(moderated) restaurant Steak night

[susiesusie]

What a major disappointment tonight after so many good reviews.
First of all there was a surcharge of %10 if you are a party of 6 or more .
We were 6 of course . The 6 steaks we ordered were ranging from extremely fatty and inedible to even worse.
We were asked if we were happy by the owner and we replied as stated. She then ignored us for a long time. We left the evidence for her to see on the plate .
Finally asked for the bill and was told that we would not be charged the %10 service .
At no time was an apology forthcoming . What made it worse for us is that we knew her from 10years ago. With a good reputation.
This was absolutely awful food. The chips were terrible but the steaks were even worse.
Please .... why charge a suppliment when you are a table of 6 ?
They made us pay in full for the terrible food .
No apologies until our friends said they were disgusted with the food and more importantly the owners conduct. She then said they can have a free meal if they come again!
Not a chance . (moderated)... awful !

[Trigger]

Why would you get charged an extra 10% for having a larger party. Surely it should be 10% off? Economies of scale and all that. Strange business model.

[Soner]

Please abide by forum rules. Ask members to PM or email you for full details.

[WotNoDeeds]

Seems little point in a forum member giving an honest criticism of a restaurant if the rest of us don't know which restaurant it is.

[Panchocat]

If this restaurant is one renowned for its steaks in Ozankoy, then sadly we have had the same experience of very poor quality steaks, twice now, and have stopped eating there. Clearly the meat supplier has been changed and the owners do not take negative feedback well.

[MikeK]

If this restaurant is one renowned for its steaks in Ozankoy, then sadly we have had the same experience of very poor quality steaks, twice now, and have stopped eating there. Clearly the meat supplier has been changed and the owners do not take negative feedback well.

Ditto if it is this one.

[SunnyParkers]

From the original post it wasn’t one in Ozankoy

[mrsgee]

I think the moderating has caused more confusion than necessary..... and I have to agree, why is the poster not allowed to give honest feedback.... I take it, maybe, that the restaurant itself has complained to the moderators..... so, should the forum rules be changed to say you can only give positive comments and feedback and not warn people of such practices? Just my humble opinion, obviously.

[susiesusie]

Quite correct. Why cannot I tell people of my experience Whether good or bad. They have had many good reports not moderated . So why remove the name of the bistro when someone has a bad one !

[niceone]

I believe the owner of the forum could be sued if defamatory posts are allowed

[Trigger]

I guess posting the name of the restaurant was a misteak

[Samson]

Very funny Trigger ......WELL DONE.

[Keithcaley]

Quite correct. Why cannot I tell people of my experience Whether good or bad. They have had many good reports not moderated . So why remove the name of the bistro when someone has a bad one !

You can do it, just adhere to the following: -

Anyone wishing to name and shame on this site can do so providing that they WhatsApp me so I can take a screenshot of their face, email me a copy of their passport and proof of address, then add a message to their post stating that they take full responsibility for what they have posted.

[WotNoDeeds]

Seems a bit drastic - all for saying your steak was lousy! On this occasion would all six diners have to send their details?
Would there then be a knock on their doors from the restaurant police?!

[Keithcaley]

...there might well be a letter from the Restaurant's Solicitor - and if the poster is prepared to stand by their statement, and accept the consequences, what's the issue?

[susiesusie]

Ok. Let's see if the owners will take trip advisor to court . It's I there as well! Just a note to say that this guest (not me) told the lady owner that it would be posted due to her terrible response to the problem .

[EnjoyingTheSun]

I believe the owner of the forum could be sued if defamatory posts are allowed

Are the defamation laws in TRNC different to the UK?

[Keithcaley]

Ok. Let's see if the owners will take trip advisor to court . It's I there as well! Just a note to say that this guest (not me) told the lady owner that it would be posted due to her terrible response to the problem .

That's a very good point!

I do agree that there should be some way to make poor service known, but you can't blame the forum owner for wanting to avoid the time and expense, should the business owner choose to take action.

You would think that these days, with the prevalence of Social Media, that business owners would be much more aware and responsive to Customer Feedback, wouldn't you?

A few years ago, I had a similar experience in Cod Baba (and as it's 'no longer with us', I think that it's OK to say this) - when the lady owner asked us for our opinion, I sat her down and explained in detail what was wrong.

She just wasn't interested! All she wanted to hear was 'how lovely everything was', I guess that some people can't or won't accept criticism, no matter how well-founded or well-intentioned it is.

I dealt with that situation by voting with my feet, and telling everyone that I knew about my experience (without involving the Internet ).

There's always Facebook of course, although if you do get too enthusiastic about your campaign, you could be accused of 'Cyber Bullying'!

[Keithcaley]

I believe the owner of the forum could be sued if defamatory posts are allowed

Are the defamation laws in TRNC different to the UK?

