When the Michelin Guide of Washington, D.C. restaurants was first published, it provided customers with a new tool to make choices, but it also introduced a new form of ranking that triggered insecurity in highly ranked organizations. In order to fit with what they believed the audiences would expect from the elite, newly awarded restaurants modified their descriptions about menus, cuisine techniques and pricing, while restaurants with an already high status engaged in compensatory actions to emphasize authenticity and exclusivity.