Some NYC restaurants saying 'no' to influencers! No pics allowed!

[marylander1940]

Some NYC restaurants push back against influencers: 'No technology policy'

WWW.FOX5NY.COM

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While some restaurants may welcome the exposure they can get from social media influencers, others are beginning to push back.

 

Social media influencers change how you dine out. Here's what you don't know

WWW.NORTHJERSEY.COM

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Social media influencers have replaced our friends as a source for restaurant recommendations. Friends, however, didn't get free meals for the tips.

 

OP note: should they disclaim if they got paid to dine, review, and post pictures of food from a certain restaurant and if that's the case are their good reviews reliable? Certainly they can make or break a business or so they think! 

Edited April 17, 2023 by marylander1940

[cany10011]

I like banning phones in restaurants. Phones distract from the purpose of breaking bread and having a conversation with friends. Recently I was in a restaurant in the West Village and an “influencer” was shooting pictures of multiple dishes that kept on coming and coming to her table. They were certainly not going to eat all that food. Her boyfriend held up an annoying light to illuminate each dish. It was distracting and very uncomfortable. 

I have social media but never post pictures of these things. Am I less fabulous if I don’t post pics of my fancy dinners? 

[foxy]

What I’d truly love is a ban on loud (or any music) playing in a restaurant. Part of the pleasure for me in dining out, besides the food, is dinner conversation with friends. Having to scream at each other is awful. When I walk into a restaurant and music is playing I turn around and walk out. 

[maninsoma]

I don't support banning phones in restaurants, but I certainly understand a restaurant having a clearly stated policy that they don't provide discounts or comped meals/drinks in exchange for social media marketing.  Some of these "influencers" have an inflated sense of their power to persuade people to patronize a specific business.

[+ poolboy48220]

6 hours ago, foxy said:

What I’d truly love is a ban on loud (or any music) playing in a restaurant. Part of the pleasure for me in dining out, besides the food, is dinner conversation with friends. Having to scream at each other is awful. When I walk into a restaurant and music is playing I turn around and walk out. 

I've asked to have the music turned down. I did it a bar I would frequent on Fridays after work, it was my habit to hang there for a few hours to decompress from the week with a beer. I'd bring a book to read and chat with the bartenders if they were inclined; it was rarely busy until later. I did it just recently at a brewery that allows dogs as guests - just two people there Friday at 5:00PM and the music was 10:00PM/big dance crowd level. 

[pubic_assistance]

On 4/19/2023 at 7:03 AM, cany10011 said:

Recently I was in a restaurant in the West Village and an “influencer” was shooting pictures of multiple dishes that kept on coming and coming to her table. They were certainly not going to eat all that food. Her boyfriend held up an annoying light to illuminate each dish. It was distracting and very uncomfortable. 

I must have been in the same restaurant. Exact same experience in the West Village recently....but oh wait ! THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME in NYC.  Every tacky "influencer" on the planet seems to need to document every waking moment of their time in the neighborhood.  Often ruining the experience for the rest of us who actually LIVE here and are simply out having dinner with friends or family.  I would fully support a ban.

Edited April 22, 2023 by pubic_assistance
grammar

[Luv2play]

I'm of two minds on this. I often eat by myself when traveling and at good restaurants. I haven't seen this phenomenon of social influencers at work in this milieu in cities such as Montreal or Toronto. But if I did I probably would find it disruptive to my enjoying the ambience of people enjoying themselves dining out. 

Otoh, I will put my phone on the table and look at it from time to time if I am not actually eating but waiting for the next course. What I find deplorable is when I observe two or more people eating together and some or all of them are looking at their phones and not engaging each other in conversation. I think they must not have much interesting going on in their lives since they have nothing to talk about.

[Jim_n_NYC]

1 hour ago, Luv2play said:

I'm of two minds on this. I often eat by myself when traveling and at good restaurants. I haven't seen this phenomenon of social influencers at work in this milieu in cities such as Montreal or Toronto. But if I did I probably would find it disruptive to my enjoying the ambience of people enjoying themselves dining out. 

Otoh, I will put my phone on the table and look at it from time to time if I am not actually eating but waiting for the next course. What I find deplorable is when I observe two or more people eating together and some or all of them are looking at their phones and not engaging each other in conversation. I think they must not have much interesting going on in their lives since they have nothing to talk about.

We laugh about this when we see it, but what is worse to us, is when they then start playing a video that is so loud the other patrons can't hear themselves talk.

[mike carey]

I must have been eating at the wrong places. No sign at all of any influencers at the diners I was at!

[pubic_assistance]

3 hours ago, Luv2play said:

I haven't seen this phenomenon of social influencers at work in this milieu in cities such as Montreal or Toronto.

Well....I mean...Toronto ? Not exactly the epicenter of fashion focus.
"Influencers" want to be seen in the most trendy/fashionable locations.

So I'm sure you're also not going to be bothered by them in Toledo, Minneapolis or Ottowa.

For those of us in London, LA or NYC we get inundated by young trend-seekers.

