Last week, we linked to a piece on Forbes that detailed a writer's surprisingly less-than-satisfactory experience at The East Hampton Grill. Basically, the author was unhappy that the restaurant was too rigid in their seating policy and wouldn't allow two tables to be pushed together to accomodate her group of 11. When the request was denied, she used her next How Work Works column to complain about their lack of customer service.
When first reading the story, her complaint felt a bit strange?say what you will about EHG being a corporate restaurant, but they generally bend over backwards to keep customers happy. As it turns out, the author omitted a few important details about her visit.
In a comment on the post in question, The EH Grill's management team responded to the writer's complaints:
"Dear Ms. Andersen,
We regret your disappointment. We want to clarify some facts for your readers. When the reservation was made, it was communicated that your party would be accommodated at two separate tables. This was mentioned a second time when we called to confirm your reservation. There are many reasons we would not push these tables together, several of which you included in your post. In fact, yes, it would make it more difficult to serve you and it would impact other guests in our view by joining two large round tables in an awkward arrangement in our small restaurant. This notwithstanding, your party was 30 minutes late for your scheduled reservation. Being late impacts the economics of a small restaurant as we turned away other guests while we graciously waited for your arrival. That you would couch a reprisal for not 'getting your way' in the guise of academic discussion is an irresponsible use of your journalistic privilege and is not in keeping with the standards of Forbes. We hope you will chose to do the honorable thing and remove your post. We would look forward to serving you again, hopefully under more pleasant circumstances.
- The management team at East Hampton Grill"
While it probably wasn't the wisest PR move to call the author out in public, we can't help but admire the restaurant for doing so. At the very least, they'll have one less high-maintenance customer to deal with this season. · All previous coverage of The East Hampton Grill. [Curbed Hamptons]
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