Dinner at the Lobster Pound

[mike ray]

My name is Michael Ray, and I am 1 of the owners of the Weirs Beach Lobster Pound. The Pound is owned by myself, my dad Richard Ray and my brother who is also named Richard. Some of you probably know us because we are there 7 days a week, working hard to make The Pound a place we can be proud of. We have been reading the posts all along, and actually appreciate your complaints. We know what our problems are because we are very hands on owners, but it is always helpfull to get negative and positive customer feedback. I would like to thank everyone who has patronized our establishment, and also thank those who have defended us here on the winni forum. As some of you have stated before there are some posts on here that are completely "bs" and that is what has brought me here today. Up untill now we have chosen to remain silent. We feel that actons speak louder than words. That is why we have dedicated ourselves to fixing our problems, and letting the final product do our talking. However, we cannot stand idolly by when someone blames our establishment for making children sick. I can assure all of you, that post is one you can file under "bs". Here is exactly what happened that night.
The family came in late as they said (late for young children anyway) , and ate exactly what they said. The children had cheeseburgers, french fries and two large glasses of chocolate milk each. The parents told our waitress that the children had been running around, playing all day in the hot sun and were starving. The waitress told myself and my brother that the children "chowed down" the food and drinks. Maybe feeding young children cheeseburgers and chocolate milk late at night after spending a day in the hot sun "running around" was not a smart idea. I can't speak for anyone else, but just thinking about the combo of choc milk, fries and burgers makes my belly do backflips. Also I think it is quite possible that when 1 child got sick, the other did as a result of seeing the sick sibling. We have to remember, children tend to have very sensitve stomachs and even adults get sick as a result of seeing others vomit.
What happened after the incident is really what I take issue with. The father approached myself and my brother in the bar area of the pound and told us his children had just gotten sick. My brother asked what they had eaten for dinner. The father replied cheeseburgers. my brother asked if the burgers were undercooked, to which the father replied "no". My brother explained that it couldn't have been the meat, we had been serving burgers all day and hadn't had 1 complaint and also we were in and out of the kitchen all day and knew the meat was properly stored. The father said angrily "you are going to tell me there is nothing wrong with your food? why are my children in your parking lot puking?" My brothers reply was "sir, i don't think it was the food, but if you can tell me how you would like me to help you, I would gladly do so." The father started heading for the exit, then turned around and infront of a resturant full of men, women and children yelled "you can go fu@# yourself!" Both my brother and myself sat there stunned. I can understand that the father was upset but that was no way to handle the situation. We were more than willing to assist the family in any way possible but after having profanities screamed at us, felt it was best to stay away.
After all this happened, we asked a hostess to keep and eye on the family and to assist them with anything they might need. I saw her going in and out to the parking lot checking on the family, however she did not engage them, thinking they had everything under control. Both myself and my brother pulled their check from the computer system, went back into the kitchen and checked every item the family had, including the milk. We suspected that the milk was the problem, but we found that everything was perfect, and that the milk was fresh and just opened that day. We spoke to our chef about the incident and inspected the meat with her and found that the meat was fresh and properly refrigerated. I can only speculate as to why the children got sick, but there is 1 thing I can assure all of you, it was not because of any spoiled drinks or food being served at the pound.
All of our refridgeration units are brand new and in perfect working order. We pride ourselves on our cleanliness, and the quality of our food. In all of the complaints we have had, there has never been 1 about the QUALITY of our food. We only buy and serve the best of the best and will continue to do so.
So in closing, I am here to say we know we have issuses to adress and we are adressing them on a daily basis. I am not making any excuses here. We are determined to workout our issues and become 1 of the top resturants in the lakes region. We have a tremendous staff that is working dilligently to make every customer happy. We have been serving up to 600 customers daily, with very little complaints, and every day is better than the last. If you would like to meet us personally to discuss any of your concerns, as I stated before we are ther 7 days a week and would be happy to listen. If you would like a tour of our kitchen facilities to see how our food is prepared and stored, please just ask.(as long as we aren't extremely busy) We built this resturant to be a shinning star in an area that we have loved since we were young children. Our hope is that you continue to support us and all the other fine establishments in the lakes reigon. We have some great ideas planned for the future. You will see some exciting new changes for bike week, and many different attractions come to our property.(concerts,octoberfests,etc...) We are in this for the long haul, and hope to make all of you fans of the Weirs Beach Lobster Pound. thanks, mike

[VitaBene]

Mike,

Good post- thank you for your side of the story. I have not been to your place yet which is why I have not posted on this thread, nor do I take a position. I will check LP out soon.

