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Restaurant Owner Threatens Girls Life For Bad Review

reemabeidoh.com — Restaurant owner doesn ’t realize that his attempt to censor this Yelp user has prompted a conversation online that will only prove to be detrimental to his business.

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  • Nomadelle, on 05/21/2008, -2/+108What a jerk! He tells this chick that he funded his business using drug money, and then calls to threaten her life. What is this? THE MAFIA?
    • Kikkoman, on 05/21/2008, -7/+20I think one of them should call up Niko Bellic.
      Option 1: Silence the chick and make some quick cash + respect
      Option 2: Take down the owner and get laid
    • SillyRabbits, on 05/21/2008, -15/+17Well, I was on the reviewer's side until I read that she was invited to the restaurant as a guest of his. What she did was just in poor taste. If you're a guest and you don't like like place...just don't say anything...how hard is that? Then she airs all of their private conversations they had at the restaurant? I find it hard to blame the guy for being mad. It's like going to a friends house for dinner, if you don't like the food you don't sit there and complain about it to them - let a lone post about any private family matters you learn about on your myspace site.
      • sindex, on 05/21/2008, -0/+14So that excuses his behavior? I think not. Poor judgment? Poor taste? Perhaps. But not life-threateningly so.
        • SillyRabbits, on 05/21/2008, -3/+8No, but the more I read, it looks like there was some relationship with the owner. If she was truly concerned about these things she could have voiced them in private to him (if a friend's restaurant is serving bad food, I'll let them know discretely). It's beginning to look like there is a lot more to the story that isn't being said. It looks like this is a case of the reviewer having a personal issue with the owner and trying to enlist internet strangers to extract a little revenge by acting like an innocent victim here. I don't think I'll play along on this one...
        • Rikkochet, on 05/21/2008, -0/+8I'll go halfway. If you are invited to review the food as a guest, review the food honestly.
          If the owner tells you things in implied confidence, as a decent human being you don't blab it around on the internet. That's called having a big ***** mouth and nobody likes you.
          Sometimes there exists a situations when both wronged parties are completely wrong. This is one of them.
        • PaulOwen, on 05/21/2008, -0/+5"This Account Has Been Suspended"

          Looks like he got to the server before the girl then.

      • Briandt75, on 05/21/2008, -1/+7Oh yea, that's totally how an unbiased review of a restaurant should work. Simply because he invited her to the restaurant to review it, she should give it a positive review. that's sarcasm btw.
        • SillyRabbits, on 05/21/2008, -4/+9That's the problem, she wasn't invited to review the restaurant. And she's not a restaurant reviewer. She knew the restaurant owner and he invited her to have dinner. Apparently it went badly and she posted everything that happened online. It actually just looks more like a bad date that she decided to disclose all the personal details about and then tried to disguise it as a review of the restaurant.
        • aboyd, on 05/21/2008, -1/+10Uh, SillyRabbits, most of the people reviewing on Yelp are not "restaurant reviewers." I don't know why you think that has to be a requirement. And writing a review on Yelp is not an invitation-only event. Anyone can do it, and that's a good thing. If we did things your way, apparently only blessed glowing reviews would ever see the light of day.

          I'm sure THAT would result in accurate, fair ratings.

          Playing it off like she had no business writing a review because she's "not a restaurant reviewer" is not doing your argument any favors.
        • SillyRabbits, on 05/21/2008, -3/+2adoyd,

          It wouldn't really bother me if she just wrote a bad review of the place (even though I think that would be rather tactless in her situation). Instead it looks like she went on a diatribe about the owner's personal life and then at the end threw in a couple sentences to say the food was so-so and the service wasn't that great. To me, that was just a simple personal attack trying to hide behind a restaurant review.
        • clancyryan, on 05/21/2008, -2/+3I dont care how bad a place is, if an acquaintance invites you to his restaurant to eat and pays for you, it is slimy to go online and talk about how bad it was. it doesnt matter if shes a professional reviewer or just went on some website. sillyrabbits only said 'she wasnt a restaurant reviewer' because they are the only people who are expected to write reviews no matter what, and sillyrabbit wasnt saying only official reviewers can review restaurants. and where do you get that 'his way' would result in only good reviews? I think you need to reread his post a few times.
        • DiggzDE, on 05/21/2008, -4/+1She shouldn't have posted the review in the first place.
        • JointVenture, on 05/21/2008, -4/+2What a *****, she obviously didnt read the terms of YELP.

