Chicago’s Bakeries Fight Back Against Fabricated Reviews Online | Eater Chicago
"Opened in March, the Ravenswood bakery's Filipino baked goods "have skyrocketed in popularity," drawing lines where customers "can routinely expect to wait up to two hours." Early controversies included profanity-laced online remarks from customers who couldn’t secure a sought-after pastry, rumors that the bakery was paying people to wait in line or paying content creators for posts, and incidents like a customer berating an employee over a one-of-each-pastry limit put in place to help ensure more people can enjoy them. "You can tell if they’ve never worked in a service job before," says Lerias. Lerias notes "There are repercussions of being too popular" and — "for the record" — he "doesn’t think folks should wait two hours for a pastry, either." He addressed long waits in an Instagram post on April 12 that read: "This space is meant for everyone—both customers and employees—to feel safe and valued. We will always welcome feedback and concerns, but ask that they be shared with kindness and respect." The bakery posts updates throughout the day on available pastries, has signage detailing the one-of-each-pastry policy and asks customers to check with employees before taking videos or photos, and Lerias is blunt about boundaries: "We can’t keep letting customers get away with shitty behavior," and "This whole narrative of 'the customer is always right,' I don’t subscribe to it." - Lisa Shames
