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Zagat/Star ratings in Charlotte

Seabreeze

By Seabreeze
in Charlotte Coffee House

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Seabreeze Whistle-Stop

Seabreeze

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Hey everyone

First I would just like to say I like the new change of having the retail/restaurant section! It allows easier access to the multitudes of topics on here... now back to topic :P

I have a question about Charlotte's status with star rated and zagat rated restaurants/hotels... When I worked for OnStar people would request zagat ratings and star ratings all the time... the only problem with this in charlotte is that there were none. This was about 2 years ago, and a lot has changed since.

With all the new steak houses and upscale dining, has there been a zagat survey in Charlotte? And if there hasn't, when should one be expected? Any news on how many star rated restaurants/hotels we have as well?

It was easy to attain this info with the OnStar Application, but now I am clueless hehe..

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Seabreeze Whistle-Stop

Seabreeze

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I think that the company that operates the call center onstar uses is based in Charlotte and that the call center is here or something like that.

OnStar had 3 major callcenters when I worked there. One in Charlotte, NC, one in Detroit, and one in Toronto... They were downsizing the one in Toronto, and Detroit... Charlotte is the largest of the 3 by far...

They contract the work to management companies. It was Sitel when I was there, but now it is Convergys (look for convergys in the careerbuilder section of the newspaper on Sunday, they always have an ad)

The majority of the people you hear on the radio and tv ads are from the Charlotte Call Center... The majority of all calls go through there..

Interesting job to have, even if Sitel was notorious for layoffs...

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Seabreeze Whistle-Stop

Seabreeze

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Back to the OP... Yes and no. There is no official Zagat city guide for Charlotte. Charlotte is covered on their website and featured in some of the more general guides, like America's Best Restuarants.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I would think this area is large enough to support a survey, that kinda sucks that we don't have a city guide... but I guess its cool that they mention some of the stuff vaguely instead of pretending we don't exist like before

so...... how do we get em here lol ;)

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charlotte_bon_vivant Whistle-Stop

charlotte_bon_vivant

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For Charlotte to get its own Zagat guide, they'd need national attention on the dining scene. They need more restaurants, too. Right now, Charlotte is comparatively small as far as a dining scene goes. But that will change over time as more people move here. The Zagats are really not quick about adding new guides though. Atlanta got one in 2002, I think? It took Miami a long time, too.

For what it's worth, COMPASS Group has been doing a great job of promoting the city as a dining destination. It's coming along slowly, but surely.

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A2 Town

A2

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For Charlotte to get its own Zagat guide, they'd need national attention on the dining scene. They need more restaurants, too. Right now, Charlotte is comparatively small as far as a dining scene goes. But that will change over time as more people move here. The Zagats are really not quick about adding new guides though. Atlanta got one in 2002, I think? It took Miami a long time, too.

For what it's worth, COMPASS Group has been doing a great job of promoting the city as a dining destination. It's coming along slowly, but surely.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree girly. I used to know someone who worked at COMPASS and they definately do a great job of giving Charlotte its props! I am glad that we have them here in CLT ! As the largest food service provider in the world, I would suspect that their CLT presence will definatley expedite the Zagat guide in coming to Charlotte. On a side note it is really hard to believe ATL had to wait until 02'. For the size and scope of their metro area and their restraunt scene, you would have thought they would have been on their radar for a LONG time. ;)

A2

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Pantherhead Unincorporated Area

Pantherhead

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For Charlotte to get its own Zagat guide, they'd need national attention on the dining scene. They need more restaurants, too. Right now, Charlotte is comparatively small as far as a dining scene goes. But that will change over time as more people move here. The Zagats are really not quick about adding new guides though. Atlanta got one in 2002, I think? It took Miami a long time, too.

For what it's worth, COMPASS Group has been doing a great job of promoting the city as a dining destination. It's coming along slowly, but surely.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The dining scene in Charlotte will not only change for the better because of all the people moving here, but from the addition of Johnson and Wales as well. In a few years these people will start graduating and opening their own resturants, bars, etc. Yes I know not all these people will stay in Charlotte but even if only 10-15% of them stay here I think it would have a very positive impact on our resturant/bar scene :thumbsup:

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ExEmployee of OnStar Crossroads

ExEmployee of OnStar

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OnStar is the worst place to work in Charlotte, NC. Trust me on this one. Turn over is crazy, they fire you for being sick, and there are no real benefits to working there. The managers are clueless, they pay so little (about $10/hour), and very few raises. I worked there 2 years because of a bad economy, and as soon as I found a way out, I was gone. There is no morale, no desire to stay, and they keep finding new ways to make you want to leave. You never get weekends off, they are 24x7, have mandatory OT, constantly only giving you 30 minute lunches, and suspend breaks because they are constantly in queue.

Sitel was there for several years, then Convergys took over. The only problem with that is Convergys didn't change MANAGEMENT. There was nothing wrong with the word "Sitel", it was MANAGEMENT. If Convergys had changed Ops Managers, Team Managers, and Human Resources employees, things could have been better. When you keep the people who are the problem, things are not going to get better. OnStar is so mismanaged, and misguided, I would NEVER buy a GM Vehicle because all vehicles as of 2007 will have OnStar in it. I trained 2/3 of the people that work there, and a heartbeat is about all that is required to work there.

However, if you need some good drug hook-ups, they are definitely there. I worked with people who daily went out during lunch and smoked pot, sold in the bathrooms, and literally had sex in the gym provided. I would go unemployed before I ever worked there again. Heck, I'd go homeless before I went back there.

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fulcrumsf Whistle-Stop

fulcrumsf

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Apperently Zagat does not base creating books from the amount of resturants a city has per capita alone. Because St. Louis Metro (2000 Census Population of 2.6) shows 64 resturants on Zagats website, and Charlotte Metro (2000 Census Population of 1.5) shows 54 resturants reviewed on Zagat. Yet St. Louis has a book and we don't. So they must factor in other stats, on deciding what to look for in a city. However once Charlotte gets more of a reputation as a traveling destination. Weather it be business or leisure, more people will recognize that we have a lot of great resturants. And I agree that Johnson & Whales is a great asset to our community. Not all of the students will stay in Charlotte to pursue their careers here,but some of them will and that's all it takes. Charlotte Shout has already gained Charlotte some national attention. And with CPCC tring to exspand their culinary presents as well as the Art Institute having a culinary program things will only get better.

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