Cocos Lokos ?

Today (Thunder Saturday), the wife and I wanted to go try Cocos Lokos. We had waited 3 months since their opening to allow for any "bugs" to be worked out of their system.

We arrived at 12:15 PM and the place was CLOSED, SHUTTERED, DARK.

The hours-of-operation signage on the door said Saturday service was 12Noon to 10:00 PM. In other words, we were there 15 minutes AFTER their supposed opening time, and NOTHING !!!!!!!!

There was nothing on the door saying they were closed or had adjusted their hours of operation. Chairs were stacked up-ended onto the tables from the night's before cleaning of the floors.

Well, all I'll say about this is that a restaurant has ONE chance at a FIRST IMPRESSION, and THEY BLEW IT -- BIG TIME.

I shan't be crossing their threshhold.

Tried to go there around 1:15 with my mom and sister. Found it the same way you did, except there was a note on the door. Went there after trying HR and finding it closed with sign. Finally had lunch at VK.

Frustrating that Robin offers a one-stop place for owners to communicate such closings and, yet, most do not.

Do you think you could have missed the note on the door? I'm sure there were more than a few restaurants closed today for Thunder.
I know that at my job (not a restaurant) we have the hours clearly posted including when we close for lunch and people try to open the door everyday during that time. People never take the time to read signs!
I would honestly give them another chance!

[Robin Garr]

... I would honestly give them another chance!

I was just gonna say. "Punishing" a really nice place by boycotting it for life after one offense is a pretty rough way to go. Sort of hints at an issue with commitment.

I would also urge you not to form any opinions about ANY local business on Thunder Day. Since there are 700,000 people at the Waterfront and not out shopping/eating I'm sure a lot of businesses just take the day off.

Ken,
I understand your frustration, but would a sign on the front door really have made you feel differently?
I'd be inclined to give them, or any business, another chance given the Thunder goings-on. The size of this event, and the fact that a number of restaurants did post here that they would be closed (or operating with modified hours), I probably would have called ahead. Maybe checked their website.
This is not to imply you are wrong, but express how I might have handled the situation.
Cheers,
Bill

I would also urge you not to form any opinions about ANY local business on Thunder Day. Since there are 700,000 people at the Waterfront and not out shopping/eating I'm sure a lot of businesses just take the day off.

This has always been my thinking. So I was quite surprised to see how busy St. Matthews Mall was. And, fwiw, 4 separate parties approached the door at Cocos Lokos when I was standing there. A business can take the day off for whatever reason they want, but I do think there was ample business out there to gain. Vietnam Kitchen was full.

In light of the recent threads on here... what is it with people and their one-strike policy?

The self-centeredness of it is amazing to me. You made ONE mistake so I hate you forever? Harsh.

I will be the first to say that businesses should always strive to get it right the first time, and leaving a note up or posting something seems pretty obvious to me and.... if true.... then the person has a right to be irritated but.... to NEVER go back????

I do have to say though, I typically call to make sure a place is open on Thunder Saturday - because I've lived in Louisville most of my life and can use common sense - but a place as far out as Cokos Lokos? They should be open. There are no traffic or access issues, and a new business should try even harder to meet the expectations they set for their customers.

Just closing may appear (my anecdotal evidence of The Taphouse on Westport being busy holds otherwise) smart-ish from a short term dollar perspective, but then so is cutting corners on your product. I can't image they would do chose to do that.

Same basic bottom line thinking.

Same bad business.

Though.. given Ken's apparent expectations.. you may be better off not having him as a customer anyway.

This reminds me of a restaurant philosophy I learned so long ago, that I can't even 'give credit,' so to speak:

The Decision Triangle

When making restaurant decisions, any of them, one must weigh a three-way balance between the restaurant, the guests and the employees. Each are equal, because each effects the next in a rather symbiotic way. No side of this three-way coin can be slighted else the balance fails and the other two fall- in rapid succession.

It's a tough balance, because we never have all of the information. Like tightrope walking on a single spot, our big-toe being the only thing keeping us upright!

Do you open for guests and not have anyone come? Then your employees hate you and the restaurant loses money. Flawed...

Do you not open, and have what just happened on this thread? When Rick sees this, he's gonna be sick about it, promise.

Oi! /whew

Trust me, the people in that house want nothing more than just to be your best friend, your extended familly. They mean no harm- they simply didn't think many would come because of Thunder and 'maybe we be good to our staff and not make them work today' 'let them enjoy the boom/crackles too!'

You are justified in your position- I'd be ticked too. Just trust that they love you and want you to come by again sometime- and as soon as you would like to get there...

Stephen, that's good stuff.

Although Ken started this thread, I've also somewhat presented myself as not being happy with Cocos Lokos not being open. To clarify, my "unhappiness" is not so much with Cocos Lokos not being open (as your triangle provides sound explanation for the decision), as it is with a general inability to communicate the decision.