          The following is a partial list of the kind of Content and communications that are illegal or prohibited on/through the Yelp Site. Yelp reserves the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action in its sole discretion against anyone who violates this provision, including without limitation, removing the offending communication from the Yelp Service and terminating the membership of such violators or blocking your use of the Yelp Service and/or Yelp Site. You may not post Content that:

          * is false or intentionally misleading;
          * is patently offensive to users of the Yelp Site, such as Content or messages that promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
          * harasses or advocates harassment of another person;
          * involves the transmission of unsolicited mass mailing or "spamming";
          * violates the intellectual property or other rights of any person;
          * promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive;
          * is threatening, obscene, defamatory or libelous;
          * is pornographic or sexually explicit in nature; and
          * seeks or recommends providers of material that exploits people under the age of 18 in a sexual or violent manner, or seeks or recommends providers that solicit personal information from anyone under 18.
        • aboyd, on 05/21/2008, -3/+2I get that "his way" would result in only good reviews by using logic and intellect. Here's how it works. Someone says that it's a "problem" if a person reviews a restaurant if they are "not invited" and "not a restaurant reviewer." By process of elimination, that leaves only invited restaurant reviewers. See how I got there?

          And I can understand the implications of that by understanding the meaning of words. For example, "only invited restaurant reviewers" means that the only reviewers that will be invited are those that the approver selects. If you think about what kind of reviews that will foster, you get a conclusion.

          See how that worked?
        • captainanndor, on 05/21/2008, -2/+2Sorry aboyd, I couldn't see your point through that thick cloud of smug arrogance.
        • SillyRabbits, on 05/21/2008, -1/+3@aboyd
          I think we are arguing two different things. You're arguing about the review process (and I don't disagree with that at all) and I'm arguing that this wasn't really even a review.

          From the transcript, the owner wasn't even complaining about what she said about the restaurant. He was complaining about all of the personal things he confided in her while they were on their pseudo-date. He wanted those things removed because they didn't deal with the restaurant. I can't help be agreeing with that position. Granted, the guy never should have told her those things, and he likely is a total sleaze ball, but that doesn't give her the right to publicly post it and then try to claim it was simply a review.

          I can't help but think she's being a little bit of a drama queen here. She stated on the site that she decided he was not the type of person she wanted to associate with. Well, instead of just leaving things a lone and having that be the last contact with the guy, she goes and posts all of that personal information. Now she's entangled in all of the legal mess and with the police and with him. Did she really expect anything different. She was either very naive or she wanted the drama.
        • aboyd, on 05/21/2008, -3/+2@ captainanndor,

          Not everyone tolerates stupidity. If clancyryan can't connect some really obvious dots, I don't think I should coddle that person. If digg thinks I should, they'll Digg me down for having a post with some bite. That's the way it goes. I won't apologize for it. I think it's a good thing to expect people to use logic before posting.
        • aboyd, on 05/21/2008, -1/+1@ SillyRabbits,

          That's a good point, which I'm willing to concede. My only response is that I never disagreed with such a point. I was addressing the part of your post that reeked of fascism or elitism or some kind of ism. The whole notion of pre-approved reviewers being the only ones that can post on Yelp strikes me as a very bad model to follow. If you were not advocating such a position, then I will make a mental note to strike those lines from your post if I reread it in the future, and I will blame Digg for not giving us more time to reword posts. :)
        • RiverBelow, on 05/21/2008, -1/+1This whole debate fogs up my monocle!
        • aboyd, on 05/22/2008, -1/+1@ RiverBelow,

