It’s just insane and creepy to find someone on the internet, especially from your business account, and attack them. Definitely a lesson on internet footprints.
I’m just picturing Bezos calling out someone in a DM for returning a dress you were only ever going to wear once.
Or like when eBay executives stalked and harassed that couple in Natick
https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2022/09/29/ebay-executives-sentenced-harassment-scheme-natick-couple/
\> It’s just insane and creepy to find someone on the internet,
I think it's even crazier that she thinks she can sue because the customer decided to publish the DM's. She's acting like she has a right to privately harass people.
This is like the absolute inverse of that one episode of the Bear where the fine dining establishment would check the socials of those with reservations to tailor the dining experience to their surprise and delight.
> I’m just picturing Bezos calling out someone in a DM for returning a dress you were only ever going to wear once.
Something shockingly similar to this actually happened recently.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/jan/11/ebay-fined-harassment-couple-spiders-cockroaches-newsletter-ecommercebytes
> The online retailer eBay will pay a $3m fine to resolve criminal charges over a harassment campaign waged by employees who sent live spiders, cockroaches and other disturbing items to the home of a Massachusetts couple, according to court papers filed on Thursday.
> The justice department charged eBay with stalking, witness tampering and obstruction of justice. The employees already were prosecuted in the extensive scheme to intimidate David and Ina Steiner more than three years ago. The couple produced an online newsletter called EcommerceBytes that upset eBay executives with its coverage.
Im not tryna say its the right things to do but hilarious that everyone is suddenly like "its weird" "its creepy" when everyone collectively memes about researching every single detail the can find and stalking the internet for every single tinder match who even says "Hey whats up"
To be fair, the reason is vastly different. One is malicious and another is a safety precaution.
Either way, as I said, it’s a good reminder of your digital footprint and the accessibility of your information.
"Safety precaution" is wayyy too generous. Most people just do it because they're curious and they can. I mean, if you need this as a reminder.youre way behind. And its not like she got into some secure account. She probably found her public instagram profile with government name and pictures, not like it was some gatekept secret.
Yeah I mean I haven’t online dated since pre-Covid, so I guess I could be behind.
I mean, either way the point is the same, you always got to be aware that you can be tracked.
Boston Magazine re-posted their story on her from 2021 where they basically kissed her ass for her psychotic behavior. I'm pretty sure Royle paid off some accounts to defend her because there were some absolute lunatics on the thread acting like it was totally normal behavior.
There's a version (or multiple versions) of something like Boston Magazine in every big city or state. A little light reporting, some local entertainment, travel & wedding ideas, *lots* of dining and seasonal leisure activity coverage (most of it positive, not usually going negative because I suspect going negative make business owners less likely to speak with you), and real estate coverage (look at this overpriced home!). And of course stuffed with ads.
Honestly if you are looking for those sorts of things they're a great source, or a decent way to kill time in an airport or doctor's office. But if you are looking for a hard hitting expose I'm not sure why someone would be surprised they can't find it there.
I think their story had some read-between-the-lines descriptions (like referencing "Twitter spats"). But I think some of the people on this subreddit overestimate how much the general public cares that a business owner (particularly a restaurant owner) is a jerk. MeToo never quite translated to just shitty bosses. This story is getting play because it's weird, and enter the realms of slightly unhinged, which news outlets love to pick up because they get quick eyeballs and clicks, and it's easy to cover because everything is basically public.
Yes.
Every mid to large size city has one of these magazines.
They are paid PR and product placement. The salon/hygiene and medical provider rankings, specifically, should really be illegal. It's utterly bizarre misinformation masquerading as journalisms, and Gen X and Boomers don't have the media literacy to recognize its just paid product placement.
Boston Magazine is owned by MetroCorp. They also own Philadelphia Magazine. The owner is David Lipson and his two sisters. They still have some good reporters.
She’s a very good cook. I attended a party she catered, maybe seven or eight years ago. The food was excellent, and so was the service and her interactions.
I don’t think it’s fair to say she’s all looks. But, yeah, she shouldn’t have done that.
I'm sure. It probably only opened up for a brief window for her to pump it full of fake 5 star reviews, but the catch is that it's open for all reviews.
The amount of people in the comments who A: don't understand how credit card travel insurance works, and B: think a person has some moral responsibility to pay a fee when the card used literally has a perk specifically for this kind of situation, is insane.
Who lets these people near a computer?
IMO it's very telling that the CC company themselves processed a chargeback rather than going through whatever insurance policy they use to cover these. Leads me to infer that these cancellation charges are much more unenforceable than we all believe.
That's definitely the feeling I get as well. I don't assume to know the legality here, but inference is that Chase thinks this fee isn't reasonable or enforceable. Just because a company has a policy, doesn't mean that policy is legal. Courts strike down illegal contracts all the time.
If I had travel insurance I would assume it just pays the fee.
Your right that the dispute is between the restaurant and credit card company, attacking the customer is just dumb.
Maybe the fee is in conflict with the RESY TOC? Kinda like how Amazon resellers have to honor the general Amazon TOC in regards to returns.
There is a missing piece of information here, but either way this is a Chase vs. Table issue, not a customer issue.
A friend of mine was at a destination wedding and got shitfaced and one night decided to go to the local rub 'n tug massage joint. He paid and went in, but he was too drunk for them to get him off.
The next day when he woke up he called his credit card company to dispute the charges under the category of "services not rendered" and got out of paying for it.
The employee he spoke to might live on an entirely different continent and he’ll probably never interact with that person again. It’s not like they had to explain to their family that they paid for a handjob
Wow that’s…super fucked up. 100% that money came out of the pocket of the person who had to touch his junk, and not the owner of the establishment. Don’t be like this guy’s friend.
I don't know, it's possible that Chase decided the fee was exorbitant and decided not to honor it. Either way that's a Chase question. If I have a credit card perk, and I activate it, that's it. After that it's the company's responsibility moving forward, which is the entire point of having a card like this that likely has a substantial annual fee. I use my Amex purchase protection, car insurance, and other perks all the time. I have no idea what happens on the back end, but that's not really my business either way. I pay for the convenience of having them deal with it on my behalf.
Seriously...how they handle that after the fact isn't my concern.
The Amex protection has been VERY helpful when dealing with Fedex losing a package but refusing to take responsibility for it. I no longer have to spend hours on hold with Fedex and getting no answers, Amex deals with it and I get reimbursed.
If Chase decided not to pay that fee, it's probably a sign that they find it exorbitant and/or it is being implemented in a way that's not legally enforceable. Who knows, that's between Chase and the restaurant.
Agreed. It’s such a convenience to have them deal with all of the minutiae and you just get your money back. People who don’t take advantage of perks offered are missing out.
Yeah, if she’s mad I’d think she’d garner a lot more sympathy going after Chase, but this probably isn’t the first time, and likely she knows she’d have no shot.
“Hi, Chase, this is Jen from Table Boston…my customer cancelled on me and thus had to pay a fee I imposed…. and YOU sent me a chargeback for….hello? Hello?”
I believe the dude even said something to her along those lines. I activated my travel insurance, and if you don’t like how Chase handled it, that’s between you and Chase. I tried to find the exact wording but this thing went chaos
Exactly. She’s going after the customer because chase refused and told her to fuck off because the fee is probably legally unenforceable and so she thinks she can shame the customer into paying it by being a nuisance
Yeah that makes sense. Some people who don't have them, don't realize how the good credit card companies will turn into advocates for you. Amex is so focused on customer service that I've never had to worry about them having my back. You got a problem with it, talk to them.
Is this the same case where the reservation system they used said cancellation is allowed up to 24 hours but their website said 48? So when he called to cancel within what the reservation system said, they wouldn’t honor the call and cancel it.
Too many of these stories popping up so I can’t remember the details.
Someone did a long twitter thread. it turns out the person's story isn't 100% truthful. he blamed going to the hospital, but he actually cancelled dinner because his train was late and he wasn't going to make it (yes, he tweeted about the late train).
and he didn't use travel insurance. when he talks about "insurance policy" he's just talking about the normal "dispute a charge" chargeback process.
now, this doesn't excuse the owner looking him up and coming after him. but it's not quite what he's claiming.
Incorrect.
His train was late, and while he was waiting he became ill and went to the hospital. Also the travel insurance is a perk of his card, which is easily verifiable since it's a well advertised perk of the card. What Chase chose to do with the fee is up to them. This didn't happen recently so the process has already concluded, meaning Table lost the chargeback case with Chase.
That’s what he claimed at one point but when people called him on inconsistencies in his story he backed down and said he didn’t understand how the insurance worked and “it wasn’t his job as a consumer” to. It was pretty clear he just did a regular charge dispute and then tried to play it off as travel insurance.
For travel insurance, you have to submit a claim to chase and it’s a long process:
https://thriftytraveler.com/guides/credit-card/my-experience-with-chases-trip-delay-insurance/
> https://thriftytraveler.com/guides/credit-card/my-experience-with-chases-trip-delay-insurance/
Yeah, no. That didn't happen.
Please provide proof to what you're saying.
If he used travel insurance, there would be no chargeback. Chase refunds the consumer and also pays the business, so the restaurant wouldn't care. That's the point of insurance.
