Fri, February 19, 2010 - 11:57:33

If You Can’t Stand the Tweet, Get out of the Kitchen

Before the advent of social media, when you dined in your favorite restaurant, you probably didn’t give much thought to the personal musings of the individual who prepared your meal.  But, now that blogs have become ubiquitous, along with sites like Twitter and Facebook, once-anonymous chefs are having their say. And according to an article in Tuesday’s New York Times, their online remarks aren’t always in good taste. In fact, recent tweets from the culinary world have landed a few chefs in hot water: sparking a shouting match, ending business relationships, and even resulting in a job loss.

Julia Moskin reports that chefs in the New York area and beyond are going online not only to air their grievances about others in their industry, but to confront their critics on user generated content sites like Yelp, ChowHound, and FoodBuzz.  But, instead of using their communications as a way to reach out in an effective way to their disgruntled diners, many chefs are lashing out.  One snarky post directed at Diana Takes a Bite’s Diana Hossfeld even reduced the amateur blogger to tears and, as the authors of THE POWER OF NICE: How to Conquer the Business World with Kindness, we think this is cause for concern.

Inevitably, on your quest for success, you will encounter critics, but how your respond to their negative feedback can have a powerful effect.  Contrary to what you might think, your critics—or perceived adversaries—can actually become your greatest allies when you use the NICE approach.  The key is to take your emotions out of the equation and listen carefully with your rational brain.  By absorbing what they have to say with an open mind, you can use your newfound knowledge to your advantage, improve upon your weaknesses, and even turn them into your strengths.

Consider for example the story of chef Eddie Huang, whose Lower East Side restaurant BaoHaus received a negative review in the Village Voice.  Displeased with restaurant critic Sarah DiGregorio’s description of the texture of BaoHaus’ tofu as “slicked with mucus,” Huang took to the web.  But, instead of calling out DiGregorio on her lack of knowledge or inferior taste buds, he took the NICE road, inviting all Yelp.com users to come in for a free tofu bao—and this time he made sure each one was cooked perfectly.  Thanks to the influx of happy customers he received from the post, Huang not only won himself repeat business, he earned the chance to redeem his restaurant’s reputation and gained valuable positive word of mouth.

Although it might not have felt as immediately gratifying as writing a furious blog post or angry tweet, Huang’s kind gesture serves as a stellar example to professionals in any industry, and shows once again that no matter where you work, NICE works.  So, the next time you encounter a little negative feedback, take a step back, resist the seductive power of anger, and listen up.  After all, the person you think is your enemy could turn out to be your biggest supporter.

Posted by Linda and Robin