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The reviewers seem like harpies, but I don't agree with the actions of the restaurant either. It was petty and reflects poorly on the manager.
.... This managers actions make it seem like possibly they had a reason to give a negative review.
Threatening a bad review as an intimidation tactic is just low, a completely different deal from actually wring a bad review after the fact. It's blackmail, and combined with the fact that the two "ladies" insulted and berated staff (family members) I find it perfectly understandable that the Owner did what he did. I applaud his actions and wish more businesses were less concerned with the almighty dollar to the point they think their employees should put up with that kind of nonsense.
Here's a local 'war'.. I'm kinda curious on what you all think about this.. Read through the entire thing.. Both sides.. And.. Weigh in where you come down on it..
The original reviewer bowed out of any argument at that point.. So.. I tend to side with him..
The comparison that I draw is the nutjob from Kitchen Nightmares.. Amy's Baking Company
I didn't see anything all that horrible in the guy's review. The food didn't look all that appetizing, I'd probably be a little annoyed at paying over $100 too for that meal. I thought the restaurant's reply was way out of line. Telling him he wasn't allowed back even though he said he'd give it another try at lunch? Weird...
I didn't see anything all that horrible in the guy's review. The food didn't look all that appetizing, I'd probably be a little annoyed at paying over $100 too for that meal. I thought the restaurant's reply was way out of line. Telling him he wasn't allowed back even though he said he'd give it another try at lunch? Weird...
That's kinda how I saw it.. He gave a.. neutral to slightly negative review.. I mean, it wasn't anything scathing.. Alot of it could even be considered constructive.
I agree, there's nothing the restaurant can do about a diner having a medical emergency while there. So long as it's not due to something the restaurant did (undisclosed allergens or similar)
The way he describes the seating.. I'd have hated that as well. Get a bigger space.. Don't cram more tables in. I despise restaurants that do that.
I do actually strongly agree with him on one point.. Paid reviews are never totally honest.
But.. It's way, way overkill from the owner rebuttal on it.. Proper response at that point would likely be something of the non-apology apology.. You know.. Not, "I apologize to you" but.. "I'm sorry if you had a bad experience". He got a little nitpicky in the review, but even admitted that some of the items were nitpicky.. Really didn't knock the food a whole lot, more the front of house..
It's a rare time that a restaurant owner should pull the guns out and have an internet war with a customer. There are occasions where it's OK.. The customer is not always right.. But.. This, I don't feel, was one of them. Makes the owners look bad, IMO. They went personal. Since the original reviewer did not.. I find it uncalled for. That exchange there has kept me from ever trying that restaurant.. not because I think the food is bad.. I think the ownership is bad.
If you take Yelp out of it and what you have are 2 nasty customers who don't know how to behave in society. The owner didn't even use Yelp to call them out, he used Instagram, and I'm all for public shaming of bad behavior. It's WAY better than the usual "call the cops" or "deal with it" mentality.
I use Yelp a lot and don't always run with the crowd when it comes to food reviews. I will go to restaurants with bad reviews if I'm intrigued by the place, and I don't put much stock in the good reviews when people give 5 stars to chains that I know just microwave things. People really don't have good taste IMO, maybe I'm just a snob but whatever. I also don't go to trendy places without reservations at 7:30 on Saturday night and expect great things all around. Logic.
Yelp has been valuable to me when looking for things like a smog shop or locksmith. There isn't much room for difference of opinions when it comes to that sort of thing.
Yeah, this sort of thing happened quite a bit on Ebay too... if the buyer doesn't throw I free shipping, free extras, or lower the price, the buyer will threaten with a neg review.
Quote:
Originally Posted by momtothree
I take a quick look. If several are complaining about the same issues, chances are there's some truth to it. If it's mixed reviews, I try it.
I also try to get specifics whenever possible. For example, if a restaurant is rated low, but it's mainly b/c their selection of alcohol sucks, but their food is otherwise great, then that's 5-stars to me, as I scarcely buy booze.
I visited a hotel that was a bedbug-ridden dump ($100 a night), with roaches crawling around, holes in the bathroom floor, torn carpet, stained ceilings, etc. I've stayed at hundreds of hotels, as I travel for work, and this one was the worst of the worst. I took one look at the room and told the owner, "I'm not staying here," and walked out.
Went online (after the event) and found a dozen glowing reviews, and just two others that said the place was a dump.
If you take Yelp out of it and what you have are 2 nasty customers who don't know how to behave in society. The owner didn't even use Yelp to call them out, he used Instagram, and I'm all for public shaming of bad behavior. It's WAY better than the usual "call the cops" or "deal with it" mentality.
I use Yelp a lot and don't always run with the crowd when it comes to food reviews. I will go to restaurants with bad reviews if I'm intrigued by the place, and I don't put much stock in the good reviews when people give 5 stars to chains that I know just microwave things. People really don't have good taste IMO, maybe I'm just a snob but whatever. I also don't go to trendy places without reservations at 7:30 on Saturday night and expect great things all around. Logic.
Yelp has been valuable to me when looking for things like a smog shop or locksmith. There isn't much room for difference of opinions when it comes to that sort of thing.
The thing about online reviews is that, to me, it's like any social media. Because I use it often enough to get a feel for what other users are "like," I can make predictions based on what I know of them. If somebody gives a business a five-star review, and in the past, they've given places I've had lackluster experiences great reviews, I know to take it with a grain of salt.
I generally never base my decision to check a place out based on the reviews of others. Half the time, I just go to see if it's really that bad, or just "the thing to say" that it's that bad. I also find that a lot of reviewers base their reviews heavily on criteria that's not important to me, and vice versa.
We get abused on a daily basis by horrible customers.
Europeans are the worst. And yes, I'm generalizing.
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