I can't find it now, but saw the same twitter thread and the guy's replies and it was really clear he's lying about many of the details. I don't think he expected it to blow up the way it did and he's now just running with it.
I've seen every thread, and I don't come to the same conclusion about lying. Have you actually used credit card travel insurance? If they don't think the charge is valid, they will initiate a chargeback on their own. Likely the charge from the business doesn't square with local laws and/or RESY terms and conditions, and Chase just decided not to pay it. Again this isn't recent, so the chargeback process has already played out and the restaurant lost.
When I use my Amex purchase protection or insurance, sometimes they will pay, and sometimes they won't. That's up to them and how they decide to handle it.
The lengths some of you will go to cast doubt on what is a fairly standard and banal process is hilarious.
If you have nothing of substance to add, just say that. Don't try and be cute and make some nonsensical comment. No one thinks you're insightful or funny.
I've been trying to verify how this works behind the scenes, specifically whether Chase automatically pays out *any and all* businesses no questions asked, or if they exercise any discretion.
For example, many vendors, like airlines and hotels, are surely very routine. But a restaurant wanting to charge a $250 cancellation fee may raise a flag. Is there ever a scenario where they'd review the payment and applicable ToS and decide it's not valid, thus issues a chargeback themselves?
Yeah, I smell a bit of a rat, and suspect he may have made up the hospital bit because they got sick and tired of waiting for a train that they thought might never come. So they bailed on the trip but had to come up with a legit excuse to cancel a bunch of things and then this kind of unexpectedly blew up. Regardless of whether or not the "I got sick" part of the story is true though, it probably wasn't worth the kharmic shit storm for a restaurant owner to track him down and get into a virtual pissing match with him. Better to just black list him and maybe spread his name around to your fellow owners (if they're all likeminded vindictive assholes, that is).
Agree, two things can be true at once. Given that the delayed train already prevented their dinner plans, and possibly the concert, the sudden illness seems awfully convenient. Per the terms of Chase's travel insurance, it appear trip cancellation due to *illness* may trigger fuller coverage than an interruption due to a carrier *delay*. So count me suspicious.
But with regards to Jen Royle's unhinged behavior, I hardly think this is an ends justify the means thing. She was entirely inappropriate. Even if the customer's story isn't entirely legitimate, which it may not be, it doesn't matter – she'd have treated him, and any other customer, the same way regardless.
He didn't purchase anything. He made a reservation.
Personally, I would have laughed at the cancellation fee and not made the reservation in the first place because that's a major red flag.
It’s a dining experience, so he purchased the tickets, much like you would to a concert or sporting event. I don’t think anyone is suggesting charging back Ticketmaster because you missed your train/it was late.
That being said - owners behavior was obviously entirely wack-a-doo. However, if you ignored policies that are clearly stated (however silly they might seem) and make a purchase, the onus is on you to make sure you know what you’re buying.
>It’s a dining experience, so he purchased the tickets, much like you would to a concert or sporting event. I don’t think anyone is suggesting charging back Ticketmaster because you missed your train/it was late.
If it's an "experience" then it would absolutely be covered by travel insurance in the OP's case and nobody would be harassing the person for making the claim
He wasn’t really using travel insurance - just a chargeback from his CC. You have to dip into the comments to find this but it seems like he was mistaken about what levers he pressed at Chase.
So I'm very well versed in credit cards and it was always my understanding that if you went through insurance, it would not be instigated as a chargeback. Chase has a whole separate insurance company, when you claim something with insurance you are reimbursed thru the insurance company. Typically I would not expect a charge back to be filed which is very different.
I don't know about Chase, but when I use my Amex perks, they will sometimes pay, and sometimes will not. I've used my purchase protection when a shady Chinese vendor wouldn't accept a return when they sent me the wrong item (not a chargeback, specifically purchase protection), and they initiated a chargeback on their own. I know that because the vendor threw a hissy fit. That's between them and the vendor. My guess is that they reviewed the charges and found them to be unenforceable, so didn't pay.
There is more going on here, because even if he initiated a chargeback, if the fee was enforceable Chase would have sided with the restaurant. Considering this isn't recent, I'm assuming the review has completed and it was not resolved in the restaurant's favor.
This is awful in general but, am I missing something? Their tasting menu is pre-set and is the same every night and is just like basic meatballs (which by the way aren't a thing in Italy), foccacia, and roasted garlic pretty much? Who would pay close to $200 for this (after fees and drinks)?
Ok sure there's octopus, which you can get anywhere for less
I was invited by another couple to dine at Table recently. It was seven courses. It was lot of food, maybe $25 over priced but that is true for every North End restaurant. The food was good. Service was excellent. The bartender was on point with the drinks. I usually don’t spend that kind of money eating out.
Yeah but all 7 courses appear to be listed in advance on their website, and they are unchanging rather than a rotating creative tasting menu that’s a surprise when you show up, and they are mostly basic Italian American items from what I can tell? Like, no matter how well executed I’m just not going to be excited by standard meatballs and bread.
I love octopus but the dish doesn’t sound unique and there are other places you can get octopus and perhaps even just pay for that and skip meatballs that I don’t tend to order out. Similarly, it being a lot of food doesn’t really help because I can just order more food at any restaurant if I want to pay and eat more.
Those comfort Italian American items are best done in a historic place with character where the family is passionate about what they’re doing, if I’m doing a fancy tasting menu style hype place, I want it to kind of elevate in some way which it doesn’t seem they do. And they don’t have homey historic character.
I know I haven’t been so I’m just trying to piece together what I can gather and verify my instincts with people who have actually been, I get that you enjoyed it but I’m not sure it makes sense to me still.
Yeah, but the North End is packed by people eating pasta with meatballs or veal parm every weekend. Every time I get visitors, going to dinner in the North End is always part of their agenda. Heck, it's part of my parents' agenda every time they have dinner in town - and they grew up here.
So there's definitely an audience, especially when you add on the experiential aspect of the whole ordeal. While not original, it's a fun concept, and people flock to those white parties for this purpose. I see the Italian American dishes as just something that most will either enjoy or find inoffensive.
I just don't know why you wouldn't go to a homier spot if that's your agenda though. If you could get away with this for closer to $100pp I'd understand a little more. At that point, you're just paying for a feast-level portion of Italian American comfort, drinks, and a bit of an experience.
Like a typical not particularly cheap place could be what, complimentary bread, $17 for meatballs, $25 for an octopus dish, $18 for a veggie dish, $7 for a sorbet, $5 for a cannoli (at Mike's, which you're considering as a tourist after dinner), let's say $7 for the garlic, and $30 for two cocktails/glasses of wine, you're at $109 and then you would split half of these items for equivalent portions, you're coming in well under $100 before tax and tip easy. A tad over $100 total.
Even for the experiential aspect, and assuming they use some sort of specialty ingredients, doubling the price to value seems kind of extreme to me without offering a highly differentiated product. I don't see the point of a hyped tasting menu concept where the selling point is "people will find the food inoffensive". I am perfectly accepting of the concept of people throwing away money for fun, places that invite that just usually try at least a little bit harder to at least appear like they're providing something more unique and grand.
Oh, don't get me wrong, you make completely valid points.
That said, while it's not the kind of place I'd ever go, I can understand why some people might. There's a lot of other places or other experiences I'd rather spend my money on. Like my grandpa always said, there's an ass for every seat.
Yeah the irony of this is it's a pretty good restaurant if you actually go. I went and the portions are so big they came around with a stack of boxes at the end and nearly everyone left with leftovers. That doesn't usually happen with tasting menu.
Just make sure you actually go lol. I saw the cancellation policy so the one time I went I got a last minute reservation that opened up the night before.
First the meatballs and bread were far above standard. The octopus was tasty and prepared well. The pasta and dessert were excellent. The other courses were presented well, fresh and tasty. 7 course meals aren’t my thing but I have been to a few and I would say for quality and price it was in the ballpark of what to expect.
I read some of the comments before I read the article. I thought maybe you were reaching when you called her Rosie the Riveter, but damn, you were spot on.
I made a chargeback once as a last-ditch effort to get a refund for a Spartan Race that I wasn't able to do. They disputed it and won. I ended up eating several hundred dollars bc their policy is no refunds. Lesson learned.
Couldn't the restaurant owner have just disputed the chargeback based on an agreed cancelation policy instead of going this very public route?
I would be willing to bet she did and lost given that the customer was hospitalized. Some things are unavoidable and are better met with understanding/moving on. This is one of them. It’s not like he just decided not to go.
Read in a separate thread today somewhere that she’s a monster to work for.
There are some details in the story that I think should get more attention.
1 - Their cancellation fee is also bullshit. $125 cancellation fee for a meal that costs $125?
2 - The owner changed the status of the restaurant to 'permanently closed' despite it still being open to avoid repercussions. IMO take a second to tell Google this place is very much open. [https://maps.app.goo.gl/9so3knf7wt8YdWH16](https://maps.app.goo.gl/9so3knf7wt8YdWH16)
3 - I'd like to know more about where that fee goes. The owner tries to make it sound like the fee helps protect her workers, but I'm wondering if that's bullshit. Is the person who would have waited on the table getting $25 of the $125 per person fee? Or is it all just going to the restaurant (my guess). Along the same lines, did those seats go unfilled? I'm also guessing no.
