Yeah, certain aspects of the story don't quite add up, but the restaurant owner hasn't done herself any favors to earn the benefit of the doubt with her current brash behavior (and long history of it), and that cancellation fee is also pretty absurd. Plus, if not having 2 people at a table impacts your bottom line so much, your business model is shit.
I'll also say that as a general rule, despite our intense love affair with capitalism, you generally don't get to charge someone for no services rendered, regardless of what the fine print says. Now issuing charge backs may put you in some black books, so it may not be advisable to do it to say, an airline... Let's just say if I'm missing a flight due to being on my death bed, I might just issue one last middle finger via the bank.
I mean this in the most sincere way possible. After being here 10+ years and reading your posts you are far from what most normal people are like. At least that's the vibe I get from you when you post.
That part seems fishy for sure on dispute vs insurance. Though, if he was using insurance and his trip was delayed, trip delay insurance would also cover stuff, so the purported reason for the initial cancellation seems immaterial (ie, giving up because of severely delayed train vs genuine hospitalization). And the $125/person cancellation fee is excessive.This seems to intermingle the terms 'travel insurance' and 'credit card dispute', and also raises questions about the reason for cancellation and how it was done.
Spat over canceled reservation between North End chef and would-be customer goes viral
Both TABLE owner Jen Royle and the would-be customer said they've received threats, while the former switched her social accounts to private.www.boston.com
Yeah, sorry you have to deal with those kinds idiots and troubles. I would say if I was evaluating reviews of a new place, and I saw professional, even-keeled responses to negative reviews (that are also factually weird), I'd be more likely to side with the business owner. But if every time the business owner responded to any sort of criticism, legitimate or otherwise, by going nuclear angry, I might think there was some truth the negative reviews.
Aren't Bostonians kinda ornery? Maybe this isn't such a huge faux pas locally, or it's been accepted as her shtick. What Bostonian doesn't like sticking it to a New Yawker?
Who knows. I'm guessing they had money and decided to make a business....most restaurant owners I've dealt with in the past in a joint like that are real entitled jerks (in general) and it would seem they're just trying to maximize profits without being nice about it. Charging someone a cancellation fee is one thing, but $125 per person is kind of stupid.Aren't Bostonians kinda ornery? Maybe this isn't such a huge faux pas locally, or it's been accepted as her shtick. What Bostonian doesn't like sticking it to a New Yawker?
The restaurant's rating in Google is 4.5, so it can't be that bad (I didn't check Yelp). In the Boston .com article she claims they are very busy, so the bad press hasn't hurt them yet.
More generally, there was a time when business policy was "the customer is always right." In 2024, that isn't universally accepted anymore and this owner relishes antagonizing her critics. Like you, I'd never support a business like that but apparently others are more flexible.
Business owners will change the open status to permanently closed to stop review bombing. They're still open and taking reservations.
Apparently, the potential patron is also getting death threats. Such a stupid story to go threatening death on anyone.
I agree. People can have an opinion but who gets so invested they have to threaten someone’s life? Ridiculous. Seems like people these days need to grow some thicker skin. I wonder if it has to do with how kids are getting raised? Any form of criticism is considered taboo. Everybody gets a trophy. Teachers are told they can’t grade papers with red ink because it’s too harsh on the kids fragile egos. Don’t dare yell at them when they misbehave in class. Parent’s immediately defend their kids when the school is telling them the kid is fucking up. It’s getting real stupid and I think we’re seeing the results. A little more discipline goes a long way.
I don't think it's an issue of "kids these days". It's the anonymity that the Internet provides that enables people to act off their baser instincts and just be a complete jerks.
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