In today’s modern world, where everyone is a critic with their mobile devices, it’s the online food critic, which has the hospitality industry on its knees.
This is a real issue for anyone in our industry; the problem being, there is very little recourse for us. I will be the first to admit, not every service is perfect and while we may install high standards of product and service, and set policies and procedures and invest heavily in training, we do have a human element to factor in. Some days customers will all arrive at once causing kitchen carnage, someone will order 20 takeaway coffees which will cause a time delay in your order, suppliers will be closed over a long weekend and inevitably some items will run out, staff constantly work under pressure, mistakes will happen and unfortunately (but hopefully not often) a staff member may just have a bad day.
For some online critics, a restaurant review site provides a stage to vent as well as a cloak to hide behind. There are tales of scathing reviews from competitors posing as real customers, disgruntled ex-staff, reviews from people who have never been but heard something from Jimmy at the office, from people who dined a year ago or dined under previous ownership or because they just want to participate in a conversation . The system is easily abused no matter the filters or processes a site may put in place. There is no requirement of proof that the reviewer even ate there. There is no accountability for the reviewer and their comments. What is posted on these sites is on the big bad web for ever.
So, if you want to write an online review, these are my suggestions to keep in mind:
1. Have you judged the business correctly? Is it right to post a negative review because a bar didn’t sell muffins or you had to order at the counter? Or you were told by a friend that it was noisy but you went any way and then posted a negative review because it was noisy?
2. Did you view the menu before you went there? Every business has its own objectives and gives careful consideration to menu planning, food styling, and pricing that suits their business. Is it fair to negatively review a business because mains were $40 or your wanted loose leaf tea but yours came in a bag or you didn’t like thin crust pizza because thick crust is your favourite?
3. Are you being completely honest? If you waited 30 minutes for your meal but were pre-warned by the staff or because the restaurant was full then why not include that in your review? Is it fair, to write a negative review because you didn’t like your meal? Or if it was cold or over cooked and you are asked how your meal was and you don’t say anything at the time, is it fair to then write a negative review?
4. Be careful of the words you use. “Disgusting” or “worst meal ever” are very strong words and if that was the case, shouldn’t you have spoken up at the time? Why would you pay for such a product?
Now, I don’t want to come across like my nose is out of joint or that I am bitter. A business I co-own has had its share of bad reviews but why, for an example, is this business then, one of the busiest in town? What role have those reviews played? I genuinely believe all feedback is good feedback and if half of what is said in a bad review is true then we do need to look harder into what happened and make sure as business owners, we right any wrongs. Restaurant review sites aren’t going away and they are welcomed in terms of the feedback they can provide. As an industry, we just want reviews that are fair and balanced; we want to hear when things are good as well as when they are not so good and we want to remove the ridiculous, somewhat toxic, personal and misinformed comments.
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