The joy of sharing stuff

Keeping abreast of all these emails, requests, polite DMs and the occasional hate mail is time-consuming and distracting.

TWAM 21 MAY 2016 EMBARGO FOR TWAM 21 MAY 2016NO REUSE WITHOUT PERMISSIONJohn Lethlean TWAM STAFF DINKUS pic : Julie Adams

Accusations of “food poisoning”; illiterate proposals to restaurants for freebies in exchange for meaningless social media “influence”; pleas for restaurant recommendations. That’s just in one hour. Most days, my inbox runneth over; if only it was just my inbox.

Keeping abreast of all these emails, requests, polite DMs and the occasional hate mail is time-consuming and digitally distracting. Facebook, Messenger, SMS, email, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp… surely I’m not alone when I discover messages literally months old. Oops! Guess that birthday dinner has come and gone, sorry. Clearly I haven’t got that “Alerts” setting right. But Alerts aside, would I have it any other way?

I love how people share stuff, ask for advice, build relationships via the simple act of getting in touch, whatever the platform. People may not write letters to the editor the way they used to, but it doesn’t mean they don’t go direct.

I loved this SMS from “Anxious” of West Hobart: “Howdy John. Steve here, hope you are well. I’m seeking your recommendation on lunch in Sydney? I’m there for one day + want to enjoy a unique Sydney lunch in an establishment that aligns itself [with] the sentiments you expressed in your column a while back. In it, you championed the places where it’s all about the customer, from the food on offer to the genuine service… I’m looking for a place that is sure-footed, quietly confident + nurturing rather than processing its custom. My instincts tell me Fred’s might be close to my ‘Moon Under Water’ ideal but you’d be able to set me straight.”

That same morning I was disturbed by an approach from a restaurateur who outlined an accusation of food poisoning, sharing the original correspondence and a most articulate reply. However, the complainant had already put the allegation straight to Google Review using the words “food poisoning”.

As I recall from my own brief career as a cafe proprietor and caterer, it’s easy to make false accusations of this kind. About the only way you can get close to being confident of the cause of a gastric upset – and, therefore, exoneration – is via a faecal sample. Oh joy.

“In the meantime,” wrote the restaurateur to the complainant, “I would urge you to remove your comment from Google Review until we have resolved this issue. Diagnosing food poisoning can be difficult, especially if you cannot identify the particular cause. A doctor may be able to test stools to identify the disease-causing pathogen. I am assuming your stool was tested? Given your direct use of the word food poisoning in your complaint? However that said, I did not see that written on your medical diagnosis…”

Which takes us to the thousands of comments generated over the past month to my #couscousforcomment Instagram campaign. There have been highlights, but the Brisbane grifters who asked for a freebie in exchange for “influence” and posted damning “reviews” when they were knocked back hit a new low, a social media own goal. People had a lot to say, but this summed it up nicely: “With zero sense of shame or self-awareness, bullying small business owners who declined to give you free food is about as low as it goes.”

Thanks. Keep writing. It helps.