Bad Restaurant Review - WWYD?

[foodcritic]

NC for this on the off chance someone works out who we are and decides to do someone similar...

We have a small independent restaurant, been established over 10 years, lots of lovely regular customers, and always grateful for new customers. Many of these come due to our good reviews on various sites such as TripAdvisor, Google, etc. Also we do a fair bit (probably weekly) on local community Facebook pages which also attracts new people and reminds existing customers of what we are doing by way of Chef Specials etc.

Last week a Google review went on with 2 stars - and a comment along the lines of 'sad to see xxxxx on the menu'. (xxxx being a dish that some people find unacceptable, others specifically come to our restaurant to eat as it's difficult to find in supermarkets or other restaurants)

There is a name so I know exactly who has written this, and she's a local person who has never eaten at our restaurant. She has on occasion also used a crying emoji when she sees posts for certain dishes on Facebook that i have posted. (Suspect she's not a meat eater)

So - I have responded to the review with a similarly short comment, basically saying how disappointing someone has given a review based not on eating in the restaurant and experiencing our food/service, but based on a specific menu item.

Reviews are so important to small businesses, we can't afford massive advertising campaigns, and although this one hasn't really put a dent in our overall rating it's so frustrating. But I'm now wondering if I shouldn't have responded as I've made us look as petty as her. What would you have done?

Honestly I think your reply to her is completely acceptable and I don't see it as petty at all.

When I read a restaurant review I want to know what the restaurant, service, food and atmosphere was like first hand.

I don't agree with a lot of things but I don't go around leaving negative reviews of places I've never been because I don't like something.

This! Your response (copying her comment) is petty. If you must respond then it should just be along the lines of 'We're sorry you feel that way, but are disappointed that you've posted a review without eating at our restaurant'. But its best not to respond.

Grim

Yeah you don't come across as professional now you've shown your comment. I was on the fence about whether you should leave the comment up but your rudeness is potentially going to put people off.

I disagree with what you're willing to serve and don't think you should be at all proud of that given the cruelty involved in the production but I actually think you're more likely to put people off coming by being sarcastic like that.

Now I think that if I eat with you and have any kind of issue while there, I'll get a shitty, childish and unprofessional response if I raise it.

It’s not ridiculous of this person to leave the rating, if its something like fois gras then people are perfectly entitled to make their feelings known, people who care can boycott you and people who don’t care don’t (assuming it’s not shark fin soup).

At least with this review you are aware of strong feelings in the market towards your product and can perhaps consider adjusting your offering.

I agree you should remove a petty reply as it just paints you in a bad light and it’s clear her review is due to a menu item and not anything else.

If she was actually being awful she would have left a fake negative review about something like service or cleanliness - I think she’s being reasonable to limit her review to honest activism.

People who don’t care won’t care or be affected by the review - I always read review content and discard opinions that aren’t relevant (eg the example by PP of “unfriendly to babies!” Review Wouldn’t bother me either at this time as I don’t have a baby)

I’m all for animals being treated ethically if they are being eaten, I’m not a soft bunny hugger but Foie Gras is appalling.

Gavage and how the duckings who are the wrong sex are literally minced alive in a blender made me feel so sick I can’t get the images out of my head fo the forced feeding and mincing of the living ducklings.

I’m absolutely against such barbaric practices that occur in Foie Gras and veal.
No need for it.

I hope people objecting to veal don’t eat cow milk products.

I don’t eat veal (or dairy) as I don’t really like it, but struggling to see how it’s crueller than any other meat, at least the type of veal produced in the UK.

I would still delete your response, though, as it does read a bit passive-aggressive.

I really cringe when I see prickly responses by management to poor reviews online. This reviewer wasn’t saying anything bad about your service, so there was nothing for you to defend yourself against. Now unfortunately you just look like someone who likes to be snide to vegetarians.

That would still be a ridiculous reply that would make the OP look stupid. Do you really believe she has seen and remembered every single customer who's visited her restaurant in over 10 years?

There's a restaurant in my local town which has 2 veal dishes on the menu. I don't go there very often as it's always booked up weeks in advance - and I'm not that organised! So clearly it's not going to put many people off.

It certainly wouldn't put me off coming to your restaurant after seeing your response to the 'review'.

100% agree with this.

Please consider removing veal from the menu OP, it’s vile. And your reply to the review is amateurish at best.

Why grim? If it's british rose veal, what's the problem (if you're a meat-eater)? Have a read about UK welfare standards.

But why single out veal? There's veal and there's veal.

A lot (all?) UK sourced veal is rose veal, produced from male calves that would otherwise be shot at birth, not crated and is no less unethical than a lot of pork or chicken. Most UK produced chicken is killed at about 7 weeks old.

Probably the same sort of person who goes off about the cruelty of Halal meat while ignoring the fact that just about all of it is exactly the same as all other UK produced meat unless you go to a specialist Muslim butchers rather than see a sticker on the doorway at Nandos.

I much prefer it when owners respond - although if it is a short and sarky response, I think you should edit it to something like 'Thank you for sharing your feedback - we appreciate and respect all views. However, we do prefer it if reviews give us a chance and eat in our restaurant before forming their opinions. You are, of course, most welcome to join us at any time to sample the delicious selection of home-cooked dishes on our menu. If XXX isn't something which appeals to you, there are plenty of other options which we are sure you will love.'

*reviewers

For OP's purposes, it doesn't actually matter that it's veal. She'll keep serving it anyway. The issue she's asking about is that zinger of a response to someone who voiced an objection. And she's right to doubt herself. It is appalling PR.

Some places do manage to sell themselves on being rude or blunt but it's an art form. And this is artless.

Not unreasonable of the reviewer at all. I check the menus of restaurants and won’t go to one that serves veal, foie gras, octopus or where live lobsters are used.

I sometimes think it works well when a restaurant responds to an unfair review, but I think the tone of your reply comes across as a bit petty. If you wanted to leave something, perhaps something more like, “Have you ever actually eaten in our restaurant, or are you just making a comment about the menu?” Would be politer.

I would leave your message though. It makes me think that the owners/restaurant are at least paying attention to reviews.

I think that your reply to the review is perfectly fine. It shows that you care, and you are calling out this person for their totally ridiculous review.

Most review platforms have certain terms that the review has to be about the actual service received, otherwise you can request for it to be removed.

To be clear - not Foie Gras

Shame! It’s delicious! I must admit I love veal as well, Veal Milanese is something I cook regularly.

Veal ?

@GimmeSleep

do you know what veal is and how it’s produced??

@foodcritic

I think you should take Veal off the menu op