I can't say with any certainty how the laws compare, but the point is that it takes time and money to defend against any sort of legal action, whether that action is ultimately upheld or not - and my perception is that TRNC businesses are more likely to get 'their cousin - the Avukat' to fire off a threatening letter that their UK counterparts

[Ferguson]

I believe the owner of the forum could be sued if defamatory posts are allowed

What a load of rubbish.........

[Keithcaley]

I believe the owner of the forum could be sued if defamatory posts are allowed

What a load of rubbish.........

I'm sure that Soner, the forum owner would be interested to hear your professionally qualified explanation as to why it's rubbish, because he obviously thinks otherwise.

I believe that he instituted the requirement for posters to accept full legal responsibility after he had been threatened with legal action unless he removed a particular post that someone had made on the forum.

Why don't you PM him and ask the question?

[Soner]

Seems like I am getting reeled in every time I make a decision on moderating a thread. This will be the last I post on this subject.
It is simple, abide by the forum rules, do not attack businesses or people.

I do not know this restaurant, it may have been very popular in the past and recently something has obviously gone wrong. Maybe they have changed their chef, maybe a change of supplier. Who knows? Obviously something for the business owner to fix, with the complaints received, the message should have hit home.

As for my moderating actions, it simply boils down to "If there were any comeback from an attack, then why should I be burdened with the hassle of tracking IP addresses to the member that had started the thread?". Many members hide behind a profile name, no real name, no email address that would identify them, some men use female names as their profile and vice versa. This is fine, some people feel safe behind an anonymous profile.

I would be happy for a member to post whatever they like, so long as they take full responsibility in dealing with any legal matters that may result from their actions, and they have not posted anonymously.

Alternatively, ask other members to PM or email you for full details.

[EnjoyingTheSun]

I believe the owner of the forum could be sued if defamatory posts are allowed

Are the defamation laws in TRNC different to the UK?

I can't say with any certainty how the laws compare, but the point is that it takes time and money to defend against any sort of legal action, whether that action is ultimately upheld or not - and my perception is that TRNC businesses are more likely to get 'their cousin - the Avukat' to fire off a threatening letter that their UK counterparts

I ask because in the UK it takes time and money to instigate a defamation action. It is a hobby for the rich who often use it as a form of censorship. Robert Maxwell was well known for it.

The libel or slander has to be untrue and the onus is on the plaintiff to prove it is not true. It is unique in British law in that the damaged party has to prove their innocence.

Actions against what is an opinion never succeed and even an action which is fair but trivial will often result in the plaintiff winning the case but only a nominal amount of damages. Then getting the bill for both side's costs.
Also those looking for a payday have to factor in the limit of the libel which is why they would sue The Sun rather than a local paper. It isn't to do with how much money the relevant defendants have it is to do with their circulation. Being libelled to 1500 isn't as lucrative as being libelled to 4 million.

Getting your solicitor to fire out a standard defamation letter isn't cheap but often works, actually going forward and taking a case to court takes a lot of testicular fortitude and any lawyer worth his salt will counsel against it in all but the most extreme libels.

If I wanted to say a steak was the worst I ever had I'd say it with extreme confidence against any threatened legal action.

[PoshinDevon]

Think Soner has summed up his thoughts on the matter.

In summary if any action were taken against the forum owner, the time and hassle to resolve is just not worth it.

Maybe if you want to name and shame then prior to the post confirm full name, address, email, phone number and provide a picture. This can then be passed onto anyone who may wish to take action against the forum.

I do understand the need to provide constructive criticism and also make others aware, however I also like to think I give a second chance in case it was just a bad night. The first action should always be direct and face to face to the owner/manager of the establishment to give them the opportunity to hear and understand your reasons for finding the food/service etc unacceptable. I think you can gauge pretty quickly face to face if the owner/manager has understood and taken on board the criticism. Of course many already do this, but a good number do not and then go online, hiding behind the keyboard/username to post their comments.

The TRNC is a small place and we find that word of mouth works just as well.....letting our friends know when have had a great meal or something which was below the standard we expect. If everyone were to take a step back I am sure we can understand both sides of the argument.

[Ferguson]

I believe the owner of the forum could be sued if defamatory posts are allowed

What a load of rubbish.........

I'm sure that Soner, the forum owner would be interested to hear your professionally qualified explanation as to why it's rubbish, because he obviously thinks otherwise.

I believe that he instituted the requirement for posters to accept full legal responsibility after he had been threatened with legal action unless he removed a particular post that someone had made on the forum.

Why don't you PM him and ask the question?

Dear Keith (Fountain of all Knowledge) I do PM Soner but he does not reply.... Oh !! and by the way, he does know who I am...

[Keithcaley]

...I do PM Soner but he does not reply....

Well, you needn't bother anymore, I think that he's given you his answer in msg 22...