It sounds like an earlier spring break in period would have allowed your staff to ramp up. Best of luck with your venture.

Nauset,

Any chance the kids were dehydrated at all? Are they OK? Did they see a doctor and what did he/she say?

I have had food poisoning and it is terrible, hopefully that is not what it was but as noted earlier that is unlikely given the timing.

Regardless, I hope all is well with your family.

[sa meredith]

Mike...you held your tongue for a long time. Let me be the first to say, "Welcome to the party!" We all don't get along, but heck, we're hiding behind a computer screen...so have at, I always say. hahaahha
Anyway...nice digs you have over there. Quite a place, and what a location.
About the sick kids....the story is much more entertaining when you let eveyone think you poisoned their kids, so if it's all the same to you, let's leave it that way. OK?
Honestly, what you have spelled out, assuming it is all truthful, is a decent explanation...It must have been tough to read that knowing you had a side of the story. There usually are two sides to every one.
He really swore??!! I guess I can see that. No one want to see their family members in any type of peril. So the chocolate milk is fine? Great. I feel much better.
Now, about the ticket times....

[lakesgirl04]

Mike, I'm so glad you guys decided to step in and tell your side of the story. And it's great that you're letting the Winni on-line community get to know you, your Dad and brother.

Keep it up - yes, it's getting better every day.

[ITD]

There are always two sides to each story, a story which makes more sense now. I've been food poisoned before (not at any lakes region place), it took at least the night and most of the next day to feel better. I would chalk this up to bad luck and be done with it.

[SteveA]

Best wishes to you and you family. I have sat on the side for this "debate" because I have not personally been to the "new" "Lobster Pound" . My wife and her friend have been there and liked it alot. I won't try to post a second hand review, I will just say, while she dosen't "type' into winni.com she does read it and has been surprised by the negative reviews.

I really like the fact that you seem to be taking most of the negative reviews as a chance to improve your service and improve your staff. Hang in there, and I will make point of visiting. (PS I will take you up on the kitchen tour.. that sounds like alot of fun..)

[Irish mist]

Bravo to you for giving us the other side of the story. It's real important for "most" of us out here who care about this area to see you people do well in that location. Good luck.

[Resident 2B]

Mike Ray,

Thank you for your explanation.

Owners that post to this site really impress me.

We have not as yet been to your new place, but we will be there sometime this weekend.

We hope to be impressed and are reasonable folks with open-minds.

Best regards and good luck with our new vendure!

R2B

[SAMIAM]

So glad to hear your side of the story.I try to mind my own business when it comes to this thread but I hate to see a place get torn down.Most foodborne illness' have an incubation period from several hours to several days..Only one,staphylococcus,has a rapid incubation,but the effects last for several days so that could not have been the problem with the two kids.
There are two sides to every story.....I believe the "Pound"

[jetskier]

Hi Mike,

I have not tried the new Lobster Pound. Like a number of other members of the forum we are reticent to do so until we know that the start-up issues have been addressed. Independent of the issue the you spoke to, can you please comment on what you are doing to improve service and quality? I think that a number of us would like to know.

Jetskier

[skisox24]

OK, Mike, here is our confession. Our family is obsessed with seafood, and I am a shellfish freak. We last traded at the Lobster Pound more than fifteen years ago. Why have we not returned??? I became convinced that the old owners consistently misrepresented the food quantities, i.e. a pound of steamers served were certainly well short of a legitimate pound of steamers.

My family tried your new Lobster Pound last week for the first time. Congratulations on the substantial improvements in the facility itself. Impressive, indeed. The food was good and the service was quite pleasant. I ordered my favorite pound of steamers as an appetizer. I don't carry a food scale with me and can't say for sure that the serving was indeed equal to a pound portion. However, as a veteran steamer consumer, I have an inner sense of what constitutes a pound of steamers, and I am confident of its general accuracy. At the same time, I will state that while the steamers were properly steamed and served, your price for the appetizer was on the high side of what we would expect in the big-city restaurants of Boston and New York City. If the serving was more generous, we wouldn't have given the price a second thought.

I admire your posting on the website and your dedication to your restaurant. We look forward to our second opportunity to dine at your establishment, and wish you all the best.

