Would you write an online review of a restaurant that had cockroaches?

**theilluminatedfirefly** · 09-09-2009, 04:54 PM

Yesterday I ate lunch with a friend at an OKC "ladies" restaurant - you know the kind - cutely decorated, girly, pretty dishes. Two friends have eaten there at least once a month for over a year.

The restaurant looks clean and the food tastes great. Yesterday was only my second visit to the restaurant. Here's the problems:

1. The glass that they brought out my ice tea in had a big lipstick print on one side from a previous customer. They got me a new glass after I pointed it out.

2. While sitting in a booth a cockroach ran up the side of the wall and sat there looking at us while were were having our salad. Two waitresses eventually squashed the roach with a napkin (after a little chase).

3. About ten minutes later a cockroach dropped out of the chandelier at our table and landed directly in the bread basket. (Seriously.) Then it sat there twitching its antennas looking at us. I called the waitress over and gave her the basket with the roach still in it. She took the basket and left, saying "they had just sprayed for bugs the day before and maybe they should have closed today." (No kidding.)

A few minutes later she came back out and said, "I think our manager might go ahead and comp your meal."

Now one else ever came to our table - certainly not the manager - so finally we got up and left. While we were standing outside the window, we saw more cockroaches on the inside of the restaurant glass.

Here's my dilemma. The people I've been there with have eaten there for the past year and never had a problem. The restaurant "seems" clean. I don't want to cause problems for a small business owner, but on the other hand, I'd want to know before I went there that this had happened to people.

Furthermore, I think the manager was really remiss in not coming to speak to us herself. As a business owner I would have been doing everything I could to make sure we left there happy and didn't go straight to Channel 9 with the story. Not only comped a meal, but made some other kind of recompense. (A gift certificate for a free meal if we were ever brave enough to come back?)

So what do you guys think - to Yelp or not to Yelp?

**kevinpate** · 09-09-2009, 06:02 PM

A review ought to be a review, good, bad or in between. Noting it was an off experience from that long enjoyed by companions, and noting why, is not out of line. treating it as though the off experience was the long time norm would be, but it doesn't sound as though that is your intent.

FYI, every foodie house where a roach, or worse, is spotted has some worker bee at some level say the place was sprayed the day before, or that morning, or late the eve before. Whether that's accurate or just a whizzin in the wind excuse, not for me to say.
I have my suspicions that are based on spending a few years in food service, but I never worked a roach infested house as best as I can recall from way back when.

**Easy180** · 09-09-2009, 08:56 PM

Originally Posted by theilluminatedfirefly

Yesterday I ate lunch with a friend at an OKC "ladies" restaurant - you know the kind - cutely decorated, girly, pretty dishes. Two friends have eaten there at least once a month for over a year.

The restaurant looks clean and the food tastes great. Yesterday was only my second visit to the restaurant. Here's the problems:

1. The glass that they brought out my ice tea in had a big lipstick print on one side from a previous customer. They got me a new glass after I pointed it out.

2. While sitting in a booth a cockroach ran up the side of the wall and sat there looking at us while were were having our salad. Two waitresses eventually squashed the roach with a napkin (after a little chase).

3. About ten minutes later a cockroach dropped out of the chandelier at our table and landed directly in the bread basket. (Seriously.) Then it sat there twitching its antennas looking at us. I called the waitress over and gave her the basket with the roach still in it. She took the basket and left, saying "they had just sprayed for bugs the day before and maybe they should have closed today." (No kidding.)

A few minutes later she came back out and said, "I think our manager might go ahead and comp your meal."

Now one else ever came to our table - certainly not the manager - so finally we got up and left. While we were standing outside the window, we saw more cockroaches on the inside of the restaurant glass.

Here's my dilemma. The people I've been there with have eaten there for the past year and never had a problem. The restaurant "seems" clean. I don't want to cause problems for a small business owner, but on the other hand, I'd want to know before I went there that this had happened to people.