Edited April 26, 2023 by pubic_assistance

[SouthOfTheBorder]

3 hours ago, Luv2play said:

What I find deplorable is when I observe two or more people eating together and some or all of them are looking at their phones and not engaging each other in conversation.

unfortunately this is a sign of the times.  I really don’t care if people are on their phones in a restaurant- as along as they aren’t taking pictures, or otherwise disrupting any other guest dining experience.  And, it doesn’t really work if they are so distracted to cause problems for staff. 
When dining out w others, I do not carry my phone.  Extremely rude imo - why bother with other people if you can’t actually be present  ?

I would go for a total phone ban in museums and Broadway shows. I’ve been behind people texting nonstop through a performance. Again - why bother if you can’t be present ?

 

[Luv2play]

43 minutes ago, pubic_assistance said:

Well....I mean...Toronto ? Not exactly the epicenter of fashion focus.
"Influencers" want to be seen in the most trendy/fashionable locations.

So I'm sure you're also not going to be bothered by them in Toledo, Minneapolis or Ottowa.

For those of us in London, LA or NYC we get inundated by young trend-seekers.

What makes you think you are qualified to speak knowledgeably about Toronto?. When were you last there and what did you do to find out what makes it tick. Or what have you read about it from good sources? 

[SouthOfTheBorder]

My other ppv is those who want to take group photos when dining out & then they post it to social media somewhere.  It’s a really tricky situation because to object to a photograph can really sour the mood at the table.  I do not understand why this has become accepted behavior ?  the bright spot is it seems to becoming less of a thing as perceptions around social media are changing 

I don’t participate in social media and thats intentional.  I don’t like to get on a soapbox about it, but at the same time I do value my privacy.  Anything on social media is the opposite of having any sort of privacy.  Why would I want anyone to know where I had dinner & with who ? 

[pubic_assistance]

5 minutes ago, SouthOfTheBorder said:

I do not understand why this has become accepted behavior ?

Because 20-somethings need to impress all their "followers" with the fabulous destinations and situations they find themselves in weekly.

The need for validation is disturbing. I can only guess most of them were ignored in childhood by busy parents who didn't have time for actually paying attention to their kids.

[Lookin]

3 hours ago, mike carey said:

I must have been eating at the wrong places. No sign at all of any influencers at the diners I was at!

Same here!  Who has time for taking pictures?  

[Thelatin]

I’m a foodie and used to constantly post about restaurants, hotels etc.  Eventually I did start to wonder why.  How desperate am I to show that I’m “living my best life”.  Gross.  I ended up deleting everything.

[Rudynate]

On 4/19/2023 at 7:01 AM, maninsoma said:

I don't support banning phones in restaurants, but I certainly understand a restaurant having a clearly stated policy that they don't provide discounts or comped meals/drinks in exchange for social media marketing.  Some of these "influencers" have an inflated sense of their power to persuade people to patronize a specific business.

I know a photographer who does photoshoots for influencers.  He told me there really are influencers who make millions of dollars/year.   He said they are rare, but they definitely exist.  Those beautiful condos you always see? They are are all 1-day Airbnb rentals.  

[Rudynate]

21 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

Because 20-somethings need to impress all their "followers" with the fabulous destinations and situations they find themselves in weekly.

The need for validation is disturbing. I can only guess most of them were ignored in childhood by busy parents who didn't have time for actually paying attention to their kids.

A couple I know were trying to style themselves as an "it" couple in the bodybuilding world.  They lost their sense of proportion and began to appear ridiculous. Fortunately, they must have realized it and pulled way back.  I'm glad they did because I'm very fond of them. 

[maninsoma]

It's odd that I don't think I've ever previously recognized "influencers" at a restaurant until the past week, and now I've had two different dining experiences where I'm pretty sure that's what was going on at nearby tables.  In the first occurrence, I was at a fairly new casual restaurant that wasn't very busy.  Three women came in and the server pushed together two tables such that they would have room for several people.  What transpired next let me know they must be so-called influencers: The food kept flowing to their table, far more food than three average sized women would eat and, in fact, probably more food than any three people could eat unless they were especially gluttonous.  They took photos of everything, and most things were just being sampled, not eaten in their entirety.  I'm guessing that most of the food got thrown out after they left, which just seems like a shame.  Why not just serve "influencers" what they would normally order if they were paying, and let them post their review based on that?

The second occurrence was two nights ago at a more established restaurant/bar.  I don't know why this place would need a boost to their business as it already seems quite busy to me, but this time there was a table with two average sized women who got so much food delivered to their table that I was dumbfounded.  I didn't see them taking photos, but given they were a few tables away and off to my side I wasn't exactly watching what was happening at their table.  I'm not exaggerating when I state that they received enough food for four to six people.  Unless they specifically ordered all of that in order to take it home, I assume this was another occurrence of a restaurant providing a lot of food to a couple of people with the hope that those people would convince others to patronize their business. 

Now that I've personally experienced dining where a table of "influencers" is nearby, I can understand a restaurant explicitly banning that.  The first table of women just cheapened the dining experience, with them holding up plates to photograph them, holding up bites of food in front of their mouths while one of them took photos, and basically just picking away at the bounty in front of them.  It actually made me less likely to return to the restaurant since it just disturbed me that they would choose to waste food in this manner.