[Seaplane Pilot]

I'm no doctor, but it sounds to me like those kids had sunstroke. The restaurant is an easy target to blame, but I highly doubt that food poisoning could hit so soon after eating something.

[nj2nh]

Now that Mike has given his side of the kids/burgers/throwing up story, I would like to hear Nauset's explanation of cursing in front of a restaurant full of people.

I'm just saying that I know I wouldn't appreciate it no matter the circumstances. There just is no call for that - ever.

nj2nh

[vmartino26]

Congratulations, Mike, on your new venture. Our first experience at the pound didn't go all that well, but I'm glad to hear that you're using this forum to improve services and make the dining experience a pleasurable one. That's important in this day and age -- with money so tight, it seems to me that there's little room for error. The Weirs Beach Lobster Pound is an important cog in the "Weirs" arena. You're literally at the doorstep to the attractions, other restaurants, et cetera. It's important that the Lobster Pound succeeed and in turn flourish in its particular spot. We'll be back again later in the season and expect that our experience will be much improved from our first visit. And I'm glad to see you spoke out about the so-called "food poisoning" incident. It's important to hear both sides of a story. Good luck!

[jetskier]

Originally Posted by vmartino26

Congratulations, Mike, on your new venture. Our first experience at the pound didn't go all that well, but I'm glad to hear that you're using this forum to improve services and make the dining experience a pleasurable one. That's important in this day and age -- with money so tight, it seems to me that there's little room for error. The Weirs Beach Lobster Pound is an important cog in the "Weirs" arena. You're literally at the doorstep to the attractions, other restaurants, et cetera. It's important that the Lobster Pound succeeed and in turn flourish in its particular spot. We'll be back again later in the season and expect that our experience will be much improved from our first visit. And I'm glad to see you spoke out about the so-called "food poisoning" incident. It's important to hear both sides of a story. Good luck!

I am getting a bit jaded relative to this one event. At this point, I have not heard from Mike regarding the specific complaints associated with service and food quality. Indeed, he may be past all that as it could be associated with the business startup. However, as fast as he was to reply to the "incident", he has not replied to the more salient issues. The patio did look busy when we drove by this weekend, so maybe Mike is not all that concerned with patronage. If the issues have been addressed, fine tell us...else I am going to go elsewhere. In terms of the "incident", I really could not care less anymore.

Jetskier

[sa meredith]

Jetskier...agree completely. While I think it is a good start for Mike to have finally "jumped in", I was puzzled by all the "hugs and kisses" he was thrown.
He simply signed on and made a compelling argument that his resturant did not get the children sick. And I, along with many others believe him.
But how about post after post of nightmare ticket times (time from order to food arriving), food coming out wrong, and bills not being properly adjusted?
And no one seem to be caring?
He really has said nothing about what they doing to get better.
The love he received for the one post was a bit disproportionate.

[mike ray]

As I said in the previous post, i would rather let our finished product do the talking for us. We have made, and will continue to make changes untill we achive perfection. Honestley, I really don't have the time to log in and post messages concerning every detail of our business. I havent even gotten a chance to get out and explore that big beautiful lake I see everyday. Any fish in there? Here is my preposal, come down to the pound any day of the week and ask for me, my dad, or my bro, and we would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. I can talk a heck of a lot faster than I can type and actually show you what we are up to.(maybe even buy you a beer, draft only, its cheaper) As far as adressing the issues such as adjusting checks, i thought i did discuss that by saying there are many posts that you can file under "bs." The bottom line here is, it takes a lot of time, for me anyway, to sit and type these posts, and eventhough it is important, I just don't have the time to answer every question in detail. Come down to the pound any day and we will gladly sit and discuss anything that is on your mind. Except politics! mike

[sa meredith]

Mike...you know what? Fair enough, as far as I am concerned. I guess that is as much as anyone could ask for.
It would be nice to read some reviews from people who have made return visits, and improvements they experienced.

[EricP]

Mike, I'd like to say I admire you're ability to respond and not return volleys. There have been a few harsh comments made about a few things and your response has been very professional. I have only been to the place once this year so far and that was during bike week. We stopped in for a few drinks while walking around. It sound slike your addressing things and I'll accept that as well and will at least come by and have dinner soon as I have been hanging out here waiting until I hear things improved over the first few posts. I hope you guys nail it and wish you luck. As I said, we like the look you have given the place and hope you are here to stay.

Eric