          Yeah. Not my best moment. Sorry guys.
        • clancyryan, on 07/02/2008, -0/+0what about my point? actually, I dont remember what it was anymore.
      • OUberLord, on 05/21/2008, -1/+4I review video games on the professional level, which means I get sent preview and review builds of the final game to me for free. This doesn't mean that I am supposed to give them a favorable review, however. The person in question has every right to talk about her experiences at the restaurant. Somehow I doubt that because the food was free it suffered in it's taste, which means that people who actually do pay for it get the same bad food.
        • Briandt75, on 05/21/2008, -2/+2Kudos uberlord, very good points. It also begs the question, if he can't even pull together a great FREE meal for his FRIEND, what is he serving up for the average paying customer. I would rather eat McDonalds out of a homeless man's ass than try this restaurant once.
        • underdog138, on 05/21/2008, -0/+4You use that phrase "begs the question". I do not think it means what you think it means.
    • dOOBiEx213, on 05/21/2008, -3/+2After watching all those Gangland episodes, I wouldn't be surprised :)
      • Tyorant, on 05/21/2008, -1/+3For those wondering, he doesn't say anywhere that he threatened to KILL her, misleading title.
        Still a dick though, this publicity is going to cause a lot more ***** than if he had left it.
    • SillyRabbits, on 05/21/2008, -2/+7I hate sensationalized headlines. From the transcript, he doesn't ever actually threaten her life - just promises to make it difficult.

      “Hi Rebecca this is Derek. I am calling in one last attempt to have you remove your review, and I spoke to my attorney about the first review you posted. I printed it out. That is defamation of character my attorney and will slap a lawsuit on you if the review is not gone in 24hrs. You never dined here. You don’t have receipt from here. You drank here, no service, no food… I will sue you. Your review has nothing to do with my restaurant… Trust me I will spend $10k in lawyers to win a $100k from you. I will drag your name through the mud, I ***** mean it. I will drag your ***** name through the mud. This is my livelihood. You drag my name through the mud I will drag yours. And mess up your life and job. ”
      • Briandt75, on 05/21/2008, -9/+3You're a total idiot Rabbit. 100% complete package. What my grandmother would have referred to as an Ignoramous.
        • SillyRabbits, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2No, I'm a total Silly Rabbit.
        • JointVenture, on 05/21/2008, -4/+3Sounds like your Granny was a ***** just like you, read the terms of YELP.

          The following is a partial list of the kind of Content and communications that are illegal or prohibited on/through the Yelp Site. Yelp reserves the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action in its sole discretion against anyone who violates this provision, including without limitation, removing the offending communication from the Yelp Service and terminating the membership of such violators or blocking your use of the Yelp Service and/or Yelp Site. You may not post Content that:

          * is false or intentionally misleading;
          * is patently offensive to users of the Yelp Site, such as Content or messages that promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
          * harasses or advocates harassment of another person;
          * involves the transmission of unsolicited mass mailing or "spamming";
          * violates the intellectual property or other rights of any person;
          * promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive;
          * is threatening, obscene, defamatory or libelous;
          * is pornographic or sexually explicit in nature; and
          * seeks or recommends providers of material that exploits people under the age of 18 in a sexual or violent manner, or seeks or recommends providers that solicit personal information from anyone under 18.
      • jsd8cc, on 05/21/2008, -1/+5Exactly. Buried as inaccurate.

        (The guy is still a jerk.)
    • DiggzDE, on 05/21/2008, -4/+5"I did dine at his restaurant. He invited me to his restaurant as a guest. He gave me food and drinks. So he is correct - I don’t have a receipt."

