Per Se Fire, Reopening, Rescheduling

[Fat Guy]

But Rich, what I'm wondering is how big the intersection of sets A & B is -- those who aren't sophisticated enough to understand that the bad-PR issue is bogus but are sophisticated enough to follow the food media closely enough to know about the various predictions in the first place.

But you do raise an interesting issue: Per Se has a publicist; a very expensive one. In fact, at least two of them: one in California (Welles Folsom) and one in New York (PR Consulting, Inc.). I wonder, who took charge of the crisis management on the media side? Did the publicists give good direction to Keller's management team? Was that direction taken or ignored? It would be interesting to know what happened behind the scenes, not that we ever likely will.

Whomever makes these decisions, however, has a pretty poor track record: the same bullshit occurred with the opening dates. When I was working on a story for Elle about the Per Se opening, I was consistently given incorrect information about the opening -- premature dates, that is. (A publicist friend of mine recently referred to these dates at "Hopening" dates.) Ultimately, even though all the photography had been done and the text was written, the story got killed (pushed out of the magazine and onto Elle's Web site, that is), something that probably wouldn't have happened if we had the right opening date to begin with. And I'd love to know if the publicists were given a voice in the name choice, because Per Se remains one of the most nauseating restaurant names ever.

[ijfri]

Well, my April 17 reservation just got cancelled.  Looks like they won't be opening until May and will start calling to reschedule next week.  Since I live in the bay area, looks like I'm more likely to be going next to The French Laundry when it opens, then Per Se.

When they call to rescedule, see if they will "trade" a Per Se reservation for a French Lundry reservation.

I asked. She said she would make a note of it and I could discuss it when they call to reschedule. I may have just been lucky when I made this reservation, but I got through after 4 tries. Reserving at The French Laundry has been much more difficult in the past.

By the way, she was very pleasant and said they would try to reschedule for "like" reservations. In other words, since I had a 7:30 on a Sat. night, she said they would try to get me that.

[bilrus]

I may have just been lucky when I made this reservation, but I got through after 4 tries. Reserving at The French Laundry has been much more difficult in the past.

Since they were filling sixty days worth of resrvations instead of just one at a time, the first sixty days were relatively easy to get.

I assume the same scenario will play out when FL re-opens and needs to fill 60 days worth of reservations as well.

[plpcolumbia]

Has anyone been rescheduled yet?

[rich]

As far as I know - no!

The message on the machine still says everything is canceled through April 15th. But one post indicated an April 17th reservation was cancelled. I believe the last day the restaurant had accepted reservations was April 21st.

It seems the re-opening will be closer to May 1st, but I'm not sure anyone can give a definitive date at this point.

[cbarre02]

2 weeks.... 2 months... what's the differnce. This is a lifetime in a "New York Minute". It ain't Yontville any more boy's.

[Bux]

Per Se also has a private function room. It's not hard to imagine that it too was pretty well booked.

[pjs]

Per Se also has a private function room. It's not hard to imagine that it too was pretty well booked.

I remember reading somewhere that the private room(s)--are there one or two?--were going to be slowly brought up to speed only after the dining room was open for a while. It's a good bet that damage to the business plan from lost revenue likely worsens disproportionately the longer they stay closed.

PJ

Edited March 24, 2004 by pjs (log)

[SG-]

It seems the re-opening will be closer to May 1st, but I'm not sure anyone can give a definitive date at this point.

Indication they provided when they called to cancel my ressie last week was Mid May.

[rich]

Let's have a contest to predict the re-opening date of Per Se. Maybe we can convince the owners (if they reading) to award the winner dinner for two.

I'll go first - June 28th.

Edited March 30, 2004 by rich (log)

[clifford]

As long as it's a contest, put me down for May 24th!

[mjr_inthegardens]

July 14th

that's right

bastille day

-mjr

[LJC]

Tues. June 1st (day after Memorial Day)

[Fat Guy]

I'd rather not poke fun at a suffering business, but I do think the resonance this guessing game is having with our members demonstrates a PR lapse on Per Se's part. Per Se's publicist has an e-mail list of local food journalists -- I know because I've received e-mails from them in the past -- so why not send out the occasional update?

[rich]

I'd rather not poke fun at a suffering business, but I do think the resonance this guessing game is having with our members demonstrates a PR lapse on Per Se's part. Per Se's publicist has an e-mail list of local food journalists -- I know because I've received e-mails from them in the past -- so why not send out the occasional update?

Steve, I agree it's not admirable to poke fun, but the circumstances and lack of communication certainly leave the restaurant open to criticism and sarcasm.

I think your being very kind by calling it a "PR lapse." The word "incompetence" comes to mind. This goes back to my original thought about the PR firm dropping the ball with respect to "crisis management."

