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Does it bug you when restaurants don't have a website?

Asked by Kardamom (33297points) April 26th, 2015

I mean, come on, it’s 2015! Shouldn’t all businesses, especially ones that are literally catering to people, have a website?

You can skip the details and just answer the question if you want, which will be fine whether you know all the details or not. I just added the details so you can know the inner workings of my mind, and why I needed to ask this question.

I like to write restaurant reviews, some on regular review sites, or just for my friends and relatives on Facebook. I like to provide a link to the restaurant’s website, so that people can find the place and take a look at the menu before deciding to try a place.

Just last night, I looked up about 30 different restaurants, for different reasons. At least 10 of them did not have a proper website. If they had one at all, it was just a Facebook page, with no menu to view. I don’t understand why a restaurant would bother to have a Facebook page and not post their menu, and why wouldn’t they invest in a real website?

It’s very irritating to have heard about a restaurant through the grapevine, only to look up their website and find that they either don’t have one at all, or it’s just a Facebook page. Most of these places do have Yelpers and Urbanspooners reviewing them, but most of the reviews don’t have menu listings attached to their reviews.

Of course, you all know that I’m a vegetarian, as are some of my friends. I also have a cousin with celiac disease, and several family members with diabetes, and a friend with a peanut allergy. It’s important for me, to be able to know ahead of time, whether the menu offerings will be OK for us.

Calling a restaurant and asking lots (or sometimes any) questions is often fruitless, especially if the proprietors don’t speak English. I went to a Korean restaurant with a friend the other day, on the fly, while we were out and about. As soon as I walked in the door, I asked the English speaking waitress if there were any vegetarian items on the menu, and she said, “Yes, we have shrimp.” Sound effect: bwah, bwah, bwah, bwaaaaaaah. Sorry Charlie, but shrimp is not a vegetarian item. Phone conversations are usually much less helpful, because you can’t even point to the menu in front of you. At least I was able to find something at this particular restaurant after the waitress and I went down the list and I explained to her that I didn’t eat fish. Finally, she said, “How about tofu?” Ding, ding, ding! Whoop, whoop, whoop! And we’ve got a winner.

Why do you suppose that some restaurants, or other businesses for that matter, don’t have a proper website?

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