Boners BBQ Cries ‘Yelp!’ After Feeling Heat For Bad Review of Customer
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ABC News
The owner of an Atlanta barbecue restaurant is apologizing today for a profanity-laced social media response to a customer that left him eating crow.
The food fight began Sunday when Stephanie Stuck took her husband to Boners Barbecue, located near Turner Field, to celebrate his birthday.
Left unsatisfied by the meal, Stuck on Monday posted a negative review on the website Yelp.com.
Boners’ owner, Andrew Capron, was alerted to the review and, instead of offering her a free meal, posted a profanity-laced response on both Twitter and Facebook, accusing Stuck of stiffing the waitress.
“NOT WANTED!,” Capron wrote. “(Stephanie S.) left waitress 0.00 tip on a $40 tab after she received a Scoutmob discount. If you see this woman in your restaurant tell her to go outside and play hide and go f— yourself! Yelp that b—-…”
He also included a picture of Stuck and linked to her Facebook page.
Stuck quickly defended herself, saying she and her husband left two $20 bills on the table to cover the $30 meal. She also watched in amazement as Capron’s angry response went viral and sent off a social media firestorm.
“He went off on me,” she told Atlanta’s WSB-TV. “It just keeps going and going and it keeps going further than that, just about this.”
Capron also felt the heat and removed his posts from Facebook and Twitter, offered Stuck an apology via Facebook, and a coupon for dinner at the restaurant, on him.
“Dear, Stephanie S. — We are truly sorry, it was a bonehead move on our part. But more importantly — it was rude to you and an inappropriate use of social media, which has been a driving force for our business because we can’t afford traditional advertising,” he said. “We rely on word-of-mouth. Your experience was yours to share and not mine to abuse. Boners BBQ is my passion and my life. Please give me the opportunity to serve you again at our expense — if not please allow me to fully refund your money on me, Sincerely, Andrew Capron.”
Stuck expressed sympathy for the position in which Capron put himself.
“I feel bad for the guy honestly. It’s a small business and he’s trying really hard. It’s his passion,” she said.
The jilted reviewer has not, however, seen the apology for herself, or accepted the free meal. That would be because Stuck has not “Friended” Capron on Facebook, reports WSB-TV.
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Boners – they leave a bad taste in your mouth (according to this story).
Posted by: Aaron Ververs | January 11, 2012, 10:43 pm 10:43 pm
So, let me get this straight: woman goes to a restaurant named “Boners” and expects something other than mediocre food and service. Look at the place, looks like it’s located under a water tower.
Posted by: JP | January 12, 2012, 2:51 am 2:51 am
Yea buddy! Business owners beware! Don’t treat your customers like crap! You just learned business lesson number one you idiot!
Posted by: fauxhawk70 | January 12, 2012, 7:02 am 7:02 am
Sooo…..just curious now: Does this mean that the customer, Ms. Stuck, has “fired” Boners? That she probably will not accept, nor pay for, services from them? Hmmmm….wonder if she LIKES being able to fire people? Or should she be forced to continue using their poor service? This looks like a perfect example of what he meant when Mr. Romney stated, “I like being able to fire people”. Yet, it caused many many folks to get their panties in a wad………
Posted by: Libwatch | January 12, 2012, 8:12 am 8:12 am
yeah, but you know, is this woman a professional food critic ? what she posts as her opinion of the food, weighs heavily on the people that work at that establishment, if business dies, they are let go. evidently this woman’s food was so horrible tasting to her that she ate the whole plate, what kind of person that does not like the food, finishes the meal, then blogs about it not tasting good, i say it’s someone looking for a free meal, that knows how to use the system to her advantage……
Posted by: montemike72 | January 12, 2012, 8:57 am 8:57 am
@Montemike72: Are you new to the internet? And to reading comprehension? She didn’t blog, she posted a short review on Yelp. Go check Yelp and you’ll find millions of bad (and good) reviews. She did nothing out of the ordinary. And don’t try to tell me that you’ve never finished a meal you’ve been dissatisfied with. Claiming that this woman was “using the system to her advantage” to get a free meal is laughable.