      Wait? He invited the girl to eat at his place, free of charge, and she puts a review up about him. I believe his response to her review is grossly out of line and a huge overreaction, but what kind of person goes and takes a hospitable experience such as a free meal and takes advantage of it by writing a negative review about the restaurant? That is just plain rude and completely misleading to anyone reading the initial review. While the guy is obviously wrong for responding the way he did, this girl shouldn't have bothered to post a review in the first place. She was not a paying customer and thus her review as one would have little truth use since it was not from the perspective of a paying customer but rather from an upset acquaintance of the owner.
      • CryRightardCry, on 05/21/2008, -3/+4Give it a rest.
        So she can't give an honest opinion because it was free?
        Thank god I'm not that stupid.
        • DiggzDE, on 05/21/2008, -1/+1You are the idiot for interpreting what I said as that. I merely stated she shouldn't have posted a review about it on Yelp as it was misleading and she did not disclose all the details. I never said she couldn't express an opinion about the restaurant at all. She was invited to the restaurant as a guest and was treated to the food and drinks. She did not pay for them. It is a completely different experience then going out to a random restaurant to dine and pay at and receiving poor service or food. On top of that, she made no mention in her review of the fact that she visited the place as a guest of the owner or that she didn't pay for the food or drinks. It is just plain rude to do something like that. The owner opened his place to her as a guest, treated her as so, and even served her himself (as any host should do). Her response was to go online and complain about it. That is almost the same as being invited by someone to their house for dinner and then going and complaining to friends about how terrible the experience was. A very immature and rude thing to do and it shows just how little consideration she has for others. She didn't go to the restaurant as a consumer, she went as an invited guest and casual acquaintance of the owner. When the owner is acting as your host and is giving you free food and drinks, you are not there as just another patron. And her review should have at least reflected that much. But of course, it didn't. Even her second review failed to mention it as well and that is why I said it was misleading and she shouldn't have posted it.

          I actually had a good conversation with several of my co-workers about this issue and almost every single one of them agreed she shouldn't have posted on Yelp about it. Only one person (who is also an active user of Yelp) said he would have still posted a review or offered his opinion on the place, but also added he would not have posted it on Yelp because he felt it did not apply there. It is a matter of consideration for others and personal character. Something she failed at on both counts.

          I mean hell. What kind of a person complains about free food and drinks anyways? You have to be one massive bitch to do that kind of thing. It is just unfortunate that the owner decided to respond in the one way that made him worse then her.
  • fitqueenb, on 05/21/2008, -0/+78If you review, then you review honestly. He should have taken that as a sign to pull up his socks. However, it sounds like he was a lost cause anyhow, and he made it worse for himself by making the stink, so his business will suffer, nor will he have an easy time finding people to actually work there.

    I wold not work for an idiot like that either, who needs a flaring temper like that in a service industry?

    Glad to see the social site do their job.
  • sonnygill, on 05/21/2008, -1/+67Dude has no clue about the internet and how it works. Actually, probably has no clue on how to run a business either.
  • Pogojoe, on 05/21/2008, -1/+102Send Gordon Ramsay around to kick his ass...
    • MCA2142, on 05/21/2008, -16/+11Ramsey couldn't kick anyone's ass physically.

      He'd just shoot his mouth for 10 minutes and cut to commercial.
      • itsthebrod, on 05/21/2008, -1/+4Yeah right. I wouldn't want to be in a dark alley with him.
    • redscofield, on 05/21/2008, -6/+5Gordon Ramsay is a moisten bint
    • cowsgonemadd3, on 05/21/2008, -5/+3What if he does not have a donkey?
  • decepticrat, on 05/21/2008, -5/+15Haha! Not only does this *genius* fail at providing good food and services, he also fails at teh internets. Censor THIS, buddy!
    • JointVenture, on 05/21/2008, -2/+2The following is a partial list of the kind of Content and communications that are illegal or prohibited on/through the Yelp Site. Yelp reserves the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action in its sole discretion against anyone who violates this provision, including without limitation, removing the offending communication from the Yelp Service and terminating the membership of such violators or blocking your use of the Yelp Service and/or Yelp Site. You may not post Content that:

      * is false or intentionally misleading;
      * is patently offensive to users of the Yelp Site, such as Content or messages that promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
      * harasses or advocates harassment of another person;
      * involves the transmission of unsolicited mass mailing or "spamming";
      * violates the intellectual property or other rights of any person;
      * promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive;
      * is threatening, obscene, defamatory or libelous;
      * is pornographic or sexually explicit in nature; and
      * seeks or recommends providers of material that exploits people under the age of 18 in a sexual or violent manner, or seeks or recommends providers that solicit personal information from anyone under 18.
  • stignordas, on 05/21/2008, -1/+49totally weak, the dude's a prick. there's cafe in the east bay (norcal) which has a big 'no yelpers' sticker inside the cafe. apparently the owner got a bunch of nasty reviews and instead of addressing yelpers in a positive way, he decided to ban them from his cafe. smart.
    • Happy_Phantom, on 05/21/2008, -1/+41The next sign will be "No Diggers Allowed."
    • Pyehole, on 05/21/2008, -1/+5Really? That's funny, makes me want to go by and make a snarky comment. What cafe is that?
    • troymccluresf, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1Yelper here... from what I hear, he got some bad reviews, but the sign is tongue-in-cheek.
  • lucidguru, on 05/21/2008, -1/+30Criticism is the highest form of compliment that one can receive. How does he not appreciate what she's doing? It will let him improve his business in the way that customers want.
    • justjeninsf, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1totally - better to receive criticism than be forgotten
    • PopcornDave, on 05/21/2008, -0/+3Constructive criticism yes, bitchy criticism no.
  • justjeninsf, on 05/21/2008, -1/+11it's a bummer that the reviewer caved to this guy's threats, though I understand why she would. unfortunately, it just gives him a greater sense of power and I'm sure there will be more negative reviews and more threats.
  • starfocus03, on 05/21/2008, -0/+14wow, what is the world coming to?
    • smashingmonkey, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1What is digg coming to? Apparently it's enough to take someone's anecdote as sufficient evidence to publicly attack the man and his restaurant on review sites. The guy sounds like he's probably a real ass, but with no evidence these attacks are completely irresponsible.
  • rejectnation, on 05/21/2008, -2/+22Reason #27 Why You are a Douchebag: Because you threaten people who don't like you. Good job.
  • clc101, on 05/21/2008, -2/+20That guy is insane
  • chrissku, on 05/21/2008, -0/+26Now he's convinced me to eat there.
  • Zippo, on 05/21/2008, -1/+14Restaurant owner: meet the Internet. Hope you like angry mobs.
  • punx, on 05/21/2008, -6/+18I know this sounds superficial, but I would love to see a pic of this guy. I can only imagine what he's like. Middle aged, shirt unbuttoned to show his hairy chest, slightly overweight but wears clothes two sizes too small, and claims its muscle, and still thinks he's attractive to younger women. So much so that he brags that he got the money for his place selling or running drugs. Loser, either way.
    • a2fan, on 05/21/2008, -5/+3Hurray for stereotypes!
    • punx, on 05/21/2008, -2/+3Uh oh, did I hit a raw nerve a2fan?
      • jnava121, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2Oh noes, i think you hit an undercooked nerve not raw. funny you probably described a2fan accurately, and the thought police busted you!!! I heart insecurity !
      • a2fan, on 05/21/2008, -1/+1No, not at all punx -- I'm celebrating your self-admitted superficial imagery. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt though and imagine you're not some 19-26 year old slacker, either working an entry level job and/or still living in his parent's basement.
        • punx, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1Actually, I find that pretty funny, especially considering that if you had in any way bothered to look, you would see I'm not a guy. You can call me superficial all you want. I'm fine with that, because everyone is to a certain extent. The rest is just too ridiculous to bother with. But don't worry dumbass, everyone knows FOR SURE what you are now.
        • a2fan, on 05/23/2008, -0/+0OK, my mistake... "her parent's basement." I did say "imagine you're not ... " but you must have missed that.
        • a2fan, on 05/23/2008, -0/+0I went back and read your previous posts to other stories -- I should have done that before. Sorry. Anyone who bags on liberal hippies can't be bad IMO.
    • colto, on 05/21/2008, -0/+6How do you know my uncle?
    • mountainwater, on 05/21/2008, -1/+2You think he looks like me???
    • moisture, on 05/21/2008, -2/+3http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/AitDslVo-TV_d5j1K4H ...

