Lynn's has closed!

[Richard S.]

That was interesting, and a somewhat different take than what we've been seeing for the past few days.

What bothers me is the mob mentality that surrounded this and other recent restaurant-related issues. I haven't been to Lynn's in years. I don't know any of the people involved or the legality of the issues involved. If servers had to be walked to their cars at the end of the night because of the public backlash, though, something's being lost in translation.

[Linda C]

I might agree with that, but read the comments on the Service Worker Justice site. There are some passionate, well written accounts of terrible management and employee mistreatment. Rather than say, "this happens everywhere", why not mention names , dates and facts ? I have worked in some bad situations where I would have loved to have social media to expose that kind of thing. Nobody should feel so helpless to keep a job that he or she is treated like that. I am glad people are talking and that the truth comes out. I know there are two sides to every story, but the evidence is pretty convincing.

[Ralph M]

That blog post is by one of my students, doing an assignment for my Online Journalism class--a class that Robin has spoken to in past semesters.
I was skeptical of the early blogging about this: could the place really be THAT bad? I ate there about once a year. It was kitchy, portions were huge, the food was good.

I knew and interviewed Lynn, who is a genius of entrepreneurial business-building. If indeed she had detached from the restaurant's day-to-day operations that could explain how the situation deteriorated. I can't see how she would have ever tolerated it.

It will take a while for all this to shake out--but at root, the story of dozens of displaced workers is the one that should be reported.

[Deb Hall]

Another possibility in mind for the closing- maintaining market value for selling Lynn's. With the way things were going with all the bad PR, business would be off and the negative reputation was growing. It's possible that this was purely a business decision ( extremely unfair to employees)- by closing quickly, it opens the opportunity to sell a " nationally known restaurant' to new ownership and nip the negatively in the bud.

Deb

[Doug Davis]

So the new allegation today is Mellow Mushroom has the same policy, mandatory tip pool, but to make matters worse they report for taxing purposes the amount their servers earned prior to paying the tip out.

Wonder how far this is going to spread and how many restaurants will get caught up in it?

[Amy B]

So the new allegation today is Mellow Mushroom has the same policy, mandatory tip pool, but to make matters worse they report for taxing purposes the amount their servers earned prior to paying the tip out.

Wonder how far this is going to spread and how many restaurants will get caught up in it?

And where are you getting this info from? I work for MM in Middletown and unless they changed policy within the past 2 months I don't ever recall this policy..ever.

[Richard S.]

I read the comments, and while they may be passionate and well written (and may be true) I don't see them as evidence, just accusations that prompted dozens of people to call for Lynn's head. To borrow a line from Jurassic Park, people are wielding these social media efforts like they found their dad's gun. They're cheering the fact that they helped shut Lynn's down. A few weeks ago, people were calling for a boycott of Maker's Mark products based on accusations that have yet to be litigated (and didn't involve the distillery operation). I wonder how Bill Samuels is doing these days? Maybe tomorrow Mellow Mushroom will shut down. The accusations are already starting.

Sorry, not trying to be a jerk. I just find it distressing that people are taking pleasure in this.

I might agree with that, but read the comments on the Service Worker Justice site. There are some passionate, well written accounts of terrible management and employee mistreatment. Rather than say, "this happens everywhere", why not mention names , dates and facts ? I have worked in some bad situations where I would have loved to have social media to expose that kind of thing. Nobody should feel so helpless to keep a job that he or she is treated like that. I am glad people are talking and that the truth comes out. I know there are two sides to every story, but the evidence is pretty convincing.

[Carla G]

I read the comments, and while they may be passionate and well written (and may be true) I don't see them as evidence, just accusations that prompted dozens of people to call for Lynn's head. To borrow a line from Jurassic Park, people are wielding these social media efforts like they found their dad's gun. They're cheering the fact that they helped shut Lynn's down. A few weeks ago, people were calling for a boycott of Maker's Mark products based on accusations that have yet to be litigated (and didn't involve the distillery operation). I wonder how Bill Samuels is doing these days? Maybe tomorrow Mellow Mushroom will shut down. The accusations are already starting.

Sorry, not trying to be a jerk. I just find it distressing that people are taking pleasure in this.

I might agree with that, but read the comments on the Service Worker Justice site. There are some passionate, well written accounts of terrible management and employee mistreatment. Rather than say, "this happens everywhere", why not mention names , dates and facts ? I have worked in some bad situations where I would have loved to have social media to expose that kind of thing. Nobody should feel so helpless to keep a job that he or she is treated like that. I am glad people are talking and that the truth comes out. I know there are two sides to every story, but the evidence is pretty convincing.

I couldn't agree more Richard. I think this is an example of the downside of social media. If it is now possible for news to spread with such unmatched rapidity we must assume that SOME of that may be inaccurate, biased or misleading. There just are no checks and balances in place to keep, what is in reality , gossip from appearing as news. But it won't stop us - myself included - from speculating.

