MLK Day Call To Action
Not long back Steph March, the senior editor of the food section over at MSP magazine did a piece on a resto that was advertising local asparagus in December. At the time I praised that work, and implored her and others to continue to question some of the claims that are made. To stand up for the consumer.
Was that restaurateur lying, just plain ignorant, or duped by a less than honest vendor? All of those scenarios are possible. In fact last year I was burned by a vendor when I discovered that a product I was carrying was likely not what had been promised. I had my suspicions, and when I reached out for clarification, I was told in writing that in that person’s opinion, systematic fraud was taking place, and that I had been a victim in all likely hood. I certainly have no direct proof that they are breaking the law, it’s not detailed on a website or anything.
Obviously I no longer use the vendor that either misrepresented what they were selling to me (at a premium price no less), or obtained it through a source that was not the exclusive distributor.
Why professional journalists won’t cover these stories more aggressively speaks volumes about the priorities of these folks. This could represent millions of dollars if you take the community as a whole. These stories abound. I took the story and various supporting emails to a City Pages reporter (I reached out to a few other folks as well, but little interest was shown). Wasn’t it supposed to be the job of the media to concern themselves with informing people? Yet six months after I was told that there was, “definitely a story here”, nothing. Folks are still claiming to be selling a potentially fraudulent item around town.
For the past six months when media types have mouthed off about this blog honestly all I’m thinking to myself is, “Somebody has to do something, and it’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us.” Jerry Garcia
So how do we make the system better my fellow bloggers? How do we set out to protect the consumer, without attacking a specific business? How do we change this situation for the better without hurting some good folks that are mixed up in this?
Firstly, you should name that vendor. No reason for it to go unnamed if you aren’t doing business again with it.
To which, the way to make things better is to “attack” specific businesses. It is the job of the consumer to decide whether the criticism has merit, and the job of the business is to decide the same.
Years ago, you responded twice to my criticisms of your wine service. One was reasonable (I ludicrously recommended every restaurant have a $4 wine option) and one was a bit belligerent (chilled Barbera my ass).
I didn’t complete my thought there at all, did I? In short, it produced a useful discussion, or at least I thought so.
Remember a few years ago when there was the issue of walleye vs zander being served in restaurants? The media blew that way up. Stories that get the reaction and interest are what sells, unfortunately.