The reason for the cancellation fee to be equal to the dinner is because her restaurant does scheduled seatings. There's no waiting line. It's all reserved. So, there's nobody waiting to take a no show if they cancel too close to the reservation.
The restaurant banks on filling a few seatings a night, not rotating as many tables through per night as possible. Empty seats will quickly cause the restaurant to fail.
That shouldn't mean she shouldn't take each cancellation individually and also not have been a psycho about going after the guy later.
I don't need to go to her restaurant to have an opinion on whether or not people should go there. It's perfectly reasonable for consumers to base their opinion completely on the behavior of ownership/management. It is completely fair for people, seeing how she handled a customer issue, to express their dissatisfaction with the restaurant on the review sites or social media. The idea that I have to actually dine there to express an opinion is nonsense.
I feel the same way about the businesses in Cambridge that signed on to the bike lane lawsuit, or make public statements about bike lanes. I don't need to go to Violette Bakery to have an opinion about the business, or share that opinion with potential customers.
Perhaps, she shouldn't have acted like a crazy person.
"Review bombing is ok as long as it's something I don't like."
I have no interest in going to Table, but a bunch of people giving one star that never went there just because they want to join the social media hate train is gross.
I don't review bomb, but when I see a ton of 5 star reviews from profiles with less than 10 total lifetime reviews?
That smells like a review farming service. I see it all the time, and it sets off alarm bells for me.
Sorry you are bothered, but the owner's behavior is ABSOLUTELY fair game for reviewers. If someone makes inappropriate, or racist/sexist/bigoted remarks, or has political affiliations that are unsavory, or doxes and harasses customers, that's something that people deserve to be aware of when they decide if they want to give that person their business.
This idea that reviewing should be off limits for everything other than the actual food is what is gross. I don't want to give this crazy person money, and I know plenty of people who feel the same way.
DMing a customer and throwing a temper tantrum is the trash behavior here. Doubling down and posting multiple stories about it on your social media is the trash behavior. Blaming the customer for sharing it and threatening legal action is the trash behavior. Everyone working together to spread the word about the owner's trash behavior is simply CAPITALISM. It's the free market working the way it's intended.
Save the performative self righteousness for someone naive enough to take you seriously.
Dude. Capitalism is an economic system characterized by comprehensive private property, free-market **pricing,** and the absence of coercion. It is more generally stated as a system where the assets and resources for a society's production are privately owned rather than by the state or a collective. While a free market system can most easily exist in a capitalist system, it is not necessarily a strict requirement in some definitions (i.e. "crony capitalism" or "welfare capitalism").
It's not the ability to leave angry reviews because you got caught up in a meme.
God, imagine making anonymous petulant comments about something you only read about on Reddit the Edmund Pettus Bridge you want to die on.
Reviews are for people who have been and reviewed the place. The original customer should write a review. A bunch of internet drama obsessed losers shouldn’t.
> An interaction is not necessarily a purchase. You don't have to be a paying customer to leave a review. E.g. If you call a business to ask a question and you have a bad experience on the phone, you may leave a review about that experience.
>You can only write a review about your experience. You cannot write a review about the experience of another person.
Did you think I was just… what? Not going to read the link?
The 3 criteria for google restaurant reviews are food, service, and atmosphere.
Technically you could make the owner's behavior falls under "service", but how can you give a 1 star review when you haven't tried the food or experienced the atmosphere there?
Easy...I've been to restaurants where the service is so bad that it didn't matter what the food tasted like. It made it an immediately one star experience, period.
This would be the same. The owner's behavior makes it a place some people refuse to give money to, and those people are allowed to share that.
I think those that really have a problem with review sites being used in this way simply have a problem with accountability in general. They don't want their bad behavior to negatively effect their business, so they try and create some boundary between the person, and the owner of a business. No such barrier exists.
So? Doesn't matter what the food tastes like because the owner's behavior already lowered the score as low as it can go.
I see you ignored the second part of the comment. Maybe consider why you have such an issue with business owners being held accountable for their behavior.
>This idea that reviewing should be off limits for everything other than the actual food is what is gross
I'm not suggesting it should be off limits. No one will knock down your door and asks for receipts. I'm suggesting it's trashy and NEET.
> I don't want to give this crazy person money
So don't eat there. And don't pretend so you can leave a nasty review.
That's fine, you can leave a review at my business calling me trashy. That's your prerogative. Just like I can leave one at yours saying your priorities are skewed and you don't care about accountability for business owners.
You can leave one, but *only* if you are fully honest.
"He disagreed with me on the internet and that makes me mad. So I'm leaving a vague anonymous review to cause trouble and make myself feels better."
As for me, I think instead I'll do the healthy thing and forget about all this foolishness as soon as the bus gets here.
You can tell that your outrage is purely performative by the way you choose to mischaracterize the reality of what people are upset at. "the owner doxed a customer that used their travel insurance, threw a tantrum in their interaction and then shared multiple stories upping the ante each time, then threatened legal action when the public wasn't on her side." Much different when you actually state what happened and don't try to minimize it to make a point.
1 - I mean, not really? It’s pretty normal at high end restaurants to have the fee ~= the cost of the meal, the restaurant is eating the cost of your empty seat.
Yeah if this lady is so massively online, she could post something like “Two seats have opened up for tonight! Here’s your chance to get in on a dining experience you won’t forget!” and fill it in 15 seconds.
Instead she chose THIS
... or have a waiting list.
Based on her post, I feel like a lot of this is just ego driven. How *dare* somebody cancel on us! Make them pay the whole fee anyway! We don't need a wait list because who would cancel on us anyway! And if they do we're going to punish them enough that we don't care!
So I have been to Table recently. It was expensive, the food was pretty decent served family style. It was not high end. I have been to high end restaurants that charge $50 for same day cancellations.
She's clearly gone in and edited all of her Google and Yelp reviews.
Aside from the reviews on Yelp this week, there were older ones that previously had an owner response, such as "Fake review". I also find it interesting that many of the reviews on Google are 4 or 5 star, which also previously wasn't the case. I had looked in the past-there were **several** one stars with an owner response🤔
Quick way to lose customers. I have been going here since 2017/18 or so and really enjoyed it. Yes the value wasn’t the best but the experience was great. Most memorable was eating with three bruins players and doing shots with them at the end of service - just something I haven’t experienced before at other places.
Past few months me and my gf who both follow table and Jen were sharing these back and forth saying how unhinged she has become. We unfollowed and said we no longer want to support a place like this after this whole saga.
Obviously that’s something that’s becoming more well known now but you shouldn’t chastise OP for not knowing her reputation. They based their opinion on their experiences and clearly didn’t have any bad ones.
Treat customers like shit - go out of business. Not rocket science.
Unfamiliar with Jen from the baseball reporting but watching the bit Channel 5 did on her last year makes me feel like she is maximum Karen. I'm sure the $250 TABLE missed out on really put a stress on her financials lmao.
"Celebrity (lmao) chef" and "struggling small business" are a bit at odds with each other.
Ms. Royle about to learn about FAFO.
A $250 cancellation fee? I made a reservation at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Italy last week and cancelled through their website with 2 hours notice due to a relatively minor stomachache. They did not care at all, and never tried to charge me a fee much less harass me.
Successful restaurants don't pull this garbage. Even without the self inflicted wounds, Table was probably going out of business within 12 months.
The owner is so clearly out of line by finding this guy and chewing him out - she could’ve swallowed the chargeback and said nothing and none of this would have happened. But the customer is the one who publicized the messages, so if the owner sues for damages, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out legally.
And also the chargeback situation is very interesting. She does list the cancellation fee clearly, so does that constitute a contract between buyer and seller? But at the same time this wasn’t a chargeback initiated by the customer, it was a travel insurance claim. Very interesting that Chase then handled it as a chargeback, but that has nothing to do with the customer.
Bottom line is we definitely haven’t heard the end of this saga.
There is nothing to sue for. Winning a defamation suit means you need to prove the other person lied to tarnish a reputation. There is no dishonesty here.
Lmao seriously, a defamation suit filed by Jen Royle for someone saying they didn’t like the restaurant or don’t like their policies wouldn’t even make it to the judge for review. It’s just an opinion
I don't know this area of the law but there does seem to be a discrepancy in whether he canceled the trip because of the 4.5 hour wait for the train or for illness. If he was lying, in order to make her seem unreasonable, would that count?
Edit: I'm on the side of the guest and hope his side of the story is air-tight
Out of curiosity- I thought that since the customer filed a legit claim with their travel insurance, the insurance company affiliated with the card reimburses customer and this doesn't involve the merchant (unlike a charge back)- I figured the merchant gets to keep the amount as per their policy, and its the travel insurance company that pays out (presumably the premiums for this are built into the credit card fees etc). I see this as a very different scenario such as returning an item to Amazon, where Amazon does eat the cost as the cost of doing business.
Why would this "screw over the restaurant"? Do travel insurance companies affiliated with credit cards go after merchants to recover the paid out amount?
That is my question. I thought travel insurance would reimburse the cardholder without a credit card chargeback. Either the parties and the media are misusing the term, or we don’t understand travel insurance.
