Uh-oh! Restaurant owner SLAMS Australian Food Influencers ‘looking for free stuff’
- Replies 20
If you’ve been on the internet for a while now, chances are you’ve heard about numerous influencers being torn apart for starting petty dramas, public displays of rude behaviour, or in this case… unfair demands.
A furious restaurant owner called out two Australian Food influencers, Ella Groves and Annie Knight, who sent them a message saying they’d love to try out food items from the menu in exchange for a promotion on their Instagram account.
Their account is named @twoteaspoons and it currently sits at 1,480 followers. Elle Groves reached out to the anonymous restaurant saying:
“Hey, guys! My friend and I have a food page together – @twoteaspoons – and saw your restaurant and thought it looked amazing! We would love to come and try it out in exchange for some stories on our personal accounts, and a post and stories on our food page accounts.”
She concluded the message with “Would you guys be interested in doing this collab? If not, we completely understand. We can't wait to hear from you xxx.”
Their exchange, including the response of the restaurant owner, was shared by The Australian’s restaurant critic, John Lethlean.
Credit: @johnlethlean
The restaurant owner started off his response with: “Hey Elle, apologies for the delay...I've been grappling with how much rage to demonstrate/throw in your direction. I've decided to take the high road and explain a few things to you in the hope that you'll learn something and become a better person.”
"Reaching out blind to a venue you know nothing about looking for free stuff is a s****y enough thing to do in the best of times. But it's even worse when Covid is still very much a thing, affecting small businesses like us devastatingly for two years now.”
“Reaching out blind to a venue you know nothing about might also just trigger the owner (like me), who (as I have had to) might have even had to take a job at another venue on their days off just so they can continue to pay their staff properly and still be able to pay their rent.”
The owner added that an unfortunate amount of hospitality venues are still trying to make up for ‘devastating losses and stresses over the past few years’.
They continued by saying “In lieu of a 'collab', I thought I'd throw you some advice. Maybe give it a year or so and see how the business landscape looks, and see if you can amass enough followers for your 'collabs' to actually be of benefit to the venues that you approach so naively, instead of them being only of benefit to you.”
“In the meantime, maybe exchange money for the things you want to eat and drink, improve your content quality and volume, and post those stories and posts anyway as a way of supporting a decimated industry. Eat, drink, spend and tip instead of beg and you'll probably be on the right path.” they said in conclusion.
John shared the Instagram post alongside the hashtag ‘#couscousforcomment’, which according to The Guardian, is a movement set into motion back in 2016 by a Sydney-based bar and restaurant owner, Tim Philips-Johansson, after encountering a similar experience with an influencer. Through the hashtag, Chefs were given an opportunity to speak up about the maltreatment they’ve received from ‘influencers’.
John’s followers didn’t hold back, sharing their thoughts on the issue in the comments.
“That was a powerful, well-written response.” a person praised the restaurant owner.
“Wining and dining their way across Australia on someone else’s coin!” another added.
“Just brilliant. Cooked to perfection!” a third cheekily wrote.
Elle and Annie, who (if their personal accounts were) combined have a total following of over 8,000, spoke to Daily Mail in an attempt to defend themselves.
“We have never asked companies for free food, it is always left open to them to what they want to offer. We always have the restaurant's interest at heart and have a huge passion for food and the experiences it brings.” The duo said.
They added that they only aim to create awareness for small businesses by promoting them on their Instagram accounts.
Well, that was quite chaotic… Although, we can’t deny that the restaurant owner is surely equipped with the skills needed for a good roast. Which side are you on? Share your thoughts in the comments with us!
Looking for more articles that cover restaurant fiascos? You can read a similar one here.
A furious restaurant owner called out two Australian Food influencers, Ella Groves and Annie Knight, who sent them a message saying they’d love to try out food items from the menu in exchange for a promotion on their Instagram account.
Their account is named @twoteaspoons and it currently sits at 1,480 followers. Elle Groves reached out to the anonymous restaurant saying:
“Hey, guys! My friend and I have a food page together – @twoteaspoons – and saw your restaurant and thought it looked amazing! We would love to come and try it out in exchange for some stories on our personal accounts, and a post and stories on our food page accounts.”
She concluded the message with “Would you guys be interested in doing this collab? If not, we completely understand. We can't wait to hear from you xxx.”
Their exchange, including the response of the restaurant owner, was shared by The Australian’s restaurant critic, John Lethlean.
Credit: @johnlethlean
The restaurant owner started off his response with: “Hey Elle, apologies for the delay...I've been grappling with how much rage to demonstrate/throw in your direction. I've decided to take the high road and explain a few things to you in the hope that you'll learn something and become a better person.”
"Reaching out blind to a venue you know nothing about looking for free stuff is a s****y enough thing to do in the best of times. But it's even worse when Covid is still very much a thing, affecting small businesses like us devastatingly for two years now.”
“Reaching out blind to a venue you know nothing about might also just trigger the owner (like me), who (as I have had to) might have even had to take a job at another venue on their days off just so they can continue to pay their staff properly and still be able to pay their rent.”
The owner added that an unfortunate amount of hospitality venues are still trying to make up for ‘devastating losses and stresses over the past few years’.
They continued by saying “In lieu of a 'collab', I thought I'd throw you some advice. Maybe give it a year or so and see how the business landscape looks, and see if you can amass enough followers for your 'collabs' to actually be of benefit to the venues that you approach so naively, instead of them being only of benefit to you.”
“In the meantime, maybe exchange money for the things you want to eat and drink, improve your content quality and volume, and post those stories and posts anyway as a way of supporting a decimated industry. Eat, drink, spend and tip instead of beg and you'll probably be on the right path.” they said in conclusion.
John shared the Instagram post alongside the hashtag ‘#couscousforcomment’, which according to The Guardian, is a movement set into motion back in 2016 by a Sydney-based bar and restaurant owner, Tim Philips-Johansson, after encountering a similar experience with an influencer. Through the hashtag, Chefs were given an opportunity to speak up about the maltreatment they’ve received from ‘influencers’.
John’s followers didn’t hold back, sharing their thoughts on the issue in the comments.
“That was a powerful, well-written response.” a person praised the restaurant owner.
“Wining and dining their way across Australia on someone else’s coin!” another added.
“Just brilliant. Cooked to perfection!” a third cheekily wrote.
Elle and Annie, who (if their personal accounts were) combined have a total following of over 8,000, spoke to Daily Mail in an attempt to defend themselves.
“We have never asked companies for free food, it is always left open to them to what they want to offer. We always have the restaurant's interest at heart and have a huge passion for food and the experiences it brings.” The duo said.
They added that they only aim to create awareness for small businesses by promoting them on their Instagram accounts.
Well, that was quite chaotic… Although, we can’t deny that the restaurant owner is surely equipped with the skills needed for a good roast. Which side are you on? Share your thoughts in the comments with us!
Looking for more articles that cover restaurant fiascos? You can read a similar one here.
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