There seems to be, a bigger gap between what we see on our mobile devices and reality.
It was my birthday recently. I decided I wanted to go to a particular restaurant, not too far from my home. On Instagram, it have some really good photos, food looked great, reviews were good. All in all – I thought this is going to be a great experience.
So… this is what happened,
- I rang a few days before to make a reservation. I was told, that the only availability they had was 5:30pm, and they’d need the table back at 7pm. Oh ok… well, I do want to eat there – let’s have an early dinner.
- We arrive promptly. Seated. And handed food menu’s. Asked what we’d like for drinks. But we didn’t have a drinks menu.
- Now the food is not cheap. In fact, it’s expensive. So I’m expecting a similar type of service. But no. No recommendations. No ‘specials of the day’. No allergy questions.
- We order. Food comes. My daughter says, dad… I see something moving in my rice. The worst thing you could think of! And yes. There was a small creepy crawly! I call the server over, explain to her – and she sees it. Says sorry, and goes to get another plate of food.
- We finish. The bill comes. No mention, no further apology, no questions about the food we returned, how the experience was, etc..
- It’s about 6:55, nearly 7pm… I look around and guess what?! That’s right, it’s mainly empty. I said, I guess they’ll have a huge rush of people in the next 5 to 10 minutes.
I know a few foodies locally. I shared my experience with them. And a few of them who’ve been were surprised. Maybe they got the ‘special’ treatment because they made it clear they would write up the restaurant. But what about the ‘ordinary’ folk.
I won’t be going there again. Ever.
And moreso, who do I trust?
The reviews? (well we know what happened with that fake TripAdvisor Restaurant)
The Social Media? (whilst it looked all nice… is this the reality?)
The Influencers? (don’t they get preferential treatment?)
