NA Exchange

[Robin Garr]

we require real-name registration from a working Email

I admire this goal, and I appreciate the opportunity to be a member, but do you really KNOW my name is Art?


"Art"

Honor system. If a person lies, shame on them. Typically someone who wants to game us will out himself sooner or later; and if he's a good citizen and the name seems real, I guess nobody's hurt. It's still not a behavior to be proud of, though.

Also, pragmatically, I screen all applicants, and if the name and Email handle don't match, I may elect to inquire about that.

my $.02 goes like this...

To the best of my understanding, whether or not a patron has a wonderful, a terrible, or a mediocre experience at a restaurant, LHB is here to, among other things, provide a platform for said patron to express their opinions in a fair and reasonable manner. Good, bad, or otherwise. I thought the OP did exactly that and was not malicious or mean about conveying any of his reasons that led him to post his review.
When you throw your hat into the professional F&B ring, you enter an arena that is both competitive AND cooperative. You are held to the standard that either you set for the guest or the guest sets for you. Either way, a return guest returns because they expect things to be at least as good as they've experienced before. And just because someone voices the fact that they had a subpar experience doesn't mean that they're doing a 'fly-by', or even trying to hurt the business at all. Every mistake is an opportunity, and making a business and other potential patrons aware of a mistake provides a great opportunity for the restaurant to eliminate the problems that caused the mistake and ensure that future guest experiences meet and hopefully exceed expectation.
Because if you don't, there are MANY caring, hard-working people in the biz that will.

With that being said, this is a human business. By the people for the people. People perform miraculous feats and people make mistakes. NOONE is exempt. I believe that if you can take a compliment, you should also be able to take criticism. Again, if one place doesn't take the time and care to fine-tune the machine and work the bugs out, there are MANY others that will. Regardless of that, a paying customer has the right to their opinion of their experience. They were the ones that were there paying their money and spending their time on said experience, not any of us. Like it or not. That's a fact.

I had the pleasure of working with Ian Hall and the rest of the staff at NA Exchange for several months and I will say this... those folks ALL work very, very hard and care more than anyone here knows about giving their guests a fun, comfortable, honest, and unique experience. The freshness, quality, preparation, and consistancy of their food is amazing. The price points, across the board, offer exceptional value. And I can assure you that the service staff there really does care about what they're doing and the people they're doing it for.

What else is fact is that everyone has bad days from time to time. And if the OP happened to be in on a bad day, this sort of thing happens. I have no doubt that Ian will take this matter to heart and the entire crew at NAX will use this opportunity to their benefit. They're a new place and they're doing some great stuff at a rapid pace. I believe the OP had every right to his opinion AND I believe the tribe over at NA Exchange will only get better from this experience.

Robin can you create a "Piss and Moan" board for all people who are "drive by shooters" and for all those humans who have no way of interacting with people other than behind a keyboard in the comfort of their home ?

Also can you make it that we all have to leave our job proffesion on our signature line so that we can go shit on their parade!

Alan, I am usually in 100% agreement with the contents of most of your posts. I also, even though I have no "service industry" experience, usually err on the side of the establishment, because I think of lots of folks on (and off) this board as virtual and actual friends...Madeline, Jereme from BP, Madi D, etc. And, I think most places in most situations deserve the benefit of the doubt...especially on what might bbe an off night / service. However, I find your post very thin-skinned. Within both the Gary's and the NAX, I find nothing remotely close to drive-bys. No one is crapping on any parades...deal with some criticism and stop trying to censor.

Thanks. DD

Wow, didn't mean to touch anything off here (if I did), and as a n00b I certainly wouldn't presume to try to dictate any forum rules.

All I'm saying is that if your first impulse upon having a bad experience with a restaurant or retailer is, "I gotta go find a forum or review site to post about this," it's just bad form. Especially if you don't have the same impulse when you have a good experience.

I greatly appreciate all the regulars here and the reviews they post, good and bad. I would generally say you should take complaints and criticism up with management before airing them here, but that's just personal preference.

[Robin Garr]

Wow, didn't mean to touch anything off here (if I did), and as a n00b I certainly wouldn't presume to try to dictate any forum rules.

No, not at all, Jeff. As I said, I agreed with a lot in your post. I just took it as an opportunity to get up on the pulpit and preach to the choir.

Jumping on the bandwagon of anti-labeling. I saw no driveby's this week, no pissing, no moaning, about actual restaurants, btw. (I don't read e'ry thread). Of course, how about we refrain from my favourite sin of the week, name-calling and labeling, and focus on the context of the post. If someone has a bad experience, let them post it. If another person has personal experience to the contrary, they too have the opportunity to share. It can be disconcerting for a person to say something and then have 15 of the same people always present their view as proof of the OPs lack of veracity. Scott is still wary of posting bc of all the crap he got about his experience with Fish Tacos. I suspect he is not the only one.

While I agree that it is good form to speak to management and give them the opportunity to fix your problem, I don't hold the converse to be true. I find myself in the Matthew D basket of not accepting responsibility to fix others' mistakes. And I believe that if one has a bad foodie experience, one should be able to speak to other foodies about it. I think there is just such a forum in Louisville...

Any place can have a bad night/hour/minute/etc. A good manager knows that despite all preventions of such an occurrence, they do happen, and tries not to get defensive or offended when they receive the critique. Horrified, maybe, but not defensive, and as Ian (I believe) posted, wanting to rectify the situation. In my opinion, this can be THE place to air an experience, receive feedback, and even see rectification or clarification when the manager gets involved. Not everywhere can a person see both sides, and hopefully, resolution to a problem. I say the more actual industry people we get involved, the better!

My one suggestion, and I think this would prevent many people from having their hackles raised before they even read a thread, is perhaps to keep the title of the thread neutral. That way conversation (civil, no offense taken or meant) can occur without perpetuating a negative concept in the thread title.

And finally, regarding everyone who has been stomped, hanged, tattooed and keeled in the last week, in my best high-pitched voice, "I say we let him go!"

Thanks for the discussion guys, maybe we should move this to a roundtable discussion at NAX. I'm sure we would pack the house. After letting the dust settle, I have come this conclusion....A guest was dissatisfied with their experience at my restaurant, and that is a hard pill for me to swallow. Matt F. is 100% correct, myself and the staff at NAX are very passionate about the business, and we are working on building our brand. So yes we learn from our mistakes, and we move forward. I'll own the fact that we didn't deliver to our guest the way we should have, and that's all on me. The good news is that Mark P. will be back to NAX, and I'm sure I will buy him a pint and enjoy a laugh at this thread. And I also know this, I will address every issue that is brought to my attention about my business, whether it is in a public forum, on the phone, an email, or in person, because I know that is what it takes to succeed. Listening to our guests and delivering an exceptional experience. Thanks Mark for bringing this to my attention and next time your in please introduce yourself, and you have my personal guarantee that we will go above and beyond to make sure you enjoy yourself when you visit us @ NAX. Cheers guys and hope to see you soon at the New Albany Exchange!