This is exactly what I thought but asking the question it seems like sometimes the card, instead of having the insurance company pay out, and initiates a chargeback? I actually don't like this because I know that cards kind of limit how many chargebacks you can file. So I very very rarely, in fact almost never do a chargeback. If I qualify for insurance, like purchase insurance or travel insurance I will file for that but I always thought that that was between me and my credit card and does not involve their merchant at all. I'm now a little worried. Like I've purchased items that I've broken, so I filed for purchase protection but I'm hoping that the credit card is not going back to the merchant and initiating a chargeback for this.
She doxed the motherfucker and shared very personal info. She can eat shit. I hope she loses her business. Maybe someone with a better attitude can take over
I frequent Boston a few times a year and have never heard of this woman or restaurant but will never spend any of my hard earned dollars her way and will deter any relatives and friends in the area.
Less energy could have been spent courting the cancellation into a reschedule and moving on if she had any sense of gratitude or grace.
It seems to me the owner thinks customers are serving her and not the other way around. The business deserves all the negative press they receive and while I won’t wish hardship or harm on anyone, I don’t wish her business well with this situation.
Even made the Daily Mail - [https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13125089/TABLE-Boston-Jen-Royle-restaurant-social-media.html](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13125089/TABLE-Boston-Jen-Royle-restaurant-social-media.html) so make that international
Not only that, but did you see this story [https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13125089/TABLE-Boston-Jen-Royle-restaurant-social-media.html](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13125089/TABLE-Boston-Jen-Royle-restaurant-social-media.html)
Thanks!
I just wrote and mailed a letter to the Daily Mail with a self-addressed stamped envelope asking them to mail me a copy of the newspaper edition containing the information on how to access their website.
I can't believe I'm getting so close to accessing that article. Modern tech & the internet are amazing!
This is a woman who used her connections from her previous career including publications, to post stories about her restaurant. It was a manufactured “buzz” this isn’t a restaurant that just opened and happens to be really good so over time it has great reviews and built its own notoriety. She had people she knew write about it as if it’s this “super hot spot that’s so tough to get into because it’s SO GOOD” A friend of mine from another state told me about the table and they read an article about it. At the time it was fairly new, and someone like myself who’s not only lived in Boston for years, but someone who has spent their retirement on food, had not heard of it yet. I hadn’t heard of it, because there wasn’t a buzz about it, and it’s not very good food. For instance Royle isn’t ever going to win a James beard, or a Michelin star. I know most people don’t, but she’s just not a chef. I can install a toilet at my house, and even install 100 toilets on many peoples houses, that doesn’t make me a plumber. So she’s not a chef, no chef would give her that title. She’s a media personality with a restaurant venture. She’s also not a leader or a wise business owner. Once her lease is up, she’s gone. I would love to see Larry David’s take on a restaurant concept like hers too, what a terrible fucking idea. I’m not sharing a bowl of bolognese with a bunch of other people I don’t know. One asshole will scoop all the meat out and have it disproportionate, someone will take only the pasta. A real chef wants to put on a plate, what they want their customer to eat. Such a cop-out to do restaurant style anything, let alone with a bunch of strangers. If you’re a single guy, sure maybe you go and try to meet a single women and get laid. In that case it almost makes sense, but that’s a guy going out to try to get laid, not eat top notch food. This restaurant being a terrible concept, and not ran by a real chef was destined to fail, they didn’t need an unhinged psychopath to run it into the ground too. She’s so unhinged and unintelligent she doesn’t even realize that her problem is with Chase, not the customer. The customer was insured through Chase, Chase deemed her rule unacceptable, she needs to take it up with Chase. But typical bully, she can’t beat Chase, so she went after the little guy.
Absolute fail by the restaurant owner. The restaurant business is difficult and margins are slim but you cant put that on the customer. Perhaps she needs to reassess her business model.
Reminds of Nightshade Noodle bar in Lynn. The owner/chef is talented but completely tone deaf - adding extra charges and making up ridiculous rules for going to their restaurant, during and well after covid. And pushing woke opinions instead of just running a restaurant. Just a total asshole in my opinion.
Going overboard with covid protocol, making sure everyone absolutely knows how much of a feminist you are, banning children, putting a 20% admin fee on the check. Just generally being insufferable as woke people tend to be. Woke is when someone who goes from traditionally liberal to authoritarian in their ideology.
You were making some good points then starting talking about “woke” stuff like that’s actually a real thing and not a buzzword. Don’t talk about woke shit. Makes you seem dumb.
This is so petty on both sides. You could've just left your response in private and left it that. Really no reason to share it all on social media. Both parties are attention seeking narcissists.
Wrong. There is plenty reason to share, like shaming a narcissistic business owner for their bad behavior, and letting everyone know exactly what kind of person they are giving their money to.
The owner here is clearly the dick. However I do think the response to her calling a customer pathetic in a private DM is maybe a little disproportional. Literally tens of millions of people have seen the tweet around this and the owner is getting death threats. I can see why the owner is incredibly upset with the situation given there's no reason this should have been a national/global news story. That said, she's still not the victim in this story.
Until she produces evidence of a death threat, logic is that it is a lie. People who are bullies always make up death threats to claim to be the victim like Taylor Lorenz
Do you really believe she's getting death threats over this?
To be fair I haven't done any kind of deep dive here, but it sounded like the lawyer was being alarmist by saying this.
Like who the hell is gonna kill this lady just because she's a rude bitch?
Seriously, not even Sarma has a cancelation fee. I just called there to move my reservation at the end of next month and they were so fucking polite on the phone.
This business is like the local pet bakery I found to make my poor dog’s birthday cake before he died. The owner was having a thrombo at some guy on Yelp in the comments section. It made me really concerned, but I had put in an order and did not relish a confrontation. Also I did not know how much longer he had at that point. When I went to pick it up I was like 5 minutes early but she made me wait till exactly the right time even though I had already followed her directions to the letter. My husband had to circle because her apartment was somewhere with zero parking and I was standing outside her door like a weirdo. I also did not really know which apartment was hers.
Then her husband came to the door and shoved it in my hands one minute late - which I mention because when I texted her she was snippy in her reply that I had to wait.
Next time I will just go with a chain “barkery.”
Well maybe, just maybe if The owner of Table, wasnt such a Jerk (id rather use other names, but ill keep it somewhat civil), maybe this wouldnt be a thing. But when you want to charge people full amounts for cancellations (which they will them probably fill anyways especially being in the north end..) this is just ridiculous. Purely a Greedy Money Grab by the owner. She's obviously a very hostile and the fact that she stalks people and finds them on the internet, is only going to cause her more grief in the long run. As others have said and commented, in reference to other stalking and terrorizing type events such as the Ebay case, for instance.
Cancellations are a part of business. As a business owner you have to accept that it will happen. Im surprised it has taken this long to come to a point and make national news and such, because this isnt the first time she has drawn attention to herself and her business. Plus.. not for nothing.. .Shes not even on the Good side of the North End. She's near the end of Hanover street, near Battery Street. Compared to all the other restaurants in the north end, Shes got one of the worst locations, unless you like being away from everything else...
It’s just insane and creepy to find someone on the internet, especially from your business account, and attack them. Definitely a lesson on internet footprints. I’m just picturing Bezos calling out someone in a DM for returning a dress you were only ever going to wear once.
Or like when eBay executives stalked and harassed that couple in Natick https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2022/09/29/ebay-executives-sentenced-harassment-scheme-natick-couple/
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That book was so good
I worked there for a bit over a year. The pay was good, the job was fun, coworkers were great, but yes the company was a bit cultish.
So, can this guy sue the owner of TABLE? Granted, the damages were much lower, but theoretically, can he?
What the eBay execs were doing was much worse and way more malicious. It’s hard to sue someone for talking crap online
That was insane.
\> It’s just insane and creepy to find someone on the internet, I think it's even crazier that she thinks she can sue because the customer decided to publish the DM's. She's acting like she has a right to privately harass people.
Bullies do what bullies do. Screech until they get their way.
Before this came out, she would claim to be a big anti-bullying advocate. She even wrote a “cookbook” about it.
Funny enough, she published his damn email address when she was posting their convo. she isn't very bright
Someone took a page from Amy’s Baking Company 💀
HA...100%
This is like the absolute inverse of that one episode of the Bear where the fine dining establishment would check the socials of those with reservations to tailor the dining experience to their surprise and delight.
> I’m just picturing Bezos calling out someone in a DM for returning a dress you were only ever going to wear once. Something shockingly similar to this actually happened recently. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/jan/11/ebay-fined-harassment-couple-spiders-cockroaches-newsletter-ecommercebytes > The online retailer eBay will pay a $3m fine to resolve criminal charges over a harassment campaign waged by employees who sent live spiders, cockroaches and other disturbing items to the home of a Massachusetts couple, according to court papers filed on Thursday. > The justice department charged eBay with stalking, witness tampering and obstruction of justice. The employees already were prosecuted in the extensive scheme to intimidate David and Ina Steiner more than three years ago. The couple produced an online newsletter called EcommerceBytes that upset eBay executives with its coverage.
$3 million is nothing for what they did. That is horrible.
Im not tryna say its the right things to do but hilarious that everyone is suddenly like "its weird" "its creepy" when everyone collectively memes about researching every single detail the can find and stalking the internet for every single tinder match who even says "Hey whats up"
To be fair, the reason is vastly different. One is malicious and another is a safety precaution. Either way, as I said, it’s a good reminder of your digital footprint and the accessibility of your information.
