[The following was received in response to a review of Someburros! in Tempe, AZ.]
Seth,
As one of the owners of Someburros, I can assure you that NONE of the chicken at Someburros comes from a can. We buy only the best white chicken breast and marinate and cook it for over 4 hours. I would be happy to have you down to the restaurant to tour the kitchen and see for yourself. Your FALSE statements prove that you are not suited to be a food critic and I would be even more upset if I thought anyone in the valley read your garbage writing. Then again, how much skill does it take to take pictures of your lunch and write about it. Any fool with a camera phone, pen, and paper can do that.
Thank you for taking the time to dine in our restaurant. I hope you can find a better parking spot next time since we have people lining up for my grandmother’s recipes with “no flavor”.
Tim Vasquez
Co-Owner, Someburros!
[Note: Feasting in Phoenix stands by its original review.]
Well, you gotta love the professionalism of an owner who insults you in their rebuttal. Since we’ve had really good luck with your reviews, we’ll continue to take your observations over the lovely comments from the Someburros’s dude. Rather than take criticism constructively, let’s become a flameboy. That’s always goes well.
I am surprised that the owner of this restaurant responded in such a crude, inflaming manner. I don’t think I’ll ever want to eat there now.
Keep up the good work Seth. I and a bunch of friends read your reviews. You provide us with good insight.
I think the only requirement for a food blog is that you love food. Oh, and a camera, a pen, and paper. He seems to be under the impression that people are paying you, rather than you doing this because you like to. If anything, I’d never go to his restaurant because of the name. If they don’t want you to question where the meat comes from, then perhaps they shouldn’t put the word “burro” into their title. Thanks for all the reviews!
I really enjoy your reviews and pictures. As I recall, you have never claimed to be a food critic just merely your own opinion and preference on the various places that you elected to dine at. I think that you have been pretty unbiased in your reviews. The owner, Tim Vasquez’s unprofessional reply and negative attitude only succeeded in eliminating whatever doubts I have of this restaurant (if you can even call it that) being worthy of a visit.
Natalie
Way to go Seth. You didn’t have to do anything but post that e-mail he wrote. That said it all.
Anyway. Hope you are had a great Christmas otherwise.
An open letter to Tim Vasquez, in response to your letter to Seth Chadwick:
Mr. Vasquez, I really sincerely hope you read this blog again, and learn a lesson in proper customer service as a result of this serious breach of professionalism on your part. How difficult would it really have been to reply and say that you were sorry that Seth’s experience was below the standards that (I would assume) you have set for your restaurant, politely state your case for your restaurant, and then possibly offer Seth a coupon, a free meal, or even just a tour of the premises, without all the inflammatory insults? It would have taken you just as long to write as your knee-jerk response, would have come across as much more proactive and service-oriented, rather than inflammatory, accusatory, and petulant, and probably would ultimately cost you much less than the loss of customers that will doubtlessly occur as a result of your poor response.
Mr. Vasquez, while it seems you do not read Seth’s blog regularly, if you had, you would know that he does not proclaim himself to be a food reviewer. His posts are as a result of one visit to a restaurant, and he will post both the positives and negatives of said visit. Re-read his review, if you would. He praised the cleanliness of your restaurant, the rice that was plated with his burro, the serving sizes, and the service by your staff.
In addition, how can you claim his statements were false? He did not, and does not, claim that his reviews equate to universal across-the-board truths about a restaurant. They are based on his experiences, and unless you happen to live in his mouth, I don’t believe you can decry his statements about the taste of the food as false.
Finally, please re-read the last three paragraphs of his post. Your statement regarding the popularity of your restaurant does not serve to contradict anything Seth said, and rather serve to prove his point. Having a full parking lot does not equate to great food. If that were truly the case, McDonald’s and Taco Bell would be considered high cuisine, whereas Coup des Tartes and Durant’s would be “slumming it”.
I understand the desire to defend the name of your restaurant, Mr. Vasquez. Unfortunately, you’ve done more damage to your reputation in two paragraphs than Seth did with his entire post.
Wow, Tim shows a distinct lack of class. I had dinner at Someburros once, and I too did not care for my selection, (A beef burro of some sort, with 2 kinds of sauce/gravy…low grade dog food to me…) My 12 year old son had the chimichanga and he didn’t like it either, wouldn’t even finish it… But I have heard alot of folks rave about Someburros, go figure, to each his own. I wish him further success, but he is spreading a bit of bad karma, he could have offered to make it right with you…..Especially around the Holidays!