Posted by: Gozar | January 12, 2012, 1:03 pm 1:03 pm
business name: Boner’s BBQ
slogan: “Put a little south in your mouth.”
win.
Posted by: Joe | January 12, 2012, 2:22 pm 2:22 pm
Sorry, people who complain on the internet rather than to the establishment are those who haven’t taken their medication. She’s doing it on purpose because she’s just a hateful person. If your meal is that bad, why finish it? How about getting the manager if you’re that unhappy. What people need to understand what isn’t good to YOU, may be good to someone else. Anyone who uses those review sites need to be called out on their nonsense they post. Why do these people think anyone cares what they think anyway? All these people do is use places like that to threaten and extort businesses. ABC, why should he offer her a free meal for posting something nasty?
Posted by: Matthew | January 12, 2012, 3:03 pm 3:03 pm
Joe…did you read her review? I did. It wasn’t a “horrible” review. She said the food was not great…meaning it wasn’t horrible either. The review was complimentary in some areas, and stressed areas she thought could use improvement. Yelp is there FOR reviews…good and bad. You don’t know her at all, so how can you say she is or isn’t a hateful person? Obviously, the owner cared enough about what she’d written to lambast her on Facebook. Prehaps, you should actually READ what the article instead of just looking at the pictures… if you had READ the article you’d have noticed that she doesn’t want anything, including the free meal, from the guy.
Posted by: Sarah | January 12, 2012, 4:16 pm 4:16 pm
The fact that an owner would post someone’s photo along with his rude remarks speaks volumes to me. Once you click ‘send’ it’s done.
I’ve never eaten there so I can’t say anything one way or the about the food. But due, to the article, I will never darken their doorway nor will I spend one red cent there..
Avid BBQ lover.
Posted by: kc | January 12, 2012, 4:25 pm 4:25 pm
Mrs Stuck does not have to friend Boner’s BBQ on Facebook. I just saw the status update apologizing to her and I have not friended or liked the page. Evidently your fact checker is on vacation or is not doing his/her job. Or did you take the word of Mrs Stuck.
I agree that Mrs Stuck should have never been attacked by Mr Capron. It was a “Boner” move on his part. However, it will probably end brilliantly for him because people are going to come to that restaurant for the next couple of months just to see if Mrs Stuck was correct in her assessment or probably for the chance to be yelled at by the owner. Remember what Brendan Behan once said, “There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary”.
Posted by: Christina | January 12, 2012, 9:19 pm 9:19 pm
I had a similar experience with a local business in Sioux Falls, SD. The owner of the company called and yelled at me about my review on Yelp.com. She asked me who why i would post something like that and not talk to her first. I was in shock and after she was rude to me on the phone and basically scolded me for my review which was based on her staff and the experience they provided, she offered me a free massage that she would personally do. I thought to myself… yeah right.
I love yelp.com because it is us(everyday people) that give the review. I travel a lot for work and use it all the time.
The owners that freak out and do not act professional, i do not feel sorry for them. If they would be proactive instead of reactive it would go a lot further.
Posted by: Meli | January 13, 2012, 10:10 am 10:10 am
to mel, i’m also in sioux falls, just curious what the business was
Posted by: 605pete | January 13, 2012, 6:22 pm 6:22 pm
Kinda scary that owners will come after reviewers who don’t rate their restaurant highly. Not a trend that should be encouraged! I mean, as a business owner, I get it… negative criticism sucks. But you’ll always get some people who weren’t happy. You have to deal with it. Learn from it. Maybe even defend yourself or complain to Yelp if you think the review is unfair or spiteful.
Posted by: Cheryl | January 15, 2012, 12:01 am 12:01 am