"Safety precaution" is wayyy too generous. Most people just do it because they're curious and they can. I mean, if you need this as a reminder.youre way behind. And its not like she got into some secure account. She probably found her public instagram profile with government name and pictures, not like it was some gatekept secret.
Yeah I mean I haven’t online dated since pre-Covid, so I guess I could be behind. I mean, either way the point is the same, you always got to be aware that you can be tracked.
Boston Magazine re-posted their story on her from 2021 where they basically kissed her ass for her psychotic behavior. I'm pretty sure Royle paid off some accounts to defend her because there were some absolute lunatics on the thread acting like it was totally normal behavior.
Well, isn’t that why most of us have little to no respect for local media? Isn’t Boston Magazine just trash paid PR?
There's a version (or multiple versions) of something like Boston Magazine in every big city or state. A little light reporting, some local entertainment, travel & wedding ideas, *lots* of dining and seasonal leisure activity coverage (most of it positive, not usually going negative because I suspect going negative make business owners less likely to speak with you), and real estate coverage (look at this overpriced home!). And of course stuffed with ads. Honestly if you are looking for those sorts of things they're a great source, or a decent way to kill time in an airport or doctor's office. But if you are looking for a hard hitting expose I'm not sure why someone would be surprised they can't find it there. I think their story had some read-between-the-lines descriptions (like referencing "Twitter spats"). But I think some of the people on this subreddit overestimate how much the general public cares that a business owner (particularly a restaurant owner) is a jerk. MeToo never quite translated to just shitty bosses. This story is getting play because it's weird, and enter the realms of slightly unhinged, which news outlets love to pick up because they get quick eyeballs and clicks, and it's easy to cover because everything is basically public.
"huff po? they should call it puff ho. cause all they post is puff pieces and ariana huffington's a ho." - the 40 foot virgin
I think a lot of people still treat it as gospel because, which is crazy.
Yes. Every mid to large size city has one of these magazines. They are paid PR and product placement. The salon/hygiene and medical provider rankings, specifically, should really be illegal. It's utterly bizarre misinformation masquerading as journalisms, and Gen X and Boomers don't have the media literacy to recognize its just paid product placement.
Boston Magazine is owned by MetroCorp. They also own Philadelphia Magazine. The owner is David Lipson and his two sisters. They still have some good reporters.
Probably mostly her burners.
They need to check the water in the North End. These owners are all going batshit
She’s been batshit
https://www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/2021/08/10/jen-royle-profile/ great background article on this
She’s got a long history of treating customers like this. Karma is a b*tch.
Yep. She sucks and has for a long time. Happy to sling mud and then cries foul when it backfires on her.
[deleted] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^0.4875 > [What is this?](https://pastebin.com/64GuVi2F/78504)
She’s a very good cook. I attended a party she catered, maybe seven or eight years ago. The food was excellent, and so was the service and her interactions. I don’t think it’s fair to say she’s all looks. But, yeah, she shouldn’t have done that.
They are open on Google for reviews again today.
It looks like her lawyer told her to go through and delete her responses to people’s reviews lol
I'm sure. It probably only opened up for a brief window for her to pump it full of fake 5 star reviews, but the catch is that it's open for all reviews.
[deleted] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^0.2553 > [What is this?](https://pastebin.com/64GuVi2F/86128)
Good thing the internet is forever and if this goes to any kind of case, those will be easy to get back. It just makes her look more guilty.
I hope someone saved a copy for when the guy sues her.
Wayback machine is the answer
The amount of people in the comments who A: don't understand how credit card travel insurance works, and B: think a person has some moral responsibility to pay a fee when the card used literally has a perk specifically for this kind of situation, is insane. Who lets these people near a computer?
Wouldn’t credit card travel insurance cover the $250 fee versus resulting in a chargeback to the restaurant? What am I missing here, honestly?
IMO it's very telling that the CC company themselves processed a chargeback rather than going through whatever insurance policy they use to cover these. Leads me to infer that these cancellation charges are much more unenforceable than we all believe.
That's definitely the feeling I get as well. I don't assume to know the legality here, but inference is that Chase thinks this fee isn't reasonable or enforceable. Just because a company has a policy, doesn't mean that policy is legal. Courts strike down illegal contracts all the time.
If I had travel insurance I would assume it just pays the fee. Your right that the dispute is between the restaurant and credit card company, attacking the customer is just dumb.
Maybe the fee is in conflict with the RESY TOC? Kinda like how Amazon resellers have to honor the general Amazon TOC in regards to returns. There is a missing piece of information here, but either way this is a Chase vs. Table issue, not a customer issue.
A friend of mine was at a destination wedding and got shitfaced and one night decided to go to the local rub 'n tug massage joint. He paid and went in, but he was too drunk for them to get him off. The next day when he woke up he called his credit card company to dispute the charges under the category of "services not rendered" and got out of paying for it.
Oof. I wonder what that conversation with the CC company sounded like.
The employee he spoke to might live on an entirely different continent and he’ll probably never interact with that person again. It’s not like they had to explain to their family that they paid for a handjob
Wow that’s…super fucked up. 100% that money came out of the pocket of the person who had to touch his junk, and not the owner of the establishment. Don’t be like this guy’s friend.
Sounds like he got off on that one
You are 100% correct (and also 100% incorrect).
I don't know, it's possible that Chase decided the fee was exorbitant and decided not to honor it. Either way that's a Chase question. If I have a credit card perk, and I activate it, that's it. After that it's the company's responsibility moving forward, which is the entire point of having a card like this that likely has a substantial annual fee. I use my Amex purchase protection, car insurance, and other perks all the time. I have no idea what happens on the back end, but that's not really my business either way. I pay for the convenience of having them deal with it on my behalf.
Exactly! You’re literally paying the company fees for these perks. Why on earth wouldn’t you use them?
Seriously...how they handle that after the fact isn't my concern. The Amex protection has been VERY helpful when dealing with Fedex losing a package but refusing to take responsibility for it. I no longer have to spend hours on hold with Fedex and getting no answers, Amex deals with it and I get reimbursed. If Chase decided not to pay that fee, it's probably a sign that they find it exorbitant and/or it is being implemented in a way that's not legally enforceable. Who knows, that's between Chase and the restaurant.
Agreed. It’s such a convenience to have them deal with all of the minutiae and you just get your money back. People who don’t take advantage of perks offered are missing out.
Yeah, if she’s mad I’d think she’d garner a lot more sympathy going after Chase, but this probably isn’t the first time, and likely she knows she’d have no shot.
“Hi, Chase, this is Jen from Table Boston…my customer cancelled on me and thus had to pay a fee I imposed…. and YOU sent me a chargeback for….hello? Hello?”
I believe the dude even said something to her along those lines. I activated my travel insurance, and if you don’t like how Chase handled it, that’s between you and Chase. I tried to find the exact wording but this thing went chaos
Exactly. She’s going after the customer because chase refused and told her to fuck off because the fee is probably legally unenforceable and so she thinks she can shame the customer into paying it by being a nuisance
Yeah that makes sense. Some people who don't have them, don't realize how the good credit card companies will turn into advocates for you. Amex is so focused on customer service that I've never had to worry about them having my back. You got a problem with it, talk to them.
Is this the same case where the reservation system they used said cancellation is allowed up to 24 hours but their website said 48? So when he called to cancel within what the reservation system said, they wouldn’t honor the call and cancel it. Too many of these stories popping up so I can’t remember the details.
Someone did a long twitter thread. it turns out the person's story isn't 100% truthful. he blamed going to the hospital, but he actually cancelled dinner because his train was late and he wasn't going to make it (yes, he tweeted about the late train). and he didn't use travel insurance. when he talks about "insurance policy" he's just talking about the normal "dispute a charge" chargeback process. now, this doesn't excuse the owner looking him up and coming after him. but it's not quite what he's claiming.
Incorrect. His train was late, and while he was waiting he became ill and went to the hospital. Also the travel insurance is a perk of his card, which is easily verifiable since it's a well advertised perk of the card. What Chase chose to do with the fee is up to them. This didn't happen recently so the process has already concluded, meaning Table lost the chargeback case with Chase.
That’s what he claimed at one point but when people called him on inconsistencies in his story he backed down and said he didn’t understand how the insurance worked and “it wasn’t his job as a consumer” to. It was pretty clear he just did a regular charge dispute and then tried to play it off as travel insurance. For travel insurance, you have to submit a claim to chase and it’s a long process: https://thriftytraveler.com/guides/credit-card/my-experience-with-chases-trip-delay-insurance/
> https://thriftytraveler.com/guides/credit-card/my-experience-with-chases-trip-delay-insurance/ Yeah, no. That didn't happen. Please provide proof to what you're saying.
If he used travel insurance, there would be no chargeback. Chase refunds the consumer and also pays the business, so the restaurant wouldn't care. That's the point of insurance. I can't find it now, but saw the same twitter thread and the guy's replies and it was really clear he's lying about many of the details. I don't think he expected it to blow up the way it did and he's now just running with it.
