Calling Yourself Out as an LTHer

I was just reading RIA's soapbox topic on "What customer hijinks get under your skin most?" . This is a thing where chef's respond to various questions that people might find interesting.

Cary Taylor (of The Southern) answered with the following:

The ones like we had the other night - saying they were food critics when they weren't. Or when LTHers and Yelpers come in and state that they are somehow affiliated with those groups

Are there LTHers out there that really do this (I assume looking for special treatment)? I really hope not.

The only time I've ever even considered it was after a good meal at a new place, knowing that I was intending to post some favorable comments that I tought they might like to know about. Didn't follow through though.

zoid wrote:The only time I've ever even considered it was after a good meal at a new place, knowing that I was intending to post some favorable comments that I tought they might like to know about. Didn't follow through though.

That doesn't seem so bad. Calling it out before a meal though...I just don't see any reason for it.

HI,

I don't, at least not with the restaurant. If I happen to engage in conversation with the table next to me who might have an interest in what we do, I will tell them of the site.

I was astounded at an LTH event when someone recounted having problems getting a table at a restaurant. They said they were friends of someone from this board, then got immediate VIP treatment. Guess what? They don't know this person beyond their personna here, because I checked with the person whose name was flung around.

At an LTH event, someone snipped I probably got better service because I announced who I was. I am enough under the radar, I have received rotten service. The very next evening other LTH people received exceptional. I figure I know the character of the restaurant better than my friends, because they did not know who I was and very evidently didn't care.

Regards,

Another legit reason to call yourself out as an LTHer is when a group is meeting somewhere. I know in the Evanston Lunch Group, sometimes there's a new person and the only way to figure it out is to say LTH.

I wonder what would happen if you walked into a restaurant and said "just so you know, I am XXX, and I expect exemplary service." I'd expect the same if you name-dropped a blog or board or other media: you might get exemplary service, but I'd be scared to eat the soup...

Cathy2 wrote:I was astounded at an LTH event when someone recounted having problems getting a table at a restaurant. They said they were friends of someone from this board, then got immediate VIP treatment. Guess what? They don't know this person beyond their personna here, because I checked with the person whose name was flung around.

I find it's much more effective to show up in a blue blazer with gold button and an ascot, ask for a quiet table at the back where I can "go unnoticed" and type furiously on my laptop while taking occasional breaks to dissect the food like an 11th grader in biology class.

But that's just me.

For several years (no more) a photo of me presenting Hae Woon Dae with its GNR was displayed by the entrance (as were photos of a number of other LTHers). I don't know that I got special service, but I always thought I was recognized when I came in.

I've mentioned that I was there because I read about the restaurant on LTH but that conversation has only happened after a meal.

Even if I'm snapping pics of my meal and asked by someone from the restaurant what they are for, I usually just answer with "they're for my blog" or something like that. I never mention LTH in that circumstance and I think it's really shady (unethical) for anyone to do so, whether it's LTH, Yelp, eGullet or whatever.

=R=

If an owner comes to the table and asks where we heard about them, I would tell them if I read about them on LTH. Then again, the only types of places that has happened to me, the owners are barely aware of what the internet is.

The only other time I think I have mentioned it is when I introduced myself to Gus at Wiener and Still Champion. But I think it's different if the owner is an active forum participant.

I know we've said, when someone asked "who are you waiting for?" "Oh we're meeting a couple of other LTHers" - but this was at a place we've gone to for years, where they already know us pretty well. Certainly it wasn't said with any intent of getting anything.

HI,

Last year when Calumet Fisheries received an American Classic commendation, they announced it prematurely on facebook. I happened to catch the notice and posted it here. Calumet Fisheries sent me a pleading note to take it down, because this was announced before the Beard Foundation.

I cooperated and took it down. The guy hoped I would stop by sometime and introduce myself. I stopped by, bought everything I planned and only then introduced myself. I would not have felt comfortable doing it any other way.

Regards,

Mhays wrote:I wonder what would happen if you walked into a restaurant and said "just so you know, I am XXX, and I expect exemplary service." I'd expect the same if you name-dropped a blog or board or other media: you might get exemplary service, but I'd be scared to eat the soup...

All you have to do is clck your heels together and say "Plotnicki, Plotnicki, Plotnicki"

I can think of a few times where I've mentioned to someone at the restaurant that I heard about a restaurant or a particular dish on LTH. Most of these conversations happen toward the end of the meal -- that chit-chatty "How'd you enjoy your meal?" moments.

To anyone who intentionally mentions LTH or Yelp in an effort to be treated like a VIP: I'd suggest that the best way to feel special at a restaurant or bar is to eat there regularly, get to know the staff, tip well and be a pleasant person.

chgoeditor wrote:To anyone who intentionally mentions LTH or Yelp in an effort to be treated like a VIP:

I'm not convinced that such people exist.

jesteinf wrote:I was just reading RIA's soapbox topic on "What customer hijinks get under your skin most?" . This is a thing where chef's respond to various questions that people might find interesting.

