Editorial: Take reviews with a grain of salt

Leonardo Baldi of Leonardo's said online reviewers had been mostly positive and had done much to promote his business.

The world of online customer restaurant reviews can be a minefield.

To extend the military metaphor, it's a double-edged sword - while happy customers can extol the virtues of a restaurant or cafe and potential diners can get an idea of what to expect, the concept seems tailor-made for the internet's large army of habitual whingers and complainers.

Local operators seem to be showing a stiff upper lip about it all.
As we reported yesterday some feel the reviews can be good for business.

Leonardo Baldi of Leonardo's said online reviewers had been mostly positive and had done much to promote his business.

Lonestar's Andy Allan said reviews were generally more positive than negative and Abracadabra's Nadia Goldbert said it was a good thing that people share opinions online ... "any feedback is good feedback".

But outlets elsewhere have had enough.

One Auckland restaurateur hit back at customers who had written a negative review on the website Zomato. He reviewed them in return, calling them "rather rude".

A Wellington burger caravan owner came out swinging afer receiving a customer complaint via a Facebook private message.
He publicly posted a wild rant in response, even though the original complaint was made privately.

While customers should know their rights, and expect to get the dining experience they're paying for, it must be hard for businesses to be at the mercy of often anonymous online reviews.

How would you feel if a chef and maitre d' came along to your workplace and started judging your work for all the world to see?

And how would you know if the reviews are genuine?

It's not unheard of for rival eateries to post negative reviews, for example, and don't we all know that one person who is extremely hard to please?

Online review are here to stay though.
As has been noted elsewhere, if you're going to read them, it's best to take them with a large grain of salt.