[Doug Davis]

" I don't see them as evidence"

So Carla and Richard what of Lynn's on statements to members of the press verifying they she did in fact have a mandatory policy, which appears prima facie to be in violation of Kentucky State Revised statute?
I havent seen a single statement from the management or owner denying said policy.

I can speak only for myself. I am not happy about LPC closing. For better or worse it was a nationally known landmark of Louisville. However there were evidently issues, some of them allegedly in violation of Kentucky state law, that needed to be addressed.

Lynn is the one who decided to close her doors, no one else. Personally I didnt see anything that couldnt have been worked through if her ego had allowed it. But since her, in my opinion abrupt and ill thought out, decision was to instead shut down and put more local workers out of work, I wont cry over it either.

And where are you getting this info from? I work for MM in Middletown and unless they changed policy within the past 2 months I don't ever recall this policy..ever.

Someone posted this information in a comments section about LPC. As I said its a rumor/allegation. I assume it must be fairly easy to verify one way or the other though by speaking with some of their servers.

[Linda C]

For the record, I am not taking any pleasure at all in this. I am heartbroken for the hard workers in an often thankless industry. Since "social media" became more popular, a group of musicians have been able to warn others about employers who fail to give two week notices, fail to pay bands and have checks bounce. We used to work under contract, few do anymore. If the accusations are just that, the owners have plenty of opportunities to respond and settle things. More often than not, if they've messed over one group, it's often happened to others. Just saying. And Ms Winter also said she was going to issue another statement which did not happen. She chose to let her actions speak volumes. It is her business and her prerogative.

[RonnieD]

I take no pleasure in this, and I never particularly cared for the place. But it served its purpose, was a distinctive local landmark and was an independent restaurant succeeding in an ever increasingly difficult industry.

The mob mentality thing is disconcerting, but I find it difficult to believe that security at the restaurant was necessary. What was "the enraged public" going to do? Attack innocent customers and employees? What would their end game be? Burn down the restaurant? Is this the Middle Ages?
Chick-fil-A didn't get this kind of response and they deserve it!


The whole thing is a disaster.

Sigh.

[Mark R.]

So the new allegation today is Mellow Mushroom has the same policy, mandatory tip pool, but to make matters worse they report for taxing purposes the amount their servers earned prior to paying the tip out.

Wonder how far this is going to spread and how many restaurants will get caught up in it?

And where are you getting this info from? I work for MM in Middletown and unless they changed policy within the past 2 months I don't ever recall this policy..ever.

Maybe it's the one in St. Matthew's? They have different owners so I'm sure they have different policies and since they are individually owned instead of corporate each one can set its own policies.

[Steve A]

Unfortunately, this goes beyond social media. This has been reported by a local TV station and at least partially verified by the owner.

My .02 as Some Random Prognosticator on the internet is employees raising issues isn't the whole story about this restaurant closing.

While on the subject of where we get information today, somebody upthread speculated in general terms that this might have something to do with healthcare and taxation.

A couple of facts about the Affordable Healthcare Act, from the healthcare.gov website:

Employers with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from new employer responsibility policies (source). This means they aren't required to offer health insurance, though they will receive a tax credit if they do.

In their filing with the federal government, Aetna insurance in Pennsylvania admits that while they seek to increase rates by over 63%, only 1.5% of their rate increase can be attributed to new government fees (source).

[Mark Gilley]

sorry to be another "social media terrorist", but i heard that they have security on premesis to stop people from taking photos and/or video. anyone else hear or see this? seems extreme but, giving some of the accusations regarding a certain persons ego, not entirely unlikely.

[Carla G]

" I don't see them as evidence"

So Carla and Richard what of Lynn's on statements to members of the press verifying they she did in fact have a mandatory policy, which appears prima facie to be in violation of Kentucky State Revised statute?
I havent seen a single statement from the management or owner denying said policy.

I can speak only for myself. I am not happy about LPC closing. For better or worse it was a nationally known landmark of Louisville. However there were evidently issues, some of them allegedly in violation of Kentucky state law, that needed to be addressed.

Lynn is the one who decided to close her doors, no one else. Personally I didnt see anything that couldnt have been worked through if her ego had allowed it. But since her, in my opinion abrupt and ill thought out, decision was to instead shut down and put more local workers out of work, I wont cry over it either.

And where are you getting this info from? I work for MM in Middletown and unless they changed policy within the past 2 months I don't ever recall this policy..ever.

Someone posted this information in a comments section about LPC. As I said its a rumor/allegation. I assume it must be fairly easy to verify one way or the other though by speaking with some of their servers.

I apologize Doug for not being more specific in my response. I think it is obvious LPC utilized a policy as described in previous postings. What I had a very hard time believing was that the public was so up in arms that police protection or some sort of additional security was necessary to escort diners out to their cars. I assumed that posting my statement immediately following Richards which pretty much says the same thing, would have made that clear. After reading the post I can see where the confusion comes in. Sorry I wasn't more specific.