We recently received two reviews that were difficult to read. And while my first instinct was to leave them alone, I think there is something worth saying.
We welcome honest feedback. We also have the right to disagree when a description of our café doesn’t reflect what we know about the food we served or the condition of the space.
I do the baking. I know our cookies. They aren’t rock hard. Our cake pops have a firm outer coating. That firmness doesn’t mean they’re inedible. The ice cream is not freezer burned, and the bathroom was spotless, albeit a bit dusty.
Someone can dislike our coffee. They can decide our cookies aren’t to their taste or that our prices don’t work for them. Nobody owes us a glowing review.
But I’m not going to agree with claims I know are inaccurate simply because they were posted publicly.
There is a difficult part of owning a small business that you don’t really understand until you’re in it. You can spend an entire day baking, cleaning, serving and trying to get the details right, then read a few sentences that dismiss all of it.
It hurts. Of course it does.
This place carries a tremendous amount of our lives. The people working beside us put their effort into it too.
That doesn’t put us above criticism. It does mean we have something worth standing up for.
If you have a concern during your visit, speak to us. Show us what you’re unhappy with. Let us look at it together and have an actual conversation. We’ll listen, and we’ll be honest with you.
Sometimes that will mean acknowledging a mistake. Sometimes it will mean explaining how something is made. Sometimes we may simply disagree.
There’s room for all of that, provided we treat each other with respect.
The Nest was built around kindness, and I still believe in that. Even when I’m frustrated. Even when something feels deeply unfair.
But kindness leaves room for an honest answer.
And sometimes that answer is: I care about your experience, but I disagree with what you’ve said.
— Martin