While Mr. Vasquez’s rebuttal may have been unprofessional, it is by the same token irresponsible, Mr. Chadwick, to broadcast a personal opinion and declare it a fact to all who visit your website.
As a long-time customer of Someburros, I feel qualified and obligated to defend this restaurant that my family and I love so much. The family-friendly atmosphere, the outstanding customer service and, without a doubt, the consistently delicious Mexican Food are the reasons Someburros is our favorite place to eat.
I have seen the owner, Mr. Vasquez, on several occasions at the restaurant. He has always been very friendly and appreciative toward customers. I know that he really takes pride in their family-owned restaurant, which is why, I believe, he reacted the way he did in his response to the review. Your callous description of the food obviously was upsetting to Mr. Vasquez because you are, in essence, criticizing his grandmother’s recipes and the quality and integrity of the business they have worked extremely hard to build. Insulting the quality of the food at Someburros not only discredits the restaurant but also the thousands of customers (like me) who have been enjoying their food for 20 years. You saw the line and the lack of parking spaces. Do you honestly think we all have been fighting this crowd for 20 years for a large portion of canned chicken? I may be cheap, but I am not stupid.
Mr. Chadwick, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, it is your responsibility as a writer to check your “facts” and do some research before broadcasting your opinion to anyone who cares to listen. It is unfair to misrepresent the integrity and the quality of this business or any other business simply because the item you ordered was not pleasing to your palette. Thank You.
I think it’s very clear from reading any of Seth’s reviews that he is stating his opinions due to his experience – as a regular guy, dining in a restaurant. He doesn’t claim to be a representative from Zagat’s or Michelin or hell, even the Arizona Republic.
Seth is completely entitled to his own opinions about dining establishments. I, for one, have eaten at many of the same places as he had and at times begged to differ about his reviews (whether my experiences were more positive or negative than his), but does that make him irresponsible? No. What’s irresponsible about describing a snapshot of a meal you had? I recognize that he’s just stating his point of view and not making decisions for anyone else.
No matter how attached he is to his business, Mr. Vasquez should have had the smarts as a businessman to respond with more tact. Not has he just lost Seth as a customer who might have gone back to try again, but he has lost a whole bunch of readers who’ve never been there and may have been curious but now will never go due to his response. I, one who missed the Someburros! review the first time around, now will make sure to take my business elsewhere.
amelia, this:
“Mr. Chadwick, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, it is your responsibility as a writer to check your “facts” and do some research before broadcasting your opinion to anyone who cares to listen.”
is ridiculous. It is, infact, his right to broadcast his opinion, couched as such, to absolutely anyone who will listen. whether or not you listen is entirely up to you. furthermore, any restuarant would be completely moronic to think that they would not be reviewed, both by large and small presses. the opinions of those reviewers are protected writings by the first amendment.
Mr. Chadwick did not in any way make his opinions seem as fact, they were his opinions, and completely valid ones. Frankly, millions of Americans line up at McDonalds, it says nothing of the level of gastronomical success they have in preparing food.
As I’ve made clear to Mr. Vasquez, if indeed the restuarant that his family worked so hard to put together meant that much to him, he should have responded in a much more professional manner. Infact, my points to him were as below:
“First, you wasted an opportunity to turn a customer into a repeat customer. Had you emailed this guy and said, “I’m really sorry you had such an uncharacteristic experience at our restaurant. We’ve had tons of glowing reviews and we really pride ourselves on our ingredients, etc etc etc. Each customer is important, will you please accept my invitation to come back in, and give us another try? I’d be happy to give you a tour of the kitchen as well as point you towards some of our house specialties”, there is NO doubt he’d have said something nice about you guys, because customer service is half of the equation,and he’d likely have been back. Even if he’d hated it the second time, you’d still have gotten a kinder word from him.
But by being rude, what happened instead is that you now know he’s never giving you another try, and now, he’s also managed to turn an entire group of people (and between his site and chowhound, he’s got a fairly large group of readers) completely against trying you as well. That’s just bad business. ”
Frankly, this entire exchange is nothing short to stupid. Vasquez has a restuarant. Chadwick runs a restuarant review website. Both have the right to continue doing what they’re doing, and neither should be offended when the other does.