Cary Taylor (of The Southern) answered with the following:

The ones like we had the other night - saying they were food critics when they weren't. Or when LTHers and Yelpers come in and state that they are somehow affiliated with those groups

Are there LTHers out there that really do this (I assume looking for special treatment)? I really hope not.

Cary might be my favorite chef in Chicago and he's a super nice guy, but this is surprising from him. He cooks at a restaurant that basically begs people every day to check in on foursquare or mention that they tweet about the place. Plus, Cary himself wrote the following on this very forum's pages:

Sweet T wrote: We really hope to see our blogger buddies and hope that you guys can experience Chaise Lounge for great food, drinks and atmosphere. Just call us at 773.342.1840 and let us know that you are LTH readers like us. ...Cary Taylor
Executive Chef, The Restaurant at Chaise Lounge
carystaylor@hotmail.com

chgoeditor wrote:
To anyone who intentionally mentions LTH or Yelp in an effort to be treated like a VIP:


I'm not convinced that such people exist.

That was my thought, too. Perhaps the gentleman at the Southern was telling tall tales.

Wait - maybe the perp was John Kass!

sundevilpeg wrote:

chgoeditor wrote:
To anyone who intentionally mentions LTH or Yelp in an effort to be treated like a VIP:


I'm not convinced that such people exist.

That was my thought, too. Perhaps the gentleman at the Southern was telling tall tales.

Wait - maybe the perp was John Kass!

Maybe not on LTH, but it wouldn't surprise me re. Yelpers/bloggers/others. (And I say that not because Yelpers are necessarily different from LTHers, but because it's a much larger population.) This is not the first article I've read where businesses complain about "extoration" from those who try to get something for nothing/more for less/preferred treatment while claiming to have power & sway on the internet.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Even if I'm snapping pics of my meal and asked by someone from the restaurant what they are for, I usually just answer with "they're for my blog" or something like that. I never mention LTH in that circumstance and I think it's really shady (unethical) for anyone to do so, whether it's LTH, Yelp, eGullet or whatever.

Like ronnie_suburban, if someone asks what my photos are for I just mention they're for my twitter. I never expect special treatment. In fact, I often ask my fellow patrons if they mind my snapping photos, and will normally tweet to the chef whether or not they actually mind my doing so.

edlakin
@ChiFoodiePhoto if you want to come sometime and just take pictures, you're more than welcome to. just let me know.

In this instance, I wasn't asking Ed to make an exception for me; rather I made a remark about how my iPhone didn't do his food justice during my lunch break and I needed to return with my Nikon's...He's just that awesome of a guy.

Whenever I've identified myself as an LTHer I've always followed it with "AND I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!"

incite wrote:In this instance, I wasn't asking Ed to make an exception for me; rather I made a remark about how my iPhone didn't do his food justice during my lunch break and I needed to return with my Nikon's...He's just that awesome of a guy.

You should have no probem. My Nikon is an Edzo's regular. No one seems to care, although it doesn't usually order its own meal.

My inclination is not only not to call myself out as an LTHer, but to feel somewhat sheepish if someone else does. I don't know why, but I do. For instance, if a table companion says, "So, did you find out about this place on LTH?", or "So, what are you going to write about this on LTH?", and anyone else is in earshot, I kind of don't like it. I don't want restaurant staff thinking that they need to give me special treatment, and for some reason I don't want them thinking that the only reason I'm there is that I read about their place on LTH. (Even if this is true.) I suppose partly it has to do with not wanting to be thought of as "one of those people who spends too much time on the internet." (Even if I am.) Anyway, my problem; only sharing it in case it rings a bell with anyone else.

incite wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Even if I'm snapping pics of my meal and asked by someone from the restaurant what they are for, I usually just answer with "they're for my blog" or something like that. I never mention LTH in that circumstance and I think it's really shady (unethical) for anyone to do so, whether it's LTH, Yelp, eGullet or whatever.

Like ronnie_suburban, if someone asks what my photos are for I just mention they're for my twitter. I never expect special treatment. In fact, I often ask my fellow patrons if they mind my snapping photos, and will normally tweet to the chef whether or not they actually mind my doing so.

If someone asks my why I'm taking photos, I say it's because I like to post them on LTHForum. I don't see why lying would be more ethical than being honest. Granted, the only places that have ever asked me that kind of question are humble ethnic ones that give me a befuddled look when I say LTHForum, since they've never heard of us. But if I were asked at a place where the forum is known, I'd say the same honest thing. If I'm uncomfortable with giving an honest explanation, I feel like I shouldn't be taking the photos in the first place. Which is why I usually don't.

Kennyz wrote:

incite wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Even if I'm snapping pics of my meal and asked by someone from the restaurant what they are for, I usually just answer with "they're for my blog" or something like that. I never mention LTH in that circumstance and I think it's really shady (unethical) for anyone to do so, whether it's LTH, Yelp, eGullet or whatever.

