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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Fake Restaurant Reviews...

15 replies

BettyBathroom · 13/02/2012 21:47

AIBU to think that coming on to a social networking website and asking for people to review a restaurant positively - a restaurant they've never been to, so their mate can earn ££££ in marketing, is immoral?

OP posts:
MissVerinder · 13/02/2012 21:50

YANBU, but maybe immoral is a bit strong? Underhanded, sneaky and quite possibly illegal though.

Original poster
BettyBathroom · 13/02/2012 21:57

Not immoral? Dishonesty is not immoral? - as the owner of the restaurant who was honest and came second how would you feel? - BTW I am only involved in the sense that I sometimes have to rely on reviews to choose a restaurant and it pisses me off when we have encountered a restaurant that has dishonest reviews.

OP posts:
troisgarcons · 13/02/2012 21:58

People actually pay credence to reviews? Most people will go by word of mouth.

Original poster
BettyBathroom · 13/02/2012 22:01

How do you go by word of mouth when you are not local?

And it's obvious that poeple other than myself use reviews as they are paying someone to get them good reviews - they wouldn't pay out money if they didn't think they'd see a return.

OP posts:
SquidgyBiscuits · 13/02/2012 22:10

Honestly YABU to be so worked up about it.

I can assure you that a vast number of establishments post fake reviews. Especially chain places where the reviews are monitored by those above.

If you're not local to the restaurant, presumably you must be visiting the area for a reason so would have a contact whom you could ask for recommendations.

Unless you just like to go to random places you don't know for a bite to eat?

MissVerinder · 13/02/2012 22:17

It's commercial dishonesty- the same as fake eyelashes on a mascara advert.

Maybe I'm so used to it I don't think of it as immoral?

Original poster
BettyBathroom · 13/02/2012 22:27

Don't you travel to places where you know not of - or am I a weirdy travelling type who wanders into foreign lands?

OP posts:
MissVerinder · 14/02/2012 00:05

If it's not Greggs, I don't wanna know...

TessTickular · 14/02/2012 00:08

I think it's immoral.

But I have no idea what you're talking about.

GrahamTribe · 14/02/2012 00:26

It cuts both ways. I admit to putting a fake review on TripAdvisor. The hotel in question was owned and run by my best friend of over 30 years. I know my friend's past experience in the trade, their commitment to customer services and their skills. I also knew the back-story to the one awful review given to the hotel and I have absolutely no reason to doubt my friend's honesty or accuracy.

So, I put a review on TA. I've stayed at the hotel so it wasn't entirely false but I didn't want any accusations of bias so I didn't mention that fact. I just spoke in favour of the establishment and hotelier who had been accused of offering a room with a used razor blade in the loo and not being very smiley when I knew that the occupant's wife had been very rude to my friend and vomited uo the stairs without apology after a boozy night out.

So yes, whilst it isn't necessarily right to give biased or fake reviews, sometimes there is good reason to speak in favour of an establishment which is being publicy bad-mouthed unjustly.

OneLastSoul · 14/02/2012 08:33

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

toffeetip · 14/02/2012 08:49

We've had a very bad experience using on Trip Advisor, when we saw the restaurant i suspected the whole thing was wrong but small dcs needed to be fed. I left a negative review and within a week there was enough 5 star reviews from other diners to knock my review off the page. Have learned my lesson and will return to the old fashioned method of guessing the quality of a restaurant before we eat there.

worldgonecrazy · 14/02/2012 08:55

I only ever leave honest reviews on Tripadvisor. I was not surprised, following all the negative publicity about Tripadvisor to see one of my reviews, for quite possibly the worst Italian restaurant I've ever been to, knocked off the page by five star reviews from 'customers' who, rather strangely, had only ever posted one review on Tripadvisor.

I do still look at reviews but will check where else the reviewer has posted about, how many reviews they have written, etc.

limitedperiodonly · 14/02/2012 09:19

Before the internet professional restaurant critics posted fake highly subjective reviews in newspapers for their mates and still do. Same with books, films, TV etc. The difference is everyone else is in on it now.

Don't rely on reviews. Just go and if you like it keep going back.

mummymccar · 14/02/2012 09:29

I hate it when people post fake reviews. We have a restaurant in our city that features very highly on TA's recommended list with glowing reviews - locally it has a reputation for food poisoning and is currently being inspected by the council.
I've posted several reviews of what it is really like on TA and all disappear. I wish I'd known what they were really like before I ended up in hospital with salmonella after eating there last year.
It makes me really Angry when restaurants do this, especially as there are some really lovely restaurants owned by locals which are further down the list.

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