Maras beware...

I think the title of this thread is perfect. As written, it's telling Mara's to beware.

I'm all for it, Dave. Simply "Mara's Has Some Kinks to Work Out" or something similar would convey the OP problem but make it less condeming Can you do that?

But I like the Kinks.

https://youtu.be/N_MqfF0WBsU

dave said:
But I like the Kinks.

We hope the owner of Mara's strives to be a well respected man (get it?).

Does Lola work there?

I dunno. You really got me. (HAHAHAHA

Howabout "Maras Feedback from a newusername associated with middle eastern food, and hey isn't there a competing middle eastern restaurant right across the street?"

You can start your apology thread any time, as that does not check out.

Awesome job, mol folks. Let's bash another local establishment! Just based on conjecture!

Not sure why MOL in general gets blamed every time someone posts a negative comment. Favabean made the decision to start this thread, not "MOL."

Dave: How about:

"Our Experience at _________" or "My __________ experience"

Neither of those tells me what the experience was before I open the thread.

Another idea, though probably not as effective, would be a "Local Business Review" category. But that may be asking for trouble....complaints ... all day, and all of the night!

Mara's in SO has five reviews on Yelp so far--four five star, and one three star (which still gave the place a good review). I doubt a few mixed comments on MOL will destroy the place.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/maras-cafe-and-bakery-south-orange

apple44 said:
Not sure why MOL in general gets blamed every time someone posts a negative comment. Favabean made the decision to start this thread, not "MOL."

That's why I said 'mol folks' - people posting on mol. Not mol itseld

MOL_Rat said:
Howabout "Maras Feedback from a newusername associated with middle eastern food, and hey isn't there a competing middle eastern restaurant right across the street?"

Or maybe "Maras feedback from a new username associated with cannibals and chianti, watch out for your liver!"

I'm the one who suggested that favabean was a new username created to bash Mara's, but now that we can see previous posts (hurray!), I can see that it was an existing username, albeit with just a few previous posts. Still an excessive thread title, though.

imonlysleeping said:
I think the title of this thread is perfect. As written, it's telling Mara's to beware.

good one!

..

dave said:
You can start your apology thread any time, as that does not check out.

Oof! How to Post Like a Tool...

While I agree that the title of this thread is alarmist and unnecessary, I think most people reading or posting to a message board today, understand that these forum are to be taken with a grain of salt. For every negative post on this thread there were more positive or neutral posts to offset them.

We need places like this to remain open and unfiltered by imposed rules of engagement. Let the community sort out the trolls.

dupe post

I have never paid attention to exact numbers............but for the most part I think restaurant reviews posted by MOL readers are 80 per cent positive.

A restaurant lives or dies on the merits of its food and service. A year is the testing time. Should a new restaurant remain in business beyond that mark they have a shot at a long life.

I want a wonderful vibrant downtown, with great places to come to!

Maras is in a great location, with both indoor and outdoor space.

To succeed they need to hear from us, all of us, what works and what doesn't. The owners and managers who use customer feedback will, imo, grow and be successful.

Over the years I've become friendly with a number of business owners - I find them so wanting what people think and what their experiences are. Most seem genuinely interested in getting kudos of course, as well as what isn't working. I'll add, an owner or manager who is truly involved in the back and front of their business - has a gut sense for that already (and will succeed!). Validation, good and not so good, makes it real.

Dave, how about an official "MOL approved" or "MOL rated" program where real, registered users can rate businesses? I'd take that any day over yelp or Angie's list

If I were opening a new restaurant in SOMA I would try to talk with Dan & Fred of Arturo's and learn how they manage to recruit, train, and keep such great young staff. Of course they might not want to share their techniques. We love the folks at the Trattoria, Roman Gourmet, Wild Ginger, etc., but other than the professionals at Lorena's, Arturo's staff provides the best service.