      The guy has his photo on Yelp.
  • dleesgeetar, on 05/21/2008, -4/+25your restaurant ***** SUCKS :)
    • dabura, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1You DOin IT WRONG!
      ***** RESTAURANT SUCKS!!!!!
  • kev26, on 05/21/2008, -4/+27http://www.yelp.com/biz/beso-saint-louis
    Here's the page to review the restaurant on Yelp if anyone else has feedback. :)
    • ngmcs8203, on 05/21/2008, -0/+3Or if you want a link that works..
    • Coffeedemon, on 05/21/2008, -1/+9Its bad enough as it is... do you really need a load of people going in and just showing how irrelevant these applications are by voting for a place they've probably never visited?
      • kev26, on 05/21/2008, -3/+1Ya, you're probably right now that I'm not just reacting to the story. Quick, dig me down!
  • IphtashuFitz, on 05/21/2008, -1/+7Great way to attract business. Maybe he should focus on better quality food in the future... I hope she reported the threat to the police.
  • juniorb, on 05/21/2008, -0/+7Mirror?
  • thedogfatherx, on 05/21/2008, -14/+4"Your Restaurant"

    ***** THING SUCKS!
  • MagicIcarus, on 05/21/2008, -0/+72Google cache: http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:7HrnBglcJRMJ: ...
  • Apocolypse007, on 05/21/2008, -0/+13Im surprised any lawyer would want to take this guy's case. He has nothing to go on and should be countersued for threatening this poor girl's life.
    • 1337chic, on 05/21/2008, -0/+3I doubt he's actually talked to a lawyer at all. People do the "I've talked to my lawyer. . . " bit all the time and they are really just spewing *****.
    • SillyRabbits, on 05/21/2008, -0/+5Most people in business already have an existing relationship with a lawyer to handle all of their business related issues. The lawyer won't care, as long as the owner is willing to pay the billed hours, he'll file the paperwork.
    • ProjectGSX, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2Yeah, there arent any lawyers out there with little to no morals that would take on a case like this. Good call man.
  • Hilsee, on 05/21/2008, -17/+6404 at less than 250 diggs?

    Fail.
    • WraTH017, on 05/21/2008, -3/+7Why is it so hard for people to understand that diggs != views?
      • winmywii, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2View > diggs. Once something hits the frontpage it doesn't matter how many diggs there are. The page views are going to jump astronomically.
  • amandaellis, on 05/21/2008, -5/+8Hey, it's coming up with a message from headway marketing that: "This account has been suspended".
  • RioMo, on 05/21/2008, -10/+5Bum Bum Bum Bum... another site bites the dust.
  • na3s, on 05/21/2008, -10/+5Weak. Account suspended!!!
  • crichton101, on 05/21/2008, -5/+4any mirrors? the site seems to be down.
  • therealkdog, on 05/21/2008, -3/+13Ive talked to a couple of people who review restaurants that get published in the Washington Post. They are not allowed to write anything bad about any restaurant, mostly because of legal reasons. Online reviews and freedom of speech FTW.

    • crichton101, on 05/21/2008, -0/+15did they say what they can write if they didn't like the place? Not being able to say anything bad about the restaurant seems to pretty much negate the entire concept of a review.
    • sureshdoss, on 05/21/2008, -0/+5I call *****.
      I know plenty of authors of magazines/newspapers that have the liberty to write what they want, AS long as they're being fair to the experience they had.
  • Ogre73, on 05/21/2008, -2/+4Digg Effect
  • tylermenezes, on 05/21/2008, -3/+4http://www.reemabeidoh.com.nyud.net/social-media/r ...
  • MattB123, on 05/21/2008, -0/+25Awesome. I love it when people who think they have the upper hand via intimidation fail in such a fantastic fashion. If I lived near there I'd be tempted to go the place and ask him about it and then write about the interaction online.

    Internet:1
    Douche:0
  • galvo, on 05/21/2008, -0/+9As if the ***** food wasn't threatening enough :-O
  • Nomadelle, on 05/21/2008, -2/+2http://www.reemabeidoh.com.nyud.net/social-media/r ...
  • kooky, on 05/21/2008, -0/+14The voicemail is great. He wants to sue for defamation of character. Obviously he knows nothing about law. You can't sue about something that is true. That's the first requirement for libel or slander.

    Truth is a defense in a libel/slander case.
    • Calcularius, on 05/21/2008, -0/+3Also, giving one's opinion is not the same as stating a fact.
      It is only libel or slander if the stated facts are not true *AND* the stated facts cause damage.
  • Whackly, on 05/21/2008, -4/+7Thin on details and actual facts. How can I consider any of thislegitimate? Let me know when the local news covers it.
    • advocation, on 05/21/2008, -1/+8yeah...because we all know how credible the local news can be...
      • Whackly, on 05/21/2008, -1/+2I agree, and that was my point. If even a local news story is more credible the story itself seems like a perfect target for incredulity.
    • GeekyLotus, on 05/21/2008, -2/+9I've got to agree.