Given that recent conversation around here has revolved around customer complaints and industry participation on this site, my complaint is that a "sign-on-the-door" is a rather hasty way to "announce" a closing. Such door signs, for me, should be saved for emergency closings. If the closing is planned, there are avenues through which to announce such a decision. One of which is the sticky note Robin posted at the top of the forum. A note I checked before heading out for lunch, which resulted in me scratching Baxter Station as a possibility for lunch (thanks to the person at Baxter who posed that note!)

Now, I'm partially to blame as well. Did I check the restaurant website? No. Would it have been updated? Maybe, but we all know how reliable restaurant websites are. Did I call ahead? No. Do I own a portable web device that would have surely helped in this situation? No, I'm a luddite who has a most-basic cell phone. So, there's blame to go around.

Given past posts from industry people (well posts relating anonymous info) regarding their awareness of both LHB and the "influence" LHB can have on the business, it would seem to be that restaurants don't make use of LHB as an extension of their PR actions at their own peril. "Calling ahead" sure seems like an archaic approach when there's the possibility of a one-step website to compile all this information. Hell, to be honest, I see Robin as wanting to be a "middleman" between consumers and restaurants, but only the smart restaurants are making use of his FREE services.

This whole situation reminds me of students I teach who don't check their email. I can't really make them check it, but there may be consequences that come related to this action, Similarly, I can't make restaurants use LHB as a resource, but I surely can support those that do. Baxter Station is on my good list. So is NABC. Havana Rumba and Cocos Lokos, not so much. Sure, I'll go back to both places. I'm not boycotting. But, I don't feel any special desire to spend my dining dollars there as I do with NABC and Baxter Station.

There can, after all, be sound logic in the decisions consumers make.

Nail on the head, Matt, you just killed it!


I couldn't think of a more appropriate succession of posts as our last two. They explain the supposed divergencies. I think you were absolutely right on Robin's intentions regarding this site. I feel it's important that this needs to be the place where restaurants feel not just comfortable- but compelled- to post such matters as Hours of Operation Interests. This IS the community of peers and equals, I think, and I feel we seem to all be coming to this one, universal truth!

(We are one)

PS... look at the top of the forum. Robin made those sticky's for a reason. Not perfect, but then again, we're treading new ground here. What about next year? And the next? We've got nowhere to go but up!
And we're doing great work!

it's almost a national holiday here.

I'd like to amend your statement to it IS a holiday around here!

I would really like to think that most people have an open mind about places being closed this time of year, especially Louisvillians. Many places were closed because of Thunder. Big deal. That's hardly worth writing them off your list. Some restaurants use the day as a reward to their staff and as a "catch your breath" for the next two weeks. You won't see them closed Oaks/Derby.

Cocos Lokos has gotten numerous good reviews both on LHB and elsewhere. (I haven't had the chance to eat there yet.) I wouldn't let them being closed one day take away from trying the place out.

I would really like to think that most people have an open mind about places being closed this time of year, especially Louisvillians. Many places were closed because of Thunder. Big deal. That's hardly worth writing them off your list. Some restaurants use the day as a reward to their staff and as a "catch your breath" for the next two weeks. You won't see them closed Oaks/Derby.

While I certainly wouldn't take a restaurant off my list because they were closed for Thunder, Oaks or Derby I certainly think they owe it to their customers to take every measure possible to notify them of their intentions. At the very least this should include the posting of this information in the restaurant at least one week prior to the date and the posting of a very visible sign on the door when they are closed on a day they are normally open. They should also make notification on their website and their answering machine. When they participate in a forum like this one they should also make a posting their to ensure they have done everything possible to ensure potential customers will not be disappointed.

Downtown restaurants and ones that are in locations that are severely affected by the traffic of the event I would more or less expect to be closed. Restaurants such as Coco Locos that are removed from the actual event area I would expect to be open.

I actually did call Coco Lokos yesterday afternoon and they had a generic answering machine pick-up (the message did not indicate they were closed but I assumed they were since it was 6:30); thus, we knew they were not open. I will say that we went by Mojito's...they were lined up out the door. Ended up at Martini's and had almost a 30 minute wait. So...so much for there being no business on Thunder Day.

Give Coco Lokos another shot...you won't be sorry. Next year call ahead.

In light of the recent threads on here... what is it with people and their one-strike policy?

The self-centeredness of it is amazing to me. You made ONE mistake so I hate you forever? Harsh.

I will be the first to say that businesses should always strive to get it right the first time, and leaving a note up or posting something seems pretty obvious to me and.... if true.... then the person has a right to be irritated but.... to NEVER go back????

.

Chris,
While I understand your reaction to a "one-strike" rule, I would probably end up not going back to a place a second time if sorely disappointed, albeit for somewhat different reasons. With dining dollars ( and babysitters ) limited- in a great food town I have lots of other options. We probably only go out to eat once every two weeks or so. With so many other places to go, I'm rarely willing to risk a rare night out on the possibility of another less- than great experience at a particular place, when I can go check out another restaurant that I probably will have a great experience at. I'm not going to vehemently say "I'll never go there again!", but the reality is I'm alot less likely to chose that place again, and it rarely gets a second try. First impressions really do count.

Deb