Furthermore, I think the manager was really remiss in not coming to speak to us herself. As a business owner I would have been doing everything I could to make sure we left there happy and didn't go straight to Channel 9 with the story. Not only comped a meal, but made some other kind of recompense. (A gift certificate for a free meal if we were ever brave enough to come back?)

So what do you guys think - to Yelp or not to Yelp?

Yelp...Especially since the mgr didn't come out and bend over backwards...If he or she had I personally wouldn't take the time out to write a bad review

**old okie** · 09-09-2009, 09:15 PM

Personally, I would like to know where it was...so an online review would be of interest to me. Comping the meal was good, but not coming over in person and apologizing is a bad sign from a manager/owner.

When you write a review, others have the opportunity to make comments supporting or disagreeing with your assessment [you can see that here by the comments for the various restaurants].

Yes, I've seen roaches on walls of restaurants, had some dirty silverware, been served cold food that should have been hot, etc. Sometimes I've returned to give them another chance; other times I haven't.

I like reading others' experiences--good or bad--about a place; I can make a decision with more information that way.

Just my opinion.

**mugofbeer** · 09-10-2009, 12:16 AM

It's the south so an occasional roach is hard to completely eliminate but that sounds like a serious infestation. Like a pull a board from a wall and find a million of them inside. They need a total closure and fumigation or a visit from the health department.

**metro** · 09-10-2009, 08:40 AM

A review ought to be a review, good, bad or in between. Noting it was an off experience from that long enjoyed by companions, and noting why, is not out of line. treating it as though the off experience was the long time norm would be, but it doesn't sound as though that is your intent.

What he said.

**HVAC Instructor** · 09-10-2009, 08:41 AM

Originally Posted by Easy180

Yelp...Especially since the mgr didn't come out and bend over backwards...If he or she had I personally wouldn't take the time out to write a bad review

Yes, the manager should have been personally at your table kissing your butts, (figuratively of course) LOL! Every business makes mistakes, and the best thing for the manager to have done was to be in the dining room reassuring customers and doing what must be done to keep them.

If there is an owner above the manager or a corporate office, that is who I would voice my complaint to first. Then, depending on the response, make the decision whether to write the review or not.

**foodiefan** · 09-10-2009, 09:00 AM

soiunds like a place on N May I used to go. . . same experience (won't go back after 2nd time). . .dirty glass, dirty silverware (both replaced but without much of an apology). . .coupled with the roach, that was the last time.

**SoonerDave** · 09-10-2009, 09:19 AM

If you're writing a review, it should contain any relevant issues. Think of it this way - if you had the roach experience on this visit, what's the likelihood someone else has, too? Pretty darned good. That means mentioning the roaches isn't some hatchet job on the restauarant. Its an exposition of fact. Reviews are in the service of potential customers, not for the restaurant, except to the extent they can highlight issues that restaurant might want to fix.

**MsDarkstar** · 09-10-2009, 09:22 AM

I would say yes, definitely name the restaurant in your review. Like kevinpate said, you can always make sure to include the fact that your friends frequent the establishment & always have good things to say about it.

Personally, I've been in the same situation...friends used to love going to Othello's on Campus Corner & when I tried it, there were roaches on our table & on the wall beside our booth and we were given the "we just sprayed" line.

You mentioned that your only interaction was with the waitress; did you (or one of your companions) specifically ASK to speak with the manager, or did you try flagging the manager down yourself? If not, maybe the manager was unaware of the situation.

**theilluminatedfirefly** · 09-10-2009, 10:13 AM

You all make some great points. I appreciate the input.

A few thoughts:

- My hesitation in saying anything is the fact that it is not a franchised restaurant chain - I would have been on the 800 number immediately had it been - but it is a local Oklahoma small business. Having had one of my own, I don't wish anyone ill will in their success.

- No, we didn't ask to speak to the manager. In retrospect we should have, but I didn't for two reasons: 1.) My friend was so creeped out at that point she wanted to leave, 2.) What the waitress said to us gave me the impression that she had been speaking with the manager. It's a really small place and we saw the staff staring back at our table after the waitress took the away the bread basket with the roach in it.