      What is going on here? Read the mirrors since the site is down. The guy running the business and the girl writing the review have "mutual friends" as she puts it.

      She got invited as a guest and that is why she has no receipt...

      She has to have known something about this guy before crossing him, I would think. Why go through the effort to bring down a friend of a friend? I mean, I understand giving a restaurant a bad review, sure, but it seems to me something personal is going on here. That does not make it right for him to threaten, but it means that the whole story is not being told and it makes the internet community tools if we get too involved.

      The whole story needs to come out.
  • tman84, on 05/21/2008, -9/+3Critics of all kinds suck and fail at whatever profession they are critiquin. I still can't believe anyone takes critics serious.
  • JasonCox, on 05/21/2008, -1/+2If I've learned it's that while everyone will whine and bitch about everything and throw a big fuss over what this guy did, in the end this will turn out to be good for business because we all know about a business that we didnt know about yesterday.
    • CZzyzx41, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1The difference is, I know of one business I will never patronize. If I'm ever in St Louis, I'm steering clear of Beso's.
  • J3553, on 05/21/2008, -2/+36NO SOUP FOR HER
  • jonxblaze, on 05/21/2008, -4/+6Digg Effect at it's best! Server down!
  • brbubba, on 05/21/2008, -14/+13"A friend reviewed a local restaurant on Yelp. The owner called and threatened her life and to sue her. What does she do?"

    How about call the damn police and report a death threat. Sometimes I wonder how some people even made it this far in life.

    p.s. I'm fully expecting negative diggs from you digg natzi's as anything that dares to question a story is immediately dugg down.
    • Briandt75, on 05/21/2008, -2/+4If you read her account of the story, she actually did contact the police who basically told her they couldn't help her in any real way. Typical cop ***** "I'm sorry ma'am, since he's not battering down your door, we don't consider it an actual threat"

      ***** cops are useless.
      • GeekyLotus, on 05/21/2008, -0/+3Unfortunately true. I've been verbally threatened in a road rage incident. Some crazy woman threatened me and my wife individually (after she tried to repeatedly side swipe me and run me off the road) even though my wife had nothing to do with it. That's how insane this person was.

        The police did nothing.
    • starf, on 05/21/2008, -0/+4If you read the article, it doesn't say anything about a death threat.
      He threatens to sue her and ruin her life. Just another sensationalist digg post.
      • GeekyLotus, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1While there is no death threat there is the following:

        Once Onstott discovered the review, he contacted the Yelper. He threatened to harm her and file a lawsuit if she did not immediately remove her review. She removed her initial review and replaced it with the following:

        *Threatened to harm her* are key words although vague.
    • DeadlyCouncil, on 05/21/2008, -0/+9Actually, I dugg you down for misspelling "Nazi" : )
  • MattyLite, on 05/21/2008, -7/+1Lol, people are stupid.
    • ClevelandBrown, on 05/21/2008, -1/+0You are a person, therefore you are stupid.
  • hathewj, on 05/21/2008, -9/+3I agree that this guy was s total douche and that he behaved in a way that reminds me of local thugs in my area.
    With that said, I also have a problem with the reviewer. Is it even ethical to review a free meal? As a waiter/bartender/cook, if there is no tip coming my way, why should I go out of my way just so my jerk boss can impress someone? It was wrong for him to behave that way, but wrong for her to review it in the first place.
    • davecapp, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2I would still tip if a meal was free.
    • Briandt75, on 05/21/2008, -2/+5Are you a ***** idiot? How do you think restaurants get reviewed? Reviewers hardly ever pay for the meal, and if he invited her himself, he might have wanted to alert the staff to this fact so they could behave accordingly at least. You cannot blame a reviewer for writing an honest review... Regardless of any other circumstances involved. If she got ***** service, she got ***** service.
    • saltydawkins, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2If a meal is free it generally results in a much larger than average tip from me, and that held true back when I wore the apron. I loved bartending for open-bar events. A tip jar on the counter usually resulted in double what I could make in the same time in the bar.
    • Calcularius, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2WTF? are saying if someone is giving away something for free it's ok for it to be crap?!?!?
      That is the most retarded thing I have ever heard. YES, IT IS ETHICAL TO REVIEW A FREE MEAL.
  • beautifulbeast, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2Wasn't this the plot of a Friends episode?
  • penkwin, on 05/21/2008, -0/+5See: going out of business soon.
  • cerejota, on 05/21/2008, -2/+3This Derek character is the definition of douchebag and ***** all rolled (not rick rolled!) into one... he is a douchehole!

