Raw Deal in Pleasant Hill

Does a business deserve to be held to a lesser standard of customer service simply because they are all veg?

We had a disappointing experience at Planet Raw restaurant in Pleasant Hill recently.   After 90 minutes of driving, we arrive to find Planet Raw tucked away in the corner of this shopping center in the suburbs.  Chris goes inside while I’m outside looking at the menu and taking a photograph of the exterior to help promote them in the Ultimate Guide.

Chris returns before I’ve even finished taking my pictures, as I had to wait while this woman exited, as we prefer pics without people for UG.

And he says they’re closed, I ask why, he says the chef has left.  And then, the woman who was leaving,  interrupts our conversation to identify herself as the chef and just erupts with this litany of reasons why she is leaving, in a very angry fashion, ending with “next time call before you want to eat here”.   Not one word of apology or even acknowledgment that now her restaurant is unable to fulfill its function of serving food to customers, because she is walking out mid-day.

I was totally shocked by her rudeness, and the very anti-customer tirade.   (It almost felt like I was in the wrong for wanting to spend money at her restaurant.)  Anyways, after she stormed off, our curiousity did get the better of us so we went back inside together to ask the staff who that was.  They said it was Valerie, co-owner and chef.  They were very friendly and apologetic, and did offer to try to make us something, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the very un-welcome greeting we just had.   Interestingly enough, Valerie contacted me through yelp (where I also posted a review) and said the staff made a mistake; it was Carol, the other co-owner, who was rude, not her.

Anyways, for anyone else who might be driving a distance to visit them, I just wanted to share our experience that they close unexpectedly, and beware that you may be treated rudely.

Personally, while I do want veg businesses to succeed, I don’t think it does them any favors to hold them to a lesser standard.  For any veg business to succeed, it must have the support of both veg and non-veg customers.

Side note:  This was most definitely our first and last visit to Planet Raw.  I might just give up on raw restaurants all together after this.  The last time that I dined at one, Cafe Gratitude in SF, the waiter (who knew I was vegan) felt compelled to tell me that he prefers to dine on animals because he feels closer to them.