My friend and I were in the middle of a conversation when the last roach dropped so we finished our conversation on the front patio of the restaurant for about 45 minutes after we left our table. It's a restaurant that is only open for lunch so while we were on the patio the restaurant was closing and some staff were leaving. It was very easy to see us on the porch and would have been easy for the manager to come out and speak with us. We had both made a point of being discreet when the other stuff happened so as to not cause a big scene.

I'm going to talk to my other friend who has eaten there for about a year and ask her if she's had any experiences like I did. If I find out this is an ongoing problem I am definitely going to post on Yelp and/or Urban Spoon.

**OKCMallen** · 09-10-2009, 11:39 AM

You should yelp, even if you'r emore comfortable leaving the roach part out- say you had something seriously wrong with your meal and the manager neglected to come to your table.

**theilluminatedfirefly** · 09-10-2009, 12:13 PM

I just talked to someone else who has also had the same issue with dirty dishes and cockroaches. That bothers me a lot more to know mine wasn't an isolated event. I went ahead and Yelped.

I guess since I Yelped I'll disclose the restaurant here also - Nikkellette's Cafe/Raspberries n' Creme on N. May.

It was really cute and the food tasted good, but now that I know others have encountered the same issues with dirty dishes and cockroaches I think I am officially scared off.

**kevinpate** · 09-10-2009, 12:40 PM

would likely preclude me from ordering anything that had brownie or cookie flecks in it, at least for a spell. Despite my at times rather disrespectful humor from younger days, I'm not really a huge fan of the hey, protein is protein mindset.

**old okie** · 09-10-2009, 03:49 PM

Originally Posted by theilluminatedfirefly

I just talked to someone else who has also had the same issue with dirty dishes and cockroaches. That bothers me a lot more to know mine wasn't an isolated event. I went ahead and Yelped.

I guess since I Yelped I'll disclose the restaurant here also - Nikkellette's Cafe/Raspberries n' Creme on N. May.

It was really cute and the food tasted good, but now that I know others have encountered the same issues with dirty dishes and cockroaches I think I am officially scared off.

Two of my friends and I made the decision not to return there...not because of the roaches at the time--that would have really sealed it!--but because the food and service had deteriorated to the point that we felt we weren't getting a good value for our dollars. For myself, I knew I couldn't return as I had become ill after eating there the last time; it is hard for me to return to a place when I associate being sick from food with a restaurant, regardless of how cute or charming it might be.

Thank you for the info. It was very helpful.

Lord Helmet · 09-10-2009, 04:18 PM

I worked in the restaurant business for over 10 years. Everyone sprays for bugs, and everyplace has had a bug problem. Keeping them under control is about all you can do.

That's not to say that all places are infested...but they're pretty much everywhere. I know in Bricktown it's really bad. They basically move from place to place as the different restaurants spray for them.

**theilluminatedfirefly** · 09-10-2009, 08:50 PM

I wouldn't be overly freaked out by just the cockroach dynamic but just since I've posted this morning I've heard from three people who have been served on dirty dishes/glasses/silverware at this restaurant. And old_okie just said they became sick after eating there. It's starting to look like it's not an isolated event and that concerns me.

Though it does explain why the waitress didn't seem overly alarmed by the event.

**LMAO** · 09-10-2009, 10:50 PM

Originally Posted by HVAC Instructor

If there is an owner above the manager or a corporate office, that is who I would voice my complaint to first. Then, depending on the response, make the decision whether to write the review or not.

No, they simply need to be exposed, this is not a stray cockroach this is an infestation. No there is no excuse, they should be shamed and publicly humiliated.

**Froyocraze** · 09-24-2009, 05:12 PM

I will definitely write an online review about it. Just state all the facts and what you have experienced while in the restaurant. Nothing less and nothing more just straight and honest truth about the experience.