Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Et Tu, Ratings?

Maybe if the weathermen had to pay restaurateurs for lost business, they'd quit hyping the "bad" weather. Do these guys realize that if people are afraid that we're actually going to get that 4 to 7 inches they keep promising, they stay home? The esteemed colleague and I have discovered that the best time to hit a normally crowded spot is when bad weather is predicted. We can slide right in and nab our favorite table in the vast, echoing expanse of empty tables. Great for us, not so great for the owners.

I realize that people become glued to their sets during weather "events" and there's an entire section of a TV station's org chart devoted to ensuring that people are glued to their sets, but I wish they'd give a touch more thought to the negative impact. Not only on local businesses, but on their own credibility. But mostly on local businesses.

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