    Is this the same guy?
    http://www.madisonrecord.com/news/163360-dog-bite- ...
  • 1337chic, on 05/21/2008, -0/+3Sketchy details of his business:

    http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/gutcheck/2008/04/ ...
    • down1nit, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1Gotta love the tags on the article: "crappy pictures of front doors" yields great results.
  • PastorEd, on 05/21/2008, -1/+3Someone who lives in St. Louis should tip the local TV stations about this... this would make a GREAT story, and it would have the added benefit of showing this guy that he cannot use intimidation to get good business reviews...
    • Bear78, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2Done!

      Sent emails to the 3 big news stations here in the STL.
      • cha5e, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2I'm assuming you mean 30 (ABC), 4 (CBS), and 5 (NBC)? I bet 11 would be more likely to cover it, or even 2 (FOX). That is, if 11 is still around...I haven't lived in St. Louis for about 15 years.
        • Bear78, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2Sent it to channel 2, 4, and 5... didnt think about 11 as I dont know many people that watch it. Also sent it to RFT as they have covered stories on this restaurant/owner before... couldnt find a "submit news" link for the post dispatch...
  • JesusHatesMe, on 05/21/2008, -0/+18my girlfriend and i had dinner once at a place called "duo" in haddonfield, nj. the food was awful and the cook (it was a open-kitchen bistro) was making very crude comments about the women he had dated. two days later i wrote the owner/chef an email voicing my concerns. he wrote back and in a very hostile manner stated that i couldn't possibly know good food and that i just love to bitch about things. seeing as how i gave him the chance to make amends and he threw away the opportunity, i posted my and his emails on yelp unedited. they were up for about a week. i went back to check it out again and it had been removed. i wrote to yelp to find out what the deal was and they wrote back that a request had been made to remove it (presumably the chef). there was no recourse. in the past few months i've gone on frequently to see the occasional bad review only to see it removed a week later. so i can only come to the conclusion that the owner/chef is a huge pussy who can't take criticism.
  • letterz, on 05/21/2008, -0/+14more about derek:

    http://www.rftstl.com/2008-03-05/news/red-goes-dar ...

    lovely guy
    • Gandalff, on 05/21/2008, -0/+5Yea that Derek guy sounds lovely.... If your into the drugs and money laundering business disguised as a restaurant....LOL

      Great Story and Good Find!!!
  • robthky, on 05/21/2008, -7/+9WHERE is the threat to her life? I see it listed in the title, and even other people leaving reviews says that he threatened her life...where is the proof of this? Simply saying I will drag your name through the mud is not a threat to do physical harm....Jeez grow up!
    • Nomadelle, on 05/21/2008, -2/+7He threatened her life when he called her the first time.
    • smashingmonkey, on 05/21/2008, -4/+3And you *know* this how, exactly? Diggers are attacking his character based on second-hand information. Listen, this guy sounds like a real piece of work, but to attack him and his restaurant on review sites based on something someone said that he said is completely irresponsible.
  • photobeatsfilm, on 05/21/2008, -1/+13Yes he's wrong and he's an idiot, and he's probably a dick who's restaurant sucks. But at the same time, what kind of girl get invited to an acquaintance's restaurant, doesn't pay for a meal, and then turns around and rips that acquaintance to shreds in reviews of the restaurant?

    I am in no way defending Derek, but at the same time, I am saying that Rebecca is kind of a b*tch.
    • JointVenture, on 05/21/2008, -0/+3Because he told her no way when she quoted her long time price?
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