As a follow up to my acrimonious analysis of the Upper West Side Shake Shack a few weeks back, I have an inherent obligation as a devout member of the culinary church, to revise and revisit my original critique.
As it turns out, in reaction to my article, the folks at Union Square Hospitality Group exhibited an immediate interest in what I had to say, having reached out to me with the hopes of not only fully understanding the source of my angst, but also making clear that the Restaurant Group's main goal was to hear, and thus address the concerns of its customers - however caustic they may be.
At this point, while I was truly impressed at Management's non-confrontational, entirely welcoming response to my scathing letter of discontent, I was really taken aback when the life force behind the institution that is the Shack, extended me an invite to join him over a burger to discuss how the fairly new Upper West Side location was working to remedy its logistical hiccups and weather the inevitable barrage of awkward growing pains.
How could I say no?
I had the pleasure of sitting down with The Shack Shack's Managing Partner, Randy Garutti, a down-to-earth guy (and fellow North Jerseyan) who's passion for all things "Shack" is undeniable. Over a double Shackburger, and a peculiarly satisfying shake (that I believe contained chunks of biscuits), he took the time to make sure I understood that the Shack's number 1 priority is its customer base, and that already in the works, was an effort to revamp the space to be more fluid and customer-friendly.
Needless to say, Mr. Garutti's willingness to hear me out, as a loyal (and temporarily) disgruntled customer is nothing short of remarkable in a food service industry that is notorious for caring about everything BUT the customer. His concern for my commentary was neither fulsome nor patronizing, but instead, quite genuine, encouraging, and much appreciated at that - a true testament to the standards by which the Union Square Hospitality Group chooses to do business.
Some might feel I'm being overly effusive here, but I disagree. Nowadays, as if running the business itself isn't enough, the culinary world must shoulder the burden of mitigating the constant backlash of rhetoric and indignant invective put forth by a bustling community of brusque bloggers hell bent on hastily spewing hatred, discontent, and general ill-will toward any and every restaurant that happens to find them out of sorts. This is not to say that some of it isn't deserved (must I remind you of Il Corallo Trattoria?), but more often than not, in fact almost always, quick judgments supercede paced reactions. Notwithstanding the blogosphere's reckless ways, there remain those, such as myself, who choose to criticize, not out of spite, or disdain, but with passion fueled by an inner hope that harsh words will breed even harsher action.
The truth of the matter is, as bloggers, and overall critics of all things edible, we very quickly forget that the restaurant world need not pit the eaters against the owners. As in any business, there will always be those players that are selfish, uncooperative, and downright pig-headed about how they wish to operate. To that extent then, I think we can all agree that, in no other industry does a genuine, whole-hearted, soulfully zealous interest in your customer's feelings, go such a long way in distinguishing yourself from the rest of the pack. So simple, yet so hard for so many to implement. Marketing 101 tells us it is more costly to gain a new customer than it is to keep a current one. Nobody can argue that.
In the end, I want to thank Mr. Garutti, the Shake Shack, and The Union Square Hospitality Group, first for its professionalism and humility in response to my rather cold remarks, and second, for once again reminding me that within the nasty, cut-throat world of serving food, there still exists, however little in number, a handful of organizations dedicated to providing a superior standard of service and quality by following one of the modern day business world's cardinal rules...Listen to your customers.
Who wouldn't eat to that.
-The Ubereater
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