shibleys a month ago then ....
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Old 07-12-2008, 09:09 AM   #6
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I feel differently. I have posted both positive and negative restaurant reviews here and don't feel badly about posting the negative ones as they were posted honestly about my dining experiences. I do agree that there's those "one time charlie" posters who only want to bash but the savy forum reader can easily weed through those. I think it's a great idea that when you do have a negative experience please post what you did about it (if anything) and how management handled your complaint. To me that's way more important than if your food was served cold. People are human and make mistakes, the true character of a person is what happens after the mistake is make. Happy dining!!
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Old 07-12-2008, 09:42 AM   #7
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Konachick...
Well said.
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Old 07-12-2008, 09:54 AM   #8
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I post fairly frequently in this section, mainly because I like to eat and I like restaurants. I have no problem with positive versus negative posts. Most of us can distinguish the negative "one time Charleys" and evaluate the posts as such. Aside from the immature personal attacks which have no place here, one helpful suggestion is that if you have a negative experience, be specific about what the problem was. It doesn't help any of us to say a place is "lousy" without specifying why it is. Same goes for positive. If it is great, why. Everyone is entitled to his opinion, but that opinion is only helpful to others if there are specified reasons behind it.
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Old 07-12-2008, 11:59 AM   #9
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The review postings here are valuable in picking the spots to eat-out. I'm not one to confront a manager when there is a problem as is often recommended and suspect others feel the same way. The forum is a place to share experiences.

With the active on-line community that we have here in the lakes region, a business has to become aware of the postings about them and contribute, or at least listen. In the case of Canoe, Peppers, Kevin's and others, they are part of the community and defend themselves when appropriate. It takes some savvy, as the poster from the Tamarack recently found out, but silence, as we are hearing from the Lobster Trap, is a poor business practice that is bound to hurt their bottom line. When the grudge reviews show up, others need to come to the defense - if warranted. We're not a shy group.
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Old 07-13-2008, 02:08 PM   #10
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Default Give them the chance

I've worked in, and managed restaurants in the past. My feeling is that the customer should 'take it up with management' first. The responsible manager will try to accomodate the guest with a fair solution. If not to the customer's satisfaction, that's a different story!

But - in the past, if the results was unsatisfcatory, we would share it with our friends. In the internet age, we have a lot more friends!

And, yes, we must decide for ourselves what establishments to choose. I might decide to wait until the new restaurant works out their kinks, or stick with my old favorites, or try and old favorite that's just moved to a new location! But, it all falls into the category of 'don't believe everything you hear'! (That what good sense is for.)

Cheers and Jeers are a part of our nature, now we just have the internet too!
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Old 07-13-2008, 06:04 PM   #11
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I think this restaurant forum provides a unique opportunity to get the good , bad and ugly and hope that people will continue to share their views as long as the hidden agendas can be sorted out( both good and bad reviews) If we only post good reviews then why bother reading at all. I have visited places based on reader feedback and avoided places where most say the experience was not great. Also i have seen resturant owners( who deeply care what people think )actually change based on the feedback in this forum. Also i would hope we can avoid the bashing that sometimes happens from one member to another. The internet is real and feedback on restaurants is all over the net but here it is in one place. Also I would tell a restaurant when i had a real problem but not when it is just not as good as usual. So from my view i would hope that we continue to give constructive feedback to the many great restaurants that we are blessed to have in this greatest place on earth.
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Old 07-13-2008, 06:19 PM   #12
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I too have posted both good and bad reviews of restaurants on this page. I was slammed a little for posting negative comments about a very popular old spot in Moultonboro and was willing to try it again but the wife, who is normally much more forgiving than I said "No way am I ever going there again". So I guess I'll never know if it was just a one time bad experience or not. Whatever, when you spend @ $300 for 4 people you deserve the best IMHO.
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Old 07-14-2008, 08:02 AM   #13
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Default good reviews/bad reviews

Seeker, I'm with Mrs Seeker on this. If you are willing to part with $300 or so, or ANY amount, I have a hard time accepting the fact that "the restaurant just had a bad night". Or,"they're new, give them a chance" If a restaurant is open for business, then they should be ready to provide some VALUE in exchange for the money you and I are willing to tend. I'm all against paying to "train" somebody else's employees. Thank goodness there are some who are willing to do so.
And yes, some of us do have an issue with complaining directly to management, and feel uncomfortable doing so.
This forum provides an excellent venue to report about personal experiences at the local eateries. It doesn't seem too difficult to separate the flamers and consistently negative posters from those who are willing to share their honest opinions.
Management, take notice. Your customers are talking about you. Listen and learn and take appropriate action. Or, don't, the choice is yours to make.
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Old 07-14-2008, 12:15 PM   #14
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I agree with you Red about the hit and run negative posters. I think most people that have a lot of internet board experience can weed through the BS and get to an objective average.

It's not good to pounce on the negative reviews. Case in point. The 90's stock market, and this decade as well. Most of the negative posting about this company or that stock was greeted with absolute contempt. Absolutely no facts could dissuade readers that what you had to say had merit, and was worthy of some weight in decision making. I know first hand, because I was a column and newsletter write during some of the most tumultuous periods. I turned bearish in 2000, and most readers turned bearish on me Same thing happened this decade, when I called the economy in 2005/2006 a house of cards, smoke and mirrors, bubble waiting to burst (insert journalistic cliche here).

Two different parties can have totally different reviews of a restaurant even during the same time period. Service is a huge factor. Some people give favorable reviews due strictly to the fact they are Comfortable there. Many people prefer atmosphere to quality, prices to taste, volume to taste. YMMV.

