In the summer there are not much news to report, so the media bit like a hungry wolfpack on a “power to the blog” human interest story of a customer who received bad service at one of the most legendary restaurants in Helsinki and posted a little note about it on his blog.

I’ve eaten at Lehtovaara once or twice and everything was fine with service on those occasions, but I’m not surprised at all if they have managed to give bad service to a group of people who may have not been in the heart of their desired client profile. What amazes me most is the rather amusing way in which they are trying to bully a dissatisfied client with a laughably vague letter from the attorney’s office. They are not referring to any particular URL on their letter, but simply mention “the insulting story you have published and maintained on the net”.

I suspect that they used the legal services of a son-in-law or some other relative since the attorney’s family name happens to be the same as the restaurant owner’s.

When things go wrong this badly, the restaurant should really hire a professional spin doctor to try and contain the horrible public image damage that they have inadvertently caused with their threats. Unfortunately there are very few such professionals available here, so they have little choice but to apologize profoundly and wait for the storm to pass. I’ll follow the story out of sheer curiousity.

EDIT: The lawyer turned out to be the restaurant owner himself. To be more specific, he was originally demanding 80000 euros in damages for the ruined reputation based on a single blog entry. Here’s an excerpt of his interview by the leading finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat:

• On what basis are you making these demands, lawyer Antero Molander?
  “It is based on the fact that someone is knowlingly and malevolently publishing something like this permanently on the net. Obviously it causes damage and obviously it has to be cashed out. We shall not tolerate anything like this”

• May the journalists of mainstream media publish criticism of your services?
  “Of course, if they are professionals and if they are made properly. We know what the hidden agenda behind all this is.”

• What is it?
  “No comment.”

• Do you know what blogs are?
  “No, I really don’t. What are they?”

• They are one of the fastest growing forms of communication on the internet.. a type of digital diary.
  “Well, everyone can write their diaries in their own books.”

Posted by api in Stuff that doesn't matter

No Comments »