Finally got around to reviewing that dreadful Tuk Tuk Hunter Valley restaurant (I was on my facebook break when the shit hit the fan). I actually wasnt going to bother, but I was so disgusted by both words and actions of the owner and the fact that some people have gone to the pages of vegan restaurants (with no involvement whatsoever in the incident) and given 1 star reviews out of spite with the reason Vegans brought this on themselves. They dont seem to see the difference between them doing that and people going to the Tuk Tuk page to speak up against discrimination. Truly ridiculous. Here is what I wrote in my review, I hope that people will read it and understand where we are coming from instead of immediately going on the defense yet again. Full disclosure, I have not eaten at this establishment so this is not a review of the food itself. There are people who state that you cannot review a restaurant if you have never been, and will probably try to use that as a reason to dismiss my words, but in the age of social media I believe that everything we put out there has repercussions. The owner of this restaurant publicly ridiculed a woman he deemed different and in doing so he attacked an entire group of people, those who choose to do the least harm possible to other sentient beings and this planet we all share. I refuse to support a bigoted, hateful individual and his business so I am disinclined to ever step foot in Tuk Tuk Hunter Valley. Bad customer service and unprofessional actions (online or elsewhere) are perfectly valid reasons for negative feedback, therefore I am giving this one star review in the hope that others may boycott too. I must say that I am also very saddened to see that this has escalated to the point where many more people have shown their prejudice against vegans as a whole. When you say I hate vegans that includes many wonderful human beings, just as discriminating against any minority is dangerous and ignorant. Calling vegans names or trying to find a point of hypocrisy in our actions is petty and cruel, especially when we are trying our best to make this world a better place and minimise the suffering of other beings. Making fun of us either individually or as a whole and perpetuating false stereotypes is damaging, which is why when we see it happen we stand up and make ourselves heard. Now, just because I am happy to label myself vegan does not mean that I condone every single thing every other vegan in the world says or does, that would be ridiculous, so to suggest that we are some kind of hive mind is just as insulting as the original post made by the owner of this establishment. The reason we are here is because he was publicly making rude remarks about a customer who happened to ask for an alternative, when what he should have done (if he was a person with any ounce of decency and knew enough about food) would be to gladly accept the challenge and try to make her a nice meal so she could recommend the restaurant to others. Many businesses thrive on the word of mouth of vegans if they are willing to cater to us and make us feel welcome. I am sure this whole debacle has been eye-opening for many and a lesson learned for some.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 05:00:00 +0000
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