Like ronnie_suburban, if someone asks what my photos are for I just mention they're for my twitter. I never expect special treatment. In fact, I often ask my fellow patrons if they mind my snapping photos, and will normally tweet to the chef whether or not they actually mind my doing so.

If someone asks my why I'm taking photos, I say it's because I like to post them on LTHForum. I don't see why lying would be more ethical than being honest. Granted, the only places that have ever asked me that kind of question are humble ethnic ones that give me a befuddled look when I say LTHForum, since they've never heard of us. But if I were asked at a place where the forum is known, I'd say the same honest thing. If I'm uncomfortable with giving an honest explanation, I feel like I shouldn't be taking the photos in the first place. Which is why I usually don't.

Interesting. I feel like mentioning LTH might draw a little more attention, which is why I tend to withhold that info. By saying "for my blog" my hope is that it makes me seem even more small-time than I already am.

=R=

Jeff Pikus of Maude's Liquor Bar has noted about LTHForum that our "collective musings amount to very little". I think he meant that in a demeaning way, but I also think he's mostly right. He'd be even more right if he said that our individual musings mean very little. When I take photos to post here, I don't pretend that those photos or my posts constitute something of any importance at all to the restaurant, and I certainly try not to come across as a person who deserves special treatment because of my "status" as one of 9,600 LTHForum members. While I suspect it's true that some LTHForum or Yelp members act like self-important tools, I think there are just as many overly-sensitive chefs who give undue weight to an individual poster's musings, allowing someone as meaningless as me to get deep under their skin. That's their problem.

I have to say, I'm pretty solidly with Kenny...and for that matter, I don't know if Jeff Ruby's reading around, but I think anonymity is overrated in general.

My Dad always used to drive me nuts, making reservations under "Dr. and Mrs." He did this expressly to get better service (sadly, the waiters who gave better service assuming an overblown tip from the rich Doctor were disappointed. I would guess that worked both ways.) People have all kinds of these sorts of "tricks" and I do find them offensive: dropping off your business card at the door with "Restaurant Critic" as your title is certainly one of them. Saying "I'm going to review you online" before a meal is another.

However, this kind of childish behavior is no reason that the rest of us have to play cloak-and-dagger with who we are and what we do, as long as we aren't participating in it.

I'm wondering if there's a different context from that posting:

"The ones like we had the other night - saying they were food critics when they weren't. Or when LTHers and Yelpers come in and state that they are somehow affiliated with those groups"

Is the chef perhaps stating that these people are claiming some "higher" level role (whatever additional clout that might yield, real or imagined) at either Yelp or LTH that goes beyond posting comments? If I'm "affiliated" with LTH because I spent the couple minutes to "join" and respond to an auto-email then I'm also "affiliated" with the Chicago Tribune, the Bears, IBM . . . and on.

Is the chef perhaps stating that these people are claiming some "higher" level role (whatever additional clout that might yield, real or imagined) at either Yelp or LTH that goes beyond posting comments?

I think the problem for the chef is that if someone claims they are "affiliated" with a food board, the chef has no way of knowing if that person is a member with 5 posts or 5000 posts. And every food board I've read always has posters whose opinions carry a great deal more weight than the average member. So due to the ability of posters to remain anonymous, the chef probably has no idea who he/she's serving and will err on the side of caution. And resents being put into that position.

I've read about this phenomenon on other food boards around the country. Not unique to Chicago.

Are there really Chefs "saving" their best efforts for "important" people? Not a really good business model, if you ask me, especially in this age of information sharing: for every 5,000 post "important" person, there are dozens of table turns with thousands of people who also have access to the internet. I suppose in the days before IT ran the world, a chef could treat critics like kings and everybody else like dirt and get away with it, but not so much anymore.

Say your 5,000 post person...or, say, Jeff Ruby...posted a glowing review of a place and EVERY other Joe Schmo blog, Yelp, LTH, or Zagat post about the place said it was crap - who do you think people are going to believe? A one-post wonder with a bone to pick doesn't garner much credibility, but 1,000 one-post wonders do. Contrariwise, if one poster walks into an establishment and acts like a butt-head, then I hope they are careful when they drink their soup...and if 1,000 LTHers walking into establishments start acting like butt-heads, then I'm out...and you deserve whatever happens to the soup in either case.

Arlo Guthrie wrote:And if you're in a situation like that there's only one thing you can do and that's walk into the shrink wherever you are, just walk in say "Shrink, You can get anything you want, at Alice's restaurant." And walk out. You know, if one person, just one person does it they may think he's really sick and they won't take him. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony, they may think they're both f&^**s and they won't take either of them. And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. They may think it's an organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day,I said fifty people a day walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. And friends they may thinks it's a movement.

And that's what it is , the Alice's Restaurant Anti-Massacre Movement, and all you got to do to join is sing it the next time it come's around on the guitar.

I've spent my entire adult life trying to hide that I'm "one of those people from the internet" to avoid ridicule and shame. I would never have thought that people try to avoid the opposite result.