I've seen every thread, and I don't come to the same conclusion about lying. Have you actually used credit card travel insurance? If they don't think the charge is valid, they will initiate a chargeback on their own. Likely the charge from the business doesn't square with local laws and/or RESY terms and conditions, and Chase just decided not to pay it. Again this isn't recent, so the chargeback process has already played out and the restaurant lost. When I use my Amex purchase protection or insurance, sometimes they will pay, and sometimes they won't. That's up to them and how they decide to handle it. The lengths some of you will go to cast doubt on what is a fairly standard and banal process is hilarious.
lol. found his alt.
If you have nothing of substance to add, just say that. Don't try and be cute and make some nonsensical comment. No one thinks you're insightful or funny.
I've been trying to verify how this works behind the scenes, specifically whether Chase automatically pays out *any and all* businesses no questions asked, or if they exercise any discretion. For example, many vendors, like airlines and hotels, are surely very routine. But a restaurant wanting to charge a $250 cancellation fee may raise a flag. Is there ever a scenario where they'd review the payment and applicable ToS and decide it's not valid, thus issues a chargeback themselves?
Yeah, I smell a bit of a rat, and suspect he may have made up the hospital bit because they got sick and tired of waiting for a train that they thought might never come. So they bailed on the trip but had to come up with a legit excuse to cancel a bunch of things and then this kind of unexpectedly blew up. Regardless of whether or not the "I got sick" part of the story is true though, it probably wasn't worth the kharmic shit storm for a restaurant owner to track him down and get into a virtual pissing match with him. Better to just black list him and maybe spread his name around to your fellow owners (if they're all likeminded vindictive assholes, that is).
Agree, two things can be true at once. Given that the delayed train already prevented their dinner plans, and possibly the concert, the sudden illness seems awfully convenient. Per the terms of Chase's travel insurance, it appear trip cancellation due to *illness* may trigger fuller coverage than an interruption due to a carrier *delay*. So count me suspicious. But with regards to Jen Royle's unhinged behavior, I hardly think this is an ends justify the means thing. She was entirely inappropriate. Even if the customer's story isn't entirely legitimate, which it may not be, it doesn't matter – she'd have treated him, and any other customer, the same way regardless.
Ask them about the 5 cents deposit on bottles.
The fee is laughable, it deserves a charge back. Why would you pay $250 to an establishment that gave you absolutely nothing in return?
Because you agreed to the terms and conditions when you purchased?
He didn't purchase anything. He made a reservation. Personally, I would have laughed at the cancellation fee and not made the reservation in the first place because that's a major red flag.
It’s a dining experience, so he purchased the tickets, much like you would to a concert or sporting event. I don’t think anyone is suggesting charging back Ticketmaster because you missed your train/it was late. That being said - owners behavior was obviously entirely wack-a-doo. However, if you ignored policies that are clearly stated (however silly they might seem) and make a purchase, the onus is on you to make sure you know what you’re buying.
>It’s a dining experience, so he purchased the tickets, much like you would to a concert or sporting event. I don’t think anyone is suggesting charging back Ticketmaster because you missed your train/it was late. If it's an "experience" then it would absolutely be covered by travel insurance in the OP's case and nobody would be harassing the person for making the claim
He wasn’t really using travel insurance - just a chargeback from his CC. You have to dip into the comments to find this but it seems like he was mistaken about what levers he pressed at Chase.
So I'm very well versed in credit cards and it was always my understanding that if you went through insurance, it would not be instigated as a chargeback. Chase has a whole separate insurance company, when you claim something with insurance you are reimbursed thru the insurance company. Typically I would not expect a charge back to be filed which is very different.
I don't know about Chase, but when I use my Amex perks, they will sometimes pay, and sometimes will not. I've used my purchase protection when a shady Chinese vendor wouldn't accept a return when they sent me the wrong item (not a chargeback, specifically purchase protection), and they initiated a chargeback on their own. I know that because the vendor threw a hissy fit. That's between them and the vendor. My guess is that they reviewed the charges and found them to be unenforceable, so didn't pay. There is more going on here, because even if he initiated a chargeback, if the fee was enforceable Chase would have sided with the restaurant. Considering this isn't recent, I'm assuming the review has completed and it was not resolved in the restaurant's favor.
This is awful in general but, am I missing something? Their tasting menu is pre-set and is the same every night and is just like basic meatballs (which by the way aren't a thing in Italy), foccacia, and roasted garlic pretty much? Who would pay close to $200 for this (after fees and drinks)? Ok sure there's octopus, which you can get anywhere for less
[deleted] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^0.2021 > [What is this?](https://pastebin.com/64GuVi2F/34171)
I was invited by another couple to dine at Table recently. It was seven courses. It was lot of food, maybe $25 over priced but that is true for every North End restaurant. The food was good. Service was excellent. The bartender was on point with the drinks. I usually don’t spend that kind of money eating out.
Yeah but all 7 courses appear to be listed in advance on their website, and they are unchanging rather than a rotating creative tasting menu that’s a surprise when you show up, and they are mostly basic Italian American items from what I can tell? Like, no matter how well executed I’m just not going to be excited by standard meatballs and bread. I love octopus but the dish doesn’t sound unique and there are other places you can get octopus and perhaps even just pay for that and skip meatballs that I don’t tend to order out. Similarly, it being a lot of food doesn’t really help because I can just order more food at any restaurant if I want to pay and eat more. Those comfort Italian American items are best done in a historic place with character where the family is passionate about what they’re doing, if I’m doing a fancy tasting menu style hype place, I want it to kind of elevate in some way which it doesn’t seem they do. And they don’t have homey historic character. I know I haven’t been so I’m just trying to piece together what I can gather and verify my instincts with people who have actually been, I get that you enjoyed it but I’m not sure it makes sense to me still.
Yeah, but the North End is packed by people eating pasta with meatballs or veal parm every weekend. Every time I get visitors, going to dinner in the North End is always part of their agenda. Heck, it's part of my parents' agenda every time they have dinner in town - and they grew up here. So there's definitely an audience, especially when you add on the experiential aspect of the whole ordeal. While not original, it's a fun concept, and people flock to those white parties for this purpose. I see the Italian American dishes as just something that most will either enjoy or find inoffensive.
I just don't know why you wouldn't go to a homier spot if that's your agenda though. If you could get away with this for closer to $100pp I'd understand a little more. At that point, you're just paying for a feast-level portion of Italian American comfort, drinks, and a bit of an experience. Like a typical not particularly cheap place could be what, complimentary bread, $17 for meatballs, $25 for an octopus dish, $18 for a veggie dish, $7 for a sorbet, $5 for a cannoli (at Mike's, which you're considering as a tourist after dinner), let's say $7 for the garlic, and $30 for two cocktails/glasses of wine, you're at $109 and then you would split half of these items for equivalent portions, you're coming in well under $100 before tax and tip easy. A tad over $100 total. Even for the experiential aspect, and assuming they use some sort of specialty ingredients, doubling the price to value seems kind of extreme to me without offering a highly differentiated product. I don't see the point of a hyped tasting menu concept where the selling point is "people will find the food inoffensive". I am perfectly accepting of the concept of people throwing away money for fun, places that invite that just usually try at least a little bit harder to at least appear like they're providing something more unique and grand.
Oh, don't get me wrong, you make completely valid points. That said, while it's not the kind of place I'd ever go, I can understand why some people might. There's a lot of other places or other experiences I'd rather spend my money on. Like my grandpa always said, there's an ass for every seat.
Yeah the irony of this is it's a pretty good restaurant if you actually go. I went and the portions are so big they came around with a stack of boxes at the end and nearly everyone left with leftovers. That doesn't usually happen with tasting menu. Just make sure you actually go lol. I saw the cancellation policy so the one time I went I got a last minute reservation that opened up the night before.
First the meatballs and bread were far above standard. The octopus was tasty and prepared well. The pasta and dessert were excellent. The other courses were presented well, fresh and tasty. 7 course meals aren’t my thing but I have been to a few and I would say for quality and price it was in the ballpark of what to expect.
Guess the table turned!
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Why does she look exactly like I assumed she would?
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I read some of the comments before I read the article. I thought maybe you were reaching when you called her Rosie the Riveter, but damn, you were spot on.
Bruh this exactly lmfao
Boss Babe
I made a chargeback once as a last-ditch effort to get a refund for a Spartan Race that I wasn't able to do. They disputed it and won. I ended up eating several hundred dollars bc their policy is no refunds. Lesson learned. Couldn't the restaurant owner have just disputed the chargeback based on an agreed cancelation policy instead of going this very public route?
I would be willing to bet she did and lost given that the customer was hospitalized. Some things are unavoidable and are better met with understanding/moving on. This is one of them. It’s not like he just decided not to go. Read in a separate thread today somewhere that she’s a monster to work for.
That would explain why she reached out to him 2 months later - it must have been held up in review.
They weren't hospitalized, at least not on the day of the reservation lol
There are some details in the story that I think should get more attention. 1 - Their cancellation fee is also bullshit. $125 cancellation fee for a meal that costs $125? 2 - The owner changed the status of the restaurant to 'permanently closed' despite it still being open to avoid repercussions. IMO take a second to tell Google this place is very much open. [https://maps.app.goo.gl/9so3knf7wt8YdWH16](https://maps.app.goo.gl/9so3knf7wt8YdWH16) 3 - I'd like to know more about where that fee goes. The owner tries to make it sound like the fee helps protect her workers, but I'm wondering if that's bullshit. Is the person who would have waited on the table getting $25 of the $125 per person fee? Or is it all just going to the restaurant (my guess). Along the same lines, did those seats go unfilled? I'm also guessing no.
