Page 3 | To hate trip advisor

Anotherdayanothernight · 23/03/2022 13:22

The funniest review I've read was a woman who gave a hotel in Venice 2 out of 5 as there were Americans and rude staff at the hotel and she also slipped and fell into the canal when she was in a hurry to board a complimentary boat trip to Murano, hilarious but the hotel is very good actually...

2bazookas · 23/03/2022 13:25

I always read the tripadvisor top reviews and the bottom reviews. I trust them both :-)

The bottom reviews give vital info like "The WORST thing about this place is that the toilet is too small for my gigantic arse and could barely contain all my bullshit"

Stop fretting. Good reviews vastly outweigh the idiot whiners.

Original poster

Passthebubbly · 23/03/2022 13:27

@2bazookas laughing so much at that would have loved to say that in my reply 😂

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MsTSwift · 23/03/2022 13:35

We went to a curry house as a family as we were intrigued by the reviews - half were “best curry EVER” the other half “anniversary RUINED” 😁. There was nothing in between! We had a perfectly nice normal curry but my teens were slightly disappointed by lack of drama!

rookiemere · 23/03/2022 13:40

You can usually tell fake reviews a mile off.

I enjoy reading ones for a buffet type place we used to go to. It's clear there's some sort of war going on between them and another nearby establishment, as evidenced through the sheer number of 1 and 5 star reviews from new reviewers.

Floofsquidge · 23/03/2022 13:42

I love reading 1 star reviews. My personal favourite is against a beautiful spa hotel nestled in a wood in the Lake District, the reviewer was literally batshit. She'd left a window open in her room and a bat had flown inside, and was ranting about not being taken seriously for rabies and being horrified the hotel staff wouldn't kill the bat, (which is of course a protected species in the uk).

DentonsFringeArnottsWaistcoat · 23/03/2022 13:50

My favourite tripadviser review is for a Roman Fort local to us - it’s literally Roman ruins, and a lovely tranquil site. But this reviewer complained that it was all untidy and not much to see and they’d left the piles of stones all falling over everywhere instead of tidying them or rebuilding. Nothing about the way it was written led me to believe they were joking either

MsTSwift · 23/03/2022 13:56

We have a local natural burial meadow the whole point is it’s just a natural meadow. There are a few complaints on the website about lack of cafe or loo 😁. Point missed!

Poppy92r · 23/03/2022 13:56

I always filter on the worst reviews to see what they're saying.

10 reviews saying the staff are rude I'd believe.
A few random reviews such as toilet size wouldn't phase me at all.

I do pay attention to how the owners respond to the reviews though. Even if they are absolutely ridiculous, if I see that the hotel/restaurant have responded professionally that always counts highly in my mind.

If you replied

We are very sorry to hear that you did not enjoy your meal. We apologise for the cobweb in the bathroom and have sent a cleaning team in to deal. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review which helps us to continue to do very best by our customers.

If I read that as a response- I'd be saying - let's go eat there! Even though the reviewer sounds absolutely bonkers, the way you respond can elevate you higher!

darlingdodo · 23/03/2022 14:01

This is why I stopped reading reviews for our business. Mostly 5 star with a smattering of 4s, and the tiny number of 1 star reviews were batshit or people who threatened bad reviews unless drinks or food were comped. I was much happier not reading them........

A friend who owns a really nice Bangladeshi restaurant was a bit miffed to find a customer writing a horrible review sitting at the table in the restaurant BEFORE they'd eaten a thing - just out of nastiness.

Catalinka · 23/03/2022 14:02

I remember Michael Mcintyre doing a stand up about this. He said the reviews for where he went on holiday were glowing but there's always someone who writes a negative one that sticks out like a sore thumb like "The waiter slapped my wife!"
I'm sure people will release that you get the occasional nutter.

Catalinka · 23/03/2022 14:05

Realise

MsTSwift · 23/03/2022 14:09

Remember going to a talk by Lionel Shriver she got upset by bad book reviews the worst one ended with the fact the reviewer hadn’t even read the book! There are some right weirdos out there.

MrsTerryPratchett · 23/03/2022 14:22

There's a bloke in Canada who does 'getting to know a place through one-star reviews'. It's very funny.

www.victoriabuzz.com/2021/07/ford-on-fridays-the-further-adventures-of-one-star-reviews-of-victoria/

One of a series.

balalake · 23/03/2022 14:25

I would support a requirement that to join any social media or review site should have a 'cool-off' period of say a week, where you can only read but not write reviews.

Blackberrybunnet · 23/03/2022 14:28

You need to give the readers of Tripadvisor some credit - we can read a daft review and see it for what it is!!

