Would you present yourself this way?

So apparently this was written at “3 am after a bottle of rose.” I am not sure that I would present myself in this sort of light particularly if I am selling artisan, limited production European wine especially in an up and coming food city. What do you guys think?

http://www2.richmond.com/entertainment/2012/jul/24/drinking-richmond-wine-dummies-ar-2077702/

In general, I was hoping for a discussion on how one can address some of the issues presented in this interview in a way that does not alienate. I think that retailers take a beating for being “honest” and sometimes rightfully so. Basically, where do you draw the line?

It was hard to even get past the poor writing in the introductory paragraphs. [snort.gif]

In terms of the “interview,” the woman who is sharing her thoughts/experience seems to be adopting an overly familiar/“yea, girlfriend” tone of voice that grates after a while. Not to mention far too many parenthetical comments/observations.

Bruce

agree with Bruce. I don’t know Richmond, but that tone is trying for hipster alternative weekly paper and it’s annoying to read. The interviewee is way too full of herself.

I lived in Richmond most of my life, and even I couldn’t get all the way through that masterpiece. Wow.

I dunno guys, but I found the interview fun and I know she dropped some gems that would serve lots of diners well to put to practice.

She’s charged and passionate about her work and life; I think that’s great. I bet her restaurant reccos are dead-on, too.

To the OP’s question, yeah, she said some very real shit in a very unapologetic way, and some people just can’t deal with that, and while there are probably very good alternative presentations, those are so exceptional that failing to meet that standard is not a demerit, and is, in fact, preferable to the typical, mindless pablum that’s most commonly dished up in the media these days.

Wasn’t it George Orwell (RIP) who said, “Journalism is printing what someone else doesn’t want printed. Everything else is public relations”?

Being a former Richmond resident and knowing the area wine scene pretty well, I would say she is pretty accurate with the assessment of the restaurant scene there. A lot of the wine programs in Richmond are not that inspiring and difficult to patronize, due to both the lack of real choice (unless you like very modern styled wines) and exorbitant markups (3-4x retail). There are some really good programs, which she mentioned in the piece, that deserve patronage and the attention a locally focused online magazine offers.

I respect what Julie has done with her store (River City Cellars) and her wine bar (Secco). River City Cellars does a good job of bringing in interesting wine and have employees who know their stuff, although there are better wine shops close by (J. Emersons for instance). Secco is one of the few places that I go to with confidence, as the wine program is good and the food matches it.

Where I personally become turned off with the piece is her meandering portrayal of how a customer should act. I do agree that consumers should put more faith in the staff of a restaurant to navigate a difficult wine list, but her tone was very condescending in the piece and personally put me off. I think it is important to give these types of tips to customers, but insisting that customers be hyper-adventurous with new food and decisive at the same time is asking a bit much. If you have a challenging wine and food program, you have to be more accommodating and realize that you will have to lead people to the foods that they will like. Additionally, the idea that the person should be obligated to add on tip in such a mathematical fashion (3% per additional trip) I think is ludicrous. Tip staff well for the quality of those trips, not just the amount of trips.

Overall, I agree with the message, but the presentation left a bit to be desired. State what you intend plainly, but don’t make it so condescending that its turns off readers from taking your advice.

I dunno guys, but I found the interview fun and I know she dropped some gems that would serve lots of diners well to put to practice.

She’s charged and passionate about her work and life; I think that’s great. I bet her restaurant reccos are dead-on, too.

To the OP’s question, yeah, she said some very real shit in a very unapologetic way, and some people just can’t deal with that, and while there are probably very good alternative presentations, those are so exceptional that failing to meet that standard is not a demerit, and is, in fact, preferable to the typical, mindless pablum that’s most commonly dished up in the media these days.

Wasn’t it George Orwell (RIP) who said, “Journalism is printing what someone else doesn’t want printed. Everything else is public relations”?

+1

The response sounds like major frustration and anger on Ms. Battaglini’s part, but having been in the biz for some time, I fully understand it.

Obviously, Bourdain’s style of expression has an influence on some in the business. My bet is that the majority of those who find nothing wrong with her approach are under or around 40. The rest of us remember the old days, when being in the service business demanded diplomacy.

I’m 57 and I approve her message. And God bless Anthony Bourdain!


PS: What did the neysayers think of the late, great Joe Dressner?

Any comments on this store’s newsletter?

“To My Dear Customers, April is usually a pretty crappy month for business since you send money to the government instead of to Groezingers. This year, April was like a good old fashioned bed shitting. I want to send a special “thank you” out to the 34 people that did call and order wine during the month of April. You all rocked the house, and thanks so much for your support. As for the other 1,966 of you that did not call, or have not called recently, I want to notify you of a change in policy. Groezingers is starting a wine club, and you’re part of it! By signing up for the newsletter, you have signed up for the wine club (this was Justin’s idea). You will receive a shipment of assorted wines each month that have been selected for you by me. There are two ways to opt out of the wine club. You can call and order a case of wine of your choosing during the month of May, and/or call and specifically ask not to be on the wine club. This will assure that you don’t get any of the incredible Gewurztraminer from Sineann, or the badass Viognier from Renard, or the simply-freaking-awesome Artist Series Cabernet from Woodward Canyon. And don’t even bother trying to unsubscribe, that option has been disabled. My genius hackers in India have procured your credit card info and billing/shipping addresses. Resistance is futile. If you don’t think this is very funny, you should call me and buy some wine to mellow out with, or just call and tell me my humor sucks and to shove it up my ass.”

How did he hack into the email drafts folder from before we sold out shop? :slight_smile:

This guy either knows his customers well or he wrote the newsletter on his last day at the store…

You are 57! Such a child.

Those guys have been like that for a good while, see here:

Wow - I bet they lost a ton of customers with that one - yikes -

Their customers DIG their irreverence, that is not anywhere near as over the top as some of the stuff I’ve seen for them. Think Stone Arrogant Bastard or Restless Love wine.

Rick’s planet orbits a binary star affectionately referred to as “the two brass balls”.

Julia Battaglini is just tellin’ it like it is. Hey, how is Peter doing these days? We met briefly back during the Jurassic Age; I took the opportunity to complain about his resistance to barcodes. [bye.gif]