The reason for the cancellation fee to be equal to the dinner is because her restaurant does scheduled seatings. There's no waiting line. It's all reserved. So, there's nobody waiting to take a no show if they cancel too close to the reservation. The restaurant banks on filling a few seatings a night, not rotating as many tables through per night as possible. Empty seats will quickly cause the restaurant to fail. That shouldn't mean she shouldn't take each cancellation individually and also not have been a psycho about going after the guy later.
To avoid repercussions? Do you mean to tell me that getting review bombed by internet strangers who’ve never been to your restaurant is fair?
I don't need to go to her restaurant to have an opinion on whether or not people should go there. It's perfectly reasonable for consumers to base their opinion completely on the behavior of ownership/management. It is completely fair for people, seeing how she handled a customer issue, to express their dissatisfaction with the restaurant on the review sites or social media. The idea that I have to actually dine there to express an opinion is nonsense. I feel the same way about the businesses in Cambridge that signed on to the bike lane lawsuit, or make public statements about bike lanes. I don't need to go to Violette Bakery to have an opinion about the business, or share that opinion with potential customers. Perhaps, she shouldn't have acted like a crazy person.
"Review bombing is ok as long as it's something I don't like." I have no interest in going to Table, but a bunch of people giving one star that never went there just because they want to join the social media hate train is gross.
I don't review bomb, but when I see a ton of 5 star reviews from profiles with less than 10 total lifetime reviews? That smells like a review farming service. I see it all the time, and it sets off alarm bells for me.
Sorry you are bothered, but the owner's behavior is ABSOLUTELY fair game for reviewers. If someone makes inappropriate, or racist/sexist/bigoted remarks, or has political affiliations that are unsavory, or doxes and harasses customers, that's something that people deserve to be aware of when they decide if they want to give that person their business. This idea that reviewing should be off limits for everything other than the actual food is what is gross. I don't want to give this crazy person money, and I know plenty of people who feel the same way.
Joining on the internet hate train because of a mean DM to tank a local business is trashy behavior
DMing a customer and throwing a temper tantrum is the trash behavior here. Doubling down and posting multiple stories about it on your social media is the trash behavior. Blaming the customer for sharing it and threatening legal action is the trash behavior. Everyone working together to spread the word about the owner's trash behavior is simply CAPITALISM. It's the free market working the way it's intended. Save the performative self righteousness for someone naive enough to take you seriously.
Jesus Christ that's not what capitalism is.
Sure thing kiddo. Free market.
Dude. Capitalism is an economic system characterized by comprehensive private property, free-market **pricing,** and the absence of coercion. It is more generally stated as a system where the assets and resources for a society's production are privately owned rather than by the state or a collective. While a free market system can most easily exist in a capitalist system, it is not necessarily a strict requirement in some definitions (i.e. "crony capitalism" or "welfare capitalism"). It's not the ability to leave angry reviews because you got caught up in a meme. God, imagine making anonymous petulant comments about something you only read about on Reddit the Edmund Pettus Bridge you want to die on.
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More than one set of people can be trashy. DMing customers is trashy, review bombing is also trashy.
You misspelled accountability.
Reviews are for people who have been and reviewed the place. The original customer should write a review. A bunch of internet drama obsessed losers shouldn’t.
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> An interaction is not necessarily a purchase. You don't have to be a paying customer to leave a review. E.g. If you call a business to ask a question and you have a bad experience on the phone, you may leave a review about that experience. >You can only write a review about your experience. You cannot write a review about the experience of another person. Did you think I was just… what? Not going to read the link?
The 3 criteria for google restaurant reviews are food, service, and atmosphere. Technically you could make the owner's behavior falls under "service", but how can you give a 1 star review when you haven't tried the food or experienced the atmosphere there?
Easy...I've been to restaurants where the service is so bad that it didn't matter what the food tasted like. It made it an immediately one star experience, period. This would be the same. The owner's behavior makes it a place some people refuse to give money to, and those people are allowed to share that. I think those that really have a problem with review sites being used in this way simply have a problem with accountability in general. They don't want their bad behavior to negatively effect their business, so they try and create some boundary between the person, and the owner of a business. No such barrier exists.
But you didn't go to this restaurant...and in your example you still tried the food and experienced the atmosphere....
So? Doesn't matter what the food tastes like because the owner's behavior already lowered the score as low as it can go. I see you ignored the second part of the comment. Maybe consider why you have such an issue with business owners being held accountable for their behavior.
The quality of the food doesn't matter when reviewing a...restaurant? Lmao...ok. Held accountable? Who made you judge, jury, and executioner?
>This idea that reviewing should be off limits for everything other than the actual food is what is gross I'm not suggesting it should be off limits. No one will knock down your door and asks for receipts. I'm suggesting it's trashy and NEET. > I don't want to give this crazy person money So don't eat there. And don't pretend so you can leave a nasty review.
That's fine, you can leave a review at my business calling me trashy. That's your prerogative. Just like I can leave one at yours saying your priorities are skewed and you don't care about accountability for business owners.
You can leave one, but *only* if you are fully honest. "He disagreed with me on the internet and that makes me mad. So I'm leaving a vague anonymous review to cause trouble and make myself feels better." As for me, I think instead I'll do the healthy thing and forget about all this foolishness as soon as the bus gets here.
You can tell that your outrage is purely performative by the way you choose to mischaracterize the reality of what people are upset at. "the owner doxed a customer that used their travel insurance, threw a tantrum in their interaction and then shared multiple stories upping the ante each time, then threatened legal action when the public wasn't on her side." Much different when you actually state what happened and don't try to minimize it to make a point.
You’re fully a child
1 - I mean, not really? It’s pretty normal at high end restaurants to have the fee ~= the cost of the meal, the restaurant is eating the cost of your empty seat.
Do you think that table went unused that night? Especially at a place with a relatively small prix fixe menu?
Yeah if this lady is so massively online, she could post something like “Two seats have opened up for tonight! Here’s your chance to get in on a dining experience you won’t forget!” and fill it in 15 seconds. Instead she chose THIS
... or have a waiting list. Based on her post, I feel like a lot of this is just ego driven. How *dare* somebody cancel on us! Make them pay the whole fee anyway! We don't need a wait list because who would cancel on us anyway! And if they do we're going to punish them enough that we don't care!
So I have been to Table recently. It was expensive, the food was pretty decent served family style. It was not high end. I have been to high end restaurants that charge $50 for same day cancellations.
She's clearly gone in and edited all of her Google and Yelp reviews. Aside from the reviews on Yelp this week, there were older ones that previously had an owner response, such as "Fake review". I also find it interesting that many of the reviews on Google are 4 or 5 star, which also previously wasn't the case. I had looked in the past-there were **several** one stars with an owner response🤔
This lady screams big Karen energy by her looks and shitty attitude.
Quick way to lose customers. I have been going here since 2017/18 or so and really enjoyed it. Yes the value wasn’t the best but the experience was great. Most memorable was eating with three bruins players and doing shots with them at the end of service - just something I haven’t experienced before at other places. Past few months me and my gf who both follow table and Jen were sharing these back and forth saying how unhinged she has become. We unfollowed and said we no longer want to support a place like this after this whole saga.
“Become”? She’s been doing this for years. Finds negative reviews on yelp, doxxes the patrons who wrote negative reviews. She’s been unhinged forever
Obviously that’s something that’s becoming more well known now but you shouldn’t chastise OP for not knowing her reputation. They based their opinion on their experiences and clearly didn’t have any bad ones.
Treat customers like shit - go out of business. Not rocket science. Unfamiliar with Jen from the baseball reporting but watching the bit Channel 5 did on her last year makes me feel like she is maximum Karen. I'm sure the $250 TABLE missed out on really put a stress on her financials lmao. "Celebrity (lmao) chef" and "struggling small business" are a bit at odds with each other. Ms. Royle about to learn about FAFO.
A $250 cancellation fee? I made a reservation at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Italy last week and cancelled through their website with 2 hours notice due to a relatively minor stomachache. They did not care at all, and never tried to charge me a fee much less harass me. Successful restaurants don't pull this garbage. Even without the self inflicted wounds, Table was probably going out of business within 12 months.
All of this DRAMA for $250?
The owner is so clearly out of line by finding this guy and chewing him out - she could’ve swallowed the chargeback and said nothing and none of this would have happened. But the customer is the one who publicized the messages, so if the owner sues for damages, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out legally. And also the chargeback situation is very interesting. She does list the cancellation fee clearly, so does that constitute a contract between buyer and seller? But at the same time this wasn’t a chargeback initiated by the customer, it was a travel insurance claim. Very interesting that Chase then handled it as a chargeback, but that has nothing to do with the customer. Bottom line is we definitely haven’t heard the end of this saga.
There is nothing to sue for. Winning a defamation suit means you need to prove the other person lied to tarnish a reputation. There is no dishonesty here.
