Food vloggers inconveniencing diners: Can cancelling them out really help?

When this writer conducted a poll on Instagram where else asking people if they picked a restaurant based on what they saw on an influencerrsquos feed the answers were varied but the emotion was ldquowe rather notrdquoldquoEven the most substandard outlets are shown as a lsquomustvisitrsquordquoldquoViewers are being fooled for viewsrdquoldquoI try and only go when the hype has died downrdquoldquoInfluencers should be given their own section to sit in demarcatedrdquoldquoThe moment a place goes viral on Reels I get the ickrdquoMost food lovers seemed to have had enoughmdashof the constant photography and ldquotheatricsrdquo as one put itFood influencers Hungry Backpackers say that itrsquos valid when customers get irritated by them as its distracting They have now started visiting outlets at odd hours so that they donrsquot disturb guestsA few days ago New York web magazine Curbed spoke about how Dae a new design shop and cafe that opened in Carroll Gardens Brooklyn this year banned customers from taking any photos or videos in the store with the caveat of ldquoquick snapsrdquo at onersquos own table This was because ldquohordes of influencers armed with tripodsrdquo had descended upon the shop On their own Instagram the store wrote that they loved the food and drink photos ldquobut the TikTok videos and Instagram photoshoots have gotten a bit out of control for usrdquo In January 2018 a hotel in Ireland banned all ldquobloggersrdquo after an influencer asked the owner for a free stay in exchange for content In February 2020 a cafe in Taiwan ldquostrictly bannedrdquo influencersAre Mumbairsquos influencers feeling the heatWhen we bumped into actor Mini Mathur at an event last week she told us she remembers this time she visited the legendary Swati Snacks in Tardeo with her parentsShweta Kaushi Priyank Mehta and Komal LathldquoThere was a blogger shooting theremdashit was noisy and they had set up lights and had taken over the place It was such an annoying experiencerdquoA PR professional who heads a marketing agency sighs ldquoHonestly none of the restaurants like the influencers but they are a necessary evilrdquoKomal Lath is the founder of Tute Consult an integrated communications consultancy that works with influencers and restaurants She says that of late they have been part of a rigorous filtering process ldquoAs a communications consultancy content creators are an important part of our media mix and ecosystem The word is not to be confused with influencers who are the netizens in bulk and are promoting X cream one day and Y lotion the otherrdquo she says adding ldquoThe act of influencing is far more central to the reason than a tickmark evil which many clients subject their partner agencies or internal teams to We are extremely measured on who we extend our invitations content pegs and ideas to The community of influencers is important as a strong audiovisual medium but authenticity is far more critical than sheer vanity numbersrdquoWhat Lath is also trying to say is that right now influencers canrsquot be done away with and neither can the average aspiring Instagrammer be told to make the Reel another day The effort if anything should be to minimise the damage Sonal Barmecha of Sante wants to call only influencers who resonate with her brandmdashlike fitness experts and nutitionists right Food writer Nikhil Merchant says that he waits three months before visiting a restaurant so that they can iron out their kinks and he can give an honest opinionAt Santeacute Spa Cuisine BKC restaurateur Sonal Barmecha believes in finding influencers who suit her brand ldquoWhen we first launched in Pune we were one of the few organic healthy cafes so it was a novelty Now there are so many that you need to put your hand up and say lsquowe are herersquo You need more than word of mouthrdquo she admits ldquoBut I work to find creators who can talk about what the food is meant to domdashbe nutritious and healthy A nutritionist or a yoga expert are good fits Our space is aesthetic but itrsquos synced to the food thatrsquos talking about a holistic way of liferdquo At the restaurant guests can take pictures but with their phones ldquoNo professional cameras are allowedrdquoPopular Oshiwara dugout 1BHK which has a GoainMumbai vibe also follows the noprofessional photography rule ldquoI donrsquot allow lights big cameras or a setup because thatrsquos inconveniencing my customer who is my priority not the influencerrdquo shares Addite Malik the owner of the fiveyearold property Malik has been part of the media ldquoso I understand the whole social media culture and I personally love Reelsrdquo ldquoBut my place is about the experiencemdashgood food good wine good energy I have to maintain and manage thatrdquo she saysWhere some are attempting to resist social media there are restaurateurs like Dhaval Udeshi who are proof that being ldquoInstgrammablerdquo is good for business The man behind outlets such as Demy Gigi and Eve and the one who helped Silly and The Butterfly High get up and going can give a masterclass in creating spaces that are ideal for that perfect Instagram background ldquoFor us the process begins when we lock the location So the interiors depend on that We also have allday cafes and bars which canrsquot be dark but need to be pretty We create corners and highlight them on our Instagram In fact we get the highest bookings through Instardquo Udeshi Gigi he tells us is booked in advance for 20 days ldquoWe always have one corner that we know will workmdashat Eve itrsquos a staircase full of books at Gigi the bathroom is the ideal spot We make sure that the pictures are being taken in select spaces so as to not trouble the customer Itrsquos a formula thatrsquos working with our loyal fan baserdquoThe new mandate for interior designers appears to be ldquomake it Instagrammablerdquo Shweta Kaushik who has designed Woodside Inn Hitchki and Bayroute says ldquoI have been asked to keep a corner for a lsquoselfie pointrsquo or a lsquophoto boothrsquo For me itrsquos about giving something purposerdquoldquoBut do you want to take pictures or enjoy the foodrdquo she asks ldquoI canrsquot change the lighting to allow for good pictures I have convinced clients that itrsquos about creating trademark and recognisable elements that can become part of brand recall For example at Woodside itrsquos the wood and that hint of brassrdquoKaushik says she often asks the client what their USP is what is the story they want to tell and then goes from there ldquoI say lsquowhy not stand strong and create something unique to you that will be timelessrsquo Itrsquos not about following a trend and shutting down a few years later Garner loyaltyrdquoPriyank Mehta who has designed Ustadji in Crawford Market and recently Ogravesteria in Andheri West says that designing a restaurant is about knowing that they now cater to a variety of experiences food is just one of them ldquoClients need to know who their target audience is and work from that space At Ogravesteria it was all about creating a space where people came after work ate and left So nothing is overpowering there The memory you take back is the food You downplay your design so that everything else can shinerdquoThe influencer community has for a while been in a state of flux Nikhil Merchant who goes by the handle nonchalantgourmand on Instagram says that the space has got cluttered in the last few years and a certain rethink is required ldquoI saw this Reel recently about fashion influencers at a restaurant and there was nothing about the food at allrdquo What Merchant does try to do when he shares his restaurant reels is highlight negative aspects as well as the good ldquoThatrsquos why my Reels arenrsquot going viralrdquo he laughs ldquoBut seriously I go after a few months of opening so that they have ironed out all their kinksrdquoAalisha Bisaria and Birat Bose who go by the name hungrybackpackers agree that food influencing is getting diluted ldquoEvery day a new restaurant opens and every day a new aspiring food influencer awakens How can one know what is a good Italian restaurant if you havenrsquot ever been to Italy We focus on the food Recently we went to a small place in Malad that serves Champaran mutton and it was great but we told people donrsquot come here if you only want ambiencerdquo says BisariaAsk her what she thinks about the shade being directed at flood bloggers by diners and she is refreshingly honest ldquoWe once shot at a small cafe in Bandraand kept moving around people were getting annoyed and I agree it is unfair People have come there to have a good time Sometimes we get excited and forget thatrdquo she says ldquoNow we have a few guidelines for ourselves like we go before the restaurant gets busy We are intent on improvingrdquo