I think it's important to wade through as much information as you can, but make the decision yourself. I actually try some restaurants people have panned, only to find out they are mostly wrong, but sometimes spot on. The Internet is a Head's up source, particularly for products and services you are contemplating. Obviously, people with an axe to grind are more vocal, but usually more transparent due to their lack of longevity, and general hit and run tactics. I think it's a big mistake to complain about negative reviews in general, and so far, history is on my side
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Old 07-14-2008, 10:33 PM   #15
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A long time ago I decided that opinions are just that and you need to decide for yourself and have more than one view if you want to get an census before deciding something for yourself. Siskel & Ebert would consistently give thumbs down to movies I liked. I don't really like critics for that reason, and when reading forums one needs to keep that in mind. We're all different and see things differently. So take it all with a grain of salt.
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Old 07-15-2008, 06:37 AM   #16
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Default sometimes it works the other way

I would agree that there are certaintly folks who log on and trash a restaurant in the area but never post again. Perhaps these folks are what we call "lurkers". They read a bunch of the forums, but don't really post. You can imagine there are a lot of people who don't like to write on blogs or forums, but do enjoy reading the info. I was a lurker for over a year, until I got a better idea of what these forums were really about. In defense of some of these folks, maybe the service they received was terrible enough to mke them finally write in.
As for me, I have to agree with most of the people chiming in on this thread. I take the info handed down by others and it "helps" me make my decision on where to eat. I still have the lyons den on my to do, from all of the great feedback on this forum.
There are times it works the other way. My lovely wife and I went to Wolfboro about a year ago and we were searching for a place to have dinner. The intitial location we went for, was closed for some reason, so we were left to choose. We asked a few locals, and they were of no help. So my wife pointed to a restaurant and we went in. Since I was on this thread, lurking, I knew that a number of people had bad mouthed the location. But when the mrs wants to eat at a "cute" restaurant, we eat at that "cute" restaurant.
Since, my expectations were low, the food and service overdelivered and we have gone back a number of times. File this under, keep expectations low and you'll never be disappointed and don't believe everything others write.
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Old 07-15-2008, 07:13 AM   #17
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Everyone has an opinion and everyone is titled to theirs thanks to our First Amendment. So far, I haven't seen any posts that border on slander. I see posters as being pretty fair and balanced. I do think a trend has been identified on one certain thread but perhaps the management of that establishment can use it for improvements.

If I was a restaurant manager or owner and learned there was a thread about my establishment, I would use the negative comments to make improvements. People pay consultants big $$$ - but the opinion of "Joe Customer" is free and readily available - a good tool, in my opinion.

Another way to look at it...

You're at the water cooler at work and a bunch of co-workers have recently tried a new restaurant and all of them had a bad experience but don't tell you. As you're talking about how horrible the food or service or prices were at the new restaurant, a co-worker says, "Sorry I couldn't tell you. I didn't want to say anything negative."
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Old 07-16-2008, 12:23 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by redc5 View Post
I also know, that many of them should follow the advise my mother gave me over 35 years ago. If you dont have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
I agree. Todays technology has given a "forum" for others to do nothing but complain, these are the same ppl that would otherwise disappear into the darkness. Not everyones opinion is important enough that we all have to hear it.

I haven't found fault in any of the area restaurants for the most part. But I also don't run to the site to talk about how good the food was at a local restaurant, I'm betting the same is true for most of the others on here.. Maybe we should just start and do that from now on. so here it goes... The hamburger I had at McD's last Saturday just hit the Spot!
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Old 07-16-2008, 08:54 AM   #19
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Originally Posted by WAM 290 View Post
I agree. Todays technology has given a "forum" for others to do nothing but complain, these are the same ppl that would otherwise disappear into the darkness. Not everyones opinion is important enough that we all have to hear it.

I haven't found fault in any of the area restaurants for the most part. But I also don't run to the site to talk about how good the food was at a local restaurant, I'm betting the same is true for most of the others on here.. Maybe we should just start and do that from now on. so here it goes... The hamburger I had at McD's last Saturday just hit the Spot!
The value of a forum such as this is to disseminate both the good and the bad. There are a number of both positive posts and negative posts about area restaurants. In most cases, the experiences tend to be corroborated (good or bad) by a number of folks.

I have had good meals and very bad ones at a number of restaurants in the area. Most of the information on the forum is spot on and many of us find it a useful place to collect real information. Your post is a complaint about complainers...a complaint in itself.

I think that everyone should be afforded the respect to post their experiences with area restaurants without be branded a complainer. That is just a form of censorship and generally inappropriate.

My 2 cents.
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Old 07-16-2008, 10:08 AM   #20
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Exclamation correction to NONSENSE

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Originally Posted by jetskier View Post
.........Your post is a complaint about complainers...a complaint in itself.

I think that everyone should be afforded the respect to post their experiences with area restaurants without be branded a complainer. That is just a form of censorship and generally inappropriate.

Jetskier
No No I agree with the responsible well thought out negative reviews or opinions, as those can, and do get used to make intelligent decisions - I perhaps didn't elaborate correctly my un-important opinion which was more that than a complaint. I was merely speaking of individuals who "post and run", the "lurkers" on such sites like this one.

Now who wants my review (opinion) on Burger King????
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Old 07-17-2008, 12:08 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WAM 290 View Post
No No I agree with the responsible well thought out negative reviews or opinions, as those can, and do get used to make intelligent decisions - I perhaps didn't elaborate correctly my un-important opinion which was more that than a complaint. I was merely speaking of individuals who "post and run", the "lurkers" on such sites like this one.

Now who wants my review (opinion) on Burger King????
Thank you for the clarification, that seems like a reasonable view. I will pass on the Burger King review, but don't let my opinion stop you.

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