Most importantly, how will this complicate the re-opening of the French Laundry?

Edited March 30, 2004 by rich (log)

[Fat Guy]

I think most sophisticated diners are flexible regarding the reservations game: if you have to call at 9:21am 53 days before the date, that's fine. If you have to leave a credit card number, no problem.

What really pisses these good customers off, in my experience, is when the rules of the game aren't revealed, or when it appears the game is rigged. So I agree, Rich, that this is being mishandled.

[Bux]

I think your being very kind by calling it a "PR lapse." The word "incompetence" comes to mind. This goes back to my original thought about the PR firm dropping the ball with respect to "crisis management."

Most importantly, how will this complicate the re-opening of the French Laundry?

Let's assume there's a public relations incompetence here. What of it? It's one thing when management or staff has been rude to me, but is this anything that's going to stop you from eating at Per Se? I rather doubt that Thomas Keller is not far more bent out of shape by the lack of a definite date when he can reopen his restaurant than any of us should be. This date is not being set by the restaurant is much as it is by the contractor and perhaps, local officials and inspectors. Keller and his PR staff are in the middle of all this, and if they're not handling the release of information that's likely inaccurate and changing as fast as they get it, what of it?

If I were Thomas Keller and I had time to read eGullet right now, I wouldn't look kindly on those who felt hard put by what I'd consider were my afflictions and I'd be hardly likely to award a free dinner to grumblers who were amusing themselves by guessing when I might be able to get back in business.

My assumption here is that Keller is constantly being put off by others and caught in the middle and you're probably correct in thinking every delay is going to complicate the re-opening of Per Se in ways that probably extend beyond just the logistics of diners and reservations.

[bilrus]

I have been willing to give the benefit of the doubt so far, but as time continues to pass it has become more of an annoyance than anything.

We never actually had a conversation with anyone when our reservations were cancelled (originally March 4th). I had left a cell phone number because we were going to be travelling to New York. The only way I knew they called was the one call from a New York number on my missed calls list and the fact that I was aware of the fire through eGullet. The number they called from was not a working line when I tried to return the call.

I know they have a policy of not leaving messages when trying to fill the waiting list, but I am surprised that they didn't leave a message in this case. If I hadn't have been on eGullet, I wouldn't have known about the cancellation until I called to confirm two days in advance -- too late to make travel changes.

I feel for them with the fire and the delays, but if there are events that are out of your control, you should do what you can to properly handle the things you can control.

I am going to be happy to go there once (if?) my reservation is rescheduled. But if it isn't rescheduled, then I probably would be unlikely to return to either restaurant. I hope that isn't the case, beacuse it would be more my loss than theirs, I'm sure.

Edited March 30, 2004 by bilrus (log)

[robyn]

I think most sophisticated diners are flexible regarding the reservations game: if you have to call at 9:21am 53 days before the date, that's fine. If you have to leave a credit card number, no problem.

What really pisses these good customers off, in my experience, is when the rules of the game aren't revealed, or when it appears the game is rigged. So I agree, Rich, that this is being mishandled.

I don't know what the big deal is. The guy had a personal business tragedy. His place burned down - after he had closed his other place to open the place that burned down. I don't care what kind of business insurance Keller has - this can't be easy financially. Particularly in a place like New York - which has to be one of the most unfriendly places in the world in terms of getting any construction work done even under normal circumstances - when people aren't breathing down your neck to find out why a fire broke out (e.g., all union labor - bureaucratic building permit procedures - we'll all do the work you need when *we* feel like doing it).

And it's not as if anyone made travel plans to eat at Per Se and it was in Podunk - where it's a choice between Per Se - and Denny's. This is New York City. There are lots of good places to eat. You're not going to starve - or eat garbage.

Shit happens. We had dinner reservations at Lucas Carton one year and a friend who was supposed to eat with us got the flu. On a much more significant scale - we were in New York to celebrate our 30th annniversary on 9/11. Give the guy a break. Whenever he gets up and running - if you don't want your reservation - I'll take it (even though I'm not fond of New York these days - hate that smoking ban). Robyn

[Fat Guy]

"PR" isn't a dirty word. Especially in a restaurant context, PR is an extension of service, just as reservations and coat-check are. Right now, there is a prevailing sense developing among Per Se's client base that they are not being provided with adequate service. Or, to use Keller's vocabulary, that the current state of Per Se's service lacks "finesse."

[tan319]

Does anyone feel that as long as Keller smells any smoke from that fire, in his restaurant, he won't open the doors?

[robyn]

"PR" isn't a dirty word. Especially in a restaurant context, PR is an extension of service, just as reservations and coat-check are. Right now, there is a prevailing sense developing among Per Se's client base that they are not being provided with adequate service. Or, to use Keller's vocabulary, that the current state of Per Se's service lacks "finesse."

