In a recent column, San Francisco Chronicle restaurant reviewer Michael Bauer posed the question of whether rude service can become a virtue, in relation to Mission Chinese’s failing customer service. He argues that because the restaurant’s food is so good, its “anti-establishment and dismissive” customer service is a ploy to set it apart in the restaurant world. Agree or disagree? Read more here.
I’ve been a Mission resident since 1998 and a professor emeritus at Berkeley’s J-school since 2019. I got my start in newspapers at the Albuquerque Tribune in the city where I was born and raised. Like many local news outlets, The Tribune no longer exists. I left daily newspapers after working at The New York Times for the business, foreign and city desks. Lucky for all of us, it is still here.
As an old friend once pointed out, local has long been in my bones. My Master’s Project at Columbia, later published in New York Magazine, was on New York City’s experiment in community boards.
As founder/executive editor at ML, I've been trying to figure out how to make my interest in local news sustainable. If Mission Local is a model, the answer might be that you - the readers - reward steady and smart content. As a thank you for that support we work every day to make our content even better.
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If it’s not a ploy, they need to address the problem. If it is a ploy, they need to address the problem and take a good look at why they think being dismissive is a plus. I don’t care how good the food is, if the staff is rude and acts as though they’re doing me a favor instead of doing their jobs, I won’t bother to return.