CheapEats.ie - a blog about food and value

8 Comments

  1. That’s a great looking recipe, cant wait to try it with a nice glass of wine. Those that like to have a tipple with a nice meal its worth noting that, generally wines do not go well with hot, spicy dishes as the heat affects your taste buds. That said, there are some grape varieties that do go well such as Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Gruner Veltliner and Albarino

  2. Are you running free ads now Peter?

  3. Hi Claire, I’m glad you asked that. Jean, and other readers, you might have an opinion on this one too. I’m not entirely sure how this fits into our guidelines on sock puppeting. Here’s my long winded response:
    This comment – or ad – went straight to our spam folder. It’s linked to Tesco’s own blog, which is cleverly designed to look as though it has nothing to do with Tesco.
    Tesco is notoriously bad for interacting with bloggers. Or maybe it’s just this blog, given our stated dislike of the place. I was so surprised that Tesco would engage with a blogger – and their customers – that I hauled it out and let it go into our comments.
    We think it’s great when companies interact with their customers through social media, as it encourages a genuine conservation, particularly when readers leave a comment. Because of course, the companies are not talking to our WRITERS, they’re talking to the thousands of people who read this blog. That’s not to say that our readers and writers don’t engage in a critical conversation with the companies, but at least it shows the companies are listening (or appearing to?) People are free to raise issues relating to price, ethical, or quality considerations.
    So by letting the comment stay, I was hopeful that Tesco may be taking baby steps towards having this conversation. It’s a tiny little experiment. Maybe I’m being naive.
    What do you think? I’m open to removing Tesco’s comment

  4. I would leave it. The comment itself doesn’t mention Tesco, only the “commenter”‘s name. And it’s up to your readers if they want to click on that link. I did, it’s rather interesting. Now, that won’t make me love Tesco, I wish they would rather answer to emails sent to their customer service.

  5. I think it should go. This is a blog, not a forum (I am aware of the irony). T*sco is still not interracting with bloggers in a meaningful way; they are suggesting a wine pairing for your recipe. It may not necessarily be from their range, but it is subliminal nonetheless and they should be charged for it, or removed. In this case, its not T*sco I have a problem with, I would say the same of anyone that used a business name in as their handle and I’d hate to see this fantastic blog being taken advantage of buy a retail giant not paying for ads.

  6. To tell you the truth, I hadn’t even noticed that the post was from Tesco. When I read claire’s first comment, I thought it might have referred to the link to The Port House in the main post. As such, I don’t know exactly how much business this will drum up for them. I also agree that businesses should be encouraged to engage with their customers.

    I can understand the reservations that claire has, though, and wouldn’t be entirely sure that I’d generally be comfortable with posts that could be seen as advertising.

  7. Ah no, Im not so picky that Id have a problem with the site naming the places they review. 😀

  8. Hey Peter, Just thought it would be appreciated by your readers if we came back to your site and commented on some of the comments above. It has been interesting reading everyones point of view and we can only ask that your readers be open minded and accept that we are looking to change. We know this will take some time but, we are now starting to embrace social media and see it as a very important vehicle for building relationships with new customers and old. By trying to be totally transparent and open by engaging in open conversation with customers we hope to break down the barriers of negativity towqards our business. Thanks for including us in your little experiment!
    Nigel@Tesco Wines