Agreed that PR isn't a dirty word. It just doesn't seem relevant to me in this context. We're not dealing with a double booking problem. The restaurant had a fire which was bad enough to put a huge monkey wrench into the owner's plans. I have never had the fortune to dine at FL - but I would think that in light of Keller's reputation - people would cut him a lot of slack - and feel sorry for him - especially considering that he didn't in any way (apparently) bring this problem on himself.

No offense to you or anyone else personally - but this is one thing I really dislike about the whole New York restaurant scene. Everyone is upset because (I think) they wanted to be one of the first in this week's restaurant of the month. The way I look at it - this is a restaurant that should - if the chef's reputation is any guide - have great legs. Who cares if you eat there next week - or next month - or next year? It should be great. And if it's not great a year from now - who cares when you eat there? It's a social thing more than a food thing in my opinion. Whether you're a celebrity planning a party or a foodie. It was supposed to be the trendy thing to do this spring - and - good grief - if the chef has deprived us of our right to be trendy - we'll be pissed off at him. G-d forbid we should eat there 6 months after all the trendy people have already eaten there.

I guess I'm just more interested in the food than the social scene. I don't have to be there first. I just want to get there eventually if it winds up being a great restaurant. I have (GASP!) even eaten at great restaurants 3 years after everyone else in the world knew they were great restaurants.

Now if I weren't treated properly under normal circumstances - I'd be upset. But what happened here certainly isn't normal. Robyn

[Fat Guy]

Without a base of customers eager to try new restaurants, there would be no new restaurants.

This isn't a problem with the New York restaurant scene. This is a simple lack of clear communication between Per Se's management on the one hand, and the media and the restaurant's client base on the other hand. That's bad business, in any business, no matter what the circumstances.

Per Se is apparently keeping its staff on the payroll during this downtime. And presumably the restaurant is paying fat retainers to its West Coast and East Coast publicists. So put them to work for crying out loud. Put out a weekly breifing to the press. Get all those servers and managers on the phones with the customers. Be smart. Show some finesse.

[ned]

This debate has been going on for a while now with suggestions of book giving and reservation precedence. I've been uneasy the whole time. I'm sorry to hear that they didn't take proper steps to cancel your reservation Bilrus. I had a reservation for March 14th. Got a polite call canceling the reservation--expected thanks to this thread, for that matter I got the reservation thanks to this thread--and when I asked how rescheduling would happen was told they would call back. I believe that they will call back. There's a difference between an error like not canceling a reservation properly and a PR weakness. They've suffered a real hardship at per Se. I don't think they owe it to anyone, even themselves, to do more than they have from a PR perspective though I can see what you're saying FatGuy, why shouldn't they apply the grace in business that they do in the kitchen? In any case once they open I doubt there will be a problem keeping the seats warm.

Construction is a funny thing. It's hard to make a deadline and harder to keep it. Maybe they don't want to make (any more) promises they won't keep. Who knows. For my own self, I look forward to eating there. I've tried on three different visits to SF to get a table at FL. Called in favors "anything but that, I can do anything but that," spent some time on the phone competitive speed-dialing against silicon valley personal assistants, even now I have a standing invitation to any of my friends in the Bay area, if they can get a table we'll eat there my treat. Friends only. I was charged up about the march 14th, then it was cancelled. I feel like I've finally got my foot in the door.

Maybe we should hold them to the standard to which we hold airlines. Mechanical failure, their fault. Act of God, blame him and patiently wait.

[juuceman]

"PR" isn't a dirty word. Especially in a restaurant context, PR is an extension of service, just as reservations and coat-check are. Right now, there is a prevailing sense developing among Per Se's client base that they are not being provided with adequate service. Or, to use Keller's vocabulary, that the current state of Per Se's service lacks "finesse."

how much of Per Se's client base do you think egullet represents??

i'd think anticipation is building, if anything, amongst the general public..

given the spate of recent openings, and the fact that they've been mostly ubertrendy hot spots to see and be scene, with mediocre food, i'm pretty sure whenever Per Se does reopen, it'll be quickly followed by reviews noting that it was 'Worth the wait for the treat of eating in Chef Keller's restaurant..'

if you don't like the way that it's been handled, don't eat there.. i've only heard of two instances, on and off this board, where they failed to notify a reservation holder.. and one of them was for later in the day of the fire.. but cut them some slack.. i can't imagine anyone is sitting on their laurels while they're closed..

it'll reopen.. we'll all get our opportunity to eat there.. we're all hopeful they'll call us like they said they would to reschedule..

in the meantime, let's enjoy the restaurants that are out there and be happy there are alternatives..