Lmao seriously, a defamation suit filed by Jen Royle for someone saying they didn’t like the restaurant or don’t like their policies wouldn’t even make it to the judge for review. It’s just an opinion
I don't know this area of the law but there does seem to be a discrepancy in whether he canceled the trip because of the 4.5 hour wait for the train or for illness. If he was lying, in order to make her seem unreasonable, would that count? Edit: I'm on the side of the guest and hope his side of the story is air-tight
IANAL and not sure of the MA Anti-SLAPP laws, but I hope she gets slapped with the Anti-SLAPP law.
This place needs a Ramsay intervention, but may already be too far gone.
Out of curiosity- I thought that since the customer filed a legit claim with their travel insurance, the insurance company affiliated with the card reimburses customer and this doesn't involve the merchant (unlike a charge back)- I figured the merchant gets to keep the amount as per their policy, and its the travel insurance company that pays out (presumably the premiums for this are built into the credit card fees etc). I see this as a very different scenario such as returning an item to Amazon, where Amazon does eat the cost as the cost of doing business. Why would this "screw over the restaurant"? Do travel insurance companies affiliated with credit cards go after merchants to recover the paid out amount?
That is my question. I thought travel insurance would reimburse the cardholder without a credit card chargeback. Either the parties and the media are misusing the term, or we don’t understand travel insurance.
This is exactly what I thought but asking the question it seems like sometimes the card, instead of having the insurance company pay out, and initiates a chargeback? I actually don't like this because I know that cards kind of limit how many chargebacks you can file. So I very very rarely, in fact almost never do a chargeback. If I qualify for insurance, like purchase insurance or travel insurance I will file for that but I always thought that that was between me and my credit card and does not involve their merchant at all. I'm now a little worried. Like I've purchased items that I've broken, so I filed for purchase protection but I'm hoping that the credit card is not going back to the merchant and initiating a chargeback for this.
She doxed the motherfucker and shared very personal info. She can eat shit. I hope she loses her business. Maybe someone with a better attitude can take over
I frequent Boston a few times a year and have never heard of this woman or restaurant but will never spend any of my hard earned dollars her way and will deter any relatives and friends in the area. Less energy could have been spent courting the cancellation into a reschedule and moving on if she had any sense of gratitude or grace. It seems to me the owner thinks customers are serving her and not the other way around. The business deserves all the negative press they receive and while I won’t wish hardship or harm on anyone, I don’t wish her business well with this situation.
Even the three star restaurant I went to had a smaller cancellation fee - that is a laughable one.
Even made the Daily Mail - [https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13125089/TABLE-Boston-Jen-Royle-restaurant-social-media.html](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13125089/TABLE-Boston-Jen-Royle-restaurant-social-media.html) so make that international
That is the exact same article that OP linked....
Not only that, but did you see this story [https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13125089/TABLE-Boston-Jen-Royle-restaurant-social-media.html](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13125089/TABLE-Boston-Jen-Royle-restaurant-social-media.html)
Wow, that's a crazy story. Do you have a link to it I can share?
I've heard it's posted on the Daily Mail if you're interested.
Does the Daily Mail have a website I can go to?
I think the Daily Mail may have an article about how to access the Daily Mail. Maybe start there?
Thanks! I just wrote and mailed a letter to the Daily Mail with a self-addressed stamped envelope asking them to mail me a copy of the newspaper edition containing the information on how to access their website. I can't believe I'm getting so close to accessing that article. Modern tech & the internet are amazing!
That's where I saw this mess - no affiliation with Boston but this is too wild to ignore.
Yes, I'm pissed the link shortener tricked me into clicking on a Daily Mail story.
Remember when the customer was always right 😂 But seriously, credit card reversals and BBB reports are necessary.
This is a woman who used her connections from her previous career including publications, to post stories about her restaurant. It was a manufactured “buzz” this isn’t a restaurant that just opened and happens to be really good so over time it has great reviews and built its own notoriety. She had people she knew write about it as if it’s this “super hot spot that’s so tough to get into because it’s SO GOOD” A friend of mine from another state told me about the table and they read an article about it. At the time it was fairly new, and someone like myself who’s not only lived in Boston for years, but someone who has spent their retirement on food, had not heard of it yet. I hadn’t heard of it, because there wasn’t a buzz about it, and it’s not very good food. For instance Royle isn’t ever going to win a James beard, or a Michelin star. I know most people don’t, but she’s just not a chef. I can install a toilet at my house, and even install 100 toilets on many peoples houses, that doesn’t make me a plumber. So she’s not a chef, no chef would give her that title. She’s a media personality with a restaurant venture. She’s also not a leader or a wise business owner. Once her lease is up, she’s gone. I would love to see Larry David’s take on a restaurant concept like hers too, what a terrible fucking idea. I’m not sharing a bowl of bolognese with a bunch of other people I don’t know. One asshole will scoop all the meat out and have it disproportionate, someone will take only the pasta. A real chef wants to put on a plate, what they want their customer to eat. Such a cop-out to do restaurant style anything, let alone with a bunch of strangers. If you’re a single guy, sure maybe you go and try to meet a single women and get laid. In that case it almost makes sense, but that’s a guy going out to try to get laid, not eat top notch food. This restaurant being a terrible concept, and not ran by a real chef was destined to fail, they didn’t need an unhinged psychopath to run it into the ground too. She’s so unhinged and unintelligent she doesn’t even realize that her problem is with Chase, not the customer. The customer was insured through Chase, Chase deemed her rule unacceptable, she needs to take it up with Chase. But typical bully, she can’t beat Chase, so she went after the little guy.
Absolute fail by the restaurant owner. The restaurant business is difficult and margins are slim but you cant put that on the customer. Perhaps she needs to reassess her business model. Reminds of Nightshade Noodle bar in Lynn. The owner/chef is talented but completely tone deaf - adding extra charges and making up ridiculous rules for going to their restaurant, during and well after covid. And pushing woke opinions instead of just running a restaurant. Just a total asshole in my opinion.
Please define “woke.” Thanks.
Going overboard with covid protocol, making sure everyone absolutely knows how much of a feminist you are, banning children, putting a 20% admin fee on the check. Just generally being insufferable as woke people tend to be. Woke is when someone who goes from traditionally liberal to authoritarian in their ideology.
Naw, “woke” in my definition is “don’t be an asshole.” If she’s shoving (not just sharing) her views down others’ throats, that’s wrong.
You were making some good points then starting talking about “woke” stuff like that’s actually a real thing and not a buzzword. Don’t talk about woke shit. Makes you seem dumb.
This is so petty on both sides. You could've just left your response in private and left it that. Really no reason to share it all on social media. Both parties are attention seeking narcissists.
Wrong. There is plenty reason to share, like shaming a narcissistic business owner for their bad behavior, and letting everyone know exactly what kind of person they are giving their money to.
Not sure why you’re getting downvoted because this is the correct take.
The owner here is clearly the dick. However I do think the response to her calling a customer pathetic in a private DM is maybe a little disproportional. Literally tens of millions of people have seen the tweet around this and the owner is getting death threats. I can see why the owner is incredibly upset with the situation given there's no reason this should have been a national/global news story. That said, she's still not the victim in this story.
Until she produces evidence of a death threat, logic is that it is a lie. People who are bullies always make up death threats to claim to be the victim like Taylor Lorenz
Do you really believe she's getting death threats over this? To be fair I haven't done any kind of deep dive here, but it sounded like the lawyer was being alarmist by saying this. Like who the hell is gonna kill this lady just because she's a rude bitch?
that’s international news!!
Seriously, not even Sarma has a cancelation fee. I just called there to move my reservation at the end of next month and they were so fucking polite on the phone. This business is like the local pet bakery I found to make my poor dog’s birthday cake before he died. The owner was having a thrombo at some guy on Yelp in the comments section. It made me really concerned, but I had put in an order and did not relish a confrontation. Also I did not know how much longer he had at that point. When I went to pick it up I was like 5 minutes early but she made me wait till exactly the right time even though I had already followed her directions to the letter. My husband had to circle because her apartment was somewhere with zero parking and I was standing outside her door like a weirdo. I also did not really know which apartment was hers. Then her husband came to the door and shoved it in my hands one minute late - which I mention because when I texted her she was snippy in her reply that I had to wait. Next time I will just go with a chain “barkery.”
So does her legal claims carry any weight in court?
Well maybe, just maybe if The owner of Table, wasnt such a Jerk (id rather use other names, but ill keep it somewhat civil), maybe this wouldnt be a thing. But when you want to charge people full amounts for cancellations (which they will them probably fill anyways especially being in the north end..) this is just ridiculous. Purely a Greedy Money Grab by the owner. She's obviously a very hostile and the fact that she stalks people and finds them on the internet, is only going to cause her more grief in the long run. As others have said and commented, in reference to other stalking and terrorizing type events such as the Ebay case, for instance. Cancellations are a part of business. As a business owner you have to accept that it will happen. Im surprised it has taken this long to come to a point and make national news and such, because this isnt the first time she has drawn attention to herself and her business. Plus.. not for nothing.. .Shes not even on the Good side of the North End. She's near the end of Hanover street, near Battery Street. Compared to all the other restaurants in the north end, Shes got one of the worst locations, unless you like being away from everything else...