DdraigGoch · 23/03/2022 14:29

@Passthebubbly

Thanks daimbar. They actually do investigate if you report a review. One I had I had proof from a young lady I chose not to hire (didn’t turn up for half her trial shifts), she sent me a text with a load of abuse saying enjoy the trip advisor review, low and behold a bike review from a new account appeared the next day slaying the owners. Trip advisor would still not remove it.

Personally with that one I'd have gone to town on social media. A post with the screenshots (identifying details blurred) with a response along the lines of "if you can't be bothered to turn up to your shifts, you can't expect to be hired"

Then it'll get shared all over the place, probably find its way into a tabloid, and you have loads of free publicity.

Soffit · 23/03/2022 14:53

@Blackberrybunnet

You need to give the readers of Tripadvisor some credit - we can read a daft review and see it for what it is!!

The obvious ones maybe - like the reviews of Pizza Express in Woking. It is often done much more subtly though.

coldfeetmama · 23/03/2022 14:54

I love to read these reviews
Take most of them with a pinch of salt
Very suspicious of totes amazeballs ones

I wouldn't give it another thought bar always keep responses polite and factual with an undertone of sarcasm " oh I do apologise you didn't like your meal , can you confirm was that the 1st 2nd or 3rd plateful you objected to ? "

ChoiceMummy · 23/03/2022 14:58

@Passthebubbly

I need to vent. I own a small hospitality business family run that we have put our heart and sole into for 11 years. We have won a ton of awards and do our absolute best to show people an amazing time. We appreciate every single customer.

Our feedback has always been so good but since reopening from last lockdown what has happened to people? Just got a 1 star review as woman didn’t like her soup and the toilet was too small and there was god forbid a cobweb. Didn’t think to say at the time so we could change her meal just wait till behind a keyboard and leave a 1review. 2review yesterday because we don’t serve a full menu all night - we don’t have a bloody chef right now. My husband worked 78hours last week in that kitchen. Am so sick of watching what we have built and what we work our backsides off now in due to staff shortages be tarnished by keyboard warriors. Rant over just raging anyone can go on and leave 1* reviews for thing we can’t change like size of toilets in a listed building. So unfair.

Customer is king! Re the soup - I'd probably ask why if the soup was returned hardly eaten that the waiter didn't ask if something was remiss. Likewise were they asked generally during their meal. The fact you have no chef and have to work large numbers of hours is irrelevant. You presumably still charge full prices as though the chef is present! The other issues such as the toilets - then the cobwebs are on you. Take it as constructive advice to pull your fingers out! The size of the toilet - you have a right of reply. Likewise you can respond to the soup customer offering a discount off next meal as a show of goodwill.... That can go in your favour.

SylviasMotherSaid · 23/03/2022 15:18

I leave a lot of reviews and I try to be positive as much as possible especially if I go somewhere which has had previous nit picking negative feedback . Only negative ive left lately was where I was charged £3.50 for a tiny brownie to take away which wasn’t even home baking but clearly came from a wholesale type place .

Original poster

Passthebubbly · 23/03/2022 15:25

@ChoiceMummy, we do 3 check ins with customers. Once a few minutes after getting their food, again when we clear the plates and again when they pay the bill to ensure they have had a good time and are happy. At any of these points we will rectify anything the customer has not enjoyed. As for pulling our finger out, we employ a local cleaning company for 2hours a day and on top do 2 hourly freshen ups of our toilets. Sadly we are all human and can miss things and that is something I will take on board to check more often.
I only mentioned the hours my husband put in as he was covering our missing 2 chefs and worked every hour to make sure we didn’t cut the food service. One bad review was saying he couldn’t get food after a certain time which was untrue as my husband worked the hours to make sure we didn’t cut service.

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Original poster

Passthebubbly · 23/03/2022 15:26

@SylviasMotherSaid (great name, takes me back) I would not have enjoyed that either

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Ohdearthatwasntgreatwasit · 23/03/2022 15:27

Hmm, I can see both sides tbh.

It does wind me up when hospitality establishments expect you to complain there and then though. A lot of people don’t like confrontation and feel it would further sour the experience.

Who wants to risk having someone spit in your soup?

Dogmum40 · 23/03/2022 15:33

I had a 1 review last year, I own a holiday let in a holiday park ( clearly states in the ad with photos of the park) and he gave it a 1 because it’s on a holiday park with other holiday let’s around it! He also said the bed wasn’t made to his standard! It’s a fitted sheet and a duvet both clean and made properly